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Researching Engine Cycles and Building a Steam Engine

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Researching Engine Cycles and Building a Steam Engine Researching Engine Cycles and Building a Steam Engine Xander Stabile Dr. Dann ASR A Block 1 May, 2020 Abstract: The ultimate goal of this project is to design and build a steam engine, with the goal of learning about various engine cycles while building essential mechanical skills. A dual piston steam engine was manufactured using machined brass parts: two brass pistons, a cylinder assembly, and a crankshaft. The crankshaft is fixed horizontally between two wooden vertical mounts on a wooden base, and the cylinder assembly is fixed to the same wooden base with its own separate wooden stand. With the crankshaft achieving a max rotational speed of around 957 RPM, this engine could be implemented into medium sized toys or light-duty machinery. Stabile 1 I. Big Idea In my second semester ASR independent research project I will be building a steam engine, following many different prototypes and extensive research into engine cycles of both gasoline engines and Stirling engines. After making the prototype engines, I will build the final steam engine by implementing the effective methods I will learn from building the various prototypes. Simultaneously, I will learn how both steam engines and gas engines work, as well as their uses in the world today, their differences, and their similarities and differences in their ideal engine pressure/volume cycles. I will be pursuing engineering in college, most likely a major that heavily involves mechanical engineering. Biomedical engineering/Biomechanics, which is my current planned major, involves mechanical systems in biological contexts. So, for my second semester ASR research project, I knew that I wanted to pursue a project that was heavily mechanical, and could even allow me to begin to explore machining parts to create a final product. The other half of my inspiration for this project was my love for cars. I initially wanted to build a V8 gasoline engine, which I would then be able to install in my car. However, I had a few worries about this; not only was I worried I would destroy my beloved car should something go wrong, but, more importantly, I did not have the machine precision for that project to be plausible. I then reached the conclusion of building a steam engine for my second semester ASR project. Building a steam engine would task me with a mechanical challenge, one that would require me to become comfortable with new machines, tools, materials, and concepts. I know I will continue using all of these methods, machines, and materials in my college career and beyond, so I am excited for the opportunity to pursue a project that will expose me to all of them. II. Introduction One of the most pressing issues of today, one of the most debated topics of 2020, is climate change. According to NASA, the world will change drastically before the decade is over; there will be no ice remaining in the Arctic, sea levels will rise a few feet, natural disasters will be stronger and occur more frequently, and temperatures will continue their increasing trend.1 These effects can be attributed to the increasing amount of greenhouse gasses in the Earth’s atmosphere, gasses that absorb and trap heat inside of Earth’s atmosphere. The United States Environmental Protection Agency attributes 22% of all greenhouse gas emissions to industry emissions, as shown in a graph by the Environmental Protection Agency below. Industry emissions are the result of burning fossil fuels as a method of generating energy.2 1 “The Effects of Climate Change.” NASA, NASA. ​ ​ 2 “Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency. ​ ​ Stabile 2 Diagram 1: Diagram 1 shows the percentage of gas emissions each economic sector contributed in 2017. Data and graph provided by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, nuclear power is a source of energy and is an alternative source of energy that has proven to be more beneficial to the environment. Nuclear power is a very efficient source of power, and avoids the byproduct of emitting tons of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses. Currently, there are 450 nuclear reactors around the world, generating approximately 10% of the world’s energy. However, this number is on the rise.3 Nuclear power plants generate energy by boiling water into steam, using the heat energy released during a process called nuclear fission, where the nucleus of a large atom is split. Nuclear power plants split uranium atoms by colliding them with neutrons at high speeds, causing an enormous release of heat energy as the uranium atom splits. The equation for the nuclear fission of uranium is shown below: high − energy neutron + U 235 → U 236 → Kr92 + Ba141 This heat energy is then harnessed and used to boil water into steam, where the steam then turns a turbine that activates generators to create electricity.4 In the spirit of saving the world from the jaws of climate change, nuclear power plants may become a leading source of energy in the future. Steam is the element that turns the turbine in the nuclear power plant, much like the steam in a steam engine turns a flywheel. Steam engines may be the key to the future, and could be essential in combating climate change. Therefore, it is paramount that they are understood, so that we can be most efficient with converting the heat energy of the nuclear reaction into usable, clean energy. Steam engines have a long and extensive history. Steam engines were first invented and used by a man named Thomas Newcomen, who built the steam engines to help pump water out of mines. However, these first steam engines were wildly inefficient; the metal was to be cooled and reheated multiple times, which wasted energy and eventually warped and ruined the material. As a result, James Watt invented a steam engine with a separate condenser in 1765, a 3 “Nuclear Power Is Essential for Energy, Environment, & the Economy.” World Nuclear Association, ​ World Nuclear Association. 4 “U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis.” Nuclear Power ​ Plants - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). ​ Stabile 3 solution that allowed the metal to be hot the entire time. This engine relied on pressure to push the piston down, where the steam would then be able to flow into the condenser by a series of valves. This new model allowed water to be pumped from wells and mines much more efficiently, which inspired the engine to be applied to other industries to power miscellaneous machines.5 Diagram 2 shows the Watt steam engine. Diagram 2: Diagram 1 shows the Watt steam engine. As the piston reaches its top position, the chamber’s inlet steam valve closes and the valve to the condenser opens. The condenser, which is of lower temperature and thus lower pressure, acts as a vacuum. The air flows to the condenser and condenses to water, which is expelled from the engine. The valve connecting the chamber to the condenser closes, and the lack of pressure in the chamber, the atmospheric pressure pushing down on the piston, and gravity all push the piston back down, where the steam inlet valve reopens.6 As steam engines evolved, they eventually powered steamboats, locomotives, and even automobiles. Though these engines were later overpowered by gasoline engines, steam engines may begin to rise again in popularity as the threat of irreversible climate change looms closer. III. Design Components: Cylinder Assembly: The cylinder assembly consists of two cylinders, an air inlet tube, and an endcap. The large cylinder is fitted with an endcap so as to not let any air escape; the pressure in the large cylinder is the driving force of the engine, so it is essential for the large cylinder to be airtight. The small cylinder does not have an endcap, allowing the air to escape during a certain phase of the cycle by means of the air slit in the small piston. The two cylinders are connected (by a combination of solder and heat-resistant epoxy to ensure a strong, airtight connection) together side-by-side, with a hole drilled through both sides of the small cylinder and the connecting wall of the large cylinder to allow pressurized air to flow through. The air inlet tube feeds the air 5 “Brief History of the Steam Engine.” Steam Engine History. ​ ​ 6 “Watt Steam Engine.” Wikipedia. ​ Stabile 4 directly into the hole connecting to the small piston. The entire cylinder assembly is made from 360 alloy brass. This alloy is especially machinable, while also able to tolerate high pressures and temperatures. The cylinders rest on a block attached to the base. Small Piston: The small piston rests in the small cylinder of the cylinder assembly, airtight yet able to slide inside of the cylinder. The small cylinder is designed not to push the crankshaft, but to control the airflow to and from the large cylinder chamber during certain phases of the cycle as the large piston turns the crankshaft. When the engine is in the first phase of its cycle (see below), the hole through the small piston directly aligns with the hole through the cylinder assembly, allowing the pressurized air to flow through the air inlet tube and into the large cylinder chamber, starting the “combustion” phase of the large piston. When the crankshaft rotates 180º, the piston moves (pulled forward) where the air slit in the side of the piston facing the large cylinder allows air to escape out of the hole connecting the large and small cylinders, through the air slit, and out the bottom of the small cylinder. The small piston is also made out of 360 alloy brass for its machinability and tolerance to high heat and pressure.
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