A Catechism of the Steam Engine Part 29

COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF PADDLE AND SCREW VESSELS.

571. _Q._--Whether do you consider paddle or screw vessels to be on the whole the most advantageous?

_A._--That is a large question, and can only receive a qualified answer. In some cases the use of paddles is indispensable, as, for example, in the case of river vessels of a limited draught of water, where it would not be possible to get sufficient depth below the water surface to enable a screw of a proper diameter to be got in.

572. _Q._--But how does the matter stand in the case of ocean vessels?

_A._--In the case of ocean vessels, it is found that paddle vessels fitted with the ordinary radial wheels, and screw vessels fitted with the ordinary screw, are about equally efficient in calms and in fair or beam winds with light and medium immersions. If the vessels are loaded deeply, however, as vessels starting on a long voyage and carrying much coal must almost necessarily be, then the screw has an advantage, since the screw acts in its best manner when deeply immersed, and the paddles in their worst. When a screw and paddle vessel, however, of the same model and power are set to encounter head winds, the paddle vessel it is found has in all cases an advantage, not in speed, but in economy of fuel. For whereas in a paddle vessel, when her progress is resisted, the speed of the engine diminishes nearly in the proportion of the diminished speed of ship, it happens that in a screw vessel this is not so,--at least to an equal extent,--but the engines work with nearly the same rate of speed as if no increase of resistance had been encountered by the ship. It follows from this circ.u.mstance, that whereas in paddle vessels the consumption of steam, and therefore of fuel, per hour is materially diminished when head winds occur, in screw vessels a similar diminution in the consumption of steam and fuel does not take place.

573. _Q._--But perhaps under such circ.u.mstances the speed of the screw vessel will be the greater of the two?

_A._--No; the speed of the two vessels will be the same, unless the strength of the head wind be so great as to bring the vessels nearly to a state of rest, and on that supposition the screw vessel will have the advantage. Such cases occur very rarely in practice; and in the case of the ordinary resistances imposed by head winds, the speed of the screw and paddle vessel will be the same, but the screw vessel will consume most coals.

574. _Q._--What is the cause of this peculiarity?

_A._--The cause is, that when the screw is so proportioned in its length as to be most suitable for propelling vessels in calms, it is too short to be suitable for propelling vessels which encounter a very heavy resistance. It follows, therefore, that if it is prevented from pursuing its spiral course in the water, it will displace the water to a certain extent laterally, in the manner it does if the engine be set on when the vessel is at anchor; and a part of the engine power is thus wasted in producing a useless disturbance of the water, which in paddle vessels is not expended at all.

575. _Q._--If a screw and paddle vessel of the same mould and power be tied stern to stern, will not the screw vessel preponderate and tow the paddle vessel astern against the whole force of her engines?

_A._--Yes, that will be so.

576. _Q._--And seeing that the vessels are of the same mould and power, so that neither can derive an advantage from a variation in that condition, does not the preponderance of the screw vessel show that the screw must be the most powerful propeller?

_A._---No, it does not.

577. _Q._--Seeing that the vessels are the same in all respects except as regards the propellers, and that one of them exhibits a superiority, does not this circ.u.mstance show that one propeller must be more powerful than the other?

_A._--That does not follow necessarily, nor is it the fact in this particular case. All steam vessels when set into motion, will force themselves forward with an amount of thrust which, setting aside the loss from friction and from other causes, will just balance the pressure on the pistons. In a paddle vessel, as has already been explained, it is easy to tell the tractive force exerted at the centre of pressure of the paddle wheels, when the pressure urging the pistons, the dimensions of the wheels and the speed of the vessel are known; and that force, whatever be its amount, must always continue the same with any constant pressure on the pistons. In a screw vessel the same law applies, so that with any given pressure on the pistons and discarding the consideration of friction, it will follow that whatever be the thrust exerted by a paddle or a screw vessel, it must remain uniform whether the vessel is in motion or at rest, and whether moving at a high or a low velocity through the water. Now to achieve an equal speed during calms in two vessels of the same model, there must be the same amount of propelling thrust in each; and this thrust, whatever be its amount, cannot afterward vary if a uniform pressure of steam be maintained. The thrusts, therefore, caused by their respective propelling instruments, when a screw and paddle vessel are tied stern to stern, must be the same as at other times; and as at other times those thrusts are equal, so must they be when the vessels are set in the antagonism supposed.

578. _Q._--How comes it then that the screw vessel preponderates?

_A._--Not by virtue of a larger thrust exerted by the screw in pressing forward the shaft and with it the vessel, but by the gravitation against the stern of the wave of water which the screw raises by its rapid rotation. This wave will only be raised very high when the progress of the vessel through the water is nearly arrested, at which time the centrifugal action of the screw is very great; and the vessel under such circ.u.mstances is forced forward partly by the thrust of the screw, and partly by the hydrostatic pressure of the protuberance of water which the centrifugal action of the screw raises up at the stern.

579. _Q._--Can you state any facts in corroboration of this view?

_A._--The screw vessel will not preponderate if a screw and paddle vessel be tied bow to bow and the engines of each be then reversed. In, some screw vessels the amount of thrust actually exerted by the screw under all its varying circ.u.mstances, has been ascertained by the application of a dynamometer to the end of the shaft. By this instrument--which is formed by a combination of levers like a weighing machine for carts--a thrust or pressure of several tons can be measured by the application of a small weight; and it has been found, by repeated experiment with the dynamometer, that the thrust of the screw in a screw vessel when towing a paddle vessel against the whole force of her engines, is just the same as it is when the two vessels are maintaining an equal speed in calms. The preponderance of the screw vessel must, therefore, be imputable to some other agency than to a superior thrust of the screw, which is found by experiment not to exist.

580. _Q._--Has the dynamometer been applied to paddle vessels?

_A._--It has not been applied to the vessels themselves, as in the case of screw vessels, but it has been employed on sh.o.r.e to ascertain the amount of tractive force that a paddle vessel can exert on a rope.

581. _Q._--Have any experiments been made to determine the comparative performances of screw and paddle vessels at sea?

_A._--Yes, numerous experiments; of which the best known are probably those made on the screw steamer Rattler and the paddle steamer Alecto, each vessel of the same model, size, and power,--each vessel being of about 800 tons burden and 200 horses power. Subsequently another set of experiments with the same object was made with the Niger screw steamer and the Basilisk paddle steamer, both vessels being of about 1000 tons burden and 400 horses power. The general results which were obtained in the course of these experiments are those which have been already recited.

582. _Q._--Will you recapitulate some of the main incidents of these trials?

_A._--I may first state some of the chief dimensions of the vessels. The Rattler is 176 feet 6 inches long, 32 feet 8-1/2 inches broad, 888 tons burden, 200 horses power, and has an area of immersed midship section of 380 square feet at a draught of water of 11 feet 5-1/2 inches. The Alecto is of the same dimensions in every respect, except that she is only of 800 tons burden, the difference in this particular being wholly owing to the Rattler having been drawn out about 15 feet at the stern, to leave abundant room for the application of the screw. The Rattler was fitted with a dynamometer, which enabled the actual propelling thrust of the screw shaft to be measured; and the amount of this thrust, multiplied by the distance through which the vessel pa.s.sed in a given time, would determine the amount of power actually utilized in propelling the ship. Both vessels were fitted with indicators applied to the cylinders, so as to determine the amount of power exerted by the engines.

583. _Q._--How many trials of the vessels were made on this occasion?

_A._--Twelve trials in all; but I need not refer to those in which similar or identical results were only repeated. The first trial was made under steam only, the weather was calm and the water smooth. At 54 minutes past 4 in the morning both vessels left the Nore, and at 30-1/2 minutes past 2 the Rattler stopped her engines in Yarmouth Roads, where in 20-1/2 minutes afterward she was joined by the Alecto. The mean speed achieved by the Rattler during this trial was 9.2 knots per hour; the mean speed of the Alecto was 8.8 knots per hour. The slip of the screw was 10.2 per cent. The actual power exerted by the engines, as shown by the indicator, was in the case of the Rattler 334.6 horses, and in the case of the Alecto 281.2 horses; being a difference of 53.4 horses in favor of the Rattler. The forward thrust upon the screw shaft was 3 tons, 17 cwt., 3 qrs., and 14 lbs. The horse power of the shaft--or power actually utilized--ascertained by multiplying the thrust in pounds by the s.p.a.ce pa.s.sed through by the vessel in feet per minute, and dividing by 33,000, was 247.8 horses power.

This makes the ratio of the shaft to the engine power as 1 to 1.3, or, in other words, it shows that the amount of engine power utilized in propulsion was 77 per cent. In a subsequent trial made with the vessels running before the wind, but with no sails set and the masts struck, the speed realized by the Rattler was 10 knots per hour. The slip of the screw was 11.2 per cent. The actual power exerted by the engines of the Rattler was 368.8 horses. The actual power exerted by the engines of the Alecto was 291.7 horses. The thrust of the shaft was equal to a weight of 4 tons, 4 cwt., 1 qr., 1 lb. The horse power of the shaft was 290.2 horses, and the ratio of the shaft to the engine power was 1 to 1.2. Here, therefore, the amount of the engine power utilized was 84 per cent.

584. _Q._--If in any screw vessel the power of the engine be diminished by shutting off the steam or otherwise, you will then have a larger screw relatively with the power of the engine than before?

_A._--Yes.

585. _Q._--Was any experiment made to ascertain the effect of this modification?

_A._--There was; but the result was not found to be better than before. The experiment was made by shutting off the steam from the engines of the Rattler until the number of strokes was reduced to 17 in the minute. The actual power was then 126.7 horses; thrust upon the shaft 2 tons, 2 cwt., 3 qrs., 14 lbs; horse power of shaft 88.4 horses; ratio of shaft to engine power 1 to 1.4; slip of the screw 18.7 per cent. In this experiment the power utilized was 71 per cent.

586. _Q._--Was any experiment made to determine the relative performances in head winds?

_A._--The trial in which this relation was best determined lasted for seven hours, and was made against a strong head wind and heavy head sea. The speed of the Rattler by patent log was 4.2 knots; and at the conclusion of the trial the Alecto had the advantage by about half a mile. Owing to an accidental injury to the indicator, the power exerted by the engines of the Rattler in this trial could not be ascertained; but judging from the power exerted in other experiments with the same number of revolutions, it appears probable that the power actually exerted by the Rattler was about 300 horses. The number of strokes per minute made by the engines of the Rattler was 22, whereas in the Alecto the number of strokes per minute was only 12; so that while the engines of the Alecto were reduced, by the resistance occasioned by a strong head wind, to nearly half their usual speed, the engines of the Rattler were only lessened about one twelfth of their usual speed. The mean thrust upon the screw shaft during this experiment, was 4 tons, 7 cwt., 0 qr., 16 lbs. The horse power of the shaft was 125.9 horses, and the slip of the screw was 56 per cent. Taking the power actually exerted by the Rattler at 300 horses, the power utilized in this experiment is only 42 per cent.

587. _Q._--What are the dimensions of the screw in the Rattler?

_A._--Diameter 10 feet, length 1 foot 3 inches, pitch 11 feet. The foregoing experiments show that with a larger screw a better average performance would be obtained. The best result arrived at, was when the vessel was somewhat a.s.sisted by the wind, which is equivalent to a reduction of the resistance of the hull, or to a smaller hull, which is only another expression for a larger proportionate screw.

588. _Q._--When you speak of a larger screw, what increase of dimension do you mean to express?

_A._--An increase of the diameter. The amount of reacting power of the screw upon the water is hot measured by the number of square feet of surface of the arms, but by the area of the disc or circle in which the screw revolves. The diameter of the screw of the Rattler being 10 feet, the area of its disc is 78.5 square feet; and with the amount of thrust already mentioned as existing in the first experiment, viz. 8722 lbs., the reacting pressure on each square foot of the screw's disc will be 108-1/2 lbs. The immersed midship section being 380 square feet, this is equivalent to 23 lbs. per square foot of immersed midship section at a speed of 9.2 knots per hour.

589. _Q._--In smaller vessels of similar form, will the resistance per square foot of midship section be more than this?

_A._--It will be considerably more. In the Pelican, a vessel of 109-3/4 square feet of midship section, I estimate the resistance per square foot of midship section at 30 lbs., when the speed of the vessel is 9.7 knots per hour. In the Minx with an immersed midship section of 82 square feet, the resistance per square foot of immersed midship section was found by the dynamometer to be 41 lbs. at a speed of 8-1/2 knots; and in the Dwarf, a vessel with 60 square feet of midship section, I estimate the resistance per square foot of midship section at 46 lbs. at a speed of 9 knots per hour, which is just double the resistance per square foot of the Rattler.

The diameter of the screw of the Minx is 4-1/2 feet, so that the area of its disc is 15.9 square feet, and the area of immersed midship section is about 5 times greater than that of the screw's disc. The diameter of the screw of the Dwarf is 5 feet 8 inches, so that the area of its disc is 25.22 square feet, and the area of immersed midship section is 2.4 times greater than that of the screw's disc. The pressure per square foot of the screw's disc is 214 lbs. in the case of the Minx, and 109-1/2 lbs. in the case of the Dwarf.

590. _Q._--From the greater proportionate resistance of small vessels, will not they require larger proportionate screws than large vessels?

_A._--They will.

591. _Q._--Is there any ready means of predicting what the amount of thrust of a screw will be?

_A._--When we know the amount of pressure on the pistons, and the velocity of their motion relatively with the velocity of advance made by the screw, supposing it to work in a solid nut, it is easy to tell what the thrust of the screw would be if it were cleared of the effects of friction and other irregular sources of disturbance. The thrust, in fact, would be at once found by the principle of virtual velocities; and if we take this theoretical thrust and diminish it by one fourth to compensate for friction and lateral slip, we shall have a near approximation to the amount of thrust that will be actually exerted.[1]

[1] See Treatise on the Screw Propeller, by J. Bourne, C. E.

COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF DIFFERENT SCREWS.

592. _Q._--What species of screw do you consider the best?

_A._--In cases in which a large diameter of screw can be employed, the ordinary screw or helix with two blades seems to be as effective as any other, and it is the most easily constructed. If, however, the screw is restricted in diameter, or if the vessel is required to tow, or will have to encounter habitually strong head winds, it will be preferable to employ a screw with an increasing pitch, and also of such other configuration that it will recover from the water some portion of the power that has been expended in slip.