Interest in water vapor as an accessible source of energy appeared along with the first scientific knowledge of the ancients. People have been trying to tame this energy for three thousand years. What are the main stages of this path? Whose thoughts and projects have taught mankind to make the most of it?

Prerequisites for the emergence of steam engines

The need for mechanisms that can facilitate labor-intensive processes has always existed. Until about the middle of the 18th century, windmills and water wheels were used for this purpose. The possibility of using wind energy directly depends on the vagaries of the weather. And to use water wheels, factories had to be built along the banks of rivers, which is not always convenient or practical. And the effectiveness of both was extremely low. A fundamentally new engine was needed, easily manageable and devoid of these disadvantages.

History of the invention and improvement of steam engines

The creation of a steam engine is the result of much thought, success and disappointment of many scientists.

The beginning of the way

The first, isolated projects were just interesting curiosities. For example, Archimedes designed a steam gun, Heron of Alexandria used steam energy to open the doors of ancient temples. And researchers find notes on the practical use of steam energy to drive other mechanisms in the works Leonardo da Vinci.

Let's look at the most significant projects on this topic.

In the 16th century, the Arab engineer Taghi al Din developed a design for a primitive steam turbine. However practical application it did not receive due to the strong dispersion of the steam jet supplied to the turbine wheel blades.

Let's go back to medieval France. Physicist and talented inventor Denis Papin, after many unsuccessful projects, settled on the following design: a vertical cylinder was filled with water, above which a piston was installed.

The cylinder was heated, the water boiled and evaporated. The expanding steam lifted the piston. It was fixed at the top point of the rise and the cylinder was waited for to cool and the steam to condense. After the steam condensed, a vacuum formed in the cylinder. The piston, freed from its fastening, rushed into the vacuum under the influence of atmospheric pressure. It was this fall of the piston that was supposed to be used as a working stroke.

So, the useful stroke of the piston was caused by the formation of a vacuum due to steam condensation and external (atmospheric) pressure.

Because steam engine Papena like most subsequent projects, they were called steam-atmospheric machines.

This design had a very significant drawback - repeatability of the cycle was not provided. Denis comes up with the idea of ​​producing steam not in a cylinder, but separately in a steam boiler.

Denis Papin entered the history of the creation of steam engines as the inventor of a very important part - the steam boiler.

And since steam began to be produced outside the cylinder, the engine itself became an external combustion engine. But due to the lack of a distribution mechanism to ensure uninterrupted operation, these projects found almost no practical application.

A new stage in the development of steam engines

For about 50 years, it was used to pump water in coal mines. Thomas Newcomen steam pump. It largely repeated previous designs, but contained very important new items - a pipe for removing condensed steam and a safety valve for releasing excess steam.

Its significant disadvantage was that the cylinder had to be either heated before steam injection, or cooled before it condensed. But the need for such engines was so high that, despite their obvious inefficiency, the last copies of these machines served until 1930.

In 1765 English mechanic James Watt, having started improving Newcomen's machine, separated the condenser from the steam cylinder.

It became possible to keep the cylinder constantly heated. The efficiency of the machine immediately increased. In subsequent years, Watt would significantly improve his model, equipping it with a device for supplying steam on one side or the other.

It became possible to use this machine not only as a pump, but also to drive various machines. Watt received a patent for his invention - a continuous steam engine. Begins mass release these cars.

By the beginning of the 19th century, more than 320 Watt steam engines were operating in England. Others began to buy them European countries. This contributed to a significant increase in industrial production in many industries both in England itself and in neighboring countries.

Twenty years earlier than Watt, the Altai mechanic Ivan Ivanovich Polzunov was working on a steam engine project in Russia.

The factory management invited him to build a unit that would drive the blower of the smelting furnace.

The machine he built was two-cylinder and ensured continuous operation of the device connected to it.

After successfully operating for more than a month and a half, the boiler leaked. Polzunov himself was no longer alive by this time. The car was not repaired. And the wonderful creation of the lone Russian inventor was forgotten.

Due to the backwardness of Russia at that time the world learned about the invention of I. I. Polzunov with a great delay...

So, to operate a steam engine, it is necessary that the steam produced by the steam boiler expands and presses on the piston or turbine blades. And then their movement was transmitted to other mechanical parts.

The use of steam engines in transport

Despite the fact that the efficiency of steam engines of that time did not exceed 5%, by the end of the 18th century they began to be actively used in agriculture and on transport:

• a steam-powered car appears in France;
• in the USA, a ship begins to operate between the cities of Philadelphia and Burlington;
• a steam-powered railway locomotive was demonstrated in England;
• A Russian peasant from the Saratov province patented a 20-horsepower caterpillar tractor he built. With.;
• Attempts have been made repeatedly to build an aircraft with a steam engine, but, unfortunately, the low power of these units with heavy weight the aircraft made these attempts unsuccessful.

By the end of the 19th century, steam engines, having played their role in the technical progress of society, were giving way to electric motors.

Steam devices in the 21st century

With the advent of new energy sources in the 20th and 21st centuries, the need to use steam energy again arises. Steam turbines are becoming an integral part of nuclear power plants. The steam that powers them is obtained from nuclear fuel.

These turbines are also widely used in condensing thermal power plants.

In a number of countries, experiments are being conducted to produce steam using solar energy.

Piston steam engines have not been forgotten either. In mountainous areas as a locomotive Steam locomotives are still used.

These reliable workers are both safer and cheaper. They do not need power lines, and fuel - wood and cheap coal - are always at hand.

Modern technologies make it possible to capture up to 95% of atmospheric emissions and increase efficiency to 21%, so that people have decided not to part with them for now and are working on a new generation of steam locomotives.

If this message was useful to you, I would be glad to see you

Article published 05/19/2014 05:36 Last edited 05/19/2014 05:58

The history of the development of the steam engine is described in sufficient detail in this article. Here are the most famous solutions and inventions from 1672-1891.

First developments.

Let's start with the fact that back in the seventeenth century, steam began to be considered as a means of drive, all sorts of experiments were carried out with it, and only in 1643 Evangelista Torricelli discovered the power effect of steam pressure. Christian Huygens, 47 years later, designed the first power machine, powered by the explosion of gunpowder in a cylinder. This was the first prototype of an internal combustion engine. Abbot Hautefey's water intake machine is based on a similar principle. Soon Denis Papin decided to replace the force of the explosion with less powerful force pair. In 1690 he built first steam engine, also known as a steam boiler.

It consisted of a piston, which, with the help of boiling water, moved upward in the cylinder and, due to subsequent cooling, fell again - this is how force was created. The whole process took place in this way: a furnace was placed under the cylinder, which simultaneously served as a boiler; When the piston was in the upper position, the furnace moved back to facilitate cooling.

Later two Englishmen, Thomas Newcomen and Cowley - one a blacksmith, the other a glazier - improved the system by separating the boiler and cylinder and adding a tank with cold water. This system operated by valves or taps, one for steam and one for water, which were alternately opened and closed. Then the Englishman Bayton rebuilt the valve control into a truly clock control.

Application of steam engines in practice.

Newcomen's machine soon became known everywhere and, in particular, was improved by the double-action system developed by James Watt in 1765. Now Steam engine proved to be sufficiently complete for use in vehicles, although due to its size it was better suited for stationary installations. Watt also proposed his inventions in industry; he also built machines for textile factories.

The first steam engine used as a means of transportation was invented by the Frenchman Nicolas Joseph Cugnot, an engineer and amateur military strategist. In 1763 or 1765, he created a car that could carry four passengers at an average speed of 3.5 and a maximum speed of 9.5 km/h. The first attempt was followed by a second - a vehicle appeared to transport guns. It was tested, naturally, by the military, but due to the impossibility of long-term operation (continuous operation cycle new car did not exceed 15 minutes) the inventor did not receive support from the authorities and financiers. Meanwhile, the steam engine was being improved in England. After several unsuccessful attempts by Moore, William Murdoch and William Symington based on Watt's car, Richard Travisick's rail vehicle, commissioned by a Welsh coal mine, appeared. An active inventor came into the world: from underground mines he rose to the ground and in 1802 introduced humanity to a powerful a car, reaching a speed of 15 km/h on flat terrain and 6 km/h on the rise.

Preview - click to enlarge.

Steam-powered vehicles were increasingly used in the United States: Nathan Reed surprised the residents of Philadelphia in 1790 with his steam car model. However, his compatriot Oliver Evans became even more famous, who fourteen years later invented the amphibious vehicle. After the Napoleonic Wars, during which “automotive experiments” were not carried out, work began again on invention and improvement of the steam engine. In 1821 it could be considered perfect and quite reliable. Since then, every advance in steam-powered vehicles has definitely contributed to the development of future automobiles.

In 1825, Sir Goldsworth Gurney organized the first passenger line on a 171 km section from London to Bath. At the same time, he used a carriage he patented, which had a steam engine. This marked the beginning of the era of high-speed road carriages, which, however, disappeared in England, but became widespread in Italy and France. Such vehicles reached their highest development with the appearance in 1873 of Amédée Ballet's "Reverance" weighing 4500 kg and the "Mancel" - a more compact one, weighing just over 2500 kg and reaching a speed of 35 km/h. Both were harbingers of the kind of performance technology that became characteristic of the first “real” cars. Despite the high speed steam engine efficiency was very small. Bolle was the one who patented the first well-functioning steering system, and he arranged the control and control elements so well that we can still see it on the instrument panel today.

Preview - click to enlarge.

Despite the tremendous progress in the development of the internal combustion engine, steam power still ensured a more even and smooth running of the car and, therefore, had many supporters. Like Bolle, who built other light cars, such as the Rapide in 1881 with a speed of 60 km/h, the Nouvelle in 1873, which had a front axle with independent wheel suspension, Leon Chevrolet launched several cars between 1887 and 1907 with a light and compact steam generator, patented by him in 1889. De Dion-Bouton, founded in Paris in 1883, produced steam-powered cars for the first ten years of its existence and achieved significant success in doing so - its cars won the Paris-Rouen race in 1894.

Preview - click to enlarge.

The success of Panhard et Levassor in the use of gasoline led, however, to the fact that De Dion switched to internal combustion engines. When the Bolle brothers took over their father's company, they did the same. Then Chevrolet rebuilt its production. Steam-powered cars were disappearing from the horizon faster and faster, although they had been in use in the United States since before 1930. At this very moment production stopped and invention of steam engines

The history of steam engines dates back to the 1st century AD, when Heron of Alexandria first described the aeolipile. More than 1,500 years later, in 1551, the Ottoman scientist Takiyuddin al-Shami described primitive turbines driven by steam, and in 1629 a similar discovery was made by Giovanni Branca. These devices were steam frying skewers or small transmission mechanisms. Basically, such designs were used by inventors to demonstrate the power of steam, and proof that it should not be underestimated.

In the 1700s, miners faced a major challenge: pumping water from deep mines. The same power of steam came to the rescue. Using steam energy, it was possible to pump water out of the mines. This application unlocked the potential power of steam and led to the invention of the steam engine. Steam power plants appeared later. Main principle, on which steam engines operate, is “the condensation of water vapor to create a partial vacuum.”

Thomas Severi and the first industrial engines

Thomas Severi was the first to invent a steam pump in 1698, it was intended for pumping water. This invention is often called a "fire engine" or an engine for "raising water with fire." The steam pump, patented by Severi, worked by boiling water until it was completely converted into steam. Then each drop of steam rose into the tank, and a vacuum was formed in the container where there was originally water. This vacuum was used to pump water from deep mines. But the solution turned out to be temporary, since the steam energy was only enough to pump water from a depth of several meters. Another disadvantage of this design was the use of steam pressure to expel the water drawn into the tank. The pressure was too high for the boilers, causing a number of violent explosions.

Low pressure machines

The high coal consumption inherent in Newcomen's steam engines was reduced thanks to the innovations of James Watt. The low pressure machine cylinder was equipped with thermal protection, a separate condenser and a drainage mechanism for condensed water. Thus, coal consumption in low-pressure machines has been reduced by more than 50%.

Ivan Polzunov and the first two-cylinder steam engine

The first steam engine in Russia was invented by Ivan Polzunov. His two-cylinder steam engine was more powerful than naturally aspirated English engines. They reached a power of 24 kW. A model of Polzunov's two-cylinder steam engine is exhibited in the Barnaul Museum.

Thomas Newcomen's steam engine

In 1712, Thomas Newcomen invented a steam engine that was very successful from a practical point of view. His model consisted of a piston or cylinder that drove a huge wooden block to drive a water pump. The return stroke in the machine was operated by gravity, which pushed down the end of the block from the pump side. The Newcomen machine was actively used for 50 years. Then it was recognized as ineffective, since it required a lot of energy for active functioning. It was necessary to heat the cylinder, since it was constantly cooling, as a result of which a lot of fuel was burned.

Improvements by James Watt

James Watt made a real revolution in the history of the development of steam engines by introducing a separate condenser into the original design. He introduced this innovation in 1765. But only 11 years later it was possible to achieve a design that could be used on an industrial scale. The biggest problem in realizing Watt's idea was the technology for creating a huge piston to maintain the required amount of vacuum. But soon the technology made great progress, and as soon as the patent received sufficient funding, Watt's steam engine began to be actively used on railways and ships. In the United States, more than 60,000 automobiles were powered by steam engines from 1897 to 1927.

High pressure machines

In 1800, Richard Trevithick invented high-pressure steam engines. Compared to all previously invented steam engine designs, this option was the most powerful. But the design proposed by Oliver Evans was truly successful. It was based on the idea of ​​powering the engine with steam, rather than condensing steam to create a vacuum. Evans invented the first non-condensing steam engine operating under high pressure, in 1805. The machine was stationary and developed 30 revolutions per minute. This machine was originally used to drive a saw. Such machines were supported by huge reservoirs of water, which was heated by a heat source placed directly under the reservoir, which made it possible to efficiently produce the required amount of steam.

These steam engines soon found widespread use in motor boats and on railroads, in 1802 and 1829 respectively. Almost half a century later, the first steam cars appeared. Charles Algernon Parsons invented the first steam turbine. By the beginning of the 20th century, steam engines were widely used in automobile and shipbuilding.

Cornish steam engines

Richard Trevethick tried to improve the steam pump invented by Watt. It was modified for use in the Cornish boilers invented by Trevethick. The efficiency of the Cornish steam engine was greatly improved by William Sims, Arthur Woolf and Samuel Groose. The updated Cornish steam engines consisted of insulated pipes, engine and boilers for increased efficiency.

In contact with

In the minds of most people in the smartphone age, steam-powered cars are something archaic that makes us smile. Steam pages in the history of the automotive industry were very bright and without them it is difficult to imagine modern transport in general. No matter how hard the skeptics of lawmaking, as well as oil lobbyists, tried different countries limiting the development of the car for a couple, they succeeded only for a while. After all, a steam car is like the Sphinx. The idea of ​​a steam car (i.e., powered by an external combustion engine) is still relevant today.

In the minds of most people in the smartphone age, steam-powered cars are something archaic that makes us smile.

So in 1865, England introduced a ban on the movement of high-speed self-propelled steam-powered carriages. They were forbidden to move faster than 3 km/h around the city and not to let off clouds of steam, so as not to frighten the horses harnessed to ordinary carriages. The most serious and tangible blow to steam-powered trucks was dealt already in 1933 by the law on the tax on heavy vehicles. It was only in 1934, when duties on the import of petroleum products were reduced, that the victory of gasoline and diesel engines over steam engines loomed on the horizon.

Only England could afford to mock progress so elegantly and calmly. In the USA, France, and Italy, the environment of enthusiastic inventors was literally seething with ideas, and the steam car acquired new shapes and characteristics. Although English inventions made a significant contribution to the development of steam vehicles, the laws and prejudices of the authorities did not allow them to fully participate in the battle with internal combustion engines. But let's talk about everything in order.

Prehistoric reference

The history of the development of the steam car is inextricably linked with the history of the emergence and improvement of the steam engine. When in the 1st century A.D. e. Heron from Alexandria proposed his idea of ​​making steam rotate a metal ball, but his idea was treated as nothing more than fun. Whether it was other ideas that worried the inventors more, the first person to put a steam boiler on wheels was the monk Ferdinand Verbst. In 1672. His “toy” was also treated as fun. But the next forty years were not in vain for the history of the steam engine.

Isaac Newton's self-propelled carriage design (1680), mechanic Thomas Savery's fire apparatus (1698), and Thomas Newcomen's atmospheric engine (1712) demonstrated the enormous potential of using steam to perform mechanical work. At first, steam engines pumped water out of mines and lifted loads, but by the middle of the 18th century there were already several hundred such steam installations at enterprises in England.

What is a steam engine? How can steam move wheels? The principle of the steam engine is simple. Water is heated in a closed tank to the state of steam. The steam is discharged through tubes into a closed cylinder and pressed out by a piston. Through an intermediate connecting rod, this translational motion is transmitted to the flywheel shaft.

This principle diagram of the operation of a steam boiler in practice had significant drawbacks.

The first portion of steam burst out in clouds, and the cooled piston, under its own weight, fell down for the next stroke. This principle diagram of the operation of a steam boiler in practice had significant drawbacks. The lack of a steam pressure regulation system often led to a boiler explosion. Bringing the boiler to working condition required a lot of time and fuel. Constant refueling and the gigantic size of the steam plant only increased the list of its shortcomings.

A new machine was proposed in 1765 by James Watt. He directed the steam squeezed out by the piston into an additional condensation chamber and eliminated the need to constantly add water to the boiler. Finally, in 1784, he solved the problem of how to redistribute the movement of steam so that it pushed the piston in both directions. Thanks to the spool he created, the steam engine could operate without breaks between strokes. This principle of a double-acting heat engine formed the basis of most steam technology.

A lot of work went into creating steam engines. smart people. After all, this is a simple and cheap way to obtain energy from practically nothing.

A short excursion into the history of steam-powered cars

However, no matter how grandiose the successes of the British were in the field, the first to put a steam engine on wheels was the Frenchman Nicolas Joseph Cugnot.

Cugno's first steam car

His car appeared on the roads in 1765. The speed of the stroller was a record - 9.5 km/h. In it, the inventor provided four seats for passengers, who could be taken for a ride at an average speed of 3.5 km/h. This success seemed not enough to the inventor.

The need to stop to fill up with water and light a new fire every kilometer of the journey was not a significant disadvantage, but only the state of the art of that time.

He decided to invent a cannon tractor. Thus, a three-wheeled cart with a massive boiler in front was born. The need to stop to fill up with water and light a new fire every kilometer of the journey was not a significant disadvantage, but only the state of the art of that time.

Cugno's next model, from 1770, weighed about one and a half tons. The new cart could transport about two tons of cargo at a speed of 7 km/h.

Maestro Cugno was more interested in the idea of ​​​​creating a high-pressure steam engine. He was not even bothered by the fact that the boiler could explode. It was Cunho who came up with the idea of ​​placing the firebox under the boiler and carrying the “fire” with him. In addition, his “cart” can rightfully be called the first truck. The resignation of the patron and a series of revolutions did not give the master the opportunity to develop the model into a full-fledged truck.

Self-taught Oliver Evans and his amphibian

The idea of ​​​​creating steam engines had universal proportions. In the North American states, inventor Oliver Evans created about fifty steam installations based on Watt's machine. Trying to reduce the size of James Watt's installation, he designed steam engines for flour mills. However, Oliver Evans gained worldwide fame for his amphibious steam car. In 1789, his first car in the United States successfully passed land and water tests.

On his amphibian, which can be called the prototype of all-terrain vehicles, Evans installed a machine with a steam pressure of ten atmospheres!

The nine-meter car-boat weighed about 15 tons. The steam engine drove the rear wheels and propeller. By the way, Oliver Evans was also a supporter of the creation of a high-pressure steam engine. On his amphibian, which can be called the prototype of all-terrain vehicles, Evans installed a machine with a steam pressure of ten atmospheres!

If the inventors of the 18th and 19th centuries had 21st century technology at their fingertips, can you imagine how much technology they would come up with!? And what technology!

20th century and 204 km/h on a Stanley steam car

Yes! The 18th century gave a powerful impetus to the development of steam transport. Numerous and varied designs of self-propelled steam carriages began to increasingly dilute horse-drawn transport on the roads of Europe and America. By the beginning of the 20th century, steam-powered cars had spread significantly and became a familiar symbol of their time. Just like photography.

The 18th century gave a powerful impetus to the development of steam transport

It was their photographic company that the Stanley brothers sold when, in 1897, they decided to seriously engage in the production of steam cars in the USA. They created well-selling steam cars. But this was not enough for them to satisfy their ambitious plans. After all, they were just one of many similar automakers. That was until they designed their “rocket”.

It was their photographic company that the Stanley brothers sold when, in 1897, they decided to seriously engage in the production of steam cars in the USA.

Of course, Stanley cars had a reputation for being reliable cars. The steam unit was located at the rear, and the boiler was heated using gasoline or kerosene torches. The flywheel of a double-acting steam two-cylinder engine rotates to the rear axle via a chain drive. There were no cases of boiler explosions at Stanley Steamer. But they needed a sensation.

Of course, Stanley cars had a reputation for being reliable cars.

With their “rocket” they created a sensation throughout the world. 205.4 km/h in 1906! No one has ever driven so fast! A car with an internal combustion engine broke this record only 5 years later. Stanley's plywood steam "Rocket" defined the shape of racing cars for many years to come. But after 1917, Stanley Steamer became increasingly frustrated by the competition of the cheap Ford T and resigned.

Unique steam cars of the Doble brothers

This famous family managed to provide decent resistance to gasoline engines right up to the beginning of the 30s of the 20th century. They didn't build cars for records. The brothers truly loved their steam cars. Otherwise, how else to explain the honeycomb radiator and ignition button they invented? Their models did not look like small locomotives.

Brothers Abner and John revolutionized steam transportation.

Brothers Abner and John revolutionized steam transportation. His car didn't need to warm up for 10-20 minutes to get going. The ignition button pumped kerosene from the carburetor into the combustion chamber. He got there after ignition with a spark plug. The water heated up in a matter of seconds, and after a minute and a half the steam created the necessary pressure and you could go.

The exhaust steam was sent to a radiator for condensation and preparation for subsequent cycles. Therefore, for a smooth run of 2000 km, the Doblov cars required only ninety liters of water in the system and a few liters of kerosene. No one could offer such efficiency! Perhaps it was at the Detroit Auto Show in 1917 that the Stanleys met the Doble brothers' model and began to wind down their production.

Model E became the most luxurious car of the second half of the 20s and the most latest version ferry Doblov. Leather interior, polished wood and elephant bone elements delighted wealthy owners inside the car. In such a cabin one could enjoy mileage at speeds of up to 160 km/h. Only 25 seconds separated the moment of ignition from the moment of start. It took another 10 seconds for a car weighing 1.2 tons to accelerate to 120 km/h!

All these speed qualities were embedded in a four-cylinder engine. Two pistons pushed out steam under high pressure of 140 atmospheres, and the other two sent cooled low-pressure steam into a honeycomb condenser-radiator. But in the first half of the 30s, these beauties of the Doble brothers were no longer produced.

Steam trucks

However, we should not forget that steam traction was also rapidly developing in freight transport. It was in the cities that steam cars caused allergies among snobs. But cargo must be delivered in any weather and not only within the city. And intercity buses and military equipment? You won't get away with small cars there.

Freight transport has one significant advantage over passenger transport - its dimensions.

Freight transport has one significant advantage over passenger transport - its dimensions. They allow you to place powerful power plants anywhere in the car. Moreover, it will only increase the load capacity and cross-country ability. As for what the truck will look like, people didn’t always pay attention to this.

Among the steam trucks, I would like to highlight the English Sentinel and the Soviet NAMI. Of course there were many others, for example Foden, Fowler, Yorkshire. But it was Sentinel and NAMI that turned out to be the most durable and were produced until the end of the 50s of the last century. They could work on any solid fuel - coal, wood, peat. The “omnivorous” nature of these steam trucks put them outside the influence of prices for petroleum products, and also made it possible to use them in hard-to-reach places.

Hard worker Sentinel with an English accent

These two trucks differ not only in the country of manufacture. The principles of location of steam generators were also different. Sentinels are characterized by the upper and lower location of the steam engines relative to the boiler. When positioned at the top, the steam generator supplied hot steam directly to the engine chamber, which was connected to the axles by a system of cardan shafts. When the steam engine was located at the bottom, i.e. on the chassis, the boiler heated the water and supplied steam to the engine through tubes, which guaranteed temperature loss.

Sentinels are characterized by the upper and lower location of the steam engines relative to the boiler.

The presence of a chain transmission from the flywheel of the steam engine to the cardans was typical for both types. This allowed the designers to unify the production of Sentinels depending on the customer. For hot countries such as India, steam trucks were produced with a lower, separated boiler and engine. For countries with cold winters - with the upper, combined type.

For hot countries such as India, steam trucks were produced with a lower, separated boiler and engine.

These trucks used a lot of proven technologies. Steam distribution spools and valves, single and double acting engines, high or low pressure, with or without gearbox. However, this did not extend the life of English steam trucks. Although they were produced until the end of the 50s of the XX century and even consisted of military service before and during the 2nd World War, they were still bulky and somewhat reminiscent of steam locomotives. And since there were no interested persons in their radical modernization, their fate was sealed.

Although they were produced until the end of the 50s of the XX century and were even in military service before and during the 2nd World War, they were still bulky and somewhat reminiscent of steam locomotives.

Who cares what, but to us – US

In order to revive the war-ravaged economy of the Soviet Union, it was necessary to find a way not to waste oil resources, at least in hard-to-reach places - in the north of the country and in Siberia. Soviet engineers was given the opportunity to study the design of the Sentinel with an overhead four-cylinder direct-acting steam engine and develop his “answer to Chamberlain.”

In the 30s Russian institutions and design bureaus have made repeated attempts to create an alternative truck for the forestry industry.

In the 30s, Russian institutes and design bureaus made repeated attempts to create an alternative truck for the timber industry. But each time the matter stopped at the testing stage. Using own experience and the possibility of studying captured steam vehicles, the engineers managed to convince the country's leadership of the need for such a steam truck. Moreover, gasoline cost 24 times more than coal. And the cost of firewood in the taiga need not be mentioned at all.

A group of designers led by Yu. Shebalin simplified the steam unit as a whole as much as possible. They combined a four-cylinder engine and boiler into one unit and placed it between the body and the cabin. We installed this installation on the chassis of the serial YaAZ (MAZ)-200. The work of steam and its condensation were combined in a closed cycle. The supply of wood ingots from the bunker was carried out automatically.

This is how NAMI-012 was born, or rather on the forest roads. Obviously, the principle of bunker supply of solid fuel and the location of the steam engine on truck was borrowed from the practice of gas generating plants.

The fate of the owner of the forests – NAMI-012

The characteristics of the domestic steam flatbed truck and timber carrier NAMI-012 were as follows

• Load capacity – 6 tons
• Speed ​​– 45 km/h
• The range without refueling is 80 km, if it was possible to replenish the water supply, then 150 km
• Torque at low speeds – 240 kgm, which was almost 5 times higher than the base YaAZ-200
• A boiler with natural circulation created a pressure of 25 atmospheres and brought steam to a temperature of 420°C
• It was possible to replenish water supplies directly from the reservoir through ejectors
• The all-metal cabin did not have a hood and was pushed forward
• The speed was controlled by the volume of steam in the engine using the feed/cut-off lever. With its help, the cylinders were filled to 25/40/75%.
• One reverse gear and three control pedals.

Serious disadvantages of the steam truck were the consumption of 400 kg of firewood per 100 km of travel and the need to get rid of water in the boiler in cold weather.

Serious disadvantages of the steam truck were the consumption of 400 kg of firewood per 100 km of travel and the need to get rid of water in the boiler in cold weather. But the main disadvantage that was present in the first sample was poor cross-country ability when unloaded. Then it turned out that the front axle was overloaded with the cabin and steam unit, compared to the rear. They coped with this task by installing a modernized steam power plant on the all-wheel drive YaAZ-214. Now the power of the NAMI-018 timber truck has been increased to 125 horsepower.

But, not having time to spread throughout the country, steam generator trucks were all disposed of in the second half of the 50s of the last century.

But, not having time to spread throughout the country, steam generator trucks were all disposed of in the second half of the 50s of the last century. However, together with gas generators. Because the cost of converting the vehicles, the economic impact and ease of use were labor intensive and questionable compared to gasoline and diesel trucks. Moreover, by this time oil production was already being established in the Soviet Union.

A fast and affordable modern steam car

Do not think that the idea of ​​a steam-powered car is forgotten forever. There is now a significant increase in interest in engines alternative to internal combustion engines running on gasoline and diesel fuel. The world's oil reserves are not unlimited. Yes, and the cost of petroleum products is constantly increasing. Designers tried so hard to improve the internal combustion engine that their ideas almost reached their limit.

Electric cars, hydrogen cars, gas-powered and steam cars have once again become hot topics. Hello, forgotten 19th century!

There is now a significant increase in interest in engines alternative to internal combustion engines running on gasoline and diesel fuel.

A British engineer (England again!) demonstrated the new capabilities of the steam engine. He created his Inspuration not only to demonstrate the relevance of steam-powered cars. His brainchild is made for records. 274 km/h – this is the speed accelerated by twelve boilers installed on a 7.6-meter car. Just 40 liters of water is enough for liquefied gas to bring the steam temperature to 400°C in just a moment. Just think, it took history 103 years to break the speed record for a steam-powered car set by the Rocket!

In a modern steam generator, you can use coal in powder form or other cheap fuel, for example, fuel oil, liquefied gas. This is why steam cars have always been and will be popular.

But for an environmentally friendly future to come, it is again necessary to overcome the resistance of oil lobbyists.

WATT, JAMES (Watt, James, 1736-1819), Scottish engineer and inventor. Born on January 19, 1736 in Greenock, near Glasgow (Scotland), in the family of a merchant. Due to poor health, Watt studied little formally, but learned a lot on his own. Already as a teenager, he was interested in astronomy, chemical experiments, learned to do everything with his own hands, and even earned the title of “jack of all trades” from those around him.

Most people consider him to be the inventor of the steam engine, but this is not entirely true.
Steam engines built by D. Papen, T. Severi, I. Polzunov, T. Newcomen began working in the mines long before D. Watt. They differed in design, but the main thing about them was that the movement of the piston was caused by alternating heating and cooling of the working cylinder. Because of this, they were slow and consumed a lot of fuel.

On January 19, 1736, James Watt (1736-1819), an outstanding Scottish engineer and inventor, became famous primarily as the creator of an improved steam engine. But he also left a bright mark in the history of critical care medicine with his collaboration with the Pneumatic Medical Institute of Thomas Beddoes (Beddoes, Thomas, 1760-1808). James Watt supplied the institute's laboratories with the necessary equipment. Thanks to his participation, the first inhalers, spirometers, gas meters, etc. were created and tested at the Pneumatic Institute.

James Watt himself, as well as his wife and one of his sons, repeatedly participated in scientific experiments. The Pneumatic Institute became a real scientific center where the properties of various gases and their effect on the human body were studied. It can be said that Thomas Beddoe and his associates were the pioneers and forerunners of modern respiratory therapy. Unfortunately, Thomas Beddoe mistakenly believed that tuberculosis was caused by excess oxygen.
Therefore, James Watt's son, Gregory, underwent a completely useless course of treatment with carbon dioxide inhalation at the Pneumatic Institute. However, it was at the Pneumatic Institute that oxygen was first used for medicinal purposes; the basics of aerosol therapy were developed; For the first time, the total capacity of the lungs was measured using the hydrogen dilution method (G. Davy), etc. The culmination of the collaboration between Watt and Beddoe on the therapeutic use of various gases was their joint book “Materials on the Medical Use of Artificial Varieties of Air,” which was published in two editions (1794, 1795), and became the first special manual on oxygen therapy.

In 1755, Watt went to London to study as a mechanic and maker of mathematical and astronomical instruments. Having completed a seven-year training program in one year, Watt returned to Scotland and received a position as a mechanic at the University of Glasgow. At the same time, he opened his own repair shop.
At the university, Watt met the great Scottish chemist Joseph Black (1728-1799), who discovered carbon dioxide in 1754. This meeting contributed to the development of a number of new chemical instruments needed in Black's further research, for example, the ice calorimeter. At this time, Joseph Black was working on the problem of determining the heat of vaporization, and Watt took part in providing the technical side of the experiments.
In 1763, he, as a university mechanic, was asked to repair the university model of T. Newcomen's steam engine.

Here we should make a short digression into the history of the creation of steam engines. We were once taught at school, instilling “great-power chauvinism,” that the steam engine was invented by the Russian serf mechanic Ivan Polzunov, and not by some James Watt, whose role in the creation of steam engines could sometimes be read in “wrong” books with patriotic point of view of books. But in fact, the inventor of the steam engine is not Ivan Polzunov, nor James Watt, but the English engineer Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729).
Moreover, the first attempt to put steam to the service of man was made in England back in 1698 by military engineer Thomas Savery (Thomas Savery, 1650?-1715). He created a steam water lift, intended for draining mines and pumping water, and which became the prototype of a steam engine.

Savery's machine worked as follows: first, a sealed tank was filled with steam, then the outer surface of the tank was cooled with cold water, causing the steam to condense and creating a partial vacuum in the tank. After this, water, for example, from the bottom of the shaft was sucked into the tank through the intake pipe and, after the next portion of steam was introduced, it was thrown out through the outlet pipe. The cycle was then repeated, but water could only be lifted from a depth of less than 10.36 m, since it was actually atmospheric pressure that pushed it out.

This machine was not very successful, but it gave Papen the bright idea of ​​replacing gunpowder with water. And in 1698 he built a steam engine (in the same year the Englishman Savery also built his “fire engine”). Water was heated inside a vertical cylinder with a piston inside, and the resulting steam pushed the piston upward. As the steam cooled and condensed, the piston moved downward under the influence of atmospheric pressure. Thus, through a system of blocks, Papen's machine could operate various mechanisms eg pumps.

WITH steam engines Savery and Papen knew the English inventor Thomas Newcomen (1663 - 1729), who often visited the mines in the West Country, where he worked as a blacksmith, and therefore understood well how reliable pumps were needed to prevent mines from flooding. He joined forces with plumber and glazier John Culley in an attempt to build a better model. Their first steam engine was installed in a colliery in Staffordshire in 1712.

As in Papen's machine, the piston moved in a vertical cylinder, but overall Newcomen's machine was much more advanced. To eliminate the gap between the cylinder and the piston, Newcomen attached a flexible leather disk to the end of the latter and poured a little water on it.
Steam from the boiler entered the base of the cylinder and raised the piston upward. When cold water was injected into the cylinder, the steam condensed, a vacuum was formed in the cylinder, and under the influence of atmospheric pressure the piston fell down. This reverse stroke removed water from the cylinder and, using a chain connected to a rocker arm that moved like a swing, lifted the pump rod up. When the piston was at the bottom of its stroke, steam again entered the cylinder, and with the help of a counterweight attached to the pump rod or rocker arm, the piston rose to its original position. After this, the cycle repeated.
Newcomen's machine turned out to be extremely successful for that time and was used throughout Europe for more than 50 years. It was used to pump water from numerous mines in Great Britain. This was the first large-scale product in the history of technology (several thousand pieces were produced).
In 1740, a machine with a cylinder 2.74 m long and 76 cm in diameter completed in one day the work that teams of 25 men and 10 horses, working in shifts, had previously completed in a week.

In 1775, an even larger machine built by John Smeaton (creator of the Eddystone Lighthouse) drained the dock at Kronstadt, Russia, in two weeks. Previously, using high wind turbines, this took a whole year.
And yet, Newcomen's machine was far from perfect. It converted only about 1% of thermal energy into mechanical energy and, as a result, consumed a huge amount of fuel, which, however, did not matter much when the machine worked in coal mines.

Overall, Newcomen's machines played a huge role in preserving the coal industry. With their help, it was possible to resume coal mining in many flooded mines.
One can say about Newcomen’s invention that it was truly a steam engine, or rather, a steam-atmospheric engine. It was distinguished from previous prototypes of steam engines by the following:

* driving force it had atmospheric pressure, and vacuum was achieved by condensation of steam;
* there was a piston in the cylinder, which made a working stroke under the influence of steam;
* vacuum was achieved as a result of steam condensation when cold water was injected into the cylinder.
Therefore, in fact, the inventor of the steam engine is rightfully the Englishman Thomas Newcomen, who developed his steam-atmospheric engine in 1712 (half a century before Watt).

Taking a brief excursion into the history of the creation of steam engines, one cannot ignore the personality of our outstanding compatriot Ivan Ivanovich Polzunov (1729-1766), who built a steam-atmospheric engine before James Watt did. Being a mechanic at the Kolyvano-Voskresensky mining plants in Altai, on April 25, 1763, he proposed a project and description of a “fire-acting machine.” The project came to the table of the head of the factories, who approved it and sent it to St. Petersburg, from where the answer soon came: “... This invention of his should be honored as a new invention.”
Polzunov proposed to first build a small machine, on which it would be possible to identify and eliminate all the shortcomings inevitable in a new invention. The factory management did not agree with this and decided to immediately build a huge machine for a powerful blower. In April 1764, Polzunov began construction of a machine 15 times more powerful than the 1763 project.

He took the idea of ​​a steam-atmospheric engine from I. Schlatter’s book “Detailed instructions for mining…” (St. Petersburg, 1760).
But Polzunov’s engine was fundamentally different from the English cars of Savery and Newcomen. They were single-cylinder and suitable only for pumping water from mines. Polzunov's two-cylinder continuous engine could supply blast to the furnace and pump out water. In the future, the inventor hoped to adapt it for other needs.
The construction of the machine was entrusted to Polzunov, to help whom “two of the local artisans who do not know, but have only one inclination for it,” and several auxiliary workers were assigned. With this “staff” Polzunov began building his car. It took a year and nine months to build. When the machine had already passed the first test, the inventor fell ill with transient consumption and died on May 16 (28), 1766, a few days before the final tests.
On May 23, 1766, Polzunov’s students Levzin and Chernitsyn alone began the final tests of the steam engine. The "Day Note" of July 4 noted the "smooth operation of the machine," and on August 7, 1766, the entire plant, steam engine and powerful blower, was put into operation. In just three months of operation, Polzunov’s machine not only justified all the costs of its construction in the amount of 7233 rubles 55 kopecks, but also gave a net profit of 12640 rubles 28 kopecks. However, on November 10, 1766, after the engine's boiler burned out, it stood idle for 15 years, 5 months, and 10 days. In 1782 the car was dismantled. (Encyclopedia Altai Territory. Barnaul. 1996. T. 2. P. 281-282; Barnaul. Chronicle of the city. Barnaul. 1994. part 1. p. 30).

At the same time, James Watt was working on the creation of a steam engine in England. In 1763, he, as a university mechanic, was asked to repair the university model of T. Newcomen's steam engine.
While debugging the university model of T. Newcomen's steam-atmospheric machine, Watt became convinced of the low efficiency of such machines. He got the idea to improve the parameters of the steam engine. It was clear to him that the main drawback of Newcomen's machine was the alternating heating and cooling of the cylinder. How can this be avoided? The answer came to Watt on a spring Sunday in 1765. He realized that the cylinder could remain constantly hot if the steam was diverted into a separate tank through a pipeline with a valve before condensation. In this case, transferring the steam condensation process outside the cylinder should help reduce steam consumption. Moreover, the cylinder can remain hot and the condenser cold if the outside of them is covered with insulating material.
The improvements that Watt made to the steam engine (centrifugal regulator, separate steam condenser, seals, etc.) not only increased the coefficient useful action machines, but also finally turned the steam-atmospheric engine into a steam engine, and most importantly, the machine became easily controllable.
In 1768 he applied for a patent for his invention. He received a patent in 1769, but for a long time he was unable to build a steam engine. And only in 1776, with the financial support of Dr. Rebeck, the founder of the first metallurgical plant in Scotland, Watt's steam engine was finally built and successfully tested.

Watt's first machine turned out to be twice as effective as Newcomen's machine. Interestingly, the developments that followed Newcomen's original invention were based on the concept of engine "capacity", which meant the number of foot-pounds of water that were pumped per bushel of coal. It is now unknown who came up with the idea for this unit. This man did not go down in the history of science, but he was probably some tight-fisted mine owner who noticed that some engines worked more efficiently than others, and could not allow the neighboring mine to have a higher production rate.
And although the tests of the machine were successful, during its further operation it became clear that Watt’s first model was not entirely successful, and cooperation with Rebeck was interrupted. Despite the lack of funds, Watt continued to work on improving the steam engine. His work attracted the interest of Matthew Boulton, an engineer and wealthy manufacturer, owner of a metalworking plant in Soho near Birmingham. In 1775, Watt and Boulton entered into a partnership agreement.
In 1781, James Watt received a patent for the invention of the second model of his machine. Among the innovations introduced into it and subsequent models were:

* a double-acting cylinder, in which steam was supplied alternately on opposite sides of the piston, while the exhaust steam entered the condenser;
* a heat jacket that surrounded the working cylinder to reduce heat losses, and a spool;
* transformation of the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotational motion of the shaft, first through a connecting rod-crank mechanism, and then using a gear transmission, which was the prototype of a planetary gearbox;
* centrifugal regulator to maintain a constant shaft speed and a flywheel to reduce uneven rotation.
In 1782 this remarkable machine, the first universal "double-acting" steam engine, was built. Watt equipped the cylinder cover with a recently invented oil seal, which ensured free movement of the piston rod, but prevented steam leakage from the cylinder. Steam entered the cylinder alternately from one side of the piston and then from the other, creating a vacuum on the opposite side of the cylinder. Therefore, the piston made both the working and return strokes with the help of steam, which was not the case in previous machines.

Also, in 1782, James Watt introduced the principle of expansion action, dividing the flow of steam in a cylinder at the beginning of its flow so that it began to expand the rest of the cycle under its own pressure. The expansion action means some loss in power, but a gain in "performance". Of all these ideas, Watt's most useful was that of expansionary action. In its further practical implementation, the indicator diagram created around 1790 by Watt's assistant James Southern was very helpful.
The indicator was a recording device that could be attached to the engine in order to record the pressure in the cylinder depending on the volume of steam entering during a given stroke. The area under such a curve was a measure of the work done in a given cycle. The indicator was used to tune the engine as efficiently as possible. This very diagram later became part of the famous Carnot cycle (Sadi Carnot, 1796-1832) in theoretical thermodynamics.
Since in a double-acting steam engine the piston rod performed a pulling and pushing action, the previous drive system of chains and rocker arms, which responded only to traction, had to be redesigned. Watt developed a system of coupled rods and used a planetary mechanism to convert the reciprocating motion of the piston rod into rotational motion, used a heavy flywheel, a centrifugal speed controller, a disc valve and a pressure gauge to measure steam pressure.

The universal double-acting steam engine with continuous rotation (Watt's steam engine) became widespread and played a significant role in the transition to machine production.
The “rotary steam engine” patented by James Watt was first widely used to drive machines and looms of spinning and weaving factories, and later other industrial enterprises. This led to a sharp increase in labor productivity. It was from this moment that the British counted the beginning of the great industrial revolution, which brought England to a leading position in the world.
James Watt's engine was suitable for any car, and the inventors of self-propelled mechanisms were quick to take advantage of this. This is how the steam engine came to transport (Fulton's steamboat, 1807; Stephenson's steam locomotive, 1815). Thanks to its advantage in means of transportation, England became the leading power in the world.
In 1785, Watt patented the invention of a new boiler furnace, and in the same year one of Watt's machines was installed in London at Samuel Whitbread's brewery for grinding malt. The machine did the work instead of 24 horses. Its cylinder diameter was 63 cm, the piston stroke was 1.83 m, and the flywheel diameter reached 4.27 m. The machine has survived to this day, and today it can be seen in action at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

The Boulton and Watt company, created in 1775, experienced all the vicissitudes of fate, from a drop in demand for its products to the protection of its invention rights in the courts. However, since 1783, the affairs of this company, which monopolized the production of steam engines, went uphill. So James Watt became a very wealthy man, and Watt provided very, very significant assistance to the Pneumatic Medical Institute of Thomas Beddoes (Beddoes, Thomas, 1760-1808), with whom he began collaborating at this time.
Despite his vigorous activity in creating steam engines, Watt retired from his position at the University of Glasgow only in 1800. 8 years after his resignation, he established the “Watt Prize” for the best students and teachers of the university. The university technical laboratory in which he began his activities began to bear his name. A college in Greenock (Scotland), the inventor’s hometown, also bears the name of James Watt.

The evolution of the steam engine by J. Watt

1774 Steam
sump pump 1781 Steam engine
with torque on the shaft 1784 Steam engine
dual action with KShM
It is interesting that at one time Watt proposed such a unit as “horsepower” as a unit of power. This unit of measurement has survived to this day. But in England, where Watt is revered as a pioneer of the industrial revolution, they decided differently. In 1882, the British Association of Engineers decided to name a unit of power after him. Now the name James Watt can be read on any light bulb. This was the first case of appropriation in the history of technology own name unit of measurement. From this incident the tradition of assigning proper names to units of measurement began.

Watt lived a long life and died on August 19, 1819 at Heathfield near Birmingham. On the monument to James Watt it is written: “Increased the power of man over nature.” This is how contemporaries assessed the activities of the famous English inventor.