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Modern Engineering Thermodynamics

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450 CHAPTER 13: Vapor and Gas Power Cycles<br />

THE EVOLUTION OF STEAM POWER<br />

Heat engine steam power technology began in 1698, when Thomas Savery (1650–1715) was granted a patent by King<br />

William III of England for “an engine for raising water by the impellant force of fire.” Savery’s machine was designed to<br />

pump water from flooded English mines, and he called it a fire engine because it drew its power from the fire under the<br />

boiler rather than from horses or wind. Its only moving mechanical parts were hand operated valves and automatic check<br />

valves. It drew water by suction when a partial vacuum was created as steam condensed inside a pumping chamber. The<br />

operation of this engine is shown in Figure 13.2.<br />

Savery’s engine could not draw water from a depth of more than about 20 ft (6.1 m), and it was somewhat dangerous<br />

because of the relatively high boiler pressure required to push the water out through the discharge pipe. Boiler technology<br />

had not advanced beyond that of the brewing industry then in existence, and many boiler explosions are known to have<br />

occurred. Nonetheless, Savery’s engine was an enormous economic success. It used fire to pump water, which was something<br />

that no other engine could do, and it was the first technologically successful heat engine. In spite of its large size and<br />

rather primitive use of steam, its simplicity made it a popular means of pumping water through short distances. Engines of<br />

this design were in continuous use in England until 1830.<br />

Discharge<br />

pipe<br />

Spray water<br />

valve<br />

Spray water to<br />

condense the steam<br />

in the pumping chamber<br />

Steam<br />

valve<br />

Boiler<br />

Pumping<br />

chamber<br />

Pumping chamber<br />

exit valve<br />

Suction<br />

pipe<br />

Pumping chamber<br />

inlet valve<br />

Fire<br />

Sieve<br />

Mine flood<br />

water<br />

FIGURE 13.2<br />

A schematic of the operation of Savery’s fire engine. Steam was generated in the boiler at 100–150 psig. To operate the engine, the<br />

manual control valve was opened to fill the pumping chamber with steam. This valve was then closed and cold water was allowed to flow<br />

over the outside of the pumping chamber, causing the steam inside to condense and form a partial vacuum. Atmospheric pressure (acting<br />

on the surface of the mine water) then forced the water from the flooded mine up through the suction pipe and into the pumping chamber.

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