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IX.—On the Power and Economy of Single-Acting Expansive Steam-Engines, being a Supplement to the Fourth Section of a Paper On the Mechanical Action of Heat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 January 2013

William John Macquorn Rankine
Affiliation:
Civil Engineer

Extract

(34.) The objects of this paper are twofold: First, To compare the results of the formulæ and tables relative to the power of the steam-engine, which have been deduced from the Dynamical Theory of Heat, with those of experiments on the actual duty of a large Cornish engine at various rates of expansion; and, Secondly, To investigate and explain the method of determining the rate of expansion, and, consequently, the dimensions and proportions of a Cornish engine, which, with a given maximum pressure of steam in the cylinder, at a given velocity, shall perform a given amount of work at the least possible pecuniary cost, taking into account the expense of fuel, and the interest of the capital required for the construction of the engine.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1853

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References

page 202 note * This estimate is made on the supposition that coals capable of producing nine times their weight of steam are worth about 16s. 9d. per ton.