Liquid fuel steam engine. Invention and development

Magnificent Doble

But in fact, this applies not so much to car brand, how much to the people who founded it. The Doble brothers, Abner and John, already in 1910 managed to combine ancient technology with advanced stylistic solutions. However, they also had to significantly improve this technology. John did this while studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - even then the talented engineer could afford to maintain a personal workshop in which he tested a unique capacitor own development. The device was intended for condensation of exhaust steam and was made in the form honeycomb radiator. With this innovation, the prototype traveled up to 2,000 kilometers on 90 liters of water, exceeding the standard mileage of a “ferry car” by almost 20 times!

For its time it was a sensation. After the hype in the press, the brothers immediately acquired investors, whose funds were enough to establish the General Engineering company with an authorized capital of $200 thousand. Everything was done there further developments and improvements to steam cars.

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The only sound produced by the Doblov paramobile was a mighty sigh as the mixture heated up. But she started moving absolutely silently - only the tires whispered softly on the road. The steam unit was integrated with the rear axle. Even cardan shaft, which could create unnecessary vibrations, was missing!

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The only sound produced by the Doblov paramobile was a mighty sigh as the mixture heated up. But she started moving absolutely silently - only the tires whispered softly on the road. The steam unit was integrated with the rear axle. Even the driveshaft, which could create unnecessary vibrations, was missing!

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The only sound produced by the Doblov paramobile was a mighty sigh as the mixture heated up. But she started moving absolutely silently - only the tires whispered softly on the road. The steam unit was integrated with the rear axle. Even the driveshaft, which could create unnecessary vibrations, was missing!

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The only sound produced by the Doblov paramobile was a mighty sigh as the mixture heated up. But she started moving absolutely silently - only the tires whispered softly on the road. The steam unit was integrated with the rear axle. Even the driveshaft, which could create unnecessary vibrations, was missing!

For the 1917 New York Auto Show concept, John Doble, the venture's biggest head, came up with an electric ignition system in which pressurized kerosene was forced through the carburetor and ignited by a spark plug.

Articles / History

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Then the burning mixture entered the combustion chamber, where it heated the water in the boiler. The process was started with one press of a button, and the engine only needed 90 seconds to reach the desired level of steam pressure and start the car! All these mythical characteristics made the Doblov steam car perhaps the most striking premiere - by the end of the year, General Engineering received more than 5 thousand orders from customers. If it weren’t for the First World War, which deprived the company of iron, who knows what we would be driving now...

In 1921, John dies after a serious illness. However, two other brothers immediately take his place - the Doblov family turned out to be unusually large. Soon Abner, Bill and Warren create a new brand, now under their own name - Doble Steam Motors, and announce an improved project - the Model E steam car. Three years later, the team again goes to New York, to a winter exhibition, where they demonstrate to everyone an extraordinary experiment: a machine Doblov stands in an unheated garage all night, and then spends another hour outside, where the frost gets stronger. Then, in front of the specialists, the ignition is activated, the engine starts, and after 23 seconds the car can drive.

The top speed of the Model E was then 160 km/h, and it accelerated to hundreds in just 8 seconds! This happened thanks to a new four-cylinder engine, in which steam was first delivered to two high-pressure cylinders, and the residual energy was received by two low-pressure cylinders, which sent “empty” steam to the condenser. Eureka, no less!

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Power 75 hp and the high throttle response of the steam engine made it possible to start very smoothly with any load, quickly accelerate and reach high speed. The driver simply opened the throttle on the steering column, and the car accelerated freely, and its speed increased without interruption. The body range of Doblov cars consisted of eight options, starting with a 3-seater roadster and ending with a 7-seater limousine

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Power 75 hp and the high throttle response of the steam engine made it possible to start very smoothly with any load, quickly accelerate and reach high speeds. The driver simply opened the throttle on the steering column, and the car accelerated freely, and its speed increased without interruption. The body range of Doblov cars consisted of eight options, starting with a 3-seater roadster and ending with a 7-seater limousine

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Of course, thin technical solutions demanded the best materials, which had a corresponding impact on the final price tag. Thus, a steam car produced by Doble Steam Motors with reliable Bosch electrics on board and luxurious salon, lined with wood and even ivory, cost $18,000. Considering Ford's $800 Iron Lizzie, which was then in existence, it was obscenely expensive. This means that either large industrialists or bank robbers could afford to ride on the perfect steam car. It's a pity that the latter also preferred Ford. If he knew even a little about cars, perhaps Doble Steam Motors would not have ceased to exist in 1931, having released only 50 production copies to the market.

Peculiarities:

The Doble brothers were not credited with inventing the steam engine. They succeeded in another way, making a steam car a modern, fast and comfortable means of transportation. Howard Hughes himself drove the Model E, which already says a lot. Besides power point produced by Doble Steam Motors did not disappear without a trace: in 1933 it was successfully tested by the aviation company Bessler. A little later, Johnston's steam airplane also distinguished itself by its silent flight and low speed. landing speed. This means that advanced ideas can reach heaven during our lifetime...

The best of the "worst"

Another striking example of family cohesion was shown to the world by the Stanley brothers, who built the steam-powered Rocket in 1906. This device was born with the sole purpose of setting a speed record. The machine was powered by a two-cylinder horizontal steam unit, the maximum power of which reached 150 hp! This ferry car borrowed its exotic appearance from Indian canoes - the sharp, streamlined silhouette allowed the engineers to achieve incredible aerodynamic performance. Over time, it was adopted by all racers who were at least somehow related to common sense.

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The success of the Stanley Rocket contributed to the increase in popularity of serial steam engines. Stanley Motor Carriages Co. produced 800 units of its popular model Steamer per year, building a total of about 12,000 steam cars

Only one person dared to pilot such extreme technology, Fred Marriott. Bonneville Salt Lake was not yet popular among racers, so Ormond Beach, located near Daytona Beach in Florida, was used for record-breaking races. On the first try, the Stanley Brothers' Rocket exceeded the speed limit of 205 km/h for a 1-mile ride and 195 km/h for a 1-km ride (measured within that mile). At that time no one could achieve such an indicator. This was the hour of true triumph for the Stanley brothers and all steam technology!

A year later, a team of crazy experimenters Stanley Rocket set out to speed up their car. After all, the potential of this steam force was not fully revealed - so they believed. Having aimed at a speed limit of 322 km/h (200 mph), they increased the engine power, solving this issue by increasing the steam pressure. As a result, the cylinders received a pressure of 90 bar, and the car itself acquired a more powerful braking system.

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Structurally, Stanley’s “Rocket” could withstand all the loads and would have withstood it if there had been a perfectly flat surface under its wheels. The disastrous result almost cost Fred Marriott his life - the car bounced on a bump and fell apart in pieces. After this, the Stanley brothers suspended their experiments. Not for long...

Peculiarities:

The scandal fanned by newspapermen around the defeat of Stanley Rocket almost overshadowed its own triumph. Many tried to take the height, which the steam “Rocket” easily conquered. Until recently, many spears, axes and other weapons were broken on her record, which other loser racers threw at the winner out of anger. And steam power still rules!

Truck on wood

And also on coal and even peat! Yes, such phrases did not arise out of nowhere - and of course. But oddly enough, the comic metaphor in 1948 - in an era of total shortages and austerity - was brought to life and worked! The country devastated by World War II had to be raised, industrialized, and provided for. Therefore, following the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of 08/07/1947 “On the mechanization of logging and the development of new forest areas,” NAMI was instructed to develop power unit and the design of a timber truck that would run on wood. Well, everything seems to be logical - in the vast forest belt there is a lot of fuel...

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The NAMI-012 single-wheel drive tractor was built on the basis of the YaAZ-200 truck, produced in Yaroslavl. In the additional compartment between the cabin and loading platform there was a boiler and a 100-horsepower steam engine. It ignored the declared 35% moisture content of the fuel, and easily consumed even half-damp logs. And it was possible to fill the boiler with water using ejectors directly from any natural body of water!

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The NAMI-012 single-wheel drive tractor was built on the basis of the YaAZ-200 truck, produced in Yaroslavl. In the additional compartment between the cabin and the cargo platform there is a boiler and a 100-horsepower steam engine. It ignored the declared 35% moisture content of the fuel, and easily consumed even half-damp logs. And it was possible to fill the boiler with water using ejectors directly from any natural body of water!

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Already in May 1949, the group of engineers leading the project, headed by Yuri Shebalin and Nikolai Korotonoshko, received an author's certificate for a steam engine that ran on low-calorie fuel. Steam power plant high blood pressure was equipped with a water-tube boiler with natural circulation and a 3-cylinder single expansion engine. The refueling material, the so-called “firewood” (medium-sized pellets), was loaded into two fuel bunkers located on top of each other and entered the burner “self-propelled” as it burned. This process could be regulated manually or automatically - three gear positions provided for 20%, 40% and 75% filling of the engine cylinder. Thus, the power reserve experimental truck NAMI-012 was 80-120 km.

By the time the testing of the wood-burning tractor prototypes was completed, that is, in the summer of 1951, the production of steam-powered vehicles had ceased all over the world. The opinion of the supervisory commission, which included representatives of almost all automobile organizations, also did not work out in favor of NAMI-012. Loaded vehicles showed excellent cross-country ability, but when running empty, problems emerged - all due to overload of the front axle.

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In total, NAMI had five different chassis. The same tractor had intermediate options, since the equipment of the steam plant changed all the time during testing

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In total, NAMI had five different chassis. The same tractor had intermediate options, since the equipment of the steam plant changed all the time during testing

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In total, NAMI had five different chassis. The same tractor had intermediate options, since the equipment of the steam plant changed all the time during testing

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In total, NAMI had five different chassis. The same tractor had intermediate options, since the equipment of the steam plant changed all the time during testing

Then it was decided to continue research and make an all-wheel drive prototype. The index NAMI-018 was assigned to it. Externally, it differed from its predecessor only in its vertical grille engine compartment. The engineers managed to stabilize the empty tractor, but there were still more disadvantages to its operation than advantages. In order to travel the “ill-fated” 100 km, the truck had to carry almost half a ton of firewood, prepared for future use and already dried. At the same time, in winter it was necessary to drain the water at night (as much as 200 liters) so that it would not freeze and burst the boiler from the inside, and then fill it again in the morning. In 1954, when the Soviets gained access to oil, and therefore cheap liquid fuel, such sacrifices were no longer justified.

Exactly 212 years ago, on December 24, 1801, in the small English town of Camborne, mechanic Richard Trevithick demonstrated to the public the first steam-powered car, Dog Carts. Today, this event could easily be classified as notable, but insignificant, especially since the steam engine was known earlier, and was even used in vehicles (although calling them cars would be very it's a stretch)… But here’s what’s interesting: right now, technological progress has given 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 wins? I won't give any hints. Let me give you a hint: technology has nothing to do with it...

1. The craze for steam engines has passed, and the time has come for internal combustion engines. For the benefit of the matter, I will repeat: in 1801, a four-wheeled carriage, capable of relative comfort and not fast enough to carry eight passengers. The car was driven by a single-cylinder steam engine and fueled by coal. The creation of steam vehicles was started with enthusiasm, and already in the 20s of the 19th century, passenger steam omnibuses transported passengers at speeds of up to 30 km/h, and the average mileage between repairs 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, powered by illuminating 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 gas engine with ignition from an electric spark and brought its design to the point of suitability for installation on a vehicle.

So, the automobile steam engine and 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 short moment in the history of progress. Beginning in 1801, history steam transport actively continued for almost 159 years. In 1960 (!), buses and trucks with steam engines were still being built in the USA. Steam engines improved significantly during this time. In 1900, 50% of the car fleet in the United States was steam-powered. Already in those years, competition arose between steam, gasoline and - attention! - electric carriages. After the market success of Ford's Model T and the seemingly defeat of the steam engine, a new surge in popularity steam cars occurred 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, the Stanley company produced approximately 1 thousand steam cars per year. In England, steam trucks successfully competed with gasoline trucks until 1933 and lost only because the authorities introduced a heavy duty tax. freight transport and reducing tariffs on imports of liquid petroleum products from the United States.

3. The steam engine is inefficient and uneconomical. Yes, it was once like that. A “classical” steam engine, which released waste steam into the atmosphere, has an efficiency of no more than 8%. However, a steam engine with a condenser and a profiled flow path 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 begin exploring 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 has always been lower than the cost of carburetor and diesel engines of the same power. Liquid fuel consumption in new steam engines operating in a closed cycle on superheated (dry) steam and equipped with modern lubrication systems, high-quality bearings and electronic systems regulation of the working cycle is only 40% of the previous one.

4. The steam engine starts slowly. And this was once... Even production cars Stanley companies “separated couples” for 10 to 20 minutes. Improving the boiler design and introducing a cascade heating mode made it possible to reduce the readiness time to 40–60 seconds.

5. The steam car is too leisurely. This is wrong. The speed record of 1906 - 205.44 km/h - belongs to a steam car. In those years, cars gasoline engines They didn’t know how to drive that fast. In 1985, a steam car drove at a speed of 234.33 km/h. And in 2009, a group of British engineers designed a steam turbine “car” with a steam drive with a power of 360 hp. s., who was able to move with a record average speed in the race - 241.7 km/h.

6. A steam car smokes and is unsightly. Looking at ancient drawings that depict the first steam carriages throwing out thick clouds of smoke and fire from their chimneys (which, by the way, indicates the imperfection of the fireboxes of the first “steam engines”), you understand where the persistent association of the steam engine and soot came from.

As for the appearance of the cars, this, of course, depends on the level of the designer. It is unlikely that anyone will say that steam cars Abner Doble (USA) are ugly. On the contrary, they are elegant even by modern standards. And they also drove silently, smoothly and quickly - up to 130 km/h.

It is interesting that modern research in the field of hydrogen fuel for automobile engines has given rise to a number of “side branches”: hydrogen as a fuel for classic piston steam engines and especially for steam turbine machines ensures absolute environmental friendliness. The “smoke” from such a motor is... water vapor.

7. The steam engine is capricious. It is not true. It is structurally significant simpler than an engine internal combustion, which in itself means greater reliability and unpretentiousness. Steam engines have a service life of many tens of thousands of hours. continuous operation, which is not typical for other types of engines. However, the matter does not stop there. Due to the principles of operation, a steam engine does not lose efficiency when atmospheric pressure decreases. Exactly because of this reason vehicles steam-powered engines are exceptionally well suited for use in the highlands, on difficult mountain passes.

It is interesting to note one more thing useful property steam engine, which, by the way, is similar to an electric motor direct current. A decrease in shaft speed (for example, with increasing load) causes an increase in torque. Due to this property, cars with steam engines In principle, gearboxes are not needed - the mechanisms themselves are very complex and sometimes capricious.

In those years when the car was just in its infancy, the internal combustion engine was only one of the areas of design thought. Steam and electric engines successfully competed with the automobile, which used engines of this kind. The steam car of the Frenchman Louis Sorpollet even set a speed record in 1902. And in subsequent years - the undivided dominance of gasoline engines, there were some steam enthusiasts who could not come to terms with the fact that this type of energy was being forced out of highways. The Americans the Stanley brothers built steam cars from 1897 to 1927. Their machines were quite advanced, but somewhat cumbersome. Another related couple, also American - the Doble brothers - lasted a little longer. They ended the unequal struggle in 1932, having created several dozen steam cars. One of these machines is still in use today, without undergoing almost any changes. Only a new boiler and nozzle running on diesel fuel were installed. The steam pressure reaches 91.4 atm. at a temperature of 400° C. The maximum speed of the car is very high - about 200 km/h. But the most remarkable thing is the ability to develop enormous torque when starting off. Internal combustion engines do not possess this property of a steam engine, and that is why at one time it was so difficult to introduce diesel into locomotives. The Doble brothers' car moved straight from a standstill over a block measuring 30 by 30 cm placed under the wheels. Another curious property: in reverse, it climbs a hill faster than ordinary cars in front. The exhaust steam is used only to rotate the fan and generator, which charges the battery. But this car would have remained a curiosity, a contender for a place in the museum of the history of technology, if the eyes of designers today had not turned again to old ideas - the electric car and steam - under the influence of the danger posed by atmospheric pollution.

From this point of view, what is attractive about a steam car? Exclusively important property- very low emission with combustion products harmful substances. This happens because the fuel does not burn in flashes, as in a gasoline engine, but continuously, the combustion process is stable, and the combustion time is much longer.

There seems to be no discovery in this at all - the difference between a steam engine and an internal combustion engine lies in the very principle of their operation. Why did steam cars fail to compete with gasoline cars? Because their engines have a number of serious shortcomings.

The first is a well-known fact: there are as many amateur drivers as you like, but there are not a single amateur drivers yet. This area of human activity is occupied exclusively by professionals. The most important thing is that an amateur driver, when getting behind the wheel, risks only his own life and those who voluntarily trusted him; the driver - thousands of others. But something else is also important: servicing a steam engine requires higher qualifications than servicing a gasoline engine. The error results in serious damage and even a boiler explosion.

Second. Who has not seen a steam locomotive rushing along the rails in a white cloud? A cloud is steam released into the atmosphere. A steam locomotive is a powerful machine; there is enough space on it for a large boiler of water. But the car is not enough. And this is one of the reasons for the abandonment of steam engines.

The third and most important thing is the low efficiency of the steam engine. It is not for nothing that in industrially developed countries they are now trying to replace all steam locomotives on highways with heat and electric locomotives; it is not for nothing that the uneconomical nature of a steam locomotive has even become a proverb. 8% - what kind of efficiency is this?

To increase it, you need to increase the temperature and steam pressure. In order for the efficiency of a steam engine with a power of 150 hp or more. With. and above was 30%, an operating pressure of 210 kg/cm2 must be maintained, which requires a temperature of 370°. Technically this is feasible, but in general it is extremely dangerous, because even a small leak of steam in the engine or boiler can lead to disaster. And the distance from high pressure to explosion is very short.

These are the main difficulties. There are also smaller ones (although it must be noted that in technology there are no small things). It is difficult to lubricate the cylinders, because the oil forms an emulsion with hot water and enters the boiler pipes, where it is deposited on the walls. This impairs thermal conductivity and causes severe local overheating. Another “little thing” is that starting a steam engine is more difficult than usual.

And yet, the designers took on something very old and completely new to them. Two amazing machines took to the streets of American cities. Outwardly they were no different from ordinary cars, one even with its streamlined shape resembled a sports one. These were steam cars. Both of them took off in less than 30 seconds. after turning on the engine and reached speeds of up to 160 km/h, ran on any fuel, including kerosene, and consumed 10 gallons of water for 800 kilometers.

In 1966, Ford tested a four-stroke high-speed steam engine for a car with a displacement of 600 cm3. Tests have shown that in exhaust gases contains only 20 hydrocarbon particles per 1 million (27 particles are allowed by the Senate Air Pollution Commission), carbon monoxide contained 0.05% total mass exhaust gases, which is 30 times less than the permissible amount.

An experimental steam car made by General Motors, under the symbol E-101, was demonstrated at an exhibition of cars with unusual engines. Outwardly, it did not differ from the car on the basis of which it was created - the Pontiac - but the engine, together with the boiler, condenser and other components of the steam system, weighed 204 kg more. The driver sat down in his seat, turned the key and waited 30-45 seconds until the light came on. This meant that the steam pressure had reached the required value and we could go. Such a short period of time can be divided into the following stages.

The boiler is full - the fuel pump turns on, fuel enters the combustion chamber and mixes with air.

Ignition.

The temperature and steam pressure have reached the desired level, steam flows into the cylinders. The engine is idling.

The driver presses the pedal; the amount of steam going into the engine increases, the car starts moving. Any fuel - diesel, kerosene, gasoline.

All these experiments enabled Robert Ayres of the Washington Advanced Development Center to declare that the shortcomings of the steam car had been overcome. High cost at serial production will definitely go down. A boiler consisting of pipes eliminates the risk of explosion, since only a small amount of water is involved in operation at any time. If the pipes are placed closer together, the engine size will decrease. Antifreeze will eliminate the danger of freezing. A steam engine does not need a gearbox, transmission, starter, carburetor, muffler, cooling, gas distribution or ignition systems. This is its huge advantage. The operating mode of the machine can be adjusted by supplying more or less steam to the cylinders. If you use freon instead of water, which freezes at very low temperatures and it also has lubricating properties, then the benefits will increase even more. Steam engines compete with conventional engines in terms of acceleration, fuel consumption, and power per unit of weight.

So far there is no talk of widespread use of steam cars. Not a single car has been brought to the level of industrial design, and no one is going to rebuild the automotive industry. But amateur designers have nothing to do with industrial technology. And one after another they create original examples of cars with steam engines.

Two inventors, Peterson and Smith, redesigned the pendant outboard motor. They supplied steam to the cylinders through spark plug holes. The engine weighing 12 kg developed a power of 220 hp. With. at 5600 rpm. Their example was followed by mechanical engineer Peter Barrett and his son Philip. Using an old chassis, they built a steam car. Smith shared his experience with them. Father and son used a four-cylinder outboard engine, combining it with steam turbine Smith's designs.

The steam was produced in a specially designed boiler that contained about 400 feet of copper and steel tubes connected in spiral bundles running one above the other. This increases circulation. Water is pumped into the boiler from the tank. Fuel mixes with air in the combustion chamber, and hot flames come into contact with the pipes. After 10-15 seconds. water turns into compressed steam at a temperature of approximately 350°C and a pressure of 44 kg/cm. It is ejected from the opposite end of the steam generator and directed into the engine intake duct.

Steam enters the cylinder through rotating blades along which channels run constant cross section.
Outer coupling crankshaft rigidly connected to the chain drive to the drive wheels.

Finally the superheated steam did its job useful work, and it must now turn into water to be ready to start the cycle again. This is done by a capacitor that looks like a regular radiator automobile type. It is placed in front - for better cooling by counter flows of air.

The greatest difficulties for engineers lie in the fact that often, in order to achieve at least relative simplicity of design, it is necessary to reduce the already low efficiency of the car. The two amateur designers were greatly helped by the advice of Smith and Peterson. It was as a result of joint work that many valuable innovations were introduced into the design. Let's start with combustion air. Before directly entering the burner, it is heated by passing it between the hot walls of the boiler. This provides more complete combustion fuel, reduces release time, and also makes the combustion temperature of the mixture higher and, therefore, efficiency.

For ignition combustible mixture in a conventional steam boiler a simple candle is used. Peter Barrett has designed more than effective system - electronic ignition. Rectified alcohol was used as a combustible mixture, since it is cheap and has a high octane number. Of course, kerosene diesel fuel and other liquid varieties will work too.

But the most interesting thing here is the capacitor. Condensation large quantities steam is considered the main difficulty of modern steam power plants. Smith designed the radiator to use water mist. The design works perfectly, the system condenses moisture by 99%. Almost no water is wasted - except for the small amount that does seep through the seals.

Other interesting new product- Lubrication system. The cylinders of a steam engine are usually lubricated by a complex and cumbersome device that sprays heavy oil dust into the steam. The oil settles on the cylinder walls and is then released with the exhaust steam. Later, the oil must be separated from the water condensate and returned to the lubrication system.

The Barretts used a chemical emulsifier that absorbs both water and oil and then separates them, thus eliminating the need for a bulky injector or mechanical separator. Tests show that when the chemical emulsifier operates, no sediment is formed either in the steam boiler or in the condenser.

Also interesting is the clutch type mechanism, which directly connects the engine to the drive shaft and cardan transmission. The machine does not have a gearbox; the speed is controlled by changing the steam intake into the cylinders. The use of the “intake-exhaust” system allows you to easily put the engine into neutral position. The steam can be directed into the engine, heat it and at the same time bring the steam boiler into a ready position. active work, maintaining a constant pressure close to the working one. The steam engine develops a power of 30-50 hp. s, and a gallon of fuel is enough to move a car a distance of 15-20 miles, which is quite comparable to the fuel consumption of cars with an internal combustion engine. Control system quite complex, but fully automated; You only have to monitor the steering mechanism and select the required speed. When tested, the car reached speeds of about 50 mph, but this was the limit because the car's chassis was not matched to the engine's power.

This is the result. All this is still experiments. But who knows, we might not witness a new dominance of steam on roads - now not railways, but highways.
R. YAROV, engineer
Modeler-constructor 1971.

December 24, 1801 mechanic-designer Richard Trevithick demonstrated the first steam car. In honor of this date, we decided to talk about the most iconic cars with an external combustion thermal engine.

Trevithick's steam car

Trevithick's eight-seater car had huge rear wheels, between which the steam engine was located. The fireman threw in coal to heat the boiler. The engineer used the car to earn money by transporting numerous people. Trevithick also had several steam locomotive projects, however, without receiving the necessary funding, he soon went bankrupt and left England.

Omnibus Enterprise

The forefather of all buses was Walter Hancock's 1833 Enterprise omnibus - huge car, reaching speeds of up to 32 km/h. The “fuel tank”, which held one ton of water, was enough for 32 kilometers. Hancock's car was still displacing horse-drawn transport up to the 40s.

La Marquise

One of the first luxury cars was built in 1884. The four-seater steam engine La Marquise reached speeds of up to 59 km/h. By the way, the car still works to this day. In 2011, it was sold at auction to an unknown person for 4 million 260 thousand dollars.

Steam car "Dux"

In the first decade of the 20th century in Tsarist Russia, steam cars of the Dux company were extremely popular. The machines, with a power of about 3 hp, were almost silent and extremely easy to operate.

Stanley Rocket

In 1906, the Stanley Rocket set a speed record of 203 km/h. At the time, racing driver Fred Marriott was driving. Almost a year later, Fred tried to break this record in an improved Stanley Rocket, but the attempt ended in failure - the car collapsed on uneven tracks.

Sentinel Standard

Scottish Sentinel Standard steam trucks were produced from 1906. The massive vehicles were equipped with steam engines from boats with a power of about 24 hp. The maximum speed was 12 km/h. Some surviving examples are now used as tourist buses.

Doble Detroit

The Doble brothers presented steam cars for the first time in a practical and elegant body. Their Detroit model had an ignition key and a new, more powerful and practical engine. For example, the car “warmed up” in just one and a half minutes, while older steam cars required at least half an hour for this. Despite the great excitement caused by the car at the auto show in 1917, out of several thousand cars ordered, no more than 80 were built (and according to some sources, only 11).

Double Model E

At the 1924 New York Auto Show, the Doble brothers introduced the Model E, one of the most powerful and reliable production steam cars. Its maximum speed was 160 km/h, and it accelerated to “hundreds” in just 10 seconds – even many modern passenger cars cannot boast of such indicators. However, new technologies and materials have significantly increased the cost of the machine. Only wealthy people could afford Doble E. A total of 50 copies were produced.

NAMI-012

In 1949, the NAMI-012 steam truck based on the YaAZ-200 was developed in the Soviet Union. According to the engineers, steam engines were supposed to have good traction and practicality, but the project was closed, and all the prototypes created were disposed of.

It would seem that the age of steam cars has long passed, but some enthusiasts still have special feelings for them. In 2009, the Inspiration high-speed car was built, which, a century later, broke the record of the Stanley car. A steam car equipped with twelve boilers showed average speed at 225.06 km/h based on the results of two races.

First steam Cugno's car

France. Steam car racing

England. After a thousand miles

USA. Steam trucks on the streets of Denver

1925−1935 passenger steam engines "Doblbesler" with a two-cylinder double-expansion steam engine with a power of 80 hp. (1925−1932).

A touring car with a four-cylinder steam engine producing 120 hp. developed maximum speed 150 km/h.

1953 Marlow (England). Farmer Arthur Napper heads to steam tractor for tractor competitions

Quarry steam truck at work

In 1769, a bizarre self-propelled carriage appeared on the streets of Paris, driven by its creator, artillery engineer Nicholas Joseph Cugnot. The heart of the design was a fancy steam engine, working on the principle of a medical jar - copper cylinder filled with steam, after which water was injected, and the resulting vacuum retracted the piston. Despite the archaic design, the cart developed a decent speed, as evidenced by the end of the first race in history: the driver lost control and crashed into the wall.

A hundred years later, steam cars were rushing along the city streets with might and main, developing decent speeds even by today's standards.

In January 1906, Fred Marriott, on a steam engine with the surprisingly modest name “Rocket”, built by the Stanley Brothers company, for the first time in the world overcame the 200-kilometer mark, reaching a speed of 205.4 km/h. The “Rocket” overtook not only any car of that time, but even an airplane. The following year, the famous racer crashed, again in a steam car. As the investigation showed, at a speed of 240 km/h. Let us remember that the year was 1907. By the beginning of the 20th century, tens of thousands of steam vehicles, mostly trucks, were already roaming the roads. They differed from their gasoline counterparts in their extreme durability and reliability and could work on anything that burned - coal, wood, straw. These machines had a low speed (up to 50 km/h), they took hundreds of liters of water on board and released steam into the atmosphere. In Europe, steam cars lasted until the outbreak of World War II and were mass-produced in Brazil back in the 50s. However, there were wonderful cars and serious shortcomings: after solid fuel there remains a lot of ash and slag in its smoke

contains soot and sulfur, which is absolutely unacceptable for city streets. But it wasn’t even the soot that put an end to such cars. The fact is that lighting the solid fuel boiler lasted about two hours. Therefore, they tried not to extinguish them at all - at night the boiler was connected to a building that needed heat, and in the morning after 10-15 minutes the car was ready to hit the road. Railway steam locomotives were used in a similar way - for heating small villages.

Car on alcohol

An alternative was the steam car. liquid fuel: gasoline, kerosene and alcohol. It would seem, why use a steam boiler if liquid fuel burns well in an internal combustion engine (ICE)?

But the engineers of that time thought differently. It seemed to many of them that the internal combustion engine was not suitable for transport: it could not be started without opening the transmission; it was enough to slow it down and it would stall. The internal combustion engine does not develop sufficient traction over the entire speed range, and it has to be supplemented by a gearbox. Now look at the steam engine. It has the ability to automatically adapt to road conditions. If the resistance to movement increases, it slows down the rotation and increases the torque. If the resistance to movement decreases, it rotates faster and faster.

Let's remember the steam locomotive. The piston of his steam engine was connected directly to the wheels by a connecting rod. There was no sign of a clutch or gearbox. By simply supplying steam to the cylinder, the locomotives started moving thousand-ton trains, gradually increasing their speed, sometimes up to two hundred kilometers. And all this was done without any intermediate elements by the simplest (compared to an internal combustion engine) engine.

Therefore, engineers preferred to make a lightweight, compact steam generator and make do with just one steam engine, without resorting to a gearbox and clutch.

The first steam cars running on liquid fuel started moving within 23 minutes. They released steam into the atmosphere and required about 30 liters of gasoline and more than 70 liters of water per 100 km of travel. This is exactly the engine that powered the champion Rocket.

Car for millionaires

In 1935, at the Moscow Automobile Plant named after. Stalin (now ZIL) a high-class passenger car appeared with a mahogany body on a Packard chassis made of chromium-nickel steel. This car, made by the American company Besler under license from the Doble company in 1924, was steam powered. Under its hood there was a steam generator and two (one after the other) radiators. On the rear axle there was a small steam engine, made in a single block with a differential. There was no clutch, gearbox or driveshaft on the car. The engine was controlled by a steam pedal. Occasionally it was necessary to change the cutoff - the phase of stopping the intake of steam into the cylinder. A simple turn of the ignition key and after 45 seconds the car starts moving. Another couple of minutes - and he is ready to start accelerating to a speed of 150 km/h with an acceleration of 2.7 m/s2.

Driving a steam car is a pleasure. It moves silently and smoothly. The same Doble-Besler continued to be tested after the war. This is what car test engineer A.N. said. Malinin.

Test stands with running drums are widely used in the automotive industry. At such a stand, the car is mounted with its drive wheels on special drums that imitate the road: the engine is running, the wheels are spinning, the “road” is moving, and the car is standing still.

And then one day Malinin and Professor Chudakov (a world figure in the field of automobile theory) sat in the cabin of a steam engine standing on such a stand. They sat down and sat in complete silence. Only the professor presses buttons and glances at the instruments. The engineer is bored and asks: “Isn’t it time to go?” “We’ve been going for a long time,” the professor replies. The speedometer showed 20 km/h - a decent value for those times.

According to our understanding, the streets were deserted then. But to hear the noise of a steam engine even on such a street, you had to put your ear to exhaust pipe steam generator. This also requires some clarification. The engine of the Doble-Besler car operated in a closed cycle with steam condensation.

70 liters of water was enough for 500 km of driving. It was necessary to let off steam outside only on rare occasions. Therefore, with well-made mechanisms, nothing could make noise in the car, and only the noise of the flame could be heard from the steam generator.

Ride everything that burns

Fuel combustion in the cylinder of an internal combustion engine (ICE) occurs under constantly changing amounts of oxygen and temperature, which leads to the formation of a huge volume of toxic substances. A car in an hour of operation it produces enough of them to kill more than one person.

In the steam generator burner, all processes take place at constant and best conditions, therefore the toxicity of the exhaust of a steam car is hundreds of times lower than that of a car with an internal combustion engine. Simply put, fuel combustion in a steam generator is a long, continuous process, like in a kitchen gas burner. Almost all reactions manage to be completed in it, which cannot be done in an internal combustion engine cylinder.

The most important indicator of a car is fuel consumption. The Doble-Besler, produced in 1924, with a mass of 2200 kg, consumed on average 18 liters of gasoline per 100 km. This was quite small for that time and remained acceptable for cars of this mass for 40 years. Note that any liquid fuel could burn in the steam generator burner - gasoline, kerosene, alcohol, vegetable oil, fuel oil... Although the goal is to reduce the cost or save fuel in in this case was not installed. The car was intended for millionaires.

Heir to the moonshine still

Most important element car - steam generator. It was developed by American inventors the Doble brothers back in 1914 and was produced in Detroit. It consisted of 10 flat coils connected in series in a heat-resistant steel housing. The walls of the body were also covered with water tubes. Cold water from the condenser, using a small pump, was first supplied into a tube wrapping around the walls of the housing, where it was slightly heated. This reduced heat loss through the walls. And then it entered the coils, where it boiled and turned into superheated steam with a temperature of 4500C and a pressure of 120 atmospheres. Such steam parameters were considered extremely high for that time. As the theory says, with increasing temperature and steam pressure, the efficiency of a steam engine increases. Taking advantage of this, the Doble brothers made it very economical and lightweight. It had two cylinders, and each of them was double. Steam was first supplied to the upper part of the small diameter, where it expanded and performed work. After that, he entered the lower part, which had large diameter and volume where performed extra work. The double expansion principle was especially useful when driving around the city. Here, often (for example, at the moment of acceleration or starting off) large portions of steam were supplied to the car, which would not be able to give off all their energy, expanding once.

The exhaust steam gave up its heat to cold water entering the steam generator, and only after that it entered the condenser, where it turned into water. Water was supplied to the steam generator in portions sufficient only to complete one or two strokes of the steam engine piston. Therefore, the steam generator contained only a few tens of grams of water at a time, and this made it absolutely explosion-proof. When the tube ruptured, steam flowed into the firebox in a stream and the automatic switched off the burner. A similar incident occurred only once - after a run of more than 200 thousand kilometers. They found out about this only because the car stopped starting. The repair lasted no more than an hour and boiled down to replacing the coil.

Where did they go

The question arises: if steam cars are so good, then why haven’t they replaced cars with internal combustion engines? A steam engine, full of automation, many auxiliary units, at the beginning of the 20th century, was more complex and more expensive than an internal combustion engine, and at the same time had lower efficiency. In addition, it took up quite a lot of space - primarily due to the need to have a separate water tank. In those days, no one limited the toxicity of exhaust. And the steam engine lost.

Since then, the internal combustion engine has become significantly more complex, equipped with electronics, and a special system is used to reduce the toxicity of its exhaust. Transmissions have also become complex. So it’s unknown what we would drive now if environmental requirements half a century earlier.

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