Fig. 27.
Explosions of plain cylindrical boilers have been very frequent indeed, although they have not caused a proportionate number of deaths, because they work usually in isolated positions at colliery and mine engines. The sketch shown in [Fig. 27], represents an explosion that occurred at Darlaston in 1863, and illustrates the way in which these boilers usually explode. They generally open first at a longitudinal seam over the fire, which has become deteriorated by accumulations of scurf preventing proper contact of the water, so that the plates become overheated, their quality injured, their edges cracked or burnt, and the rivets drawn or loosened. The rent generally continues in the longitudinal direction to the sound seam beyond the bridge at the one end, and at the other end to the seam joining the front end to the shell; and then runs up each of the transverse seams, allowing the rent part of the shell to open out flat on both sides, and liberating both ends of the boiler, which fly off in opposite directions. Of course it is seldom that an explosion is quite so simple as this, as the direction of the flight of the various pieces is so much influenced by the last part that held in contact with the main body of the boiler. The want of due observation of this point has often led to erroneous conclusions.
Fig. 28.
In the explosion shown in [Fig. 28], and in the model exhibited, which occurred at Westbromwich in 1864, the lower part of the side of an upright boiler was blown out; and the liberated part was also divided into two pieces, each of which fell some distance behind the boiler, in an opposite direction to the side from which they came. The explanation of this became obvious on examination, as the cause of the rupture had been the corrosion of the bottom, and the rent had run up the seams until it met the angle iron of the side tubes, round which it ran to the first seam above. This seam acted as a hinge on which the ruptured pieces turned, and they swung round so violently that they were wrenched off, but not before they had pulled the boiler over and received the diverting force which gave them their direction, for they flew off at a tangent, to the circle in which they had swung round on the sound upper seam as upon a hinge.
Fig. 29.
Fig. 30.