Fig. 16.
Fig. 17.
Fig. 18.
A very early improvement in the right direction consisted in making the shell circular; and some few large boilers still exist that were made completely spherical, as show in [Fig. 15.], so that the whole of the iron was exposed to tension only, and required no assistance from stays, and the boiler had no tendency to alter its shape under varying pressure. This shape however had the great disadvantage of possessing the least amount of heating surface for its size or cubic contents; and also it was very liable to injury from sediment on the bottom, which accumulated on the most central spot. The spherical form was therefore soon modified into the shape shown in [Fig. 16], by making the bottom more shallow, although still convex; and afterwards by putting flat or concave sides and a flat or concave bottom, with the angle constructed either of bent plates or angle iron, as in [Fig. 17] and [Fig. 18], which represent the forms known so well in the Staffordshire district as the common Balloon or Haystack boiler. Many of these have been made of very great size, measuring as much as 20 feet diameter, and containing so much water and steam as to be most formidable magazines for explosion. Perhaps no form of boiler has exploded more than this, partly because of the great number that have been used, but chiefly because of the inherent weakness of the shape. The records however have not been obtained of the great majority of these explosions, because they seldom caused sufficient damage or loss of life to attract much attention, as these boilers generally worked in isolated positions at collieries. The bottom is only prevented from blowing down into the fireplace by numerous stays from the top, and the angle iron round the bottom of the sides is much tried by the constant springing of the plates under every alternation of pressure; and the weakness thus occasioned is increased by the angle resting on the brickwork and being exposed to corrosion. The effect of this continued alternation of strain is well shown by the elastic model exhibited.
Fig. 19.
