Modern world causes many inventors to return again to the idea of using a steam plant in vehicles intended for movement. There are multiple options available for cars. power units working for a couple.
piston motor
Modern steam engines can be divided into several groups:
Structurally, the installation includes:
- starting device;
- two-cylinder power block;
- steam generator in a special container, equipped with a coil.
The process is as follows. After the ignition is switched on, power is supplied from the battery of the three engines. From the first, a blower is put into operation, pumping air masses through the radiator and transferring them through air channels to a mixing device with a burner.
At the same time, another electric motor activates the fuel transfer pump, which supplies condensate masses from the tank through the serpentine device of the heating element to the body of the water separator and the heater located in the economizer to the steam generator.
Before starting the steam, there is no way to get to the cylinders, since the throttle valve or spool, which are driven by rocker mechanics, block the path. By turning the handles in the direction necessary for movement, and slightly opening the valve, the mechanic sets the steam mechanism into operation.
The spent vapors are fed through a single collector to a distribution valve, in which they are divided into a pair of unequal shares. A smaller part enters the nozzle of the mixing burner, mixes with the air mass, and ignites from the candle. The emerging flame begins to heat the container. After that, the combustion product passes into the water separator, condensation occurs, flowing into a special water tank. The rest of the gas goes out.
The steam plant can be directly connected to the drive unit of the machine's transmission, and the machine starts to move when it starts working. But in order to increase efficiency, experts recommend using clutch mechanics. This is convenient for towing work and various inspection activities.
The device is characterized by the ability to work practically without restrictions, overloads are possible, there is a wide range of power indicators adjustment. It should be added that during any stop the steam engine stops working, which cannot be said about the engine.
In the design, there is no need to install a gearbox, starter device, air filter, carburetor, turbocharger. In addition, the ignition system is in a simplified version, there is only one candle.
In conclusion, we can add that the production of such machines and their operation will be cheaper than cars with an engine. internal combustion, since the fuel will be inexpensive, the materials used in production will be the cheapest.
In the mind of most people in the age of smartphones, steam-powered cars are something archaic that brings a smile. The steam pages of the history of the automotive industry were very bright and it is hard to imagine without them. modern transport at all. No matter how hard skeptics from lawmaking, as well as oil lobbyists, different countries limit the development of the car for a couple, they succeeded only for a while. After all, the steam car is like the Sphinx. The idea of a car for a couple (i.e., on an external combustion engine) is relevant to this day.
In the mind of most people in the age of smartphones, steam-powered cars are something archaic that brings a smile.
So in 1865 in England they introduced a ban on the movement of high-speed self-propelled carriages on steam. They were forbidden to move faster than 3 km / h around the city and not to release puffs of steam, so as not to frighten the horses harnessed to ordinary carriages. The most serious and tangible blow to steam trucks already in 1933 was the law on the tax on heavy vehicles. And only in 1934, when duties on the import of petroleum products were reduced, did the victory of gasoline and diesel engines over steam.
Only in England could they afford to scoff at progress in such an elegant and cold-blooded way. In the USA, France, Italy, the environment of inventors-enthusiasts literally seethed with ideas, and the steam car acquired new shapes and characteristics. Although the English inventors made a significant contribution to the development steam motor transport, laws and prejudices of the authorities did not allow them to fully participate in the fight with the ICE. But let's talk about everything in order.
Prehistoric reference
History of development steam car is inextricably linked with the history of the emergence and improvement of the steam engine. When in the 1st century A.D. e. Heron of Alexandria proposed his idea of making steam rotate a metal ball, his idea was treated as nothing more than fun. Whether other ideas were more exciting for the inventors, but the first to put the steam boiler on wheels was the monk Ferdinand Verbst. In 1672. His "toy" was also treated as fun. But the next forty years were not in vain for the history of the steam engine.
Isaac Newton's project of a self-propelled carriage (1680), the fire apparatus of the mechanic Thomas Savery (1698) and the atmospheric apparatus of Thomas Newcomen (1712) demonstrated the enormous potential of using steam to do mechanical work. At first, steam engines pumped out water from mines and lifted loads, but by the middle of the 18th century, such enterprises in England steam plants there were already several hundred.
What is a steam engine? How can steam move wheels? The principle of the steam engine is simple. Water is heated in a closed tank to a state of steam. Steam is discharged through tubes into a closed cylinder and squeezes out the piston. Through the intermediate connecting rod forward movement transferred to the flywheel shaft.
This circuit diagram operation of the steam boiler in practice had significant shortcomings.
The first portion of steam burst out in clubs, and the cooled piston, under its own weight, went down for the next cycle. This schematic diagram of the operation of a steam boiler in practice had significant drawbacks. The absence of a steam pressure control system often led to a boiler explosion. It took a lot of time and fuel to bring the boiler to working condition. Constant refueling and the gigantic size of the steam plant only increased the list of its shortcomings.
The new machine was proposed by James Watt in 1765. He directed the steam squeezed out by the piston into an additional condensation chamber and eliminated the need to constantly add water to the boiler. Finally, in 1784, he solved the problem of how to redistribute the movement of steam so that it pushes the piston in both directions. Thanks to the spool he created, the steam engine could work without interruption between cycles. This principle heat engine double action and formed the basis of most steam technology.
over creation steam engines many smart people worked. After all, this is a simple and cheap way to get energy from almost nothing.
A small digression into the history of steam-powered cars
However, no matter how grandiose were the successes of the British in the region, the first to put the steam engine on wheels was the Frenchman Nicolas Joseph Cugno.
Cugno's first steam car
His car appeared on the roads in 1765. The speed of the stroller was a record - 9.5 km / h. In it, the inventor provided four seats for passengers who could be rolled with the breeze at an average speed of 3.5 km / h. This success seemed to the inventor not enough.
The need to stop for refueling with water and kindling a new fire every kilometer of the way was not a significant disadvantage, but only the level of technology of that time.
He decided to invent a tractor for guns. So a three-wheeled wagon with a massive cauldron in front was born. The need to stop for refueling with water and kindling a new fire every kilometer of the way was not a significant disadvantage, but only the level of technology of that time.
The next Cugno model of the 1770 model weighed about one and a half tons. The new cart could transport about two tons of cargo at a speed of 7 km / h.
Maestro Cugno was more interested in the idea of creating a high-pressure steam engine. He was not even embarrassed by the fact that the boiler could explode. It was Cugno who came up with the idea of placing the firebox under the boiler and carrying the “bonfire” with him. In addition, his "cart" can rightly be called the first truck. The resignation of the patron and a series of revolutions did not allow the master to develop the model to a full-fledged truck.
Self-taught Oliver Evans and his amphibian
The idea of creating steam engines was of universal proportions. In the North American states, inventor Oliver Evans created about fifty steam plants based on Watt's machine. Trying to reduce the dimensions of James Watt's installation, he designed steam engines for flour mills. However, Oliver Evans gained worldwide fame for his amphibious steam car. In 1789, his first automobile in the United States successfully passed land and water tests.
On his amphibian, which can be called the prototype of all-terrain vehicles, Evans installed a machine with a steam pressure of ten atmospheres!
The nine-meter car-boat had a weight of about 15 tons. The steam engine powered rear wheels And propeller screw. By the way, Oliver Evans was also a supporter of the creation of a high-pressure steam engine. On his amphibian, which can be called the prototype of all-terrain vehicles, Evans installed a machine with a steam pressure of ten atmospheres!
If the inventors of the 18th and 19th centuries had the technology of the 21st century at their fingertips, can you imagine how much technology they would come up with!? And what technology!
XX century and 204 km / h on the steam car Stanley
Yes! The 18th century gave a powerful impetus to the development of steam transport. Numerous and varied designs of self-propelled steam wagons were increasingly diluted horse-drawn transport on the roads of Europe and America. By the beginning of the 20th century, steam-powered cars had spread significantly and became a familiar symbol of their time. As is the photograph.
The 18th century gave a powerful impetus to the development of steam transport
It was their photographic company that the Stanley brothers sold when, in 1897, they decided to get serious about production. steam cars in USA. They created well-selling steam cars. But this was not enough for them to satisfy their ambitious plans. After all, they were just one of many such automakers. So it was until they designed their "rocket".
It was their photographic company that the Stanley brothers sold when, in 1897, they decided to seriously engage in the production of steam cars in the United States.
Sure Stanley cars had the glory reliable car. The steam unit was located at the back, and the boiler was heated using torches of gasoline or kerosene. Flywheel of a steam two-cylinder double-acting motor rotation on rear axle through chain transmission. There were no cases of boiler explosions at Stanley Steamer. But they needed a splash.
Of course, Stanley cars had the reputation of a reliable car.
With their "rocket" they made a splash all over the world. 205.4 km/h in 1906! No one has gone so fast! A car with an internal combustion engine broke this record only 5 years later. Plywood steam "Rocket" Stanley defined the shape racing cars for many years to come. But after 1917, Stanley Steamer took the competition harder and harder. cheap Ford T and retired.
Doble brothers' unique steam cars
This famous family managed to provide decent resistance to gasoline engines right up to the beginning of the 30s of the XX century. They didn't build cars for records. The brothers truly loved their steam cars. Otherwise, how else to explain the honeycomb radiator invented by them and the ignition button? Their models were not like small locomotives.
The brothers Abner and John revolutionized steam transport.
The brothers Abner and John revolutionized steam transport. To get moving, his car did not need to warm up for 10–20 minutes. The ignition button pumped kerosene from the carburetor into the combustion chamber. He got there after lighting with a glow plug. The water heated up in a matter of seconds, and after a minute and a half steam created required pressure and you could go.
The exhaust steam was sent to the radiator for condensation and preparation for subsequent cycles. Therefore, for a smooth run of 2000 km, Doble cars needed only ninety liters of water in the system and several liters of kerosene. Nobody could offer such profitability! Perhaps it was at the Detroit Auto Show in 1917 that Stanley met the Doble brothers' model and began to wind down their production.
Model E became the most luxury car the second half of the 20s and the latest version of the Doble steam car. leather interior, polished elements of wood and elephant bone delighted wealthy owners inside the car. In such a cabin, one could enjoy mileage at speeds up to 160 km / h. Only 25 seconds separated the moment of ignition from the moment of launch. It took another 10 seconds for a car weighing 1.2 tons to accelerate to 120 km / h!
All these high-speed qualities were incorporated in a four-cylinder engine. Two pistons were pushed out by steam under high pressure at 140 atmospheres, and the other two sent cooled steam low pressure into a honeycomb condenser-radiator. But in the first half of the 30s, these beauties of the Doble brothers ceased to be produced.
Steam trucks
However, one should not forget that steam traction developed rapidly in freight transport. It was in the cities that steam cars caused snobs to become allergic. But the goods must be delivered in any weather and not only in the city. A intercity buses and military hardware? There small cars you won't get off.
Freight transport has one significant advantage over passenger cars - these are its dimensions.
Freight transport has one significant advantage over passenger cars - these are its dimensions. They allow you to place powerful power plants anywhere in the car. Moreover, it will only increase the carrying capacity and throughput. And what the truck will look like is not always paid attention to.
Among steam trucks I would like to highlight the English Sentinel and the Soviet NAMI. Of course, there were many others, such as Foden, Fowler, Yorkshire. But it was Sentinel and NAMI that turned out to be the most tenacious and were produced until the end of the 50s of the last century. They could run on any solid fuel - coal, wood, peat. The "omnivorousness" of these steam trucks put them out of the influence of oil prices, and also allowed them to be used in hard-to-reach places.
Workaholic Santinel with an English accent
These two trucks differ not only in the country of manufacture. The principles of the location of the steam generators were also different. Sentinels are characterized by the upper and lower arrangement of steam engines relative to the boiler. At the top location, the steam generator supplied hot steam directly to the engine chamber, which was connected to the bridges by a system cardan shafts. With the lower location of the steam engine, i.e., on the chassis, the boiler heated the water and supplied steam to the engine through the pipes, which guaranteed temperature losses.
Sentinels are characterized by the upper and lower arrangement of steam engines relative to the boiler.
The presence of a chain transmission from the flywheel of a steam engine to cardans was typical for both types. This allowed the designers to unify the production of Sentinels depending on the customer. For hot countries such as India, they issued steam trucks with a lower, separated arrangement of the boiler and engine. For countries with cold winters - with the upper, combined type.
For hot countries such as India, steam trucks were produced with a lower, separated arrangement of the boiler and engine.
Many proven technologies were used on these trucks. Spools and steam distribution valves, single and double acting motors, high or low pressure, with or without gearbox. However, this did not extend the life of the English steam trucks. Although they were produced until the end of the 50s of the XX century and even served in the military before and during the 2nd World War, they were still bulky and somewhat resembled steam locomotives. And since there were no interested persons in their cardinal modernization, their fate was sealed.
Although they were produced until the end of the 50s of the XX century and even served in the military before and during the 2nd World War, they were still bulky and somewhat resembled steam locomotives.
To whom what, and to us - US
To lift the war-ravaged economy Soviet Union, it was necessary to find a way not to waste oil resources, at least in hard-to-reach places - in the north of the country and in Siberia. Soviet engineers were given the opportunity to study the design of the Sentinel with an overhead four-cylinder direct-acting steam engine and develop their own "answer to Chamberlain".
In the 30s, Russian institutes and design bureaus made repeated attempts to create an alternative truck for the timber industry.
In the 30s, Russian institutes and design bureaus made repeated attempts to create an alternative truck for the timber industry. But each time the case stopped at the testing stage. Using their own experience and the opportunity to study captured steam vehicles, the engineers managed to convince the country's leadership of the need for such a steam truck. Moreover, gasoline cost 24 times more than coal. And with the cost of firewood in the taiga, you can generally not mention it.
A group of designers led by Yu. Shebalin simplified the steam unit as a whole as much as possible. They combined a four-cylinder engine and a boiler into one unit and placed it between the body and the cab. We put this installation on the chassis of the serial YaAZ (MAZ) -200. The work of steam and its condensation were combined in a closed cycle. The supply of wood ingots from the bunker was carried out automatically.
This is how NAMI-012 was born, or rather on the off-road forest. Obviously, the principle of bunker supply of solid fuel and the location of the steam engine on truck was borrowed from the practice of gas generators.
The fate of the owner of the forests - NAMI-012
Characteristics of steam domestic flatbed truck and timber carrier NAMI-012 were such
- Load capacity - 6 tons
- Speed - 45 km / h
- Range without refueling - 80 km, if it was possible to renew the water supply, then 150 km
- Torque at low speeds - 240 kgm, which was almost 5 times higher than the base YaAZ-200
- A natural circulation boiler created a pressure of 25 atmospheres and brought steam to a temperature of 420 ° C
- It was possible to replenish water supplies directly from the reservoir through ejectors
- The all-metal cab did not have a hood and was pushed forward
- The speed was controlled by the amount of steam in the engine using a feed/cutoff lever. With its help, the cylinders were filled by 25/40/75%.
- One reverse gear and three foot control.
Serious disadvantages of a steam truck were the consumption of 400 kg of firewood per 100 km of track and the need to get rid of water in the boiler in cold weather.
Serious shortcomings of the steam truck were the consumption of 400 kg of firewood per 100 km of track and the need to get rid of water in the boiler in cold weather. But the main disadvantage that was present in the first sample was poor patency in an unloaded state. Then it turned out that the front axle was overloaded with the cabin and the steam unit, compared to the rear. We coped with this task by installing a modernized steam power plant on the all-wheel drive YaAZ-214. Now the power of the NAMI-018 timber carrier has been increased to 125 horsepower.
But, not having time to spread throughout the country, steam generator trucks were all disposed of in the second half of the 50s of the last century.
But, not having time to spread throughout the country, steam generator trucks were all disposed of in the second half of the 50s of the last century. However, together with gas generators. Because the cost of converting cars, the economic effect and ease of operation were laborious and questionable, compared with gasoline and diesel trucks. Moreover, by this time oil production was already being established in the Soviet Union.
Fast and affordable modern steam car
Do not think that the idea of a steam-powered car is forgotten forever. Now there is a significant increase in interest in engines that are alternative to internal combustion engines on gasoline and diesel fuel. The world's oil reserves are not unlimited. Yes, and the cost of petroleum products is constantly increasing. The designers tried so hard to improve the internal combustion engine that their ideas almost reached their limit.
Electric cars, hydrogen cars, gas generators and steam cars have become hot topics again. Hello, forgotten 19th century!
Now there is a significant increase in interest in engines that are alternative to internal combustion engines on gasoline and diesel fuel.
A British engineer (England again!) demonstrated the new possibilities of a steam engine. He created his Inspuration not only to demonstrate the relevance of steam-powered cars. His brainchild is made for records. 274 km / h - this is the speed that is accelerated by twelve boilers installed on a 7.6 meter car. Only 40 liters of water is enough for liquefied gas to bring the steam temperature to 400 ° C in just an instant. Just think, it took 103 years for history to break the speed record for a steam-powered car set by the Rocket!
In a modern steam generator, you can use powdered coal or other cheap fuels, such as fuel oil, liquefied gas. That is why steam cars have always been and will be popular.
But in order for an environmentally friendly future to come, it is again necessary to overcome the resistance of oil lobbyists.
An article with this title was published in the journal "Inventor and Rationalizer" No. 7, 1967. It said that if the steam engine had not been consigned to oblivion, but continued to improve, then today it would be out of competition.
Despite the rapid development of the automotive industry and bringing the internal combustion engine (ICE) to seeming perfection, the topic of the steam engine still appears again and again in various publications, trying to attract public attention. What caused it?
First of all, despite its serious shortcomings, the steam engine has very good advantages that no other engine known to mankind has. This is the ultimate design simplicity, reliability, durability, low cost, environmental friendliness, noiselessness, high efficiency and much more. Even the great Einstein said that: “Perfection is not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” In a steam engine, everything is so functional that there really is nothing to take away from it. Modern internal combustion engine on the contrary, it is so "stuffed" with numerous additions and auxiliary mechanisms and appliances that it seems there is nothing more to add.
But all these are insignificant trifles, in comparison with the fact that traffic fumes are detrimental to all life on our planet. When cars were a luxury and not every person could afford to buy one, then there were still few cars and they could not bring significant harm, either to people or wildlife. Today the situation has changed. A car has long ceased to be a luxury (although there are very expensive and exclusive models) and is indeed necessary means movement, quite affordable for many people of average, and even not very average income. This has led to the fact that the number of cars is increasing every year more and more, and hence the harm to everything around, from exhaust gases, increases many times. This is especially noticeable in large cities and on busy highways. Environmentalists are sounding the alarm, all life is dying from the exhaust gases of a huge mass of cars, buildings are being destroyed, the road surface is deteriorating, clouds of poisonous fog are hanging in the air.
Some automotive companies are actively working to solve this problem and are trying to create an environmentally friendly clean car, or at least reduce the damage caused by the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines. However, all these attempts are ineffective. Meanwhile, the use of the steam engine on modern cars, in its modern interpretation, would allow solving the problem of ecology in full and in a relatively short time.
Back in the eighties of the last century, in one of the issues of the Youth Technique magazine, an article “Steam Again” was published, which also considered the prospect of using a steam engine in road transport. This article mentioned a German inventor who redesigned his Volkswagen Beetle with a steam engine. 
It turned out unique car with amazing technical specifications. Instead of a traditional, bulky steam boiler, the inventor installed a compact device that resembles a car radiator. The Volkswagen gasoline engine was redesigned, some parts were strengthened. To produce steam, liquid fuel injectors. Ignition was carried out using glow plugs. It took 5-7 minutes to warm up and achieve a working steam pressure of 70 atmospheres. Engine power was 40 hp, became 240 hp. The car could start off so smoothly that it was impossible to determine the moment of the start of movement, or it could “Jump” so sharply that the rubber on the wheels could not stand it. At full forward speed, the driver could easily switch the steam lever to full reverse. A professional test driver for new cars, after driving a steam-powered Volkswagen, wrote an enthusiastic review in which he claimed that he had given a characteristic to many cars; smooth running, silent, torquey, and so on, but only after driving a steam car, I truly appreciated these qualities.
There are not so many examples of creating home-made steam cars by craftsmen, but even today there are still adherents of a steam car that is unique in its properties, and the author of this article is one of them. What attracts us to the forgotten steam engine? First of all, its extreme simplicity and reliability. One Englishman drove a steam car for 40 years and, during all this time, never once looked into the engine. Who from modern drivers can boast the same? In addition, and this is very important today, a steam engine can run on almost any, the cheapest fuel and, at the same time, does not harm the environment, since the fuel burns in a special furnace, burns completely, and there is no harmful waste. Why are internal combustion engine exhaust fumes harmful? environment? Because the fuel does not burn completely and, together with the gases, fuel residues are thrown into the air in a sprayed, aerosol state. These fatty micro-particles of oil settle on the lungs of people and all living things, on pavement, on plants. on houses, and on everything around, covering with a dense, oily film, which destroys all living things.
At one time, steam engines were abandoned in favor of an internal combustion engine because, for all its shortcomings, the internal combustion engine was much more compact, and this was very important, and it was for road transport, because steam locomotives were used for a long time on railways, and steamboats too. The bulky steam boilers were to blame.
Modern technology makes it easy to eliminate the old shortcomings of the steam engine and create a compact, economical, simple and reliable engine that can easily replace the complex and expensive internal combustion engine. For example, a former steam boiler can be replaced with a compact heat exchanger, the size of a car radiator. The fuel can be low grade liquid fuels or gas. We all know that steam locomotives emit a rather loud "puff" during movement, accompanied by the release of clubs of hot steam. This disadvantage is also easily eliminated. It is useful to send the exhaust steam to heat the water supply, in water tanks, which will significantly save fuel consumption, and at the same time even out the steam pulsation, ensuring a more uniform jet exit, which will significantly reduce noise.
STEAM ROTARY ENGINE and STEAM AXIAL PISTON ENGINE
The rotary steam engine (rotary type steam engine) is a unique power machine, the development of production of which has not yet received due development.
On the one hand, various designs of rotary engines existed in the last third of the 19th century and even worked well, including for driving dynamos to generate electrical energy and supply all kinds of objects. But the quality and accuracy of manufacturing such steam engines (steam engines) was very primitive, so they had low efficiency and low power. Since then, small steam engines have become a thing of the past, but along with really inefficient and unpromising reciprocating steam engines, rotary steam engines that have good prospects have also become a thing of the past.
The main reason is that at the level of technology of the late 19th century, it was not possible to make a really high-quality, powerful and durable rotary engine.
Therefore, out of the whole variety of steam engines and steam engines, only steam turbines huge power (from 20 MW and above), on which today about 75% of electricity generation in our country is carried out. More steam turbines high power provide energy from nuclear reactors in combat missile-carrying submarines and on large Arctic icebreakers. But that's all huge machines. Steam turbines dramatically lose all their efficiency when they are reduced in size.
…. That is why power steam engines and steam engines with power below 2000 - 1500 kW (2 - 1.5 MW), which would effectively operate on steam obtained from the combustion of cheap solid fuel and various free combustible waste, are not now in the world.
It is in this field of technology that is empty today (and absolutely bare, but in great need of a commercial niche), in this market niche of low-power power machines, steam rotary engines can and should take their very worthy place. And the need for them only in our country is tens and tens of thousands ... Especially small and medium-sized power machines for autonomous power generation and independent power supply are needed by small and medium-sized enterprises in areas remote from large cities and large power plants: - at small sawmills, remote mines, in field camps and forest plots, etc., etc.
…..
..
Let's take a look at the factors that make rotary steam engines better than their closest relatives, steam engines in the form of reciprocating steam engines and steam turbines.
…
— 1)
Rotary engines are power machines of volumetric expansion - like piston engines. Those. they have a low steam consumption per unit of power, because steam is supplied to their working cavities from time to time, and in strictly metered portions, and not in a constant plentiful flow, as in steam turbines. That is why steam rotary engines are much more economical than steam turbines per unit of output power.
— 2)
Rotary steam engines have a shoulder for applying the acting gas forces (torque shoulder) significantly (many times) more than reciprocating steam engines. Therefore, the power developed by them is much higher than that of steam piston engines.
— 3)
Steam rotary engines have a much greater power stroke than reciprocating steam engines, i.e. have the ability to convert most of the internal energy of steam into useful work.
— 4)
Steam rotary engines can operate efficiently on saturated (wet) steam, without difficulty allowing the condensation of a significant part of the steam with its transition to water directly in the working sections of the steam rotary engine. It also raises work efficiency steam power plant using a steam rotary engine.
— 5
) Steam rotary engines operate at a speed of 2-3 thousand revolutions per minute, which is the optimal speed for generating electricity, in contrast to the too low-speed piston engines (200-600 revolutions per minute) of traditional locomotive-type steam engines, or from too high-speed turbines (10-20 thousand revolutions per minute).
At the same time, steam rotary engines are technologically relatively easy to manufacture, which makes their manufacturing costs relatively low. In contrast to the extremely expensive steam turbines to manufacture.
SO, SUMMARY OF THIS ARTICLE - a steam rotary engine is a very efficient steam power machine for converting steam pressure from the heat of burning solid fuel and combustible waste into mechanical power and into electrical energy.
The author of this site has already received more than 5 patents for inventions on various aspects of the designs of steam rotary engines. A number of small rotary engines with a power of 3 to 7 kW were also produced. Now we are designing steam rotary engines with power from 100 to 200 kW.
But rotary engines have a "generic flaw" - a complex system of seals, which for small engines turn out to be too complex, miniature and expensive to manufacture.
At the same time, the author of the site is developing steam axial piston engines with opposite - oncoming piston movement. This arrangement is the most energy-efficient power variation of all possible schemes piston system.
These engines in small sizes are somewhat cheaper and simpler. rotary motors and seals in them are used the most traditional and the most simple.
Below is a video using a small axial piston boxer engine with opposite pistons.
At present, such a 30 kW axial piston boxer engine is being manufactured. The engine resource is expected to be several hundred thousand hours, because the speed of the steam engine is 3-4 times lower than the speed of the internal combustion engine, in the friction pair. piston-cylinder» — subjected to ion-plasma nitriding in a vacuum environment and the hardness of the friction surfaces is 62-64 HRC units. For details on the process of surface hardening by nitriding, see.
Here is an animation of the principle of operation of such an axial-piston boxer engine, similar in layout, with an oncoming piston movement
Exactly 212 years ago, on December 24, 1801, in the small English town of Camborne, mechanic Richard Trevithick demonstrated to the public the first car with steam engine dog carts. Today, this event could be safely classified as remarkable, but not significant, especially since the steam engine was known before, and was even used on vehicles (although it would be a very big stretch to call them cars) ... But here's what's interesting: right now technical progress gave rise to a situation strikingly reminiscent of the era of the great "battle" of steam and gasoline at the beginning of the 19th century. Only batteries, hydrogen and biofuels will have to fight. Do you want to know how it all ends and who will win? I won't suggest. Hint: technology has nothing to do with it ...
1. Passion for steam engines has passed, and the time has come for internal combustion engines. For the good of the cause, I repeat: in 1801, a four-wheeled carriage rolled along the streets of Camborne, capable of transporting eight passengers with relative comfort and slowly. The car was powered by a single-cylinder steam engine, and coal served as fuel. The creation of steam vehicles was undertaken with enthusiasm, and already in the 20s of the 19th century, passenger steam omnibuses carried passengers at speeds up to 30 km / h, and the average overhaul mileage reached 2.5–3 thousand km. 
Now let's compare this information with others. In the same 1801, the Frenchman Philippe Lebon received a patent for the design piston engine internal combustion, working on lighting gas. It so happened that three years later Lebon died, and others had to develop the technical solutions he proposed. Only in 1860, the Belgian engineer Jean Etienne Lenoir assembled a gas engine with ignition from an electric spark and brought its design to the level of suitability for installation on a vehicle.
So, an automobile steam engine and an internal combustion engine are practically the same age. The efficiency of a steam engine of that design in those years was about 10%. Engine efficiency Lenoir was only 4%. Only 22 years later, by 1882, August Otto improved it so much that the efficiency of the now gasoline engine reached ... as much as 15%.
2. Steam traction is just a brief moment in the history of progress. Starting in 1801, the history of steam transport continued actively for almost 159 years. In 1960 (!) buses and trucks with steam engines were still being built in the USA. Steam engines have improved significantly during this time. In 1900 in the US, 50% of the car fleet was "steamed". Already in those years, competition arose between steam, gasoline and - attention! - electric carriages. After the market success of Ford's Model-T and, it would seem, the defeat of the steam engine, a new surge in the popularity of steam cars came in the 20s of the last century: the cost of fuel for them (fuel oil, kerosene) was significantly lower than the cost of gasoline.
Until 1927, Stanley produced about 1,000 steam cars a year. In England, steam trucks successfully competed with gasoline trucks until 1933 and lost out only because of the introduction of a heavy duty tax by the authorities. freight transport and lower tariffs on imports of liquid petroleum products from the United States.
3. The steam engine is inefficient and uneconomical. Yes, it used to be like that. The "classic" steam engine, which released exhaust steam into the atmosphere, has an efficiency of no more than 8%. However, a steam engine with a condenser and a profiled flow part has an efficiency of up to 25–30%. The steam turbine provides 30–42%. Combined-cycle plants, where gas and steam turbines are used "in conjunction", have an efficiency of up to 55-65%. The latter circumstance prompted BMW engineers to start working on options for using this scheme in cars. By the way, the efficiency of modern gasoline engines is 34%.
The cost of manufacturing a steam engine at all times was lower than the cost of a carburetor and diesel engines the same power. Liquid fuel consumption in new steam engines operating in a closed cycle on superheated (dry) steam and equipped with modern systems lubrication, quality bearings and electronic duty cycle control systems, is only 40% of the previous one.
4. The steam engine starts slowly. And it was once... Even stock cars Stanley firms "bred couples" from 10 to 20 minutes. Improvement in the design of the boiler and the introduction of a cascade heating mode made it possible to reduce the readiness time to 40-60 seconds.
5. The steam car is too slow. This is wrong. The speed record of 1906 - 205.44 km / h - belongs to a steam car. In those years, cars gasoline engines didn't know how to drive that fast. In 1985, a steam car traveled at a speed of 234.33 km / h. And in 2009, a group of British engineers designed a steam turbine "bolide" with a steam drive with a capacity of 360 hp. with., who was able to move with a record average speed in the race - 241.7 km / h.
6. The steam car smokes, it is unaesthetic. Looking at old drawings depicting the first steam crews throwing thick clouds of smoke and fire from their chimneys (which, by the way, indicates the imperfection of the furnaces of the first “steam engines”), you understand where the persistent association of a steam engine and soot came from.
Concerning appearance machines, the point here, of course, depends on the level of the designer. It is unlikely that anyone will say that the steam cars of Abner Doble (USA) are ugly. On the contrary, they are elegant even by today's standards. And besides, they drove silently, smoothly and quickly - up to 130 km / h.
Interestingly, current research in the field hydrogen fuel For automobile motors gave rise to a number of "side branches": hydrogen as a fuel for classic reciprocating steam engines and in particular for steam turbine engines provides absolute environmental friendliness. The "smoke" from such a motor is ... water vapor.
7. The steam engine is whimsical. It is not true. It is structurally much simpler than an internal combustion engine, which in itself means greater reliability and unpretentiousness. The resource of steam engines is many tens of thousands of hours of continuous operation, which is not typical for other types of engines. However, the matter is not limited to this. By virtue of the principles of operation, a steam engine does not lose efficiency when atmospheric pressure decreases. It is for this reason that steam-powered vehicles are exceptionally well suited for use in the highlands, on difficult mountain passes.
It is interesting to note one more useful property steam engine, which, by the way, is similar to a DC electric motor. A decrease in the shaft speed (for example, with an increase in load) causes an increase in torque. By virtue of this property, cars with steam engines do not fundamentally need gearboxes - they themselves are very complex and sometimes capricious mechanisms.
