The steam engine is an invention of the past with a promising future

Anyone knows that the heart of everyonevehicle is a motor. And most modern cars are powered by internal combustion engines. But all these heaped-up engines are grandchildren or even great-grandchildren of such a unit as a steam engine. It all began with the invention of Thomas Savery. He in 1689 built the first steam unit, which served as a pump. With it, pumped out the water that flooded the mine. The design of this car was quite simple. In this pump, the steam condensed and turned into a small amount of water. This made it possible to create a partial vacuum in it, thanks to which water was sucked from the depth of the shaft.

But Saver’s invention was only the first step inthe long development of steam engines. And even before the second half of the 18th century, only water engines were in use. They were used for production needs, that is, in factories and plants. These were very bulky and expensive devices. In them the mechanical movement was transmitted from the water wheel. For this, we had to build these factories on the banks of rivers, and this was not always convenient. In addition, in order for the water engine to work efficiently, it was necessary to build dams, set up ponds, in short, do a lot of preparatory work. And the power of such units is not always enough for the needs of production. And in the winter or in a drought, they generally “died”. This situation could not last long. And the steam engines at that time became the “engines of progress”.

And Thomas Newcomen made a great contribution to this business,who in 1712 invented the piston pump. This unit was driven by steam. And in the 60s of the 18th century, James Watt perfected the design of this device and created a more efficient steam engine. His invention has found its application in production. With the help of this engine worked machines in the factories of the time. And the first steam turbine appeared at the end of the 19th century, in 1883. It was created by Swede Gustav Laval. And the Englishman Charles Parson got a patent for the invention of a multi-stage jet turbine, which he developed specifically to power an electric generator. And this turbine has become widely used in thermal power plants.

Steam turbines are used now. They turn on power station generators and propellers of large ships. These turbines convert heat energy into rotational motion. And they can work on conventional fuel (fuel oil), and from a nuclear reactor. And the device of the steam engine is slightly different from the device of the turbine. He also works on a pair, which is obtained by heating water. And this steam moves the pistons, which are located in the cylinders. These pistons create reciprocating motion. A special mechanism already converts it into rotational motion. And such piston engines are on steam locomotives.

At one time, the steam engine tried to introduceand in road transport. So in the USSR in the 50s of the last century, they developed a special “omnivorous” model of Victory. This was due to the fact that in the post-war Union there were problems with energy carriers. And the Soviet engineers decided to use a water-tube boiler as a steam generator. Then such a boiler was the most efficient steam engine. With it, it was possible to obtain high heat removal from the working surface, creating pressure up to 170 kg / cm2, and without danger of explosion of this boiler. In these units there were some drawbacks. But the Soviet specialists managed to eliminate them.

And in early 1956 at the pilot plantat scientific research institute 21 prepared the first four such cars. And in the spring of the same year, these cars participated in a comparative rally, the purpose of which is to identify the advantages and disadvantages of these models. Traditional models of Victory also took part in this race. And in the process of testing the steam engine showed itself from the best side. During the rally used fuel of various species. These are oil shale, coal, peat and crude oil. Also, the car worked perfectly on such fuel as fuel oil, kerosene, gasoline, birch firewood, used engine oil and alcohol mixtures. True, the preparation for the launch of such a car took up to 35 minutes. But she had a higher cross in off-road conditions. These tests were very successful, but soon the energy crisis passed and this development did not enter into mass production. And nowadays, when energy is becoming tight again, it may be necessary to revise the attitude towards steam engines.