Shapes the most complicated to suit all tastes in dust chambers can be constructed of concrete. The least suitable design, so far as the construction itself is concerned, is a long, wide, straight-walled, empty chamber, which is apt to collapse, either inwards or outwards, and, although the outward movement can be prevented by a system of light buckstays and tie-rods, the tendency to collapse inwards is not so simply controlled in the absence of transverse baffle walls. The tendency, so far as the collection of mechanical flue dust is concerned, appears to be towards a large empty chamber, without baffles, etc., in which the velocity of the air currents is reduced to a minimum, and the dust allowed to settle. In the absence of transverse baffle walls to counteract the collapsing tendency, it seems best to design the chamber with a number of stout concrete columns at suitable intervals along the side and end walls—the walls themselves being made only a few inches thick with woven-wire screen or “expanded metal” buried within them. The wire skeleton should also be embedded into the columns in order to prevent the separation of wall and the columns. This method of constructing is one that I have followed with very satisfactory results as far as the construction itself is concerned.
Fig. 32.—Concrete Dust Chamber at the Guillermo Smelting Works, Palomares, Spain. (Horizontal section.)
Figs. 32 and 33 show a chamber designed and erected at the Don Guillermo Smelting Works at Palomares, Province of Murcia, Spain. Figs. 34 and 35 show a design for the smelter at Murray Mine, Sudbury, Ontario, in which the columns are hollow, thus economizing concrete material. For work of this kind the columns are built first and the wire netting stretched from column to column and partly buried within them. The crib is then built on each side of the netting, a gang of men working from both sides, and is built up a yard or so at a time as the work progresses. Doors of good size should be provided for entrance into the chamber, and as they will seldom be opened there is no need for expensive fastenings or hinges.
Fig. 33.—Concrete Dust Chamber at the Guillermo Smelting Works, Palomares, Spain. (End elevation.)
Foundations for Dynamos and other Electrical Machinery.—Dry concrete is a poor conductor of electricity, but when wet it becomes a fairly good conductor. Therefore, if it be necessary to insulate the electrical apparatus, the concrete should be covered with a layer of asphalt.
Fig. 34.—Concrete Dust Chamber designed for smelter at Murray Mine, Sudbury, Ontario, Can. There are eight 9 ft. sections in the plan.