Harnessing Steam: Powering America through the Industrial Revolution We live in a society exclusively dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology. -Carl Sagan
The water-tube boiler uses a water source to pump water through a series of tubes in a chamber. The space outside the tubes contains a fire. The hot environment heats the tubes, and therefore heats the water to a boiling point. The tubes in a water-tube boiler are filled with water, which is heated into super- heated steam. A water-tube boiler was usually heated from a combustion chamber, which includes a fire and air and fuel intake. Water-tube Boiler
The fire-tube boiler has the same general idea as the water-tube boiler, as it utilizes tubing and isolated heat sources. However, the materials are flipped. Instead of water a hot gas is pumped through the tubes, and the outlying space is filled with water. Heated Gas (smoke, heated air) In a fire-tube boiler, a fire is built in the compartment leading to the tubes. In a fire-tube boiler, the compartment outside the tube is filled with water, which is heated by the fire tubes. Fire-tube Boiler
Motion of the Steam Engine
Let’s slow it down a bit…
Motion of the Steam Engine Let’s slow it down a bit…
Motion of the Steam Engine Let’s slow it down a bit…
Motion of the Steam Engine Let’s slow it down a bit…
Motion of the Steam Engine Let’s slow it down a bit…
Flywheel The flywheel is used to transfer the energy generated by the engine into other forms of movement. The flywheel is connected to the piston by a connecting rod that uses the forward and backward motion of the piston to turn a wheel. The motion of the wheel turning is transferred to other machines by use of belts.
The three main components I detailed in my presentation work together to initiate the advanced processes required to convert thermal energy to mechanical energy. The boiler creates the super-heated steam required to power the main motor, while the main motor drives the flywheel.