THE CONVERSION OF HEAT ENERGY INTO MECHANICAL MOTION.

How it Works by Archibald Williams is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. THE CONVERSION OF HEAT ENERGY INTO MECHANICAL MOTION.

Chapter II.

THE CONVERSION OF HEAT ENERGY INTO MECHANICAL MOTION.

Reciprocating engines—Double-cylinder engines—The function of the fly-wheel—The cylinder—The slide-valve—The eccentric—"Lap" of the valve: expansion of steam—How the cut-off is managed—Limit of expansive working—Compound engines—Arrangement of expansion engines—Compound locomotives—Reversing gears—"Linking-up"—Piston-valves—Speed governors—Marine-speed governors—The condenser.

HAVING treated at some length the apparatus used for converting water into high-pressure steam, we may pass at once to a consideration of the mechanisms which convert the energy of steam into mechanical motion, or work.

Steam-engines are of two kinds:—(1) reciprocating, employing cylinders and cranks; (2) rotary, called turbines.

RECIPROCATING ENGINES.

Fig. 17 is a skeleton diagram of the simplest form of reciprocating engine. c is a cylinder to which steam is admitted through the steam-ways w w, first on one side of the piston p, then on the other. The pressure on the piston pushes it along the cylinder, and the force is transmitted through the piston rod p r to the connecting rod c r, which causes the crank k to revolve. At the point where the two rods meet there is a "crosshead," h, running to and fro in a guide to prevent the piston rod being broken or bent by the oblique thrusts and pulls which it imparts through c r to the crank k. The latter is keyed to a shaft s carrying the fly-wheel, or, in the case of a locomotive, the driving-wheels. The crank shaft revolves in bearings. The internal diameter of a cylinder is called its bore. The travel of the piston is called its stroke. The distance from the centre of the shaft to the centre of the crank pin is called the crank's throw, which is half of the piston's stroke. An engine of this type is called double-acting, as the piston is pushed alternately backwards and forwards by the steam. When piston rod, connecting rod, and crank lie in a straight line—that is, when the piston is fully out, or fully in—the crank is said to be at a "dead point;" for, were the crank turned to such a position, the admission of steam would not produce motion, since the thrust or pull would be entirely absorbed by the bearings.

DOUBLE-CYLINDER ENGINES.

Fig. 19.

Locomotive, marine, and all other engines which must be started in any position have at least two cylinders, and as many cranks set at an angle to one another. Fig. 19 demonstrates that when one crank, c1, of a double-cylinder engine is at a "dead point," the other, c2, has reached a position at which the piston exerts the maximum of turning power. In Fig. 20 each crank is at 45° with the horizontal, and both pistons are able to do work. The power of one piston is constantly increasing while that of the other is decreasing. If single-action cylinders are used, at least three of these are needed to produce a perpetual turning movement, independently of a fly-wheel.

THE FUNCTION OF THE FLY-WHEEL.

A fly-wheel acts as a reservoir of energy, to carry the crank of a single-cylinder engine past the "dead points." It is useful in all reciprocating engines to produce steady running, as a heavy wheel acts as a drag on the effects of a sudden increase or decrease of steam pressure. In a pump, mangold-slicer, cake-crusher, or chaff-cutter, the fly-wheel helps the operator to pass his dead points—that is, those parts of the circle described by the handle in which he can do little work.

THE CYLINDER.

The cylinders of an engine take the place of the muscular system of the human body. In Fig. 21 we have a cylinder and its slide-valve shown in section. First of all, look at p, the piston. Round it are white grooves, r r, in which rings are fitted to prevent the passage of steam past the piston. The rings are cut through at one point in their circumference, and slightly opened, so that when in position they press all round against the walls of the cylinder. After a little use they "settle down to their work"—that is, wear to a true fit in the cylinder. Each end of the cylinder is closed by a cover, one of which has a boss cast on it, pierced by a hole for the piston rod to work through. To prevent the escape of steam the boss is hollowed out true to accommodate a gland, g1, which is threaded on the rod and screwed up against the boss; the internal space between them being filled with packing. Steam from the boiler enters the steam-chest, and would have access to both sides of the piston simultaneously through the steam-ways, w w, were it not for the

SLIDE-VALVE,

a hollow box open at the bottom, and long enough for its edges to cover both steam-ways at once. Between w w is e, the passage for the exhaust steam to escape by. The edges of the slide-valve are perfectly flat, as is the face over which the valve moves, so that no steam may pass under the edges. In our illustration the piston has just begun to move towards the right. Steam enters by the left steam-way, which the valve is just commencing to uncover. As the piston moves, the valve moves in the same direction until the port is fully uncovered, when it begins to move back again; and just before the piston has finished its stroke the steam-way on the right begins to open. The steam-way on the left is now in communication with the exhaust port e, so that the steam that has done its duty is released and pressed from the cylinder by the piston. Reciprocation is this backward and forward motion of the piston: hence the term "reciprocating" engines. The linear motion of the piston rod is converted into rotatory motion by the connecting rod and crank.

The use of a crank appears to be so obvious a method of producing this conversion that it is interesting to learn that, when James Watt produced his "rotative engine" in 1780 he was unable to use the crank because it had already been patented by one Matthew Wasborough. Watt was not easily daunted, however, and within a twelvemonth had himself patented five other devices for obtaining rotatory motion from a piston rod. Before passing on, it may be mentioned that Watt was the father of the modern—that is, the high-pressure—steam-engine; and that, owing to the imperfection of the existing machinery, the difficulties he had to overcome were enormous. On one occasion he congratulated himself because one of his steam-cylinders was only three-eighths of an inch out of truth in the bore. Nowadays a good firm would reject a cylinder 1⁄500 of an inch out of truth; and in small petrol-engines 1⁄5000 of an inch is sometimes the greatest "limit of error" allowed.

THE ECCENTRIC is used to move the slide-valve to and fro over the steam ports (Fig. 23). It consists of three main parts—the sheave, or circular plate s, mounted on the crank shaft; and the two straps which encircle it, and in which it revolves. To one strap is bolted the "big end" of the eccentric rod, which engages at its other end with the valve rod. The straps are semicircular and held together by strong bolts, b b, passing through lugs, or thickenings at the ends of the semicircles. The sheave has a deep groove all round the edges, in which the straps ride. The "eccentricity" or "throw" of an eccentric is the distance between c2, the centre of the shaft, and c1, the centre of the sheave. The throw must equal half of the distance which the slide-valve has to travel over the steam ports. A tapering steel wedge or key, k, sunk half in the eccentric and half in a slot in the shaft, holds the eccentric steady and prevents it slipping. Some eccentric sheaves are made in two parts, bolted together, so that they may be removed easily without dismounting the shaft.

The eccentric is in principle nothing more than a crank pin so exaggerated as to be larger than the shaft of the crank. Its convenience lies in the fact that it may be mounted at any point on a shaft, whereas a crank can be situated at an end only, if it is not actually a V-shaped bend in the shaft itself—in which case its position is of course permanent.

SETTING OF THE SLIDE-VALVE AND ECCENTRIC.

The subject of valve-setting is so extensive that a full exposition might weary the reader, even if space permitted its inclusion. But inasmuch as the effectiveness of a reciprocating engine depends largely on the nature and arrangement of the valves, we will glance at some of the more elementary principles.

In Fig. 24 we see in section the slide-valve, the ports of the cylinder, and part of the piston. To the right are two lines at right angles—the thicker, c, representing the position of the crank; the thinner, e, that of the eccentric. (The position of an eccentric is denoted diagrammatically by a line drawn from the centre of the crank shaft through the centre of the sheave.) The edges of the valve are in this case only broad enough to just cover the ports—that is, they have no lap. The piston is about to commence its stroke towards the left; and the eccentric, which is set at an angle of 90° in advance of the crank, is about to begin opening the left-hand port. By the time that c has got to the position originally occupied by e, e will be horizontal (Fig. 25)—that is, the eccentric will have finished its stroke towards the left; and while c passes through the next right angle the valve will be closing the left port, which will cease to admit steam when the piston has come to the end of its travel. The operation is repeated on the right-hand side while the piston returns.

It must be noticed here—(1) that steam is admitted at full pressure all through the stroke; (2) that admission begins and ends simultaneously with the stroke. Now, in actual practice it is necessary to admit steam before the piston has ended its travel, so as to cushion the violence of the sudden change of direction of the piston, its rod, and other moving parts. To effect this, the eccentric is set more than 90° in advance—that is, more than what the engineers call square. Fig. 26 shows such an arrangement. The angle between e and e1 is called the angle of advance. Referring to the valve, you will see that it has opened an appreciable amount, though the piston has not yet started on its rightwards journey.

"LAP" OF THE VALVE—EXPANSION OF STEAM.

In the simple form of valve that appears in Fig. 24, the valve faces are just wide enough to cover the steam ports. If the eccentric is not square with the crank, the admission of steam lasts until the very end of the stroke; if set a little in advance—that is, given lead—the steam is cut off before the piston has travelled quite along the cylinder, and readmitted before the back stroke is accomplished. Even with this lead the working is very uneconomical, as the steam goes to the exhaust at practically the same pressure as that at which it entered the cylinder. Its property of expansion has been neglected. But supposing that steam at 100 lbs. pressure were admitted till half-stroke, and then suddenly cut off, the expansive nature of the steam would then continue to push the piston out until the pressure had decreased to 50 lbs. per square inch, at which pressure it would go to the exhaust. Now, observe that all the work done by the steam after the cut-off is so much power saved. The average pressure on the piston is not so high as in the first case; still, from a given volume of 100 lbs. pressure steam we get much more work.

HOW THE CUT-OFF IS MANAGED.

Look at Fig. 27. Here we have a slide-valve, with faces much wider than the steam ports. The parts marked black, p p, are those corresponding to the faces of the valves shown in previous diagrams (p. 54). The shaded parts, l l, are called the lap. By increasing the length of the lap we increase the range of expansive working. Fig. 28 shows the piston full to the left; the valve is just on the point of opening to admit steam behind the piston. The eccentric has a throw equal to the breadth of a port + the lap of the valve. That this must be so is obvious from a consideration of Fig. 27, where the valve is at its central position. Hence the very simple formula:—Travel of valve = 2 × (lap + breadth of port). The path of the eccentric's centre round the centre of the shaft is indicated by the usual dotted line (Fig. 28). You will notice that the "angle of advance," denoted by the arrow a, is now very considerable. By the time that the crank c has assumed the position of the line s, the eccentric has passed its dead point, and the valve begins to travel backwards, eventually returning to the position shown in Fig. 28, and cutting off the steam supply while the piston has still a considerable part of its stroke to make. The steam then begins to work expansively, and continues to do so until the valve assumes the position shown in Fig. 27.

If the valve has to have "lead" to admit steam before the end of the stroke to the other side of the piston, the angle of advance must be increased, and the eccentric centre line would lie on the line e2. Therefore—total angle of advance = angle for lap and angle for lead.

LIMIT OF EXPANSIVE WORKING.

Theoretically, by increasing the lap and cutting off the steam earlier and earlier in the stroke, we should economize our power more and more. But in practice a great difficulty is met with—namely, that as the steam expands its temperature falls. If the cut-off occurs early, say at one-third stroke, the great expansion will reduce the temperature of the metal walls of the cylinder to such an extent, that when the next spirt of steam enters from the other end a considerable proportion of the steam's energy will be lost by cooling. In such a case, the difference in temperature between admitted steam and exhausted steam is too great for economy. Yet we want to utilize as much energy as possible. How are we to do it?

COMPOUND ENGINES.

In the year 1853, John Elder, founder of the shipping firm of Elder and Co., Glasgow, introduced the compound engine for use on ships. The steam, when exhausted from the high-pressure cylinder, passed into another cylinder of equal stroke but larger diameter, where the expansion continued. In modern engines the expansion is extended to three and even four stages, according to the boiler pressure; for it is a rule that the higher the initial pressure is, the larger is the number of stages of expansion consistent with economical working.

In Fig. 29 we have a triple-expansion marine engine. Steam enters the high-pressure cylinder at, say, 200 lbs. per square inch. It exhausts at 75 lbs. into the large pipe 2, and passes to the intermediate cylinder, whence it is exhausted at 25 lbs. or so through pipe 3 to the low-pressure cylinder. Finally, it is ejected at about 8 lbs. per square inch to the condenser, and is suddenly converted into water; an act which produces a vacuum, and diminishes the back-pressure of the exhaust from cylinder c. In fact, the condenser exerts a sucking power on the exhaust side of c's piston.

ARRANGEMENT OF EXPANSION ENGINES.

In the illustration the cranks are set at angles of 120°, or a third of a circle, so that one or other is always at or near the position of maximum turning power. Where only two stages are used the cylinders are often arranged tandem, both pistons having a common piston rod and crank. In order to get a constant turning movement they must be mounted separately, and work cranks set at right angles to one another.

COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVES.

In 1876 Mr. A. Mallet introduced compounding in locomotives; and the practice has been largely adopted. The various types of "compounds" may be classified as follows:—(1) One low-pressure and one high-pressure cylinder; (2) one high-pressure and two low-pressure; (3) one low-pressure and two high-pressure; (4) two high-pressure and two low-pressure. The last class is very widely used in France, America, and Russia, and seems to give the best results. Where only two cylinders are used (and sometimes in the case of three and four), a valve arrangement permits the admission of high-pressure steam to both high and low-pressure cylinders for starting a train, or moving it up heavy grades.

REVERSING GEARS.

The engines of a locomotive or steamship must be reversible—that is, when steam is admitted to the cylinders, the engineer must be able to so direct it through the steam-ways that the cranks may turn in the desired direction. The commonest form of reversing device (invented by George Stephenson) is known as Stephenson's Link Gear. In Fig. 30 we have a diagrammatic presentment of this gear. e1 and e2 are two eccentrics set square with the crank at opposite ends of a diameter. Their rods are connected to the ends of a link, l, which can be raised and lowered by means of levers (not shown). b is a block which can partly revolve on a pin projecting[Pg 64] from the valve rod, working through a guide, g. In Fig. 31 the link is half raised, or in "mid-gear," as drivers say. Eccentric e1 has pushed the lower end of the link fully back; e2 has pulled it fully forward; and since any movement of the one eccentric is counterbalanced by the opposite movement of the other, rotation of the eccentrics would not cause the valve to move at all, and no steam could be admitted to the cylinder.

Let us suppose that Fig. 30 denotes one cylinder, crank, rods, etc., of a locomotive. The crank has come to rest at its half-stroke; the reversing lever is at the mid-gear notch. If the engineer desires to turn his cranks in an anti-clockwise direction, he raises the link, which brings the rod of e1 into line with the valve rod and presses the block backwards till the right-hand port is uncovered (Fig. 31). If steam be now admitted, the piston will be pushed towards the left, and the engine will continue to run in an anti-clockwise direction. If, on the other hand, he wants to run the engine the other way, he would drop the link, bringing the rod of e2 into line with the valve rod, and drawing v forward to uncover the rear port (Fig. 32). In either case the eccentric working the end of the link remote from b has no effect, since it merely causes that end to describe arcs of circles of which b is the centre.

"LINKING UP."

If the link is only partly lowered or raised from the central position it still causes the engine to run accordingly, but the movement of the valve is decreased. When running at high speed the engineer "links up" his reversing gear, causing his valves to cut off early in the stroke, and the steam to work more expansively than it could with the lever at full, or end, gear; so that this device not only renders an engine reversible, but also gives the engineer an absolute command over the expansion ratio of the steam admitted to the cylinder, and furnishes a method of cutting off the steam altogether. In Figs. 30, 31, 32, the valve has no lap and the eccentrics are set square. In actual practice the valve faces would have "lap" and the eccentric "lead" to correspond; but for the sake of simplicity neither is shown.

OTHER GEARS.

In the Gooch gear for reversing locomotives the link does not shift, but the valve rod and its block is raised or lowered. The Allan gear is so arranged that when the link is raised the block is lowered, and vice versâ. These are really only modifications of Stephenson's principle—namely, the employment of two eccentrics set at equal angles to and on opposite sides of the crank. There are three other forms of link-reversing gear, and nearly a dozen types of radial reversing devices; but as we have already described the three most commonly used on locomotives and ships, there is no need to give particulars of these.

Before the introduction of Stephenson's gear a single eccentric was used for each cylinder, and to reverse the engine this eccentric had to be loose on the axle. "A lever and gear worked by a treadle on the footplate controlled the position of the eccentrics. When starting the engine, the driver put the eccentrics out of gear by the treadle; then, by means of a lever he raised the small-ends of the eccentric rods, and, noting the position of the cranks, or, if more convenient, the balance weight in the wheels, he, by means of another handle, moved the valves to open the necessary ports to steam and worked them by hand until the engine was moving; then, with the treadle, he threw the eccentrics over to engage the studs, at the same time dropping the small-ends of the rods to engage pins upon the valve spindles, so that they continued to keep up the movement of the valve." One would imagine that in modern shunting yards such a device would somewhat delay operations!

PISTON VALVES.

In marine engines, and on many locomotives and some stationary engines, the D-valve (shown in Figs. 30–32) is replaced by a piston valve, or circular valve, working up and down in a tubular seating. It may best be described as a rod carrying two pistons which correspond to the faces of a D-valve. Instead of rectangular ports there are openings in the tube in which the piston valve moves, communicating with the steam-ways into the cylinder and with the exhaust pipe. In the case of the D-valve the pressure above it is much greater than that below, and considerable friction arises if the rubbing faces are not kept well lubricated. The piston valve gets over this difficulty, since such steam as may leak past it presses on its circumference at all points equally.

SPEED GOVERNORS.

Practically all engines except locomotives and those known as "donkey-engines"—used on cranes—are fitted with some device for keeping the rotatory speed of the crank constant within very narrow limits. Perhaps you have seen a pair of balls moving round on a seating over the boiler of a threshing-engine. They form part of the "governor," or speed-controller, shown in principle in Fig. 33. A belt driven by a pulley on the crank shaft turns a small pulley, p, at the foot of the governor. This transmits motion through two bevel-wheels, g, to a vertical shaft, from the top of which hang two heavy balls on links, k k. Two more links, l l, connect the balls with a weight, w, which has a deep groove cut round it at the bottom. When the shaft revolves, the balls fly outwards by centrifugal force, and as their velocity increases the quadrilateral figure contained by the four links expands laterally and shortens vertically. The angles between k k and l l become less and less obtuse, and the weight w is drawn upwards, bringing with it the fork c of the rod a, which has ends engaging with the groove. As c rises, the other end of the rod is depressed, and the rod b depresses rod o, which is attached to the spindle operating a sort of shutter in the steam-pipe. Consequently the supply of steam is throttled more and more as the speed increases, until it has been so reduced that the engine slows, and the balls fall, opening the valve again. Fig. 34 shows the valve fully closed. This form of governor was invented by James Watt. A spring is often used instead of a weight, and the governor is arranged horizontally so that it may be driven direct from the crank shaft without the intervention of bevel gearing.

The Hartwell governor employs a link motion. You must here picture the balls raising and lowering the free end of the valve rod, which carries a block moving in a link connected with the eccentric rod. The link is pivoted at the upper end, and the eccentric rod is attached to the lower. When the engine is at rest the end of the valve rod and its block are dropped till in a line with the eccentric rod; but when the machinery begins to work the block is gradually drawn up by the governor, diminishing the movement of the valve, and so shortening the period of steam admission to the cylinder.

Governors are of special importance where the load of an engine is constantly varying, as in the case of a sawmill. A good governor will limit variation of speed within two per cent.—that is, if the engine is set to run at 100 revolutions a minute, it will not allow it to exceed 101 or fall below 99. In very high-speed engines the governing will prevent variation of less than one per cent., even when the load is at one instant full on, and the next taken completely off.

MARINE GOVERNORS.

These must be more quick-acting than those used on engines provided with fly-wheels, which prevent very sudden variations of speed. The screw is light in proportion to the engine power, and when it is suddenly raised from the water by the pitching of the vessel, the engine would race till the screw took the water again, unless some regulating mechanism were provided. Many types of marine governors have been tried. The most successful seems to be one in which water is being constantly forced by a pump driven off the engine shaft into a cylinder controlling a throttle-valve in the main steam-pipe. The water escapes through a leak, which is adjustable. As long as the speed of the engine is normal, the water escapes from the cylinder as fast as it is pumped in, and no movement of the piston results; but when the screw begins to race, the pump overcomes the leak, and the piston is driven out, causing a throttling of the steam supply.

CONDENSERS.

The condenser serves two purposes:—(1) It makes it possible to use the same water over and over again in the boilers. On the sea, where fresh water is not obtainable in large quantities, this is a matter of the greatest importance. (2) It adds to the power of a compound engine by exerting a back pull on the piston of the low-pressure cylinder while the steam is being exhausted.

Fig. 35 is a sectional illustration of a marine condenser. Steam enters the condenser through the large pipe e, and passes among a number of very thin copper tubes, through which sea-water is kept circulating by a pump. The path of the water is shown by the featherless arrows. It comes from the pump through pipe a into the lower part of a large cap covering one end of the condenser and divided transversely by a diaphragm, d. Passing through the pipes, it reaches the cap attached to the other end, and flows back through the upper tubes to the outlet c. This arrangement ensures that, as the steam condenses, it shall meet colder and colder tubes, and finally be turned to water, which passes to the well through the outlet f. In some condensers the positions of steam and water are reversed, steam going through the tubes outside which cold water circulates.

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