|
Tractor Talk Discussion Board |
Re: Re: Re: Why did steam tractors die out
[ View Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Return to Forum ]
Posted by G Taylor on February 17, 2003 at 09:40:52 from (64.10.143.246):
In Reply to: Re: Re: Why did steam tractors die out posted by Bob M on February 17, 2003 at 08:26:41:
The figures I've seen are about 25-35% efficiency for a gasoline engine 30 to 40% for a diesel. A low pressure saturated steam nuclear plant with 30-33% and a advanced candu 700x with 40-45%. The latest combined cycle gas turbines and gas or oil "conventional" power plants can exceed the 50% efficiency mark. The steam engine and locomotive engines are way low because they don't recover condensate heat, the condensate it's self and the relatively small size of the machine.
My gas turbine generator struggles to make 20-25% efficiency due to it's small size and single stage axial flow design with a limited expansion ratio. Trade off for small size, light weight and simple design.
The main problem is the energy transport medium/conversion. A full 33% of the initial energy input goes out the condensers to cool the steam back to liquid. We also loose in the intermediate cycles turning heat into pressurized steam, converting pressurized steam into shaft torque and on a generator electrical losses if used.
Room temp super conductors would help.Add to this energy to run boiler feed pumps, condensate extraction pumps,condenser pumps, air blowers in thermal and heat transport pumps with nuclear.
Tough to beat a well built turbo diesel matched to it's application running at steady state at or near full rated power.Plus the price, simplicity, ease to operate and compact size/weight per HP.
Follow Ups:
Home
| Forums
| Order Support
Today's Featured Article -
A Lifetime of David Brown Tractors - by Samuel Kennedy. I was born in 1950 and reared on my family�s 100 acre farm. It was a fairly typical Northern Ireland farm where the main enterprise was dairying but some pigs, poultry and sheep were also kept. Potatoes were grown for sale and oats were grown to be used for cattle and horse feeding. Up to about 1958 the dairy cows were fed hay with some turnips and after that grass silage was the main winter feed. That same year was the last in which flax was grown on the farm. Flax provided the fibre which w
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
For sale Farmall super A tractor is complete and has just been setting for awhile,it was running when pulled out of the barn,shouldn’t take to much to get it going asking 1100.00
[More Ads]
Copyright © 1997-2026 Yesterday's Tractor Co.
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V. Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor HeadquartersWebsite Accessibility Policy |
|
