OTOH, The Coal that is used in a steam train is used as-is. Overall efficiency of steam engine is the ratio of the work obtained at the crank shaft in a given time to the energy supplied by fuel during the same time. While there are many systems that constitute a modern steam locomotive, the three components that effect efficiency, operating and maintenance costs the most are: Clean high efficiency combustion - Gas Producer Combustion System (GPCS) High efficiency exhaust - Kylpor, Lempor & Lemprex Functionally, it is a steam engine on wheels. Inefficient Size but hold of the celebrations for a moment. 5 to 10 percent. Not very high. Coal is burn in the furnace that produces the high amount of heat and converts the water into steam. No refining or processing is needed in costly and complica. B. The end results of that are- You might end up with a hybrid steam railmotor, like the GWR had, except maybe with a pantograph on the roof, so basically a less-efficient EMU. The efficiency of the steam locomotive has been given as 11 percent and that of the electric locomotive as about 20 percent. Coal, wood, and oil were everywhere. Thermal efficiency? In the last 30 years of US steam (1930-1960), the typical steam locomotive had a thermal efficiency of about six percent, meaning that for every 100 BTU's of coal burned, six BTU's of horsepower were produced. No, unfortunately. Do electric trains have engines? It is dug out of the ground, loaded onto the train and burned as fuel. MOVE is a Chilean invention looking for business partnersWe are trying to rise funds to build an industrial scale prototype and develope the market.The expec. The mechanical efficiency of a steam locomotive is quite good, but it's the thermal efficiency that kills you. Answer & Explanation. Answer (1 of 5): Depends on how one is measuring it. 15 to 20 percent. A. 15 to 20 percent. In theory, you could use a water tube . Let Ws = Weight of steam used in kg/min. This applied both in the thermal and mechanical sense. 5 to 10 percent. 1804: Locomotive steam engine developed by Trevithick in England. The overall efficiency of steam locomotive is around. Loses that reduce the efficiency of an engine to less than the idea case include: 1. a. With late UK designs, e.g. Related Questions on Electric Traction. C. 25 to 35 percent. So, Energy supplied by fuel/min, and work obtained at the crank shaft/min Firstly the diesel engine has an impressively high thermal efficiency - with modern diesel engines achieving 45% efficiency compared to a steam engines 10% giving them to achieve greater distances between refuelling stops. Improving the performance and efficiency of steam locomotives was essentially a question of minimizing avoidable losses, called 'loss control' in modern parlance. Comment * Comments ( 1) Arijit Adak : 3 years ago . Steam engines and turbines operate on the Rankine cycle which has a maximum Carnot efficiency of 63% for practical engines, with steam turbine power plants able to achieve efficiency in the mid 40% range. Therefore, although steam locomotives are generally more powerful compared to diesel alternatives, their strength is not used as efficiently when operating the vehicle. Losses that Affect Engine Efficiency. Drawbar thermal efficiency is defined as the the amount of energy delivered at the locomotive's drawbar (the hook at the back of its tender) divided by the amount of energy available in the fuel placed into its firebox. Neither value compares favorably with the 28 percent estimated for diesel locomotives, the ratios being 1.82 for electric/steam, 1.4 for diesel/electric, and 2.55 for diesel steam traction. Steam (the working substance) is far from being a perfect gas. Not very efficient. 1807: Fulton's steamboat operates between Albany and New York City. What is the efficiency of a steam engine? the streamlined A4, (80" drivers) it says that at constant steam rate in the normal working range, efficiency begins to plateau around 100mph and shows positive decreases about 120mph. D. 35 to 45 percent. You can use the computer programme to establish when this would occur; it depends on the operating condition. On the face of it. Now a days in the railway diesel engine is used because its efficiency is more than the steam engine. The 240P was the most thermally efficient steam locomotive in the world at the time of its creation. A modern AC traction diesel is almost 36 percent thermally efficient at the drawbar, by comparison. A. Indicated Thermal Efficiency It is the ratio of heat equivalent of indicated horsepower to the energy in the steam supplied per minute. Diesel-electrics are better. B. C. 25 to 35 percent. In a power plant, a turbine has to sustain a lot of steam pressure, which is why it is bound to corrode. : 80 It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomotive's boiler to the point where it becomes gaseous and its volume increases 1,700 times. The secret to Andr Chapelon's success lays not so much in him trying wildly new ideas as it is in his use of science and a high level of technological attention to detail to optimize existing technology. Are steam locomotives more powerful than diesel? In the early days of steam locomotion, there was plenty of fuel to go around. An efficient and powerful steam engine must work at serious overpressure (about 2 MPa ~= 20 atmospheres) so the temperatures in the boiler reach 200-300C. You also might have something like the DRG BR 61 001, which was a German tank locomotive designed for high-speed passenger service, and just imagine that with a pantograph . Let, m f = Mass of fuel burnt in kg per hour, and C = Calorific value of fuel in kJ/kg of fuel. Answer: Option A . Not so much. 4. H = Total heat of steam supplied in kcal/kg. Both the cylinder and drawbar efficiencies vary with speed and power output, maximum cylinder efficiency being achieved at . The metal parts do not do well when they come in contact with humidity, mainly superheated steam. Engine efficiency was low and the ship could not carry sufficient fuel to cross the entire Atlantic. It is impossible to compress the exhaust steam to its initial state, thus requiring re-heating in the boiler. Corrosion: source: phys.org. That means it has about 100-105C at most. Brake Thermal Efficiency At the previously assumed effieciencies of 10% steam/coal vs 25% diesel, we would get 35137 BTU's of work per dollar out of coal vs 15909 BTU's of work per dollar out of diesel, over 2:1 in favor of steam. Steam engines and turbines operate on the Rankine cycle which has a maximum Carnot efficiency of 63% for practical engines, with steam turbine power plants able to achieve efficiency in the mid 40% range. Conversely, a diesel engine is 45% efficient - significantly more than its steam counterparts - and today's modern electric engines are a whopping 95% efficient, making them the most efficient locomotives in existence. The efficiency of a turbine can be affected by the following things: 1. These were based on late 2010 prices. In terms of turning the energy in the coal into work at the wheels, they're under 10% efficient. The efficiency of steam engines is primarily related to the steam temperature and pressure and the number of stages or expansions. Why is steam engine low efficiency? Are steam locomotives efficient? and heat equivalent to I.H.P. They make huge amounts of heat that is simply wasted. Author: dkpark. Locomotive boiler is a part of the locomotive engine which produces the steam. Remember that all the steam, combustion gases and smoke fuel going up the stack, which is what makes steam locomotives the dramatic machines they are, is energy going to waste. Locomotive boiler is a fire tube type boiler. 2. The power difference is rendered insignificant because the final energy output is what ultimately matters. A . Join The Discussion. Overhead lines for power supply to tram cars are at a minimum height of. D. 35 to 45 percent. h = Sensible heat of feed water in kcal/kg. [10] 1818: SS Savannah - Paddlewheel sailing vessel that used a steam engine to get in and out of port. Also, because the steam pressure is rather low, your machine has pretty low power. (Picture courtesy Wikimedia.org). A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam.