smd4 posted:MELGAR posted:TM Terry posted:MELGAR posted:
The boiler and reciprocating expander (engine) ran at a steam pressure of 1600 PSI and a superheated steam temperature of 1600 deg-F - both much higher than anything ever contemplated in a steam locomotive. The high temperature was needed for thermal efficiency (fuel economy) and the high pressure allowed the engine to be compact.
MELGAR
Could you explain further where your 1600 degrees F is used?
Boiler produced superheated steam at 1600 deg-F, 1600 psi. This was the working fluid supplied to the reciprocating expander which admitted steam through sequential poppet valves and exhausted through ports into a condenser. I did thermodynamic analysis but not metallurgy... Ceramic pistons and cylinder liners were considered as a means of further increasing efficiency.
MELGAR
I'm not sure where you're getting these numbers.
I don't have high-pressure steam experience, but I doubt the pressure and temperature would be the same number. Indeed, in an on-line steam calculator, if I plug in a pressure of 1600 psig, the calculator tells me the temperature would be 606 degrees F.
The unknown then would be the amount of superheat applied to the steam, which if his numbers are correct, would be 1000 degrees superheat.
