Conference Paper

Author

Mierisch, Robert

Title

The history and future of high efficiency steam engines

In

19th Australasian engineering heritage conference: putting water to work: steam power, river navigation and water supply

Editors

Engineers Australia and Engineering Heritage Australia

Imprint

Engineers Australia, Barton, Australian Capital Territory, 2017, pp. 299-315

ISBN/ISSN

9781922107923

Url

https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.384819513431067

Abstract

The development of solar thermal power plants for off-grid and on-grid applications allows communities to have access to electricity with very low running costs and with carbon dioxide emissions less than any alternative. Thermal storage allows these plants to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Reciprocating-piston steam engines are ideally suited to providing the means to generate electricity for these solar plants, directly from the thermal storage, with the high efficiency required to make plants economically viable.

Efficient steam engines are still in production. The efficiency of steam engines increased dramatically between 1712 and 1921 and turbines also increased in efficiency from their practical introduction in 1888. Comparative data for engines and turbines are summarized in tables and a graph.

During the 1700s all steam engine plants were incredibly inefficient. However, during the 1800s their efficiency was improved dramatically. Technological advances from 1800 to 1870 allowed much higher boiler pressures, so the cycle was more efficient. After 1870 efficiency gains involved many factors.

This paper shows that by 1920 the largest steam-turbines just matched the efficiency of the best steamengines. A table presents the effect of increasing power output on steam turbines. Only very large steam turbines are efficient. They are widely used in coal-fired, combined-cycle-gas and nuclear-power plants.

This paper focuses on the later changes to steam engine systems that increased their overall efficiency. There are brief descriptions and discussion for each change. This provides a guide for very efficient steam engine designs ideal for solar thermal power plant with thermal storage. An extensive reference list is provided to help readers.

Related Published resources

isPartOf

• 19th Australasian engineering heritage conference: putting water to work: steam power, river navigation and water supply edited by Engineers Australia and Engineering Heritage Australia (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Engineers Australia, 2017), 536 pp. Details