Power systems utilizing steam also have the benefit of combustion external to the power prime mover. These so called "external combustion engines" differ from gas turbines or diesel combustion where the working fluid (providing power to a turbine or piston) is also directly involved in the combustion. The obvious advantage of external combustion engines is enormous fuel flexibility. All varieties of biomass, waste fuels, MSW, and industrial byproducts can be burned in incinerators or waste fuel boilers to make steam. This includes industries like forest products, where opportunity fuels and the need for steam create ideal conditions. .
Another form of waste which is often used to make steam is waste heat. As in the case of waste fuels, unusable heat from combustion or from cooling operations can be captured in boilers/heat exchangers designed for that purpose, in some cases utilizing more than 50% of the otherwise discarded energy. Finally, it is important to note the role of steam in combined cycle power plants. Combustion systems and gas turbines discharge heat at very high temperatures. This high temperature heat exhaust results in poor to modest heat engine performance. If that heat is used to make steam which is then used in a power cycle, the resultant discharge of heat takes place at a much lower temperature, increasing the efficiency of the combined power cycle. This principle appears in the design of nearly all new combined cycle power plants which can achieved thermal efficiencies greater than 50% without cogeneration (even higher with it!).
The question then turns to the prime mover. With high pressure, high temperature steam, one has really to choose between stream turbines or reciprocating or rotary engines. Their historical sequence is very well known with reciprocating steam engines being presented as indicating the beginning of the industrial revolution followed by the more efficient steam turbine some time later.
The steam engine found its first mentionable use in 1776. ... "The steam powered railroad changed geography and history. ... These paving machines used the steam engine to power heavy rollers and their traction engines. ... Much of this credit must be given to the steam engine. ... The steam engine changed the map of the world. ...
With the completion of the railroads the steam engine dominated in the United States. ... As said in Kendra Bolon's article "The Steam Engine", "nothing in society today can be examined without finding a trace of the steam engine's importance". ... This growth was a result of the steam engine, which dominated the railroads. ... The steam engine powered the Industrial Revolution, which marked a turning point in America's history. ... Thus making the steam engine the most important invention in American history....
First was the Steam engine, invented to power early vehicles including the first true automobile by Nicolas Joseph Cugnot of France in 1769. ... First, again was the steam engine, a device that converted the energy in steam to mechanical energy. Many forms of transportation were once a direct result from the steam engine including locomotives and steamships. Also, the Industrial Revolution occurred primarily because of the steam engine. ... The invention of the internal combustion engine was a very important turning point in American history. ...
These engines are classified as reciprocating or rotary engines. ... Other types of combustion engines are reaction engines and gas turbine engines. ... (Internal Combustion Engines) The history of the internal combustion engine goes back three hundred and twenty years. ... Papin soon found it more logical to use the blast to condense steam in the cylinder, which led to the high power steam engines in the future. ... The engine had a single cylinder, double-acting horizontal steam engine, and it had two power strokes per revolution. ...
Whitney's cotton gin, the telegraph, the sewing machine and most importantly Watt's Steam Engine transformed the world and set the blueprint for today's technological revolution. ... With the creation of assembly lines, new communication methods, and the efficient and practical utilization of steam power, America progressed like no other time in history. ... I habitually draw designs and schematics for various electronics and machines such as miniature steam engines and build them with recycled and repurposed materials. ... The contraption of which I am most proud of is a miniat...
Frustrated at many errors he found while examining calculations for the Royal Astronomical Society, he declared, "I wish to God these calculations had been performed by steam!" ... It was powered by steam and large as a locomotive. ... After working on the Difference Engine for ten years, Babbage was suddenly inspired to begin work on the first general-purpose computer, which he called the Analytical Engine. ... One of the few people who understood the Engine's design as well as Babbage, she helped revise plans, secure funding from the British government, and tell the specifics of the A...
The history of Caterpillar started in a way that most businesses do; there was a great demand for this type of machinery. At the turn of the century, farmers in California faced the problem of using steam engines to plow the land of the San Joaquin valley. The problem aroused when the huge tires of the steam engine machines sank deeply into the soil putting a halt to the plowing. In 1904, this problem was solved when Benjamin Holt replaced the heavy steam engine with a gasoline engine, which led to more mobility as well. ... They were the first to introduce the diesel engine on a moving ve...
The story of "The Little Steam Engine- which is found in The Book Of Virtues is a good example of perseverance. The little steam engine was faced with a problem. ... The other steam engines kept refusing to help him. ... Now because of his determination, he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of our country. ... WORKS CITED "The Little Steam Engine."" ...