Why is steam so powerful?
The water is still nearby, but it’s now in a gaseous form called steam. This form of water is also called water vapor, and it’s very powerful stuff. This is because steam has a lot of energy. This is because as you continue to add more heat, more water molecules turn to vapor, and then you’re not heating them anymore!
How efficient is a steam engine?
Steam engines and turbines operate on the Rankine cycle which has a maximum Carnot efficiency of 63% for practical engines, with steam turbine power plants able to achieve efficiency in the mid 40% range.
Will steam engines make a comeback?
Instead of making improvements in the existing steam technology, engineers were more attracted towards its replacement by diesel or electric traction. However, with the help of the scientific advancements in the past, the steam industry can be revived today and operate at its full potential.
Why are steam engines inefficient?
Steam engines are extremely inefficient, wasting around 80–90 percent of all the energy they produce from coal. That means they have to burn enormous amounts of coal to produce useful amounts of power. It’s inefficient because energy is wasted as the heat and steam travel from the fire, via the boiler, to the cylinder.
Why are steam engines more efficient?
Steam engines The hotter the steam and the colder the air, the more efficient is the steam engine at converting heat into work. In a typical steam engine a piston moves back and forth inside a cylinder. Hot, high-pressure steam is produced in a boiler, and this steam enters the cylinder through a valve.
What was the most efficient steam engine?
The four-cylinder “Argentina” is the most efficient steam locomotive ever built.
Do steam engines recycle water?
It differs from the usual closed cycle condensing steam engine, in that the function of the condenser is primarily either to recover water, or to avoid excessive emissions to the atmosphere, rather than maintaining a vacuum to improve both efficiency and power.
How far can a steam engine go on a tank of water?
250 miles
Are steam engines still used today?
Some old steam engines are still used in certain areas of the world and in antique locomotives. However, steam power is still heavily used around the world in various applications. Many modern electrical plants use steam generated by burning coal to produce electricity.
How much power can a steam engine produce?
These cover the power range of 10–1800 kW and operate with engine speeds of 750, 1000 or 1500 rpm. Engines may be selected having steam temperatures of up to 380°C and steam pressures of up to 150 bar. These engines are usually applied where there is a simultaneous need for power and heat.
Are steam engines more powerful?
“Steam locomotives are some of the most powerful engines ever made,” said Jamie Ryan, who has worked in many capacities for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Durango, Colo. Not long after these engines were made, diesels came along. If you’re running a railroad, diesels make a whole lot more sense.
How much horsepower does a steam train make?
The horsepower range of other steam locomotives falls anywhere from less than 1,000 horsepower, to 7,000 horsepower or more, but again, once we got past the 4–4–0 “American” locomotive that was the mainstay of the early to mid 1800’s, steam locomotives were specifically designed for different classes of service.
Why do steam engines produce so much torque?
As you know, high pressure steam is admitted to the engine cylinder and it is this pressure working against the piston that causes it to move. Therefore, a steam engine can produce great torque, at low efficiency or much less torque at higher efficiency.
Do steam engines have a lot of torque?
A steam loco torque varies considerably based on cylinder bore and stroke, driver diameter and steam pressure. Certainly a Big Boy locomotive with massive steam pressure (300 psi) and cylinders has a lot of torque, whereas a Northern with 80-inch drivers doesn’t – it’s a speed machine.
How much torque does a steam car have?
With a low hum, the car’s steam engine briskly pushed the vehicle forward with 1,000 foot-pounds of torque, smoothly accelerating the car and its four passengers to forty miles per hour in just just 12.5 seconds.
How many cars can a steam locomotive pull?
One unit can easily pull 100 cars on the flat if you only want it to go 10-12 mph. Put it on a 2% grade and a 3000 hp unit can only pull about 6-8 cars at about 15 mph. Western RRs usually rate their trains in Horsepower/ton. Hotshots get about 4 HP/T.
What is the longest train on record?
The world’s longest and heaviest train operated on June 21, 2001, between Newman and Port Headland in Western Australia. The train operated 170 miles (274 km) with 682 loaded iron ore cars. The train weighed 99,734 tons and measured 4.57 miles (7.35 km) in length.
How long is a train with 100 cars?
5,200 feet
How much could a steam locomotive pull?
That totals 27 MILLION pounds of weight pulled (or 14,000 tons). Depending on the type of locomotive, steepness of the grade of track, and sharpness of the curve in the railroad track, a loco may pull more or less weight.
How fast can a steam train go?
The fastest steam locomotive was the A4 ‘Mallard’ 4-6-2 and could reach 125 or 126 mph. According to the 1997 Guinness Book of World Records, the French TGV had the highest average speed from one station to the next of 253 kph (157 mph). This includes the time needed for the train to accelerator and to stop.
When was the last steam train used?
11 August 1968
How many cars can a train pull legally?
18,061 feet–but there’s no legal limit on freight train length in the U.S. Average 70-car freight hauling 3000 tons. 295 cars with 618 piggy-backed shipping containers hauling 15,500 tons. Up to four locomotives grouped at head of train.
How many cars could a big boy pull?
On a . 82% grade, the engines were cleared to haul 5,360 tons (4,863 t). Theoretically, the Big Boy could pull a train 5.5 miles (8.9 km) long on flat ground from a standing start. In practice, the engine routinely pulled over 100 cars.
How long is a 1000 car train?
“To be honest with you, there are a couple of design issues and challenges about the train,” production designer Barry Robison tells SYFY WIRE. “The train cars are no wider than 12 feet and our longest car was 60 feet long, but for the most part, they were 40 feet long.
Why do trains have backwards engines?
Making all that commerce move down the track are train locomotives. But some of the locomotives face backwards as they move down the tracks, seeming to one 2News viewer that they are being inefficiently dragged down the tracks. Thus, the direction of the locomotive makes no difference to efficiency or safety.