Motors Part 5

Form of Blades.--The blades are therefore so curved, that the steam after the first impact cannot freely pa.s.s along the blade, as it does on a straight blade, but imparts on every element of the curved-back blade, thereby giving up continually part of its speed to the blade.

This is clearly shown in Fig. 21, where the pipe D ejects the stream of steam against the concaved blades E. Many modifications have been made in the shapes of these blades, all designed to take advantage of this action.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 21. Curved Blades._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 22. Compound Turbine._]

Compounding the Jet.--We may extend the advantages gained by this form of blades, and diverting the course of the jet, so that it will be directed through a series of wheels, each of which will get the benefit of the moving ma.s.s from the pipes.

Such a structure is shown in Fig. 22, in which three bladed wheels A, B, C, are caused to rotate, a set of stationary blades D, E, being placed between the three moving wheels, but the stationary blades are disposed in reverse directions. When the steam from pipes F, F, impinges against the blades of the first wheel A, it is directed by the stationary blade D to the next wheel B, and from the stationary blade E to the blades of the next wheel C, thus, in a manner somewhat similar to the compounding effect of the steam engine, utilizes the pressure which is not used at the first impulse.

CHAPTER IV

FUELS AND COMBUSTION

All fuels must be put into a gaseous state before they will burn. This is true of coal as well as of hydro-carbon oils.

Neither coal nor petroleum will burn in its native state, without the addition of oxygen. This is absolutely necessary to support combustion.

Burning is caused by the chemical union of oxygen with such substances as will burn.

This burning process may be slow, and extend over a period of years, or it may be instantaneous, in which latter case the expansion of the heated gases is so great as to cause an explosion. When a sufficient amount of oxygen has been mixed with a fuel to permit it to burn, a high temperature is necessary to cause the immediate burning of the entire ma.s.s.

If such a temperature is not present the course of combustion is not arrested, but it will, on its own account, start to oxydize, and eventually be reduced to the same condition that would take place if exploded by means of a flame.

Solid Fuels.--The great fuels in nature are carbon and hydrogen, carbon being the substance most widely known and depended upon. Hard coal, for instance, is composed almost wholly of carbon; whereas soft coal has a considerable quant.i.ty of hydrogen.

As coal was formed by wood, which, through long process of time became carbonized, it contains considerable foreign matter which will not burn, forming ash.

Liquid Fuels.--The volatile oils, however, have very little non-combustible matter. Ordinary petroleum contains about 80 per cent, of carbon, and from 12 to 15 per cent. of hydrogen, the residue being foreign matter, all more or less susceptible of being consumed at high temperatures.

Combustion.--The term _combustion_, in its general sense, means the act of burning; but in a larger and more correct application it refers to that change which takes place in matter when oxygen unites with it.

Oxygen is a wonderful element, and will unite with all known substances, unlike all other elements in this respect. It may take years for it to form a complete unity. Thus, wood, in time, will crumble, or rot, as it is called. This is a slow process of combustion, brought about without applying heat to it, the change taking place in a gradual way, because oxygen unites with only a small portion of the wood.

Oxidation.--Iron will rust. This is another instance of combustion, called oxidation. When oxygen unites with a substance it may produce an acid, or an alkali, or a neutral compound. When wood is burned it produces an ash, and this ash contains a large amount of potash, or lye, which is an alkali, or a salt. So when other substances are burnt the result may be an acid, like sulphur, or it may be unlike either acid or the alkali.

The unity of oxygen with the food in the body is another instance of oxidation, which produces and maintains the heat necessary for existence.

Carbon or hydrogen, as a fuel, are inert without oxygen, so that in considering the evolution of a force which is dependent on heat, we should know something of its nature, thereby enabling us to utilize it to the best advantage.

The Hydro-carbon Gases.--If petroleum, or gasoline, should be put into the form of a gas, and as such be confined in a receiver, without adding any oxygen, it would be impossible to ignite it.

The character of the material is such that it would instantaneously extinguish any flame. Now, to make a burning mixture, at least three parts of oxygen must be mixed with one of the hydro-carbon, before it is combustible.

Oxygen and Atmosphere.--The atmosphere is not oxygen. Only one-fifth of common air is oxygen, the residue being, princ.i.p.ally, nitrogen, which is not a fuel. To produce the proper aeration, therefore, at least fifteen parts of air must be mixed with one part of hydro-carbon gas.

The term _hydro-carbon_ is applied to petroleum, and its products, because the elements carbon and hydrogen make up the largest part of the oil, whereas this is not the case with most of the other oils.

We are now dealing with a fuel such as is needed in _Internal Combustion Engines_, and it is well to know some of the problems involved in the use of the fuel, as this will give a better understanding of the structure of the devices which handle and evolve the gases, and properly burn them within the engine.

Vaporizing Fuel.--As the pure liquid will not burn in that state the first essential is to put it into a gaseous form, or to generate a vapor from it. The vapor thus made is not a gas, in the true sense of that term, but it is composed of minute globules of finely-divided particles of oil.

Nearly all liquids will vaporize if permitted to come into contact with air. The greater the surface exposed to air the more rapidly will it turn into a vapor.

By forcibly ejecting the liquid from a pipe or spraying device, and mingling air with it, evaporation is facilitated, and at the same time the proper admixture of air is provided to make a combustible substance the moment sufficient heat is brought into contact with it.

This is what actually takes place in a gasoline engine, and all the mechanism is built with this end in view.

It has been the universal practice to make an explosive mixture of this character, and then ignite it by means of an electric spark, but it is now known that such a fuel can be exploded by pressure, and this needs some explanation.

Explosion by Compression.--The study of the compressibility of gases is an interesting one. As we have previously stated, the atoms, comprising the gases, are constantly moving among themselves with great rapidity, so that they bombard the sides of the receiver in which they are confined, and also contact with each other in their restless movements.

When compression takes place the speed of the movements of the atoms is greatly accelerated, the friction of their movements is increased, and heat is evolved. As the pressure becomes greater the heat increases until it is of such intensity that the gas ignites, and an explosion follows.

How Compression Heats.--The theory of the compressibility of gases may be stated as follows: Let us a.s.sume that the temperature of the air is 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and we have a receiver which holds two cubic feet of this air.

If the contained air is now compressed to a volume of one cubic foot, the temperature of two cubic feet is compressed into one cubic foot, and there is now 140 degrees of heat within the receiver.

If this cubic foot of air is again compressed to half its volume, the temperature is correspondingly increased. While this it not absolutely true in practice, owing to the immense loss caused by radiation, still, it will enable the mind to grasp the significance of compression, when the subject of heat is concerned.

Elasticity of Gases.--The great elasticity of gases, and the perfected mechanical devices for compressing the same, afford means whereby ten or twenty atmospheres can be forced into a receiver, and thereby produce pressures of several hundred pounds, which would mean sufficiently high temperatures to ignite oils having the higher flash point.

Advantages of Compression.--The compression system permits of the introduction of a larger quant.i.ty of fuel than is usually drawn into the cylinder, and thereby a greater and more efficient action is produced on the piston of the engine on account of quicker combustion and therefore higher gas pressures.

The compression, however, rarely if ever exceeds six atmospheres or about 90 pounds per square inch.

_The Necessity of Compression._--There are two reasons why compression is necessary before igniting it. First, because it is essential to put sufficient gas in the cylinder to make the engine efficient.

To ill.u.s.trate: Suppose we have a cylinder capable of drawing in 150 cubic inches of gas, and this is compressed down to 25 cubic inches, the s.p.a.ce then occupied by the gas would represent what is called the clearance s.p.a.ce at the head of the cylinder. To compress it to a greater degree the clearance s.p.a.ce might be made smaller, which could be done in several ways, but whether the gas thus drawn in should be compressed to 30, or 25, or even 10 cubic inches, it is obvious that there would be no more fuel in the cylinder in one case than in the other. As however the mean effective pressure, which determines the efficiency of the motor, increases with the compression pressure, the latter should be as high as possible, but not so high that premature explosion takes place owing to the heat created by compression.

Second: The more perfect the mixture of the vaporized product with the air, the more vigorous will be the explosion. The downward movement of the piston draws in the charge of air and sprayed jet of gasoline, and the only time for mixing it is during the period that it travels from the carbureter through the pipes and manifold to the cylinder.

Having in mind the statement formerly made that compression causes a more rapid movement of the molecules of a gas, it is obvious that the upward movement of the piston, in the act of compressing the gas has a more positive action in causing an intimate mixture of the hydro-carbon gases than took place when the gases were traveling through the pipes on their way to the cylinder.

CHAPTER V

THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

It will be observed that in a steam engine the heat is developed outside of the cylinders and the latter used solely for the purpose of taking the steam and utilizing it, by causing its expansion to push a piston to and fro.

We shall now consider that type of motor which creates the heat within the cylinder itself and causes an expansion which is at once used and discharged at the reciprocating motion of the piston.