XIAJING GENGHONG W. LI

QINGSONG TANGSIYU WU

How do Steam Locomotives work?

Engines perform energy conversion

Machines require engines to provide power in order to function, and engines perform such task by converting energy into purposeful mechanical motions.

What is a steam engine?

Steam engine is a type of external combustion engine, burning fuel to create heat, which then creates motion from heat.

By using steam to pump water out of mines, Thomas Saver invented the world’s first steam engine during the Industrial Revolution in the late 17th century.

Origination and Development of Steam Engines

Through adaptations and modifications of many hands, James Watt, now known as the father of modern steam engines, invented the “double-acting” engine, which managed to double the outputs of a high-pressure steam engine by harvesting energy from both sides of the piston.

How Watt’s design greatly improved engine efficiencies contributed hugely to the developments of the modern transportation industry, making inventions such as the steam trains and vessels possible.

Putting Steam Engines onto the railroad

There was a number of engineers who attempted to construct steam locomotives for railroads, but the heavy weights of the engines on their prototypes made their designs unfit for travelling on the wooden tracks that were previously designed for horse-drawn railways.

First Steam Locomotive

The first functioning steam locomotive, the Blucher, was made by the British inventor, George Stephenson, in 1814.

The Blucher was able to haul thirty tons of coal in eight wagons at a speed of four miles per hour.

Structures of a steam locomotive

The major structures of a steam locomotive are mounted on the Chassis (body framework), including the followings: Boiler Steam Circuit Running Gear

The Boiler

The cylindrical fire tube boiler is the most common type of boiler.

Fuel burnt in a firebox to produce hot combustion gas

Gases directed along fire tubes to reach the water tank

Water heats up and generates steamSteam rises and reaches the domeDome controls exit of steam

Safety Features

Pressure Gauge to monitor pressures inside the boiler

Safety valve can be triggered to release pressure, prevent the boiler from bursting

The Steam Circuit and the Running Gear

Steam is distributed via pipes and valves to the engine pistons

Piston cylinders receive strokes of steam injections to generate wheel revolutions

Exhaust steam directed towards the chimney and released into the air

Implications

As the old pressure gauge required human efforts to monitor, accidents happened frequently due to the workers not paying attention.

The steam engine required frequent water pumps to generate steam, and had to make frequent stops to refill the water.

As technologies develop, alternative energy sources are found to be more efficient than coal, and are adapted.

Bibliography

http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/steamtrains/index.shtml

http://www.heritagerailways.com/http://www.5at.co.uk/http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/http://

railroad.lindahall.org/essays/locomotives.html