The industrial revolution began in the middle of the 18th century. in England with the emergence and introduction of technological machines into industrial production. The industrial revolution was a replacement of manual, handicraft and manufactory production with machine factory production.

The growth in demand for machines that were no longer built for each specific industrial facility, but for the market and became a commodity, led to the emergence of mechanical engineering, a new branch of industrial production. The production of means of production was born.

The widespread use of technological machines made the second phase of the industrial revolution absolutely inevitable - the introduction of a universal engine into production.

If the old machines (pestles, hammers, etc.), which received movement from water wheels, were slow-moving and had an uneven course, then new ones, especially spinning and weaving machines, required rotational movement at high speed. Thus, the requirements for technical specifications engines have acquired new features: a universal engine must give work in the form of a unidirectional, continuous and uniform rotational movement.

Under these conditions, engine designs appear that try to meet the urgent requirements of production. In England, more than a dozen patents have been issued for universal engines of a wide variety of systems and designs.

However, the first practical universal steam engines machines created by the Russian inventor Ivan Ivanovich Polzunov and the Englishman James Watt are considered.

In Polzunov's car, from the boiler, through pipes, steam with a pressure slightly higher than atmospheric was supplied alternately to two cylinders with pistons. To improve the seal, the pistons were filled with water. By means of rods with chains, the movement of the pistons was transmitted to the furs of three copper-smelting furnaces.

The construction of Polzunov's car was completed in August 1765. It had a height of 11 meters, a boiler capacity of 7 meters, a cylinder height of 2.8 meters, and a power of 29 kW.

Polzunov's machine created continuous force and was the first universal machine, which could be used to set in motion any factory mechanisms.

Watt began his work in 1763 almost simultaneously with Polzunov, but with a different approach to the engine problem and in a different setting. Polzunov began with a general energy statement of the problem of the complete replacement of locally dependent hydro power plants universal heat engine. Watt began with a private task - to improve the efficiency of the Newcomen engine in connection with the work entrusted to him as a mechanic at the University of Glasgow (Scotland) to repair a model of a dewatering steam plant.

Watt's engine received its final industrial completion in 1784. In Watt's steam engine, two cylinders were replaced by one closed one. Steam acted alternately on both sides of the piston, pushing it first in one direction, then in the other. In such a car double action the exhaust steam condensed not in the cylinder, but in a vessel separate from it - a condenser. The constancy of the flywheel speed was maintained by a centrifugal speed controller.

The main disadvantage of the first steam engines was low, not exceeding 9%, efficiency.

Specialization of steam power plants and further development

steam engines

The expansion of the scope of the steam engine required ever wider versatility. The specialization of thermal power plants began. Water-lifting and mine steam installations continued to be improved. The development of metallurgical production stimulated the improvement of blowers. Centrifugal blowers with high-speed steam engines appeared. Rolling steam power plants and steam hammers began to be used in metallurgy. A new solution was found in 1840 by J. Nesmith, who combined a steam engine with a hammer.

An independent direction was formed by locomobiles - mobile steam power plants, the history of which begins in 1765, when the English builder J. Smeaton developed a mobile unit. However, locomobiles received noticeable distribution only from the middle of the 19th century.

After 1800, when the ten-year term of privileges of Watt and Bolton, which brought enormous capital to the partners, ended, other inventors finally got a free hand. Almost immediately, progressive methods not used by Watt were implemented: high pressure and double expansion. The rejection of the balance beam and the use of multiple steam expansion in several cylinders led to the creation of new structural forms of steam engines. Double expansion engines began to take shape in the form of two cylinders: high pressure and low pressure, either as compound machines with a wedging angle between the cranks of 90°, or as tandem machines in which both pistons are mounted on a common rod and work on one crank.

Of great importance for increasing the efficiency of steam engines was the use of superheated steam from the middle of the 19th century, the effect of which was pointed out by the French scientist G.A. Girn. The transition to the use of superheated steam in the cylinders of steam engines required a long work on the design of cylindrical spools and valve distribution mechanisms, the development of technology for obtaining mineral lubricating oils that can withstand high temperatures, and the design of new types of seals, in particular with metal packing, in order to gradually move from saturated steam to superheated steam with a temperature of 200 - 300 degrees Celsius.

The last major step in the development of steam piston engines was the invention of the ramjet steam engine made by the German professor Stumpf in 1908.

In the second half of the 19th century, basically all constructive forms steam piston engines.

A new direction in the development of steam engines arose when they were used as engines of electric generators at power stations from the 80s - 90s of the 19th century.

The requirement for high speed, high uniformity of rotational motion and continuously increasing power was imposed on the primary engine of the electric generator.

The technical capabilities of the piston steam engine - the steam engine - which was the universal engine of industry and transport throughout the entire 19th century, no longer corresponded to the needs that arose at the end of the 19th century in connection with the construction of power plants. They could only be satisfied after the creation of a new heat engine- steam turbine.

steam boiler

The first steam boilers used atmospheric pressure steam. The prototypes of steam boilers were the design of digestive boilers, from which the term "boiler" that has survived to this day arose.

The growth in the power of steam engines gave rise to the still existing trend in boiler building: an increase in

steam capacity - the amount of steam produced by the boiler per hour.

To achieve this goal, two or three boilers were installed to power one cylinder. In particular, in 1778, according to the project of the English engineer D. Smeaton, a three-boiler plant was built for pumping water from the Kronstadt sea docks.

However, if the increase in the unit power of steam power plants required an increase in the steam output of boiler units, then to increase the efficiency, an increase in steam pressure was required, for which more durable boilers were needed. Thus arose the second and still active trend in boiler construction: the increase in pressure. Already by the end of the 19th century, the pressure in the boilers reached 13-15 atmospheres.

The requirement to increase the pressure was contrary to the desire to increase the steam capacity of the boilers. A ball is the best geometric shape of a vessel that can withstand high internal pressure, gives a minimum surface for a given volume, and a large surface is needed to increase steam production. The most acceptable was the use of a cylinder - the geometric shape following the ball in terms of strength. The cylinder allows you to arbitrarily increase its surface by increasing the length. In 1801 O. Ehns in the USA built a cylindrical boiler with a cylindrical internal furnace with an extremely high pressure for that time, about 10 atmospheres. In 1824 St. Litvinov in Barnaul developed a project of an original steam power plant with a once-through boiler unit consisting of finned tubes.

To increase the boiler pressure and steam output, it was necessary to reduce the diameter of the cylinder (strength) and increase its length (productivity): the boiler turned into a pipe. There were two ways of crushing boiler units: the gas path of the boiler or the water space was crushed. Thus, two types of boilers were defined: fire-tube and water-tube.

In the second half of the 19th century, sufficiently reliable steam generators were developed, which made it possible to have a steam capacity of up to hundreds of tons of steam per hour. The steam boiler was a combination of thin-walled steel pipes of small diameter. These pipes, with a wall thickness of 3-4 mm, can withstand very high pressures. High performance achieved due to the total length of the pipes. By the middle of the 19th century, a constructive type of steam boiler had developed with a bundle of straight, slightly inclined pipes rolled into the flat walls of two chambers - the so-called water-tube boiler. By the end of the 19th century, a vertical water-tube boiler appeared, having the form of two cylindrical drums connected by a vertical bundle of pipes. These boilers, with their drums, could withstand higher pressures.

In 1896 at the All-Russian Fair in Nizhny Novgorod the boiler of V.G. Shukhov was demonstrated. Shukhov's original collapsible boiler was transportable, had low cost and low metal content. Shukhov was the first to propose a furnace screen, which is used in our time. t£L ##0#lfo 9-1* #5^^^

By the end of the 19th century, water-tube steam boilers made it possible to obtain a heating surface of over 500 m and a productivity of over 20 tons of steam per hour, which increased 10 times in the middle of the 20th century.

steam engine

Manufacturing difficulty: ★★★★☆

Production time: One day

Materials at hand: ████████░░ 80%

In this article I will tell you how to make a steam engine with your own hands. The engine will be small, single-piston with a spool. The power is quite enough to rotate the rotor of a small generator and use this engine as an autonomous source of electricity when hiking.

• Telescopic antenna (can be removed from an old TV or radio), the diameter of the thickest tube must be at least 8 mm
• Small tube for a piston pair (plumbing store).
• Copper wire with a diameter of about 1.5 mm (can be found in the transformer coil or radio shop).
• Bolts, nuts, screws
• Lead (in a fishing shop or found in an old car battery). It is needed to mold the flywheel. I found a ready-made flywheel, but this item may be useful to you.
• Wooden bars.
• Spokes for bicycle wheels
• Stand (in my case, from a sheet of textolite 5 mm thick, but plywood is also suitable).
• Wooden blocks (pieces of boards)
• Olive jar
• A tube

• Superglue, cold welding, epoxy resin (construction market).
• Emery
• Drill
• soldering iron
• Hacksaw

How to make a steam engine




Engine diagram






Cylinder and spool tube.

Cut off 3 pieces from the antenna:
? The first piece is 38 mm long and 8 mm in diameter (the cylinder itself).
? The second piece is 30 mm long and 4 mm in diameter.
? The third is 6 mm long and 4 mm in diameter.




Take tube No. 2 and make a hole in it with a diameter of 4 mm in the middle. Take tube No. 3 and glue it perpendicular to tube No. 2, after the superglue dries, cover everything cold welding(eg POXIPOL).




We fasten a round iron washer with a hole in the middle to piece No. 3 (diameter - a little more than tube No. 1), after drying, we strengthen it with cold welding.


In addition, we cover all seams with epoxy resin for better tightness.

How to make a piston with a connecting rod

We take a bolt (1) with a diameter of 7 mm and clamp it in a vise. We begin to wind copper wire (2) around it for about 6 turns. We coat each turn with superglue. We cut off the excess ends of the bolt.




We cover the wire with epoxy. After drying, we adjust the piston with sandpaper under the cylinder so that it moves freely there without letting air through.




From a sheet of aluminum we make a strip 4 mm long and 19 mm long. We give it the shape of the letter P (3).




We drill holes (4) with a diameter of 2 mm at both ends so that a piece of knitting needle can be inserted. The sides of the U-shaped part should be 7x5x7 mm. We glue it to the piston with the side that is 5 mm.





We make a connecting rod (5) from a bicycle knitting needle. Glue to both ends of the spokes on two small pieces of tubes (6) from the antenna with a diameter and length of 3 mm. The distance between the centers of the connecting rod is 50 mm. Next, we insert the connecting rod with one end into the U-shaped part and fix it with a knitting needle.


We glue the knitting needle at both ends so that it does not fall out.






Triangle connecting rod

The triangle connecting rod is made in a similar way, only on one side there will be a piece of a knitting needle, and on the other a tube. Connecting rod length 75 mm.







Triangle and spool


Cut out a triangle from a sheet of metal and drill 3 holes in it.
Spool. The spool piston is 3.5 mm long and must move freely on the spool tube. The stem length depends on the size of your flywheel.






The piston rod crank should be 8mm and the spool crank should be 4mm.


• steam boiler

  
  The steam boiler will be a jar of olives with a sealed lid. I also soldered a nut so that water could be poured through it and tightly tightened with a bolt. I also soldered the tube to the lid.
  Here is a photo:
  

  

  
  

  Photo of the engine assembly

  
  

  We assemble the engine on a wooden platform, placing each element on a support

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  Steam engine video

  
  
  
  

• Version 2.0

  
  Cosmetic modification of the engine. The tank now has its own wooden platform and a saucer for a dry fuel tablet. All details are painted in beautiful colors. By the way, as a heat source it is best to use homemade

Exactly 212 years ago, on December 24, 1801, in the small English town of Camborne, mechanic Richard Trevithick demonstrated to the public the first steam-powered Dog Cart. Today, this event could be safely classified as remarkable, but insignificant, especially since the steam engine was known before, and was even used on vehicles (although it would be a very big stretch to call them cars) ... But here's what's interesting: right now technical progress gave rise to a situation strikingly reminiscent of the era of the great "battle" of steam and gasoline at the beginning of the 19th century. Only batteries, hydrogen and biofuels will have to fight. Do you want to know how it all ends and who will win? I won't suggest. Hint: technology has nothing to do with it ...

1. The passion for steam engines is over, and the time has come for engines internal combustion. For the good of the cause, I repeat: in 1801, a four-wheeled carriage rolled along the streets of Camborne, capable of transporting eight passengers with relative comfort and slowly. The car was powered by a single-cylinder steam engine, and coal served as fuel. The creation of steam vehicles was undertaken with enthusiasm, and already in the 20s of the 19th century, passenger steam omnibuses transported passengers at speeds up to 30 km / h, and the average overhaul run reached 2.5–3 thousand km.

Now let's compare this information with others. In the same 1801, the Frenchman Philippe Lebon received a patent for the design piston engine internal combustion, working on lighting gas. It so happened that three years later Lebon died, and others had to develop the technical solutions he proposed. Only in 1860, the Belgian engineer Jean Etienne Lenoir assembled gas engine with ignition from an electric spark and brought its design to the degree of suitability for installation on a vehicle.

So, an automobile steam engine and an internal combustion engine are practically the same age. The efficiency of a steam engine of that design in those years was about 10%. Engine efficiency Lenoir was only 4%. Only 22 years later, by 1882, August Otto improved it so much that the efficiency of the now gasoline engine reached ... as much as 15%.

2. Steam traction is just a brief moment in the history of progress. Starting in 1801, the history of steam transport continued actively for almost 159 years. In 1960 (!) buses and trucks with steam engines were still being built in the USA. Steam engines have improved significantly during this time. In 1900 in the US, 50% of the car fleet was "steamed". Already in those years, competition arose between steam, gasoline and - attention! - electric carriages. After the market success of Ford's Model-T and, it would seem, the defeat of the steam engine, a new surge in the popularity of steam cars came in the 20s of the last century: the cost of fuel for them (fuel oil, kerosene) was significantly lower than the cost of gasoline.

Until 1927, Stanley produced about 1,000 steam cars a year. In England, steam trucks successfully competed with gasoline trucks until 1933 and lost out only because of the introduction of a heavy duty tax by the authorities. freight transport and lower tariffs on imports of liquid petroleum products from the United States.

3. The steam engine is inefficient and uneconomical. Yes, it used to be like that. The "classic" steam engine, which released exhaust steam into the atmosphere, has an efficiency of no more than 8%. However, a steam engine with a condenser and a profiled flow part has an efficiency of up to 25–30%. The steam turbine provides 30–42%. Combined-cycle plants, where gas and steam turbines are used "in conjunction", have an efficiency of up to 55-65%. The latter circumstance prompted BMW engineers to start working on options for using this scheme in cars. By the way, the efficiency of modern gasoline engines is 34%.

The cost of manufacturing a steam engine at all times was lower than the cost of a carburetor and diesel engines the same power. Liquid fuel consumption in new steam engines operating in a closed cycle on superheated (dry) steam and equipped with modern systems lubrication, quality bearings and electronic systems regulation of the duty cycle, is only 40% of the former.

4. The steam engine starts slowly. And it was once ... Even Stanley production cars "bred pairs" from 10 to 20 minutes. Improvement in the design of the boiler and the introduction of a cascade heating mode made it possible to reduce the readiness time to 40-60 seconds.

5. The steam car is too slow. This is not true. The speed record of 1906 - 205.44 km / h - belongs to a steam car. In those years, cars gasoline engines didn't know how to drive that fast. In 1985, a steam car traveled at a speed of 234.33 km / h. And in 2009, a group of British engineers designed a steam turbine "bolide" with a steam drive with a capacity of 360 hp. s., which was able to move at a record average speed in the race - 241.7 km / h.

6. The steam car smokes, it is unaesthetic. Looking at old drawings depicting the first steam crews throwing thick clouds of smoke and fire from their chimneys (which, by the way, indicates the imperfection of the furnaces of the first “steam engines”), you understand where the persistent association of a steam engine and soot came from.

As for the appearance of the machines, the point here, of course, depends on the level of the designer. It is unlikely that anyone will say that the steam cars of Abner Doble (USA) are ugly. On the contrary, they are elegant even by today's standards. And besides, they drove silently, smoothly and quickly - up to 130 km / h.

It is interesting that modern research in the field of hydrogen fuel for automobile engines has given rise to a number of "side branches": hydrogen as a fuel for classic reciprocating steam engines and especially for steam turbine engines provides absolute environmental friendliness. The "smoke" from such a motor is ... water vapor.

7. The steam engine is whimsical. It is not true. It is structurally significant simpler than an engine internal combustion, which in itself means greater reliability and unpretentiousness. The resource of steam engines is many tens of thousands of hours of continuous operation, which is not typical for other types of engines. However, the matter is not limited to this. By virtue of the principles of operation, a steam engine does not lose efficiency when atmospheric pressure decreases. Exactly because of this reason vehicles steam-powered are exceptionally well suited for use in the highlands, on heavy mountain passes.

It is interesting to note one more useful property of a steam engine, which, by the way, is similar to an electric motor. direct current. A decrease in the shaft speed (for example, with an increase in load) causes an increase in torque. By virtue of this property, cars with steam engines do not fundamentally need gearboxes - they themselves are very complex and sometimes capricious mechanisms.

Often, steam locomotives or Stanley Steamer cars come to mind when you think of "steam engines," but the use of these mechanisms is not limited to transportation. Steam engines, which were first created in a primitive form about two thousand years ago, have become the largest sources of electricity over the past three centuries, and today steam turbines produce about 80 percent of the world's electricity. To better understand the nature of the physical forces behind such a mechanism, we recommend that you make your own steam engine out of ordinary materials using one of the methods suggested here! To get started, go to Step 1.

Steps

Steam engine from a tin can (for children)

Cut off the bottom of the aluminum can at a distance of 6.35 cm. Using metal shears, cut the bottom of the aluminum can evenly to about a third of its height.

Bend and press the bezel with pliers. To avoid sharp edges, bend the rim of the can inward. When performing this action, be careful not to injure yourself.

Press down on the bottom of the jar from the inside to make it flat. Most aluminum beverage cans will have a round base that curves inwards. Flatten the bottom by pressing down on it with your finger or using a small, flat-bottomed glass.

Make two holes in opposite sides of the jar, stepping back 1.3 cm from the top. To make holes, both a paper hole punch and a nail with a hammer are suitable. You will need holes with a diameter of just over three millimeters.

Place a small heating candle in the center of the jar. Crumple up the foil and place it underneath and around the candle so it doesn't move. Such candles usually come in special stands, so the wax should not melt and flow into the aluminum can.

Wind the central part of the copper tube 15-20 cm long around the pencil for 2 or 3 turns to make a coil. The 3 mm tube should bend easily around the pencil. You'll need enough curved tubing to run across the top of the jar, plus an extra 5cm straight on each side.

Insert the ends of the tubes into the holes in the jar. The center of the serpentine should be above the candle wick. It is desirable that the straight sections of the tube on both sides of the can be the same length.

Bend the ends of the pipes with pliers to make a right angle. Bend the straight sections of the tube so that they look in opposite directions from different sides of the can. Then again bend them so that they fall below the base of the jar. When everything is ready, the following should turn out: the serpentine part of the tube is located in the center of the jar above the candle and passes into two inclined "nozzles" looking in opposite directions on both sides of the jar.

Dip the jar in a bowl of water, while the ends of the tube should be immersed. Your "boat" should hold securely on the surface. If the ends of the tube are not submerged enough in the water, try to make the jar a little heavier, but in no case drown it.

Fill the tube with water. by the most in a simple way will lower one end into the water and pull from the other end like through a straw. You can also block one outlet from the tube with your finger, and substitute the other under a stream of water from the tap.

Light a candle. After a while, the water in the tube will heat up and boil. As it turns into steam, it will exit through the "nozzles", causing the entire jar to start spinning in the bowl.

Paint can steam engine (for adults)

1. Cut a rectangular hole near the base of the 4 liter paint can. Make a 15 x 5 cm horizontal rectangular hole in the side of the jar near the base.

   • You need to make sure that this can (and the other used one) contained only latex paint, and also wash it thoroughly with soapy water before use.

2. Cut a 12 x 24 cm strip of metal mesh. Bend 6 cm along the length from each edge at an angle of 90 o. You will end up with a 12 x 12 cm square "platform" with two 6 cm "legs". Place it in the jar with the "legs" down, aligning it with the edges of the cut hole.

   Make a semicircle of holes around the perimeter of the lid. Subsequently, you will burn coal in a can to provide heat to the steam engine. With a lack of oxygen, coal will burn poorly. In order for the jar to have the necessary ventilation, drill or punch several holes in the lid that form a semicircle along the edges.

   • Ideally, the diameter of the ventilation holes should be about 1 cm.

3. Make a coil out of a copper tube. Take about 6 m of soft copper tube with a diameter of 6 mm and measure 30 cm from one end. Starting from this point, make five turns with a diameter of 12 cm. Bend the remaining length of the pipe into 15 turns of 8 cm in diameter. You should have about 20 cm left .

   Pass both ends of the coil through the vent holes in the cover. Bend both ends of the coil so that they are pointing up and pass both through one of the holes in the cover. If the length of the pipe is not enough, then you will need to slightly unbend one of the turns.

   Place the serpentine and charcoal in the jar. Place the serpentine on the mesh platform. Fill the space around and inside the coil with charcoal. Close the lid tightly.

   Drill holes for the tube in the smaller jar. Drill a hole with a diameter of 1 cm in the center of the lid of a liter jar. Drill two holes with a diameter of 1 cm on the side of the jar - one near the base of the jar, and the second above it near the lid.

   Insert the sealed plastic tube into the side holes of the smaller jar. Using the ends of the copper tube, make holes in the center of the two plugs. Insert a rigid plastic tube 25 cm long into one plug, and the same tube 10 cm long into the other plug. They should sit tightly in the plugs and look out a little. Insert the cork with the longer tube into the bottom hole of the smaller jar and the cork with the shorter tube into the top hole. Secure the tubing to each plug with clamps.

   Connect the tube of the larger jar to the tube of the smaller jar. Place the smaller jar on top of the larger jar with the stopper tube facing away from the larger jar's vents. Using metal tape, secure the tube from the bottom plug to the tube coming out of the bottom of the copper coil. Then, similarly fasten the tube from the top plug to the tube coming out of the top of the coil.

   Insert the copper tube into the junction box. Use a hammer and screwdriver to remove the center of the round metal electrical box. Fix the clamp under the electrical cable with a retaining ring. Insert 15 cm of 1.3 cm copper tubing into the cable tie so that the tubing protrudes a few centimeters below the hole in the box. Blunt the edges of this end inward with a hammer. Insert this end of the tube into the hole in the lid of the smaller jar.

   Insert the skewer into the dowel. Take an ordinary wooden BBQ skewer and insert it into one end of a 1.5 cm long, 0.95 cm diameter hollow wooden dowel.

   • During the operation of our engine, the skewer and dowel will act as a "piston". To better see the piston movement, you can attach a small paper "flag" to it.

4. Prepare the engine for work. Remove the junction box from the smaller top can and fill the top can with water, allowing it to overflow into the copper coil until the can is 2/3 full of water. Check for leaks at all connections. Fasten the jar lids tightly by tapping them with a hammer. Put the junction box back in place over the smaller top jar.

5. Start the engine! Crumple up pieces of newspaper and place them in the space under the net at the bottom of the engine. Once the charcoal has ignited, let it burn for about 20-30 minutes. As the water in the coil heats up, steam will begin to accumulate in the upper bank. When the steam reaches enough pressure, it will push the dowel and skewer up. After the pressure is released, the piston will move down under the force of gravity. If necessary, cut off part of the skewer to reduce the weight of the piston - the lighter it is, the more often it will "float". Try to make a skewer of such weight that the piston "walks" at a constant pace.

   • You can speed up the burning process by increasing the flow of air into the vents with a hair dryer.

6. Stay safe. We believe it goes without saying that care must be taken when working and handling a homemade steam engine. Never run it indoors. Never run it near flammable materials such as dry leaves or overhanging tree branches. Operate the engine only on a solid, non-combustible surface such as concrete. If you are working with children or teenagers, they should not be left unattended. Children and teenagers must not approach the engine when charcoal is burning in it. If you do not know the temperature of the engine, then assume that it is so hot that it should not be touched.

   • Make sure steam can come out of the top "boiler". If for any reason the piston gets stuck, pressure can build up inside the smaller can. In the worst case scenario, the bank may explode, which very dangerously.
• Place the steam engine on the plastic boat, dipping both ends into the water to make a steam toy. You can cut a simple boat shape out of a plastic soda or bleach bottle to make your toy more "green".

I will skip the inspection of the museum exhibition and go straight to the engine room. Those who are interested can find the full version of the post in my LiveJournal. The machine room is located in this building:

29. Going inside, I was breathless with delight - inside the hall was the most beautiful steam engine I have ever seen. It was a real temple of steampunk - a sacred place for all adherents of the aesthetics of the steam age. I was amazed by what I saw and realized that it was not in vain that I drove into this town and visited this museum.

30. In addition to the huge steam engine, which is the main museum object, various samples of smaller steam engines were also presented here, and the history of steam technology was told on numerous information stands. In this picture you see a fully functioning 12 hp steam engine.

31. Hand for scale. The machine was created in 1920.

32. A 1940 compressor is exhibited next to the main museum specimen.

33. This compressor was used in the past in the railway workshops of the Werdau station.

34. Well, now let's take a closer look at the central exhibit of the museum exposition - a 600-horsepower steam engine manufactured in 1899, to which the second half of this post will be devoted.

35. The steam engine is a symbol of the industrial revolution that took place in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th century. Although the first samples of steam engines were created by various inventors at the beginning of the 18th century, they were all unsuitable for industrial use, as they had a number of drawbacks. The mass use of steam engines in industry became possible only after the Scottish inventor James Watt improved the mechanism of the steam engine, making it easy to operate, safe and five times more powerful than the models that existed before.

36. James Watt patented his invention in 1775 and as early as the 1880s, his steam engines began to infiltrate factories, becoming the catalyst for the industrial revolution. This happened primarily because James Watt managed to create a mechanism for converting the translational motion of a steam engine into rotational. All steam engines that existed before could only produce translational movements and be used only as pumps. And Watt's invention could already rotate the wheel of a mill or drive factory machines.

37. In 1800, the firm of Watt and his companion Bolton produced 496 steam engines, of which only 164 were used as pumps. And already in 1810 in England there were 5 thousand steam engines, and this number tripled in the next 15 years. In 1790, the first steam boat carrying up to thirty passengers began to run between Philadelphia and Burlington in the United States, and in 1804 Richard Trevintik built the first operating steam locomotive. The era of steam engines began, which lasted the entire nineteenth century, and on railway and the first half of the twentieth.

38. It was short history reference, now back to the main object of the museum exhibition. The steam engine you see in the pictures was manufactured by Zwikauer Maschinenfabrik AG in 1899 and installed in the engine room of the "C.F.Schmelzer und Sohn" spinning mill. The steam engine was intended to drive spinning machines and was used in this role until 1941.

39. Chic nameplate. At that time, industrial machinery was made with great attention to aesthetic appearance and style, not only functionality was important, but also beauty, which is reflected in every detail of this machine. At the beginning of the twentieth century, simply no one would have bought ugly equipment.

40. The spinning mill "C.F.Schmelzer und Sohn" was founded in 1820 on the site of the present museum. Already in 1841, the first steam engine with a power of 8 hp was installed at the factory. for driving spinning machines, which in 1899 was replaced by a new, more powerful and modern one.

41. The factory existed until 1941, then production was stopped due to the outbreak of war. For all forty-two years, the machine was used for its intended purpose, as a drive for spinning machines, and after the end of the war in 1945-1951, it served as a backup source of electricity, after which it was finally written off from the balance of the enterprise.

42. Like many of her brothers, the car would have been cut, if not for one factor. This machine was the first steam engine in Germany, which received steam through pipes from a boiler house located in the distance. In addition, she had an axle adjustment system from PROELL. Thanks to these factors, the car received the status of a historical monument in 1959 and became a museum. Unfortunately, all the factory buildings and the boiler building were demolished in 1992. This machine room is the only thing left of the former spinning mill.

43. Magical aesthetics of the steam age!

44. Nameplate on the body of the axle adjustment system from PROELL. The system regulated the cut-off - the amount of steam that is let into the cylinder. More cut-off - more efficiency, but less power.

45. Instruments.

46. ​​By design this machine is a steam engine of multiple expansion (or as they are also called a compound machine). In machines of this type, the steam expands sequentially in several cylinders of increasing volume, passing from cylinder to cylinder, which makes it possible to significantly increase the efficiency of the engine. This machine has three cylinders: in the center of the frame there is a high pressure cylinder - it was into it that fresh steam from the boiler room was supplied, then after the expansion cycle, the steam was transferred to the medium pressure cylinder, which is located to the right of the high pressure cylinder.

47. Having completed the work, the steam from the medium pressure cylinder moved to the low pressure cylinder, which you see in this picture, after which, having completed the last expansion, it was released outside through a separate pipe. Thus, the most complete use of steam energy was achieved.

48. The stationary power of this installation was 400-450 hp, maximum 600 hp.

49. The wrench for car repair and maintenance is impressive in size. Under it are the ropes, with the help of which the rotational movements were transmitted from the flywheel of the machine to the transmission connected to the spinning machines.

50. Flawless Belle Époque aesthetics in every screw.

51. In this picture, you can see in detail the device of the machine. The steam expanding in the cylinder transferred energy to the piston, which in turn carried out translational motion, transferring it to the crank-slider mechanism, in which it was transformed into rotational and transmitted to the flywheel and further to the transmission.

52. In the past, an electric current generator was also connected to the steam engine, which is also preserved in excellent original condition.

53. In the past, the generator was located at this place.

54. A mechanism for transmitting torque from the flywheel to the generator.

55. Now, in place of the generator, an electric motor has been installed, with the help of which a steam engine is set in motion for the amusement of the public for several days a year. Every year the museum hosts "Steam Days" - an event that brings together fans and modelers of steam engines. These days the steam engine is also set in motion.

56. The original DC generator is now on the sidelines. In the past, it was used to generate electricity for factory lighting.

57. Produced by "Elektrotechnische & Maschinenfabrik Ernst Walther" in Werdau in 1899, according to the information plate, but the year 1901 is on the original nameplate.

58. Since I was the only visitor to the museum that day, no one prevented me from enjoying the aesthetics of this place one-on-one with a car. In addition, the absence of people contributed to getting good photos.

59. Now a few words about the transmission. As you can see in this picture, the surface of the flywheel has 12 rope grooves, with the help of which the rotary motion of the flywheel was transmitted further to the transmission elements.

60. A transmission, consisting of wheels of various diameters connected by shafts, distributed the rotational movement to several floors of a factory building, on which spinning machines were located, powered by energy transmitted by a transmission from a steam engine.

61. Flywheel with grooves for ropes close-up.

62. The transmission elements are clearly visible here, with the help of which the torque was transmitted to a shaft passing underground and transmitting rotational motion to the factory building adjacent to the machine room, in which the machines were located.

63. Unfortunately, the factory building was not preserved and behind the door that led to the neighboring building, now there is only emptiness.

64. Separately, it is worth noting the electrical control panel, which in itself is a work of art.

65. Marble board in a beautiful wooden frame with rows of levers and fuses located on it, a luxurious lantern, stylish appliances - Belle Époque in all its glory.

66. The two huge fuses located between the lantern and the instruments are impressive.

67. Fuses, levers, regulators - all equipment is aesthetically pleasing. It can be seen that when creating this shield about appearance taken care of not least.

68. Under each lever and fuse is a "button" with the inscription that this lever turns on / off.

69. The splendor of the technology of the period of the "beautiful era".

70. At the end of the story, let's return to the car and enjoy the delightful harmony and aesthetics of its details.

71. Control valves separate nodes cars.

72. Drip oilers designed to lubricate moving parts and assemblies of the machine.

73. This device is called a grease fitting. From the moving part of the machine, worms are set in motion, moving the oiler piston, and it pumps oil to the rubbing surfaces. After the piston reaches dead center, it is lifted back by turning the handle and the cycle repeats.

74. How beautiful! Pure delight!

75. Machine cylinders with intake valve columns.

76. More oil cans.

77. A classic steampunk aesthetic.

78. Camshaft machine that regulates the supply of steam to the cylinders.

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81. All this is very very beautiful! I received a huge charge of inspiration and joyful emotions while visiting this machine room.

82. If fate suddenly brings you to the Zwickau region, be sure to visit this museum, you will not regret it. Museum website and coordinates: 50°43"58"N 12°22"25"E