Steam boiler explosions, in theory and in pactice; . eam escaped, and the water had settled upon thesurrounding surface of the tube-head and the result was to reduce the five-sixteenths plate to lessthan a quarter of an inch in thickness, and the tube-endsto the thickness of writing paper. The lower tube-endshad suffered still more from leaks and were as thin as paperand afforded no adequate support to the head. Thepressure consequently forced the lower head down, open-ing fifty or more holes, two inches diameter, from whichthe fluid contents of the boiler issued at a high veloci
Steam boiler explosions, in theory and in pactice; . eam escaped, and the water had settled upon thesurrounding surface of the tube-head and the result was to reduce the five-sixteenths plate to lessthan a quarter of an inch in thickness, and the tube-endsto the thickness of writing paper. The lower tube-endshad suffered still more from leaks and were as thin as paperand afforded no adequate support to the head. Thepressure consequently forced the lower head down, open-ing fifty or more holes, two inches diameter, from whichthe fluid contents of the boiler issued at a high velocity,and the whole boiler became a great rocket weighingabout two thousand pounds. THE RESULTS OE EXPLOSIONS. I5I One life was destroyed by this explosion and a con-siderable amount of property. An explosion which occurred at Jersey City, N. J.,some years ago, illustrated at once the dangers of low-water and of a safety-valve rusted fast. As reported atthe time :# The boiler was of the locomotive type,having a dome upon the top. The engineer upon the. Fig. 56.—The of the explosion lighted the fire in the boilerand shortly afterward was called away, leaving the boilerin charge of his nephew, who was young and inexperiencedin the handling of steam. After putting fresh coal inthe furnace he was called away by one of the owners ofthe dock to assist at some outside duty. Upon his re- *Am. Machinist, Oct. 1st, 1881. [52 STEAM BOILER EXPLOSIONS. turn he saw the seams of the boiler opening, and attempteto open the furnace door, but was unable, owing to theexcess of pressure of steam within the boiler which hadcaused the head to change its shape. A few momentsafterward the explosion occurred. The fire-box beingthrown downward, the top of the shell and crown-sheetupward, while the cylinder part shot directly up thestreet. It struck the ground about 400 feet from itsoriginal position, demolished afire hydrant, several trucks,trees, and a horse, and, spinning end for end,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectsteambo, bookyear1887
