A Catechism of the Steam Engine Part 25

486. _Q._--Do not the wheels jolt sideways when the vessel rolls?

_A._--It is usual to put a steel plate at each end of the paddle shafts tightened with a key, to prevent end play when the vessel rolls, but the arrangement is precarious and insufficient. Messrs. Maudslay make their paddle shaft bearings with very large fillets in the corner, with the view of diminishing the evil; but it would be preferable to make the bearings of the crank shafts spheroidal; and, indeed, it would probably be an improvement if most of the bearings about the engine were to be made in the same fashion. The loose end of the crank pin should be made not spheroidal, but consisting of a portion of a sphere; and a bra.s.s bush might then be fitted into the crank eye, that would completely encase the ball of the pin, and yet permit the outer end of the paddle shaft to fall without straining the pin, the bush being at the same time susceptible of a slight end motion. The paddle shaft, where it pa.s.ses through the vessel's side, is usually surrounded by a lead stuffing box, which will yield if the end of the shaft falls; this stuffing box prevents leakage into the ship from the paddle wheels: but it is expedient, as a further precaution, to have a small tank on the ship's side immediately beneath the stuffing box, with a pipe leading down to the bilge to catch and conduct away any water that may enter around the shaft.

487. _Q._--How is the outer bearing of the paddle wheels supplied with tallow?

_A._--The bearing at the outer end of the paddle shaft is sometimes supplied with tallow, forced into a hole in the plummer block cover, as in the case of water wheels; but for vessels intended to perform long voyages, it is preferable to have a pipe leading down to the oil cup above the journal from the top of the paddle box, through which pipe oil may at any time be supplied.

488. _Q._--Will you explain the method of putting engines into a steam vessel?

_A._--As an ill.u.s.tration of this operation it may be advisable to take the case of a side lever engine, and the method of proceeding is as follows:-- First measure across from the inside of paddle bearers to the centre of the ship, to make sure that the central line, running in a fore and aft direction on the deck or beams, usually drawn by the carpenter, is really in the centre. Stretch a line across between the paddle bearers in the direction of the shaft; to this line, in the centre of the ship where the fore and aft mark has been made, apply a square with arms six or eight feet long, and bring a line stretched perpendicularly from the deck to the keelson, accurately to the edge of the square: the lower point of the line where it touches the keelson will be immediately beneath the marks made upon the deck. If this point does not come in the centre of the keelson, it will be better to shift it a little, so as to bring it to the centre, altering the mark upon the deck correspondingly, provided either paddle shaft will admit of this being done--one of the paddle brackets being packed behind with wood, to give it an additional projection from the side of the paddle bearer. Continue the line fore and aft upon the keelson as nearly as can be judged in the centre of the ship; stretch another line fore and aft through the mark upon the deck, and look it out of winding with the line upon the keelson. Fix upon any two points equally distant from the centre, in the line stretched transversely in the direction of the shaft; and from those points, as centres, and with any convenient radius, sweep across the fore and aft line to see that the two are at right angles; and, if not, shift the transverse line a little to make them so. From the transverse line next let fall a line upon each outside keelson, bringing the edge of the square to the line, the other edge resting on the keelson.

A point will thus be got on each outside keelson, perpendicularly beneath the transverse line running in the direction of the shaft, and a line drawn between those two points will be directly below the shaft. To this line the line of the shaft marked on the sole plate has to be brought, care being taken, at the same time, that the right distance is preserved between the fore and aft line upon the sole plate, and the fore and aft line upon the central keelson.

489. _Q._--Of course the keelsons have first to be properly prepared?

_A._--In a wooden vessel, before any part of the machinery is put in, the keelsons should be dubbed fair and straight, and be looked out of winding by means of two straight edges. The art of placing engines in a ship is more a piece of plain common sense than any other feat in engineering, and every man of intelligence may easily settle a method of procedure for himself. Plumb lines and spirit levels, it is obvious, cannot be employed on board a vessel, and the problem consists in so placing the sole plates, without these aids, that the paddle shaft will not stand awry across the vessel, nor be carried forward beyond its place by the framing shouldering up more than was expected. As a plumb line cannot be used, recourse must be had to a square; and it will signify nothing at what angle with the deck the keelsons run, so long as the line of the shaft across the keelsons is square down from the shaft centre. The sole plates being fixed, there is no difficulty in setting the other parts of the engine in their proper places upon them. The paddle wheels must be hung from the top of the paddle box to enable the shaft to be rove through them, and the cross stays between the engines should be fixed in when the vessel is afloat. To try whether the shafts are in a line, turn the paddle wheels, and try if the distance between the cranks is the same at the upper and under, and the two horizontal centres; if not, move the end of the paddle shaft up or down, backward or forward, until the distance between the cranks at all the four centres is the same.

490. _Q._--In what manner are the engines of a steam vessel secured to the hull?

_A._--The engines of a steamer are secured to the hull by means of bolts called holding down bolts, and in wooden vessels a good deal of trouble is caused by these bolts, which are generally made of iron. Sometimes they go through the bottom of the ship, and at other times they merely go through the keelson,--a recess being made in the floor or timbers to admit of the introduction of a nut. The iron, however, wears rapidly away in both cases, even though the bolts are tinned; and it has been found the preferable method to make such of the bolts as pa.s.s through the bottom, or enter the bilge, of Muntz's metal, or of copper. In a side lever engine, four Muntz's metal bolts may be put through the bottom at the crank end of the framing of each engine, four more at the main centre, and four more at the cylinder, making twelve through bolts to each engine; and it is more convenient to make these bolts with a nut at each end, as in that case the bolts may be dropped down from the inside, and the necessity is obviated of putting the vessel on very high blocks in the dock, in order to give room to put the bolts up from the bottom. The remainder of the holding down bolts may be of iron, and may, by means of a square neck, be screwed into the timber of the keelsons as wood screws--the upper part being furnished with a nut which may be screwed down upon the sole plate, so soon as the wood screw portion is in its place. If the cylinder be a fixed one it should be bolted down to the sole plate by as many bolts as are employed to attach the cylinder cover, and they should be of copper or bra.s.s, in any situation that is not easily accessible.

491. _Q._--If the engines become loose, how do you refix them?

_A._--It is difficult to fix engines effectually which have once begun to work in the ship, for in time the surface of the keelsons on which the engines bear becomes worn uneven, and the engines necessarily rock upon it.

As a general rule, the bolts attaching the engines to the keelsons are too few and of too large a diameter: it would be preferable to have smaller bolts, and a greater number of them. In addition to the bolts going through the keelsons or the vessel's bottom, there should be a large number of wood screws securing the sole plate to the keelson, and a large number of bolts securing the various parts of the engine to the sole plate. In iron vessels, holding down bolts pa.s.sing through the bottom are not expedient; and there the engine has merely to be secured to the iron plate of the keelsons, which are made hollow to admit of a more effectual attachment.

492. _Q._--What are the proper proportions of bolts?

_A._--In well formed bolts, the spiral groove penetrates about one twelfth of the diameter of the cylinder round which it winds, so that the diameter of the solid cylinder which remains is five sixths of the diameter over the thread. If the strain to which iron may be safely subjected in machinery is one fifteenth of its utmost strength, or 4,000 lbs. on the square inch, then 2,180 lbs. may be sustained by a screw an inch in diameter, at the outside of the threads. The strength of the holding down bolts may easily be computed, when the elevating force of the piston or main centre is known; but it is expedient very much to exceed this strength in practice, on account of the elasticity of the keelsons, the liability to corrosion, and other causes.

THE LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE.

493. _Q._--What is the amount of tractive force requisite to draw carriages on railways?

_A._--Upon well formed railways with carriages of good construction, the average tractive force required for low speeds is about 7-1/2 lbs. per ton, or 1/300th of the load, though in some experimental cases, where particular care was taken to obtain a favorable result, the tractive force has been reduced as low as 1/500th of the load. At low speeds the whole of the tractive force is expended in overcoming the friction, which is made up partly of the friction of attrition in the axles, and partly of the rolling friction, or the obstruction to the rolling of the wheels upon the rail.

The rolling friction is very small when the surfaces are smooth, and in the case of railway carriages does not exceed 1/1000th. of the load; whereas the draught on common roads of good construction, which is chiefly made up of the rolling friction, is as much as 1/36th of the load.

494._Q._--In reference to friction you have already stated that the friction of iron sliding upon bra.s.s, which has been oiled and then wiped dry, so that no film of oil is interposed, is about 1/11th of the pressure, but that in machines in actual operation, where there is a film of oil between the rubbing surfaces, the friction is only about one third of this amount, or 1/33d of the weight. How then can the tractive resistance of locomotives at low speeds, which you say is entirely made up of friction, be so little as 1/500th. of the weight?

_A._--I did not state that the resistance to traction was 1/500th of the weight upon an average--to which condition the answer given to a previous question must be understood to apply--but I stated that the average traction was about 1/300th of the load, which nearly agrees with my former statement. If the total friction be 1/300th of the load, and the rolling friction be 1/1000th of the load, then the friction of attrition must be 1/429th of the load; and if the diameter of the wheels be 36 in., and the diameter of the axles be 3 in., which are common proportions, the friction of attrition must be increased in the proportion of 36 to 3, or 12 times, to represent the friction of the rubbing surface when moving with the velocity of the carriage, 12/429ths are about 1/35th of the load, which does not differ much from the proportion of 1/33d as previously determined.

495. _Q._--What is the amount of adhesion of the wheels upon the rails?

_A._--The adhesion of the wheels upon the rails is about 1/5th of the weight when the rails are clean, or either perfectly wet or perfectly dry; but when the rails are half wet or greasy, the adhesion is not more than 1/10th or 1/12th of the weight or pressure upon the wheels. The weight of a locomotive of modern construction varies from 20 to 25 tons.

496. _Q._--And what is its cost and average performance?

_A._--The cost of a common narrow gauge locomotive, of average power, varies from 1,900 to 2,200; it will run on an average 130 miles per day, at a cost for repairs of 2-1/2d. per mile; and the cost of locomotive power, including repairs, wages, oil, and c.o.ke, does not much exceed 6d.

per mile run, on economically managed railways. This does not include a sinking fund for the renewal of the engines when worn out, which may be taken as equivalent to 10 per cent. on their original cost.

497. _Q._--Does the expense of traction increase much with an increased speed?

_A._--Yes; it increases very rapidly, partly from the undulation of the earth when a heavy train pa.s.ses over it at a high velocity, but chiefly from the resistance of the atmosphere and blast pipe, which const.i.tute the greatest of the impediments to motion at high speeds. At a speed of 30 miles an hour, the atmospheric resistance has been found in some cases to amount to about 12 lbs. a ton; and in side winds the resistance even exceeds this amount, partly in consequence of the additional friction caused from the f.l.a.n.g.es of the wheels being forced against the rails, and partly because the wind catches to a certain extent the front of every carriage, whereby the efficient breadth of each carriage, in giving motion to the air in the direction of the train, is very much increased. At a speed of 30 miles an hour, an engine evaporating 200 cubic feet of water in the hour, and therefore exerting about 200 horses power, will draw a load of 110 tons. Taking the friction of the train at 7-1/2 lbs. per ton, or 825 lbs. operating at the circ.u.mference of the driving wheel--which, with 5 ft.

6 in. wheels, and 18 in. stroke, is equivalent to 4,757 lbs. upon the piston--and taking the resistance of the blast pipe at 6 lbs. per square inch of the pistons, and the friction of the engine unloaded at 1 lb. per square inch, which, with pistons 12 in. in diameter, amount together to 1,582 lbs., and reckoning the increased friction of the engine due to the load at 1/7th of the load, as in some cases it has been found experimentally to be, though a much less proportion than this would probably be a nearer average, we have 7018.4 lbs. for the total load upon the pistons. At 30 miles an hour the speed of the pistons will be 457.8 feet per minute, and 7018.4 lbs. multiplied by 457.8 ft. per minute, are equal to 3213023.5 lbs. raised one foot high in the minute, which, divided by 33,000, gives 97.3 horses power as the power which would draw 110 tons upon a railway at a speed of 30 miles an hour, if there were no atmospheric resistance. The atmospheric resistance is at the rate of 12 lbs. a ton, with a load of 110 tons, equal to 1,320 lbs., moving at a speed of 30 miles an hour, which, when reduced, becomes 105.8 horses power, and this, added to 97.3, makes 203.1, instead of 200 horses power, as ascertained by a reference to the evaporative power of the boiler. This amount of atmospheric resistance, however, exceeds the average, and in some of the experiments for ascertaining the atmospheric resistance, a part of the resistance due to the curves and irregularities of the line has been counted as part of the atmospheric resistance.

498. _Q._--Is the resistance per ton of the engine the same as the resistance per ton of the train?

_A._--No; it is more, since the engine has not merely the resistance of the atmosphere and of the wheels to encounter, but the resistance of the machinery besides. According to Mr. Gooch's experiments upon a train weighing 100 tons, the resistance of the engine and tender at 13.1 miles per hour was found by the indicator to be 12.38 lbs.; the resistance per ton of the train, as ascertained by the dynamometer, was at the same speed 7.58 lbs., and the average resistance of locomotive and train was 9.04 lbs.

At 20.2 miles per hour these resistances respectively became 19.0, 8.19, and 12.2 lbs. At 441 miles per hour the resistances became 34.0, 21.10, and 25.5 lbs., and at 57.4 miles an hour they became 35.5, 17.81, and 23.8 lbs.

499. _Q._--Is it not maintained that the resistance of the atmosphere to the progress of railway trains increases as the square of the velocity?

_A._--The atmospheric resistance, no doubt, increases as the square of the velocity, and the power, therefore, necessary to overcome it will increase as the cube of the velocity, since in doubling the speed four times, the power must be expended in overcoming the atmospheric resistance in half the time. At low speeds, the resistance does not increase very rapidly; but at high speeds, as the rapid increase in the atmospheric resistance causes the main resistance to be that arising from the atmosphere, the total resistance will vary nearly as the square of the velocity. Thus the resistance of a train, including locomotive and tender, will, at 15 miles an hour, be about 9.3 lbs. per ton; at 30 miles an hour it will be 13.2 lbs. per ton; and at 60 miles an hour, 29 lbs. per ton. If we suppose the same law of progression to continue up to 120 miles an hour, the resistance at that speed will be 92.2 lbs. per ton, and at 240 miles an hour the resistance will be 344.8 lbs. per ton. Thus, in doubling the speed from 60 to 120 miles per hour, the resistance does not fall much short of being increased fourfold, and the same remark applies to the increase of the speed from 120 to 240 miles an hour. These deductions and other deductions from Mr. Gooch's experiments on the resistance of railway trains, are fully discussed by Mr. Clark, in his Treatise on railway machinery, who gives the following rule for ascertaining the resistance of a train, supposing the line to be in good order, and free from curves:--To find the total resistance of the engine, tender, and train in pounds per ton, at any given speed. Square the speed in miles per hour; divide it by 171, and add 8 to the quotient. The result is the total resistance at the rails in lbs. per ton.

500._Q._--How comes it, that the resistance of fluids increases as the square of the velocity, instead of the velocity simply?

_A._--Because the height necessary to generate the velocity with which the moving object strikes the fluid, or the fluid strikes the object, increases as the _square_ of the velocity, and the resistance or the weight of a column of any fluid varies as the height. A falling body, as has been already explained, to have acquired twice the velocity, must have fallen through four times the height; the velocity generated by a column of any fluid is equal to that acquired by a body falling through the height of the column; and it is therefore clear, that the pressure due to any given velocity must be as the square of that velocity, the pressure being in every case as twice the alt.i.tude of the column. The work done, however, by a stream of air or other fluid in a given time, will vary as the cube of the velocity; for if the velocity of a stream of air be doubled, there will not only be four times the pressure exerted per square foot, but twice the quant.i.ty of air will be employed; and in windmills, accordingly, it is found, that the work done varies nearly as the cube of the velocity of the wind. If, however, the work done by _a given quant.i.ty_ of air moving at different speeds be considered, it will vary as the squares of the speeds.

501. _Q._--But in a case where there is no work done, and the resistance varies as the square of the speed, should not the power requisite to overcome that resistance vary as the square of the speed?

_A._--It should if you consider the resistance over a given distance, and not the resistance during a given time. Supposing the resistance of a railway train to increase as the square of the speed, it would take four times the power, so far as atmospheric resistance is concerned, to accomplish a mile at the rate of 60 miles an hour, that it would take to accomplish a mile at 30 miles an hour; but in the former case there would be twice the number of miles accomplished in the same time, so that when the velocity of the train was doubled, we should require an engine that was capable of overcoming four times the resistance at twice the speed, or in other words, that was capable of exerting eight times the power, so far as regards the element of atmospheric resistance. We know by experience, however, that it is easier to attain high speeds on railways than in steam vessels, where the resistance does increase nearly as the square of the speed.

502. _Q._--Will you describe generally the arrangement of a locomotive engine?

_A._--The boiler and engine are hung upon a framework set on wheels, and, together with this frame or carriage, const.i.tute what is commonly called the locomotive. Behind the locomotive runs another carriage, called the tender, for holding c.o.ke and water. A common mode of connecting the engine and tender is by means of a rigid bar, with an eye at each end through which pins are pa.s.sed. Between the engine and tender, however, buffers should always be interposed, as their pressure contributes greatly to prevent oscillation and other irregular motions of the engine.

503. _Q._--How is the framing of a locomotive usually constructed?

_A._--All locomotives are now made with the framing which supports the machinery situated within the wheels; but for some years a vehement controversy was maintained respecting the relative merits of outside and inside framing, which has terminated, however, in the universal adoption of the inside framing. It is difficult, in engines intended for the narrow gauge, to get cylinders within the framing of sufficient diameter to meet the exigencies of railway locomotion; by casting both cylinders in a piece, however, a considerable amount of room may be made available to increase their diameters. It is very desirable that the cylinders of locomotives should be as large as possible, so that expansion may be adopted to a large extent; and with any given speed of piston, the power of an engine either to draw heavy loads, or achieve high velocities, will be increased with every increase of the dimensions of the cylinder. The framing of locomotives, to which the boiler and machinery are attached, and which rests upon the springs situated above the axles, is formed generally of malleable iron, but in some engines the side frames consist of oak with iron plates riveted on each side. The guard plates are in these cases generally of equal length, the frames being curved upward to pa.s.s over the driving axle. Hard cast iron blocks are riveted between the guard plates to serve as guides for the axle bushes. The side frames are connected across the ends, and cross stays are introduced beneath the boiler to stiffen the frame sideways, and prevent the ends of the connecting or eccentric rods from falling down if they should be broken.

504. _Q._--What is the nature and arrangement of the springs of locomotives?

_A._--The springs are of the ordinary carriage kind, with plates connected at the centre, and allowed to slide on each other at their ends. The upper plate terminates in two eyes, through each of which pa.s.ses a pin, which also pa.s.ses through the jaws of the bridle, connected by a double threaded screw to another bridle, which is jointed to the framing; the centre of the spring rests upon the axle box. Sometimes the springs are placed between the guard plates, and below the framing which rests upon their extremities.

One species of springs which has gained a considerable introduction, consists of a number of flat steel plates with a piece of metal or other substance interposed between them at the centre, leaving the ends standing apart. It would be preferable, perhaps, to make the plates of a common spring with different curves, so that the leaves, though in contact at the centre, would not be in contact with the ends with light loads, but would be brought into contact gradually, as the strain conies on: a spring would thus be obtained that was suitable for all loads.

505. _Q._--What is the difference between inside and outside cylinder engines?

_A._--Outside cylinders are so designated when placed upon the outside of the framing, with their connecting rods operating upon pins in the driving wheels; while the inside cylinders are situated within the framing, and the connecting rods attach themselves to cranks in the driving axle.

506. _Q._--Whether are inside or outside cylinder engines to be preferred?

_A._--A diversity of opinion obtains as to the relative merits of outside and inside cylinders. The chief objection to outside cylinders is, that they occasion a sinuous motion in the engine which is apt to send the train off the rails; but this action may be made less perceptible or be remedied altogether, by placing a weight upon one side of the wheels, the momentum of which will just balance the momentum of the piston and its connections.

The sinuous or rocking motion of locomotives is traceable to the arrested momentum of the piston and its attachments at every stroke of the engine, and the effect of the pressure thus created will be more operative in inducing oscillation the farther it is exerted from the central line of the engine. If both cylinders were set at right angles in the centre of the carriage, and the pistons were both attached to a central crank, there would be no oscillation produced; or the same effect would be realized by placing one cylinder in the centre of the carriage, and two at the sides-- the pistons of the side cylinders moving simultaneously: but it is impossible to couple the piston of an upright cylinder direct to the axle of a locomotive, without causing the springs to work up and down with every stroke of the engine: and the use of three cylinders, though adopted in some of Stephenson's engines, involves too much complication to be a beneficial innovation.

507. _Q._--Whether are four-wheeled or six-wheeled engines preferable?

_A._--Much controversial ingenuity has been expended upon the question of the relative merits of the four and six-wheeled engines; one party maintaining that four-wheeled engines are most unsafe, and the other that six-wheeled engines are unmechanical, and are more likely to occasion accidents. The four-wheeled engines, however, appear to have been charged with faults that do not really attach to them when properly constructed; for it by no means follows that if the axle of a four-wheeled engine breaks, or even altogether comes away, that the engine must fall down or run off the line; inasmuch as, if the engine be properly coupled with the tender, it has the tender to sustain it. It is obvious enough, that such a connection may be made between the tender and the engine, that either the fore or hind axle of the engine may be taken away, and yet the engine will not fall down, but will be kept up by the support which the tender affords; and the arguments. .h.i.therto paraded against the four-wheeled engines are, so far as regards the question of safety, nothing more than arguments against the existence of the suggested connection. It is no doubt the fact, that locomotive engines are now becoming too heavy to be capable of being borne on four wheels at high speeds without injury to the rails; but the objection of damage to the rails applies with at least equal force to most of the six-wheeled engines. .h.i.therto constructed, as in those engines the engineer has the power of putting nearly all the weight upon the driving wheels; and if the rail be wet or greasy, there is a great temptation to increase the bite of those wheels by s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g them down more firmly upon the rails. A greater strain is thus thrown upon the rail than can exist in the case of any equally heavy four-wheeled engine; and the engine is made very unsafe, as a pitching motion will inevitably be induced at high speeds, when an engine is thus poised upon the central driving wheels, and there will also be more of the rocking or sinuous motion. Locomotives, however, intended to achieve high speeds or to draw heavy loads, are now generally made with eight wheels, and in some cases the driving wheels are placed at the end of the engine instead of in the middle.