CHAPTER IV

STEAM ENGINE ECONOMY

Under the general heading of steam engine economy, such items as cylinder condensation, steam consumption, efficiency, ratio of expansion, under- and over-loading, condensing, etc., are treated.

The principal waste of steam in the operation of an engine is due to condensation during the first part of the stroke. This condensation is due to the fact that during expansion and exhaust the cylinder walls and head and the piston are in contact with comparatively cool steam, and, therefore, give up a considerable amount of heat. When fresh steam is admitted at a high temperature, it immediately gives up sufficient heat to raise the cylinder walls to a temperature approximating that of the entering steam. This results in the condensation of a certain amount of steam, the quantity depending upon the time allowed for the transfer of heat, the area of exposed surface, and the temperature of the cylinder walls. During the period of expansion the temperature falls rapidly, and the steam being wet, absorbs a large amount of heat. After the exhaust valve opens, the drop in pressure allows the moisture that has collected on the cylinder walls to evaporate into steam, so that during the exhaust period but little heat is transferred. With the admission of fresh steam at boiler pressure, a mist is condensed on the cylinder walls, which greatly increases the rapidity with which heat is absorbed.

The amount of heat lost through cylinder condensation is best shown by a practical illustration. One horsepower is equal to 33,000 foot-pounds of work per minute, or 33,000 x 60 = 1,980,000 foot-pounds per hour. This is equivalent to 1,980,000 / 778 = 2,550 heat units. The latent heat of steam at 90 pounds gage pressure is 881 heat units. Hence, 2,250 / 881 = 2.9 pounds of steam at 90 pounds pressure is required per horsepower, provided there is no loss of steam, and all of the contained heat is changed into useful work. As a matter of fact, from 30 to 35 pounds of steam are required in the average simple non-condensing high-speed engine.

There are three remedies which are used to reduce the amount of cylinder condensation. The first to be used was called steam jacketing, and consisted in surrounding the cylinder with a layer of high-pressure steam, the idea being to keep the inner walls up to a temperature nearly equal to that of the incoming steam. This arrangement is but little used at the present time, owing both to the expense of operation and to its ineffectiveness as compared with other methods.

The second remedy is the use of superheated steam. It has been stated that the transfer of heat takes place much more rapidly when the interior surfaces are covered with a coating of moisture or mist. Superheated steam has a temperature considerably above the point of saturation at the given pressure; hence, it is possible to cool it a certain amount before condensation begins. This has the effect of reducing the transfer of heat for a short period following admission, and this is the time that condensation takes place most rapidly under ordinary conditions with saturated steam. This, in fact, is the principal advantage derived from the use of superheated steam, although it is also lighter for a given volume, and therefore, a less weight of steam is required, to fill the cylinder up to the point of cut-off. The economical degree of superheating is considered to be that which will prevent the condensation of any steam on the walls of the cylinder up to the point of cut-off, thus keeping them at all times free from moisture. The objections to superheated steam are its cutting effect in the passages through which it flows, and the difficulty experienced in lubricating the valves and cylinder at such a high temperature. The third and most effective remedy for condensation losses is that known as compounding, which will be treated under a separate heading in the following.

Multiple Expansion Engines

It has been explained that cylinder condensation is due principally to the change in temperature of the interior surfaces of the cylinder, caused by the variation in temperature of the steam at initial and exhaust pressures. Therefore, if the temperature range be divided between two cylinders which are operated in series, the steam condensed in the first or high pressure cylinder will be re-evaporated and passed into the low-pressure cylinder as steam, where it will again be condensed and re-evaporated as it passes into the exhaust pipe. Theoretically, this should reduce the condensation loss by one-half, and if three cylinders are used, the loss should be only one-third of that in a simple engine. In actual practice the saving is not as great as this, but with the proper relation between the cylinders, these results are approximated.

Engines in which expansion takes place in two stages are called compound engines. When three stages are employed, they are called triple expansion engines. Compounding adds to the first cost of an engine, and also to the friction, so that in determining the most economical number of cylinders to employ, the actual relation between the condensation loss and the increased cost of the engine and the friction loss, must be considered. In the case of power plant work, it is now the practice to use compound engines for the large sizes, while triple expansion engines are more commonly employed in pumping stations. Many designs of multiple expansion engines are provided with chambers between the cylinders, called receivers. In engines of this type the exhaust is frequently reheated in the receivers by means of brass coils containing live steam. In the case of a cross-compound engine, a receiver is always used. In the tandem design it is often omitted, the piping between the two cylinders being made to answer the purpose.

The ratio of cylinder volumes in compound engines varies with different makers. The usual practice is to make the volume of the low-pressure cylinder from 2.5 to 3 times that of the high-pressure. The total ratio of expansion in a multiple expansion engine is the product of the ratios in each cylinder. For example, if the ratio of expansion is 4 in each cylinder in a compound engine, the total ratio will be 4 x 4 = 16. The effect of a triple-expansion engine is sometimes obtained in a measure by making the volume of the low-pressure cylinder of a compound engine 6 or 7 times that of the high-pressure. This arrangement produces a considerable drop in pressure at the end of the high-pressure stroke, with the result of throwing a considerable increase of work on the high-pressure cylinder without increasing its ratio of expansion, and at the same time securing a large total ratio of expansion in the engine.

In the case of vertical engines, the low-pressure cylinder is sometimes divided into two parts in order to reduce the size of cylinder and piston. In this arrangement a receiver of larger size than usual is employed, and the low-pressure cranks are often set at an angle with each other.

Another advantage gained by compounding is the possibility to expand the steam to a greater extent than can be done in a single cylinder engine, thus utilizing, as useful work, a greater proportion of the heat contained in the steam. This also makes it possible to employ higher initial pressures, in which there is a still further saving, because of the comparatively small amount of fuel required to raise the pressure from that of the common practice of 80 or 90 pounds for simple engines, to 120 to 140 pounds, which is entirely practical in the case of compound engines. With triple expansion, initial pressures of 180 pounds or more may be used to advantage. The gain from compounding may amount to about 15 per cent over simple condensing engines, taking steam at the same initial pressure. When compound condensing engines are compared with simple non-condensing engines, the gain in economy may run from 30 to 40 per cent.

TABLE IV. STEAM CONSUMPTION OF ENGINES

+-------------------------+--------------------------------+ | | Pounds of Steam per Indicated | | | Horsepower per Hour | | Kind of Engine +----------------+---------------+ | | Non-condensing | Condensing | +-------------------------+----------------+---------------+ | { High-speed | 32 | 24 | | Simple { Medium-speed | 30 | 23 | | { Corliss | 28 | 22 | | | | | | { High-speed | 26 | 20 | | Compound { Medium-speed | 25 | 19 | | { Corliss | 24 | 18 | +-------------------------+----------------+---------------+

Steam Consumption and Ratio of Expansion

The steam consumption is commonly called the _water rate_, and is expressed in pounds of dry steam required per indicated horsepower per hour. This quantity varies widely in different types of engines, and also in engines of the same kind working under different conditions. The water rate depends upon the "cylinder losses," which are due principally to condensation, although the effects of clearance, radiation from cylinder and steam chest, and leakage around valves and piston, form a part of the total loss. Table IV gives the average water rate of different types of engines working at full load.

The most economical ratio of expansion depends largely upon the type of the engine. In the case of simple engines, the ratio is limited to 4 or 5 on account of excessive cylinder condensation in case of larger ratios. This limits the initial pressure to an average of about 90 pounds for engines of this type. In the case of compound engines, a ratio of from 8 to 10 is commonly employed to advantage, while with triple-expansion engines, ratios of 12 to 15 are found to give good results.

The _thermal efficiency_ of an engine is the ratio of the heat transformed into work to the total heat supplied to the engine. In order to determine this, the _absolute_ temperature of the steam at admission and exhaust pressures must be known. These pressures can be measured by a gage, and the corresponding temperatures taken from a steam table, or better, the temperatures can be measured direct by a thermometer. The absolute temperature is obtained by adding 461 to the reading in degrees Fahrenheit (F.). The formula for thermal efficiency is:

_T__{1} - _T__{2} ----------------- _T__{1}

in which

_T__{1} = absolute temperature of steam at initial pressure. _T__{2} = absolute temperature of steam at exhaust pressure.

_Example_:--The temperature of the steam admitted to the cylinder of an engine is 340 degrees F., and that of the exhaust steam 220 degrees F. What is the thermal efficiency of the engine?

(340 + 461) - (220 + 461) Thermal efficiency = ------------------------- = 0.15 (340 + 461)

The _mechanical efficiency_ is the ratio of the delivered or brake horsepower to the indicated horsepower, and is represented by the equation:

B. H. P. Mechanical efficiency = -------- I. H. P.

in which B. H. P. = brake horsepower, I. H. P. = indicated horsepower.

All engines are designed to give the best economy at a certain developed indicated horsepower called full load. There must, of course, be more or less fluctuation in the load under practical working conditions, especially in certain cases, such as electric railway and rolling mill work. The losses, however, within a certain range on either side of the normal load, are not great in a well designed engine. The effect of increasing the load is to raise the initial pressure or lengthen the cut-off, depending upon the type of governor. This, in turn, raises the terminal pressure at the end of expansion, and allows the exhaust to escape at a higher temperature than before, thus lowering the thermal efficiency.

The effect of reducing the load is to lower the mean effective pressure. (See Figs. 38 and 39.) This, in throttling engines, is due to a reduction of initial pressure, and in the automatic engine to a shortening of the cut-off. The result in each case is an increase in cylinder condensation, and as the load becomes lighter, the friction of the engine itself becomes a more important part of the total indicated horsepower; that is, as the load becomes lighter, the mechanical efficiency is reduced.

Effect of Condensing

So far as the design of the engine itself it concerned, there is no difference between a condensing and a non-condensing engine. The only difference is that in the first case the exhaust pipe from the engine is connected with a condenser instead of discharging into the atmosphere.

A condenser is a device for condensing the exhaust steam as fast as it comes from the engine, thus forming a partial vacuum and reducing the back pressure. The attaching of a condenser to an engine may be made to produce two results, as shown by the work diagrams illustrated in Figs. 40 and 41. In the first case the full line represents the diagram of the engine when running non-condensing, and the area of the diagram gives a measure of the work done. The effect of adding a condenser is to reduce the back pressure on an average of 10 to 12 pounds per square inch, which is equivalent to adding the same amount to the mean effective pressure. The effect of this on the diagram, when the cut-off remains the same, is shown by the dotted line in Fig. 40. The power of the engine per stroke is increased by an amount represented by the area enclosed by the dotted line and the bottom of the original diagram. Assuming the reduction in back pressure to be 10 pounds, which is often exceeded in the best practice, the gain in power by running condensing will be proportional to the increase in mean effective pressure under these conditions. For example, if the mean effective pressure is 40 pounds when running non-condensing, it will be increased to 40 + 10 = 50 pounds when running condensing, that is, it is 50/40 = 1.25 times as great as before. Therefore, if the engine develops 100 I. H. P. under the first condition, its final power will be increased to 100 x 1.25 = 125 I. H. P. under the second condition.

Fig. 41 shows the effect of adding a condenser and shortening the cut-off to keep the area of the diagram the same as before. The result in this case is a reduction in the quantity of steam required to develop the same indicated horsepower. The theoretical gain in economy under these conditions will run from about 28 to 30 per cent for simple, and from 20 to 22 per cent for compound engines. The actual gain will depend upon the cost and operation of the condenser which varies greatly in different localities.