Steam boiler explosions, in theory and in pactice; . Institute, Jan., 1872. GENERAL AND LOCAL DEC A Y. S repeated rupture, by hydraulic pressure and patching,been gradually brought into precisely this state, and ex-ploded under steam at 53^ pounds, about four atmos-pheres pressure, a slightly lower pressure than it hadsustained (59 pounds) at its last test. On this occasion,when a pressure was reached of 50 pounds per squareinch, a report was heard which was probably caused bythe breaking of one or more braces, and at 5 3 y2 pounds,the boiler was seen to explode with terrible force. Thewhole o
Steam boiler explosions, in theory and in pactice; . Institute, Jan., 1872. GENERAL AND LOCAL DEC A Y. S repeated rupture, by hydraulic pressure and patching,been gradually brought into precisely this state, and ex-ploded under steam at 53^ pounds, about four atmos-pheres pressure, a slightly lower pressure than it hadsustained (59 pounds) at its last test. On this occasion,when a pressure was reached of 50 pounds per squareinch, a report was heard which was probably caused bythe breaking of one or more braces, and at 5 3 y2 pounds,the boiler was seen to explode with terrible force. Thewhole of the enclosure was obscured by the vast massesof steam liberated; the air was dotted with the flyingfragments, the largest of which—the steam drum—risingfirst to a height variously estimated at from 200 to 400feet, fell at a distance of about 450 feet from its originalposition. The sound of the explosion resembled the re-port of a heavy cannon. The boiler was torn into manypieces, and comparatively few fell back upon their origi-nal Fig. 33.—Corrosion. Thus corrosion may affect a single spot in a boiler, inwhich case a patch, if properly applied, Should make Il6 STEAM BOILER EXPLOSIONS. the boiler nearly as strong as when whole. A series ofweak spots near each other may so weaken a boiler asto produce explosion, as may any considerable area ofthin plate, although, when occuring in the stayed sur-faces of a fire-box, the metal may become astonishinglythin. A sketch of spots of corrosion is shown in , which represents the cause of an actual cause of explosion may be either internal or exter-nal, and is produced internally by bad feed-water, andexternally by dampness or by water leaking from theboiler, either unseen or neglected. It is always dan-gerous to have any portion of a boiler concealed fromobservation. The effect of covering a part of a sheet subject to cor-rosion by solid iron, as by the lap of a seam, is shown inthe next figure, wh
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectsteambo, bookyear1887
