Subject: Steam!



------------------------------------------------------------------
(3547)   Tue 23 Jul 91 11:00                             
By: Tom Keller
To: Don Kulha

------------------------------------------------------------------
*STEAM*   I am an absolute *FANATIC* about STEAM!!!!!!  (Well, OK, 
maybe I'm just highly enthusiastic, but really, you know?)
 
   As for the Tesla Bladeless Turbine, I suspect that it would not 
run well on anything but steam, and (just possibly) compressed air. 
 I know we used to use a large air compressor to turn over the 
2500BPH triple-expansion, dual reciprocating steam power plant 
about the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien when we aere servicing her. 
 
   Did you know that *EVERYTHING* about a Liberty Ship was steam 
driven?  There were in excess of 40 steam enginers aboard a 
Liberty!  This included the main enginer, the electrical generators 
(3, each with it's own single cylinder steam plant), the cargo 
winches, the steering mechanism (yes, a steam powered, 4 cylinder 
servomechanism!), water pumps, air pumps, you name it!
 
   Pretty neat.   
 
   Steam is a clean, simple technology (of course, the cleanliness 
of it depends on the source of heat).   Steam is reliable, 
efficient and *FUN*.  It is also tricky, and can be *EXTREMELY* 
dangerous!
 
    For example, a boiler with a 1000 gallon water capacity, 
operating at 150 pounds of pressure, is one INCREDIBLE bomb!  
Consider that when steaming, there are 145.25 cu. ft. of water at 
approximately 275 degrees F.  Should anything breach the boiler 
shell and release the pressure, that water will flash into steam in 
something like 1.5 milliseconds, and will rather suddenly occupy 
*1800 TIMES* it's initial volume, or some 261,458 cu ft.!!!!!!   
That's 9683.6 cu yards!  Steam explosions are, to say the least, 
spectacular!
 
    For this reason, water-tube, as opposed to fire-tube boilers 
are much safer.  In the event of a leak, the boiler is 
self-quenching.  Moreover, there is less metal surface exposed to a 
dangerous combination of high temperature *AND* high pressures.  
While a water-tube boiler can still explode, it is much less 
likely, and generally somewhat less violent (water tube boilers 
hold less water per pound of steam per hour capacity).
 
    Then again, you just haven't *LIVED* until you've had to 
re-pack a steam throttle valve while there's 100 PSIG of live steam 
flowing through the line!
 
Tom 'Steam is Grand!' Keller,
Steam Enthusiast!

--- ConfMail V3.31
 * Origin: Sonoma Online RFE, Fido V12T/HST/V.32 (707)545-0746 
(1:125/7)
: 125/7 151/1000 1003 223