1S40.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



273 



philosophers) has said of the author of Waverley, whom he speaks of 

 as " des zur mode geworden Vietsclimienrs, iind diistern Schotteii 

 Walter Scott," and t'khchnierer, be it observed, is a far strongerterm 

 of reproach than our English "Scribbler." Poor Sir Walter! a hun- 

 dred volumes are, in fact, somewhat too heavy a cargo for an author 

 to venture himself with upon the stream of time, for as Voltaire re- 

 marks " ou ne va point k la posterite avec tant de bagage." 



SUTCLIFFE'S PATENT ROTATORY PUMP AND GENERAL 



LEWIS. 



Sir — The following is a description of Sutclilie's pump with the 

 result of an experiment on the discharging power of one now at work 

 at the Limerick Docks, where it is found far superior to the chain and 

 sucking pumps before in use. From the facility with which it can be 

 applied in all those cases where inunps arc recpiired, and not being 

 subject to get out of repair or choaked, it promises to be soon very 

 generalh' used, not only in hydraulic works, but also in the navy, and 

 those cases where the common pump was before used for household 

 purposes. The patentee has been almost constantly connected with 

 the execution of extensive works, as superintendant under Sir Thomas 

 Deane and Company, and his attention was directed to the subject by 

 the frequency of repairs required for the pumps usually employed in 

 clearing out water from foundations and dams, their great friction, and 

 the unequal flow of water from tliem ; and I am informed that his in- 

 vention has received the approval of Mr. Rhodes the engineer, and 

 Sir Thomas Deane and Company, the contractors for the Limerick 

 Docks. 



In this pump a vacuum is formed by the revolution of an elliptical 

 frame within a cylinder, when the water rising it is carried round in 

 the lunar space between the ellipse and circle shown on section and 

 discharged. 



Fig. \. 



FiK 





In tlie annexed figures, fig. 1 is a side elevation, fig. 2 an end eleva- 

 tion, fig. 3 a vertical section along the length, and fig. 4 a vertical sec- 

 tion across the width of the pump, and the same letters refer to the 

 same parts in each figure ; .r, ,i', the axis by the rotation of which the 

 elliptical frame f, e, e, e, is carried round in the direction indicated by 

 the arrow /, in fig. 3; c, c, c, c, the cylinder in which e, e, e, e, moves 

 both, having the common axis .r, .v ; /,/, a jacket forming with the ex- 

 terior of the cylinder a passage for the rising water from the pipe p ; 

 /, and /', fig. 3, two extreme positions of a tongue whidi hinders the 

 water bro\ight round in the lunes from m, of escaping again at the 

 same place, and which keeps touching the surface of the ellipse in its 

 revolution; b, b, b, b, a box into which the water is received and dis- 

 charged through the discharging pipe d, and when d is closed, forces 

 the water by the reaction of the air above through (lie forcing pipe p'. 

 When the pump is to be used, water is thrown in from above, which 

 renders the contact between the elliptical valve or frame and the cylin- 

 der water tight; after a few revolutions the air is exhausted, and the 

 water rising is carried into 6, h, b, 6, and discharged hy d or p' as before 

 described. It is evident the discharge wiU depend conjointly on the 

 velocity and sectional area of the water passing from the jacket into 

 the lunes, and the area of the lunes and the velocity vi'ith which they 

 are formed, or carried round. When the velocity and sectional area at 

 m is suflicient to fill a hme in the time of half a revolution, a maximum 

 eti'ect is produced, and the discharge is found ; when the velocity at 

 m is sufficient to fill the lunes, by multiplying the velocity of the lunes 

 by twice their area of one. Tlie foregoing figures are ilrawn from a 

 pump of this construction now at work, and are laid down on a scale 

 of 5-Stlis of an inch to the foot, but the handles and fly are not shown. 

 Four men discharge 12S gallons through a mean lift of 8 feet G inches 

 in 30 seconds, two men working at each handle, and the fly being 

 about 4 feet G inches in diameter. It should not be forgot that the 

 facility this construction of pump affords for the application of a fly 

 wheel, affords one tho\igh not the first of its recommendations. The 

 water issues in one regular and continued stream from the discharging 

 pipe, chips and clay attached to them when passed into the pump, 

 getting through without injuring the motion or apparently taking from 

 the discharge. 



Fig. 1. 



Fig. 2. 



Fig. 3. 



Fig. 3. 



Fig. i. 



The following are sketches of a lewis invented by the same ingenious 

 person,one of which construction is now used in setting the heavy facing 

 to the quays of the before-mentioned docks ; some of the stones are 3a 

 tons in weight. Fig. 1, front elevation; fig. 2, side elevation; and 

 fig. 3, a plan with half the upper ring removed. The same letters 

 refer to the same parts in each, 6 a ring as in the common lewis; a, a, 

 a collar turning on the axis ; d and d, and c, c, two pieces inserted into 

 the collar when the lewis is to be used, and also into the mortice, m,m, 

 in the stone to be set. When the lewis is drawn up, the collar a, a, 

 presses against the outside sloping shoulders of e, c, and causes both 

 pieces to approach at top and separate at bottom, thereby pressing 

 the pieces against the cheeks 7n, and m of the mortice, by means of 

 which pressure the stone rises with the lewis. The upper portions of 

 c and c, are perforated to admit a line being tied to them, and by 

 giving this line, when the stone is set, a few smart pulls in the di- 

 rection e e, the piece c is easily drawn up through the collar a, a, or 

 sufEciently to set the lewis at liberty. This lewis has a great advan- 

 tage over'those in ordinary use, as it is more simple in its construction, 

 and general in its application, than any I have yet seen ; it will set at 

 all depths of water with equal ease, and when the stone is set, can 

 speedily be drawn up again. The collar cr, a, and the construction of 

 the pieces e and e, form the distinctive marks between this and the 

 common lewis. It is similar in its manner of acting to the " Devil's 

 Nippers," but is more extensive in its application. By placing the 

 lewis hole over the centre of gravity of a stone, the stone can be let 

 down to its place with its bed liorizontal. 



Your's, obediently, 



John Neville, C. E. 



Limerick, June 1340. 



