STEAM ENGINES

Introduction
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A heat engine that uses
steam to perform
mechanical work
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Uses:
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Stationary: rotary motion to
power machinery in places
such as factories
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Transport: Steamboat, steam
locomotive, steam tractor,
steam car, steam shovel, etc.
 History
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first practical steam-powered engine was a water pump
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Thomas Savery 1698
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first commercially successful engine
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Atmospheric engine, Thomas Newcomen 1712
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Paved way for industrial revolution
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Only pumped water, not efficient
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Used to drain mines
 Watts Engine
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James Watt
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75% less coal than
Newcomen’s engine
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Allowed factories to
move away from rivers
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Accelerated the
industrial revolution
 Pressure Steam Engines
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1800 by Richard Trevithick
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Much more powerful
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Relied on high-pressure steam rather than a
vacuum.
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Dominant source of power well into the 20th
century
 Components
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Two major components
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Boiler
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Pressure vessels that contain water to be boiled
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Mechanisms to transfer heat to water
– Water tube boiler
– Fire tube boiler
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Motor
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takes a supply of steam at high pressure and temperature
and gives out a supply of steam at lower pressure and
temperature
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difference in steam energy to do mechanical work.
 How They Work
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Fuel is burned in a firebox
to obtain heat
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Heat is transferred to water
in a pressurized boiler to
produce steam
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Steam is transferred to the
motor unit which drives
pistons or turbines to power
machinery or generators
●
Used, cooler air is
exhausted
 An indicator diagram is a chart used to estimate the
performance of a steam engine. Specifically, an indicator chart
records the pressure of steam versus the volume of steam in a
cylinder, throughout a piston's cycle of motion in a steam
engine. The indicator diagram enables calculation of the work
performed and thus can provide a measure of the power
produced by the engine.