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Basic Theory

Don't panic! There will be very little math. The idea is to give an understanding of the terminology used in steam power and why things behave the way they do.

1. Energy, Work and Power: The basic quantities and the units used to measure them.
2. Properties of Liquids and Gases: What happens when we boil water and expand steam? Steam Tables are not just for buffets!
3. The Rankine Cycle: How steam power systems work, and why it's not just the engine that counts.
4. The Indicator Diagram: Pressure and volume inside the cylinder tell us just about everything important in an engine.
5. First and Second Laws: Why there is an upper limit on system efficiency, and how to get closer to it.
6. Heat Transfer: Details of how steam generators and condensers work.
7. Fluid Flow: How friction causes pressure to drop along a pipe.
8. Stumpf's Seven Losses: Professor Stumpf analyzed the losses of the steam engine.
9. Greenwashing: While not technical, if you are new to steam power this topic can help keep money in your wallet.

History

Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to build bad steam engines. OK, that's not the common quote, but it has been proven to be exceedingly accurate. Many very, very smart people have worked on steam before us, and there is a lot we should learn from them.

1. Notable Developers of steam technology: There has been little corporate work on steam technology in the last century. Accomplishments are due primarily to these individuals.
2. Notable Steam Systems: The cars, trucks, airplanes, tractors, landing craft and even implantable atomic steam heart that have been built or carefully studied in the past.
3. Notable Steam Engines: A number of successful engines described and their design features critiqued.
4. Timeline of Developments: Placing people and their projects in perspective over time.

Engineering Design

There are few steam systems commercially availble, and no textbook younger than you on how to design and build your own. Collecting this kind of information is the goal of this category.

1. Non-Reciprocating Expanders: Turbine, rotary, screw, scroll and other kinds of expanders that have not been successful in practice.
2. Reciprocating Expanders: The steam engine and its parts.
3. Evaporators: The technical name for boilers and steam generators.
4. Condensers: How to convert the working fluid from gas back to liquid.
5. Feed Pumps: Pumping the water back into the system under high pressure.
6. Controls: Measuring and automating operation of the steam system.
7. Water Treatment: A key to making a system survive.
8. Burners and Combustion: Fuels and how heat is created.
9. Organic Rankine Cycles: Using a working fluid other than water.
10. Oil-Free Expanders: The Holy Grail of avoiding oil contamination of the steam.

Applications

Some information on the issues involved in particular applications of steam power and some of the solutions people have used.

1. Automobiles: Issues surounding controls, fuel economy, transmissions, packaging and so on for powering cars and trucks.
2. Biomass Fuel: Burning cordwood, wood chips/pellets, straw and the like has its own challenges and technologies.
3. Generating Electricity: What to connect to your steam engine to get electricity.

Resources

Books, reports, suppliers and links to helpful organizations and sites.

1. More Information: Written information on steam technology, history and applications, with links to on-line sources when available.
2. Videos: Everything from flaming go-carts to presentations on steam technology.
3. Steam Engines and Systems: Commercially available equipment and plans for building your own.
4. Components and Materials: Sources we've found for buying the stuff you need to build or repair a steam system.
5. Links to Other Sites: Steam related associations and material we don't cover, such as steam locomotives.