Edward Bindon Marten

“ The most important points to find out in connection with any explosion are the condition of the boiler and all belonging to it immediately before the explosion, together with the locality of the first rent, the direction of the line of rupture, and the nature of the fracture; as everything occurring after the instant of the first rent is an effect and not a cause of explosion. As soon as the first rent has taken place, the balance of strain in the fabric is disturbed, and therefore the internal pressure has greatly increased power in continuing the rupture ”

“ External corrosion is a far more frequent cause of explosion in stationary boilers; and it arises from many causes. The most frequent cause, although the most easily detected, is leakage from the joints of the fittings on the top of the boiler, which are too frequently attached by bolts instead of rivets. This evil is much increased when the boilers are covered with brickwork, which holds the water against the plates, and hides the mischief from observation. ”

“ An apparatus, for instance, for preventing explosion from shortness of water or over-pressure, however perfect for any such object, would be quite inefficient as a safeguard against explosion from corrosion, furrowing, channelling, or weak construction. It is curious to note how often it is the case that every other part of an establishment is subject to severe and perpetual scrutiny, the engines especially being overhauled with the most scrupulous regularity ”

“ The large mass of water heated to the evaporating point, the heated brickwork of the flues, and the large fireplace, are so many assistances to regularity, and enable the man in charge to attend to his other duties without the risk of spoiling the boiler or letting down the steam by a few minutes' absence from the stoke hole. Steam employers are found at present to prefer the known dangers of the large boilers to the supposed safety of small boilers, which they fear are troublesome in practice. ”

“ As the flat ends of such boilers are always being sprung by each alternation of pressure into a more or less spherical shape, as shown by the elastic model exhibited, this consideration no doubt led to the ends being made hemispherical, as shown in Pg 21 Fig. 25; and plain cylindrical boilers with these hemispherical ends are now so commonly used that they far outnumber any other form of boiler. Their shape renders them very strong, as the whole of the iron is in simple tension, and internal pressure has no tendency to alter the shape, as is shown by the elastic model exhibited. ”

“ It has taken considerable time for the belief in the weakness of large tubes when exposed to external pressure to become general, and a great many boilers are still made and used having even large tubes without the strengthening rings; and in some districts such boilers are used in great numbers and at far higher pressures than can be considered judicious. In more than one bed of boilers, one boiler after another has exploded by the collapse of the tube from the want of strengthening rings, and yet these have still been believed unnecessary ”

“ Many boilers are so set that the brickwork of the flues is made to follow the shape of the boiler, with as little space between as possible; but the slight advantage gained in increased heating effect is far outweighed by the impossibility of getting into the flues for examination. It is only by having the flues sufficiently roomy that proper examination can be made, and that the indications on the brickwork of leaking can be seen and remedied, and corrosion arrested. A remarkable case of corrosion occurred in a boiler with an oval shell, set upon a middle wall. ”

“ In this case the cause of explosion was clearly the weakness of the tube, and not shortness of water. It is erroneous to suppose that if a boiler runs dry, or if the feed is turned into a red-hot boiler, there must necessarily be an explosion. If a boiler unconnected with any other runs rapidly empty, from the breaking of the blow-off pipe or any such cause, it will simply get red-hot and sink out of shape upon the fire, as may often be seen, but no explosion would happen. ”

“ Boilers exposed to the weather will of course become corroded like anything else made of iron and not painted; and yet so much mischief is sometimes caused by leakage beneath improper covering that exposure may almost Pg 45 be said to be the smaller evil of the two, as it is better to see what is going on than to rest in false security. No covering will be found cheaper, or better, in the long run, than a roof, which prevents the loss of heat by exposure, and yet allows free access to all the fittings and joints on the top of the boiler. ”

“ Although it may be too much to suppose that boiler explosions will ever be entirely prevented, it is important that those who have Pg 68 the care of boilers should understand better what are the true causes of explosion, in order that they may know what to guard against in addition to shortness of water. This better understanding of the subject has been much retarded by the supposition that the causes of boiler explosions are beyond the comprehension of the boiler minders ”

“ The early explosions were so palpably due to the weakness of the boilers, which compared with those of the present day were most ill constructed, that no one Pg 9 thought of any other cause than the insufficient strength of the vessel to bear the expansive force of the steam contained in it. When the advantages of high-pressure steam became recognized, and the boilers were improved so as to bear the increased strain, the tremendous havoc caused by an explosion led many to think that something more must be required than the expansive force of the steam to produce such an effect ”

“ The strain caused by the varying temperature of the internal tubes in Cornish or Lancashire boilers, and the difficulty of staying their flat ends so as to make them sufficiently secure without being too rigid to allow for the expansion of the tubes, render them liable to corrosion or "furrowing" in particular lines of strain, the destructive action of which is very rapid; while the large quantity of brickwork around the outside, necessary to form the external flues, also renders them liable to corrosion in the parts most difficult of access. ”

“ The public at large, and steam users generally, would gain more information and guidance from the scientific evidence itself than from the verdict of a coroner's jury; and it is believed much good has resulted in preventing locomotive boiler explosions by publishing the reports of the government inspecting engineers, who have gained their knowledge of the facts in conversation with all those concerned, and have added recommendations which have been promptly acted upon. ”

“ When found at the part where the side flues are gathered in at the top against the boiler, it is usually occasioned by the leaking of fittings or feed pipes, or by rain being allowed to run between the boiler and the brickwork. More than one explosion has been caused by the droppings from a roof being allowed to fall upon the tops of the flues. When the corrosion is found at the point where the bottom flue walls touch the boiler, it is frequently caused by the leaking of seams that have been strained by the weight of the boiler ”

“ Pg 89
That the force accumulated in an ordinary boiler is enough to account for the violence of an explosion. That no form of boiler, however well constructed and fitted, is free from the liability to explosion, if allowed to get out of order; and that boilers which bear the hydraulic test may still be dangerous. That the condition of a boiler can be satisfactorily ascertained only by periodical examinations, and that no boiler should work without being thoroughly examined at short intervals. ”

“ Scurf cannot be considered so great an evil as corrosion, since it can be removed, and if this is done in time, the boiler is restored to its original condition.
The advantage of a pure water, which does not deposit scurf, is so great for the supply of boilers that it is always worth while to go to considerable expense for obtaining it; or to take some steps for purifying the feed water as much as possible. If it is only mud mechanically suspended, which would deposit by gravity on the bottom of the boiler, frequent use should be made of the blow-off apparatus. ”

“ The manhole without a ring on its edge to strengthen the plate, and held in by two clamps, which caused additional strain when carelessly screwed up, was by far the weakest place. The engine was standing after a short time of working, and as the safety valve was very defective, and could be screwed down until tight, against almost any pressure, it is most probable that the pressure mounted much higher than usual, when the weakest part gave way, and led to the sudden tearing up and scattering of the whole fabric. ”

“ The mountings on a boiler are usually so open to observation, and the importance of having them good and efficient is so universally acknowledged, that much remark is not needed. Mention has already been made of the sticking of self-acting feed apparatus as a cause of mischief, and similar failures of floats and gauges have constantly happened; but this should by no means be considered to condemn self-acting apparatus, either for assisting in the steadiness of working, or for giving warning of danger. ”

“ The grates are usually twice as large as the fair proportion to the heating surface, producing the double evil of forcing more heat through the iron plates over the fire than they can transmit without injury, and allowing a great amount of heat to pass away to the chimney without useful effect. Careful experiment shows that nearly as good duty can be obtained with the plain cylindrical boiler as with any other form, provided the rate of combustion is in fair proportion to the extent of heating surface in the boiler. ”

“ It is not so easy to move about within them for cleaning and examination as in the plain cylindrical boiler, as the tubes fill up the space so much. The difference of expansion between the highly heated tube and the comparatively cool shell produces a strain, which causes the ends to bulge out; or if the ends are made rigid, the strain sets up a contortion in the tube, which causes furrowing of the plates by making the iron softer or more susceptible of corrosion in certain lines of strain. ”

“ Internal corrosion sometimes takes place from bad feed water, and its effects are different in extent in the different parts of the same boiler. It very seldom thins the plate over a large surface regularly, but attacks the iron in spots, pitting it in a number of holes. These are sometimes large, as if gradually increasing from a centre of action; and sometimes small, but so close together as to leave very little more space whole than that which is attacked. A very curious example of the latter was exhibited to the meeting, and shown in Fig. 56 and Fig. ”

“ Among the numerous boiler explosions that have been attributed to over-pressure through deficient arrangements for escape of steam, in many cases the safety valves have been placed on the steam pipes in such a manner that the communication with them was cut off whenever the steam stop-valve was shut, which is just the time when the safety valves are most wanted. Safety valves are too often found needlessly overweighted ”

“ A sketch of a boiler Pg 31 with collapsed flue is given in Fig. 42, which exploded at Burton-on-Trent in 1865; and it is selected from many others because it was a new boiler, well made and mounted, and was a good example of the weakness of a large tube to resist high external pressure when made of great length without the support of strengthening rings.
There are a great many advantages in the tubular boiler internally fired. The shell which is exposed to the greatest tension is not also exposed to the first action of the fire. ”

“ The greater part of the corrosion found in the side flues of boilers is caused by the leakage of seams. Many boilers are emptied for cleaning as soon as work is over on Saturday night, and long before the brickwork of the fireplaces and flues has cooled; and Pg 48 consequently, the boiler, having no water in it, is made much hotter than it ever is in working, and the seams are injured and sprung and the rivets loosened by the extra expansion so caused. ”

“ A hard scale is equivalent to thickening the plate; and although this is sufficiently mischievous, the injury to the plates is much more rapid when a thicker but spongy deposit entirely prevents contact of the water and impedes the transmission of the heat. An attempt to illustrate this is given in Fig. 58, which is an enlarged view of a portion of such a boiler as is shown in Fig. 37. Pg 87 The money spent in boiler compositions would be better applied in securing a supply of proper water, or in filtering and purifying the water before it enters the boiler. ”

“ It is so very easy, when examining the scene of an explosion, for the first cause of rupture to be confounded with the causes of the subsequent mischief, that in many cases erroneous conclusions have been arrived at in this way. ”

“ In most cases of explosion of this class of boiler the bottom was torn off, owing to the angle iron round it being weakened by the alternate bending backwards and forwards under each variation of pressure, as all the sides and the bottom must be constantly springing when at work. Such was the explosion at Chester in 1822, and many others. This shape was soon improved in its steam generating powers by making the sides concave instead of flat, as shown in Fig. 12., so that the heating surface was greater and also in a better position to receive the heat from the flame in the flues. ”

“ Boilers are still constructed or set in such a manner as to render examination next to impossible; and are continued to be worked without making it the duty of those who mind them, or of any one else, to examine every part at frequent intervals; and hence such explosions have occurred as shown in Fig. 1, No. 12, 1870, in which the original position of the boiler before explosion is indicated by the dotted lines. Pg 64 It is thought by many steam users that all has been done which is possible, if their boilers are the best that can be procured, and are set in the most approved way ”