390 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[October, 



Toy lias cstablislied :i model of liis system at his factory for iron pipes ; this 

 specimen is of 100 metres (328 feel), in length, and many trials have already 

 taken place in the presenci' of engineers, who have pronounced the idea of 

 M. Chameroy to he very simple and very ingenious. At this time, when the 

 jevenue of the state is to be partly employed to di termine which is the most 

 practicable and best system of atmospheric motion, it is necessary that every 

 inventor should exhibit his own ideas, and that the ideas of all the inventors 

 should be examined and discussed seriously and conscientiously. — Monitetir 

 Jndustriel. Trans. Mining Journal. 



THE NEW METHOD OF EVAPORATION OF M. ADOR. 

 Report ly Messrs. Armengaud, Civil Engineers. 

 Having been ordered by Messrs. Ador and Bidault to prove the results of 

 ■which the nevf system for distilling fuel was capable, when applied to the 

 evaporation of water, and which is the patented invention of M. Ador, we 

 repaired to the foundry of Madame Jamraetel, where the apparatus was fixed 

 np, and which we were enaliled to examine minutely, ibis apparatus of M. 

 Ador is composed of a cylindrical boiler of copper, 3 feet 4 J inches diameter, 

 and 6 feet 6 inches in length, and inclosed in a brick furnace, from the end 

 of which it projects 16 inches, or thereabouts. Under this boiler, in front of 

 the furnace, is a cast-iron retort of a form nearly elliptical, having an internal 

 length of .") feet 6 inches, and an extreme diameter of 21 inches, and a mini- 

 mum of 104 inches. This retort is for the distillation of coal, and was heated 

 by means of coke placed on a grating underneath. On the side, and in the 

 same furnace, were two pneumatic heating tubes of 5 feet G inches in length, 

 and of 9i inches internal diameter, constructed of cast-iron plates of about a 

 fifth of an inch in tliickness, which are to receive the condensed air by two 

 piston pumps, working rectilinear and alternating, each being of the follow- 

 ing dimensions :— Internal diameter, 12J inches; the course, 9J inches. 

 The diameter of the pipe which conducts the condensed air of the two pumps 

 with the lieating tubes was IJinch in one part of its length, and an inch 

 near the tubes. These tulies, as well as the retort, communicate with the 

 interior of the boiler. The view, therefore, of this invention of M, Ador, is 

 to effect the evaporation of water by the combustion of gases resulting from 

 the distillation of coal, and brought'in contact with a current of hot air, and 

 then to utilise these gases and heated air as an additional motive power to 

 that of the steam from the engendered water. The apparatus works in the 

 following manner : — The retort is charged with coal, as is done iu the or- 

 dinary gas machinery, to about three parts of its capacity. The boiler is 

 filled with water to the ordinary level, according to tlie work which is to be 

 performed, when the fire is placed on the grating, this heat is continued until 

 the retort arrives at a temperature sufficiently red hot for inflaming the gas hy a 

 light, and its combustion Ijv a current of air. At this moment pumping is 

 commenced and the air sent into the tubes, in the interior of which it heats 

 itself, so as, ou going out, it inflames the gases in the interior of tlie boiler. 

 The result of this conibustion is, that the water is heated, and soon gets into 

 an ebullition. Therefore, if we collect the steam which is disengaged, as 

 well as the gases and the heated air which combine with it. there is obtained 

 a motive power so disposable as to be used like ordinary steam. We must 

 remark here, that as in this operation the gases are entirely burnt, and the 

 coke consumed in the grating, there ought to be no smoke from the chimney, 

 and this was proved in the most decided manner. After having made our- 

 selves perfectly acquainted witli the nature of M. Ador's apparatus, and its 

 operation, we proceeded to work in the following manner: — The appa- 

 ratus having been worked overnight, we caused the retort to be perfectly 

 emptied, as well as the grating underneath, when we placed in the retort 

 about 132 lb. of coal. We filled the boiler with a cubic metre (34 cubic 

 feet), or 1000 litres (220 gallons), of water, and as the furnace was still hot, 

 we observed that the temperature of this water was at the beginning of the 

 operation 122° F.; we also weighed out 88 lb. of coke, so as successively to 

 charge the grating. After this, we caused the retort to be heated, and placed 

 the fire on the grating at 5 ruin, before three o'clock. Up to i p. 3, the fire 

 remained very inactive; at 33 luin. p. 4 the gas was inflamed, hy opening 

 the cock of a small escape tube placed in the Interior of the furrrace, and 

 used for the purpose of knowing the degree of distillation at which we ar- 

 rived, but it did not burn without some dithculty, and it was not until \ p. 5 

 that the gas was found to burn iir arr efficient manner by a continuous current 

 of air ; at this time the pumps were nut going, for which purpose two men 

 were placed at each extremity of the beam which moved the pimips, when 

 we perceived that the water of the boiler bad preserved its primitive tempe- 

 rature of 122° F., and that there had been no portion of heat used to heat 

 the water of the boiler, whilst the temperature of the products of the com- 

 bubtion was 248° F. The pumps were kept going, and the grating was 

 charged until a i to 7 o'clock, at which time the steam from the water com- 

 menced forming At a ^ to 8 we fouird 6 gallons of water evaporated, and 

 at ten minutes past eight 12 gallons ; as the boiler was open at tbi; top, this 

 steam disengaged itself with the gas and the hot ail'. The 88 lb. of coke 

 weighed at the commencement of the experiment was consumed, and the 

 grating was charged with a new supply of coke, when we continued going 

 till ten o'clock, after some short intervals of stoppage, between eight and ten 

 o'clock, for slight repairs. At the above hour the experiment ceased, when 



the total quantity of water evaporated was found to be 32 gallons, and the 

 addition to the coke on the grate was 27i lb. On the next day, the 14th, 

 we opened the retort from which we took 99 lb. of coke, so that 33 lb. had 

 been converted into gas, and served for the evaporation of 32 gallons of 

 water. Wc drew out from under the grating 26 lb. of waste, containing 

 18 lb. of cinders. On this quantity we might have employed again 16J lb., 

 so that the total quantity of coke consumed on the grating was 99 lb. 



The above report which originally appeared in the Monitmr Industriel, 

 and translated into the Mining Journal, is followed by a digest of the opera- 

 tion, and concludes by observing that by the ordinary boiler and burning of 

 coal, that the effect woiUd give less than 2 horse power, and that by M. 

 Ador's improved method the effect produced is equal to 4 horses, from 

 which is to be deducted the motive power of four men for working the 

 pumps, which the reporters consider is equal to i a horse power, leaving a 

 power 35 horses, and even admitting other losses they say that by Ador's 

 system there is a saving of from 40 to 45 per cent. 



We are disposed to dispute this reasoning, but we do not consider it neces- 

 sary to enter into the calculation of horse power, but simply to compare 

 Ador's improved method of evaporating with that of the ordinary method of 

 heating a boiler ; according to the above report there were 99 Ih. of coke 

 consumed on heating the retort, and very singularly there were 99 lb. of coke 

 taken out of the retort at the conclusion of the experiment, consequently the 

 quantity of coal, 132 lb., that was put into the retort is the actual expense of 

 evaporating 32 gallons, or 5 J cubic feet, of water, now according to Watt's 

 data, 132 lb. of coal ought to evaporate (»f =) 16^ cubic feet of water, being 

 three times as much as by Ador's method, and if we refer to I'ambour's ex- 

 periments, it will be found that a locomotive boiler consumed on an average 

 lO.i lb. of coke, and in some cases as low as 7-1 lb., for evaporating a cubic 

 foot of water, at the present time this will be found nearer the average, and 

 we have no doubt that many of our marine boilers do not consume more than 

 Watt's allowance of 8 lb. per cubic foot. It will thus be seen that instead of 

 Ador's system of evaporating being an extraordinary saving it will be an ex- 

 traordinary dear one — when we take into consideration the expense of working 

 the pumps. — Ed. C. E. 4' A. Journal. 



ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORIES, 



As it may frequently be of use to engineers in different parts of the 

 country to ascertain the nearest observatory, we have given the fol- 

 lowing table, showing the latitudes, longitudes, and names of the ob- 

 servers, of the principal public and private observatories in England, 

 Scotland and Ireland. The longitude is given in minutes and seconds, 

 showing, when marked thus + tlie time is faster than Greenwich, and 

 thus — the time is slower than Greenwich. It will be recollected 

 that 1° is equal to a difference of four minutes in time, so that it will 

 be easy to reduce the longitudes from time to degrees when required. 

 Thus, to find the distance of Dublin in degrees, convert the time into 

 seconds, 4' X 60 = 240", and 25' 22" = 25 X 60 + 22 = 1522", 

 then W^ = 6-342^ 



Lat. Nortli. Long. 



Aberdeen— Marischal College 57° 8' 57-8" +0h 8' 22-78" 



Armagh— Rev. Dr. Robinson 54 21 12-7 +0 26 35-5 



Bedford— Capt. Smvtb, R. N. 52 8 27-6 +0 1 51-97 



Blackheath— Hon. J. Wrottesley 51 28 2 -0 2-7 



Uushev Heath— Colonel Beaufoy 51 37 44-3 +0 1 2093 



Cambriilge— Professor ChaUis 52 12 51-8 -0 ?3-84 



Uubhn— Sir W. Hamilton 53 23 13 +0 25 22 



Durham— Professor Chevallier 54 46 14-9 +0 6 18 



Edinburgh— Professor Henderson 55 57 23-2 +0 12 43-6 



Greenwich— Professor Airy 51 28 39 



Makerstoun — Sir Thomas Brisbane 55 34 45 +0 10 4 



Ormskirk— Rev. W. R. Dawes 53 34 18 +0 11 36 



Oxford— Professor Johnson 51 45 40 +0 5 1-5 



Portsmouth 50 48 3 +0 4 23-9 



Regent's Park— G. Bishop, Esq. 51 31 30 +00 37-1 



Slough— Sir J. F. W. Herschel 51 30 20 +0 2 24 



South KUworth— Rev. W. Pearson 52 25 51 +0 4 26 



Necbologv. — Leperc, the architect of the Church of St. Vincent de Paule, 

 at Paris, in which work he had Hittorf for an associate, died July 18, at the 

 advanced age of eighty-two. Beyond this we have not been able to ascer- 

 tain the slightest particitlars relative to him, for on turning to the " Kunstler 

 Lexicon" of the accurate and pains-taking Nagler (see ante, p. 204), all that 

 we could lind there was that there is not a syllabic about him, notwithstand- 

 ing that it contains such an innumerable quantity of names which have either 

 been long ago utterly forgotten, or have never been heard of at all. 



Carlo Paginini, professor of architecture of Milan, died also very lately ; 

 and he, we find, is one of Naglcr's very numerous absentees. Neither do we 

 learn anytliing at all respecting him from the publication which mentions his 

 death, — not even a single date or anything whatever to assist in research. 



