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The first steam engine was invented by the Russian inventor Polzunov I.I. Steam car in the 21st century? It's more real than ever Who created 1 steam engine

In the mind of most people in the age of smartphones, steam-powered cars are something archaic that brings a smile. The steam pages of the history of the automotive industry were very bright and without them it is difficult to imagine modern transport in general. No matter how hard skeptics from lawmaking, as well as oil lobbyists, different countries limit the development of the car for a couple, they succeeded only for a while. After all, the steam car is like the Sphinx. The idea of ​​a car for a couple (i.e., on an external combustion engine) is relevant to this day.

In the mind of most people in the age of smartphones, steam-powered cars are something archaic that brings a smile.

So in 1865 in England they introduced a ban on the movement of high-speed self-propelled carriages on steam. They were forbidden to move faster than 3 km / h around the city and not to release puffs of steam, so as not to frighten the horses harnessed to ordinary carriages. The most serious and tangible blow to steam trucks already in 1933 was the law on the tax on heavy vehicles. It was only in 1934, when duties on imports of petroleum products were reduced, that the victory of gasoline and diesel engines over steam engines loomed on the horizon.

Only in England could they afford to scoff at progress in such an elegant and cold-blooded way. In the USA, France, Italy, the environment of inventors-enthusiasts literally seethed with ideas, and the steam car acquired new shapes and characteristics. Although the British inventors made a significant contribution to the development of steam vehicles, the laws and prejudices of the authorities did not allow them to fully participate in the battle with the internal combustion engine. But let's talk about everything in order.

Prehistoric reference

The history of the development of the steam car is inextricably linked with the history of the emergence and improvement of the steam engine. When in the 1st century A.D. e. Heron of Alexandria proposed his idea of ​​making steam rotate a metal ball, his idea was treated as nothing more than fun. Whether other ideas were more exciting for the inventors, but the first to put the steam boiler on wheels was the monk Ferdinand Verbst. In 1672. His "toy" was also treated as fun. But the next forty years were not in vain for the history of the steam engine.

Isaac Newton's project of a self-propelled carriage (1680), the fire apparatus of the mechanic Thomas Savery (1698) and the atmospheric apparatus of Thomas Newcomen (1712) demonstrated the great potential of using steam to make mechanical work. At first, steam engines pumped out water from mines and lifted loads, but by the middle of the 18th century, such enterprises in England steam plants there were already several hundred.

What is a steam engine? How can steam move wheels? The principle of the steam engine is simple. Water is heated in a closed tank to a state of steam. Steam is discharged through tubes into a closed cylinder and squeezes out the piston. Through the intermediate connecting rod, this translational motion is transmitted to the flywheel shaft.

This circuit diagram the operation of the steam boiler in practice had significant drawbacks.

The first portion of steam burst out in clubs, and the cooled piston, under its own weight, went down for the next cycle. This schematic diagram of the operation of a steam boiler in practice had significant drawbacks. The absence of a steam pressure control system often led to a boiler explosion. It took a lot of time and fuel to bring the boiler to working condition. Constant refueling and the gigantic size of the steam plant only increased the list of its shortcomings.

The new machine was proposed by James Watt in 1765. He directed the steam squeezed out by the piston into an additional chamber for condensation and eliminated the need to constantly add water to the boiler. Finally, in 1784, he solved the problem of how to redistribute the movement of steam so that it pushes the piston in both directions. Thanks to the spool he created, the steam engine could work without interruption between cycles. This principle of a double-acting heat engine formed the basis of most steam technology.

over creation steam engines many smart people worked. After all, this is a simple and cheap way to get energy from almost nothing.

A small digression into the history of steam-powered cars

However, no matter how grandiose were the successes of the British in the region, the first to put the steam engine on wheels was the Frenchman Nicolas Joseph Cugno.

Cugno's first steam car

His car appeared on the roads in 1765. The speed of the stroller was a record - 9.5 km / h. In it, the inventor provided four seats for passengers who could be taken with a breeze on average speed 3.5 km/h This success seemed to the inventor not enough.

The need to stop for refueling with water and kindling a new fire every kilometer of the way was not a significant disadvantage, but only the level of technology of that time.

He decided to invent a tractor for guns. So a three-wheeled wagon with a massive cauldron in front was born. The need to stop for refueling with water and kindling a new fire every kilometer of the way was not a significant disadvantage, but only the level of technology of that time.

The next Cugno model of the 1770 model weighed about one and a half tons. The new cart could transport about two tons of cargo at a speed of 7 km / h.

Maestro Cugno was more interested in the idea of ​​creating a high-pressure steam engine. He was not even embarrassed by the fact that the boiler could explode. It was Cugno who came up with the idea of ​​placing the firebox under the boiler and carrying the “bonfire” with him. In addition, his "cart" can rightfully be called the first truck. The resignation of the patron and a series of revolutions did not allow the master to develop the model to a full-fledged truck.

Self-taught Oliver Evans and his amphibian

The idea of ​​creating steam engines was of universal proportions. In the North American states, inventor Oliver Evans created about fifty steam plants based on Watt's machine. Trying to reduce the dimensions of James Watt's installation, he designed steam engines for flour mills. However, Oliver Evans gained worldwide fame for his amphibious steam car. In 1789, his first automobile in the United States successfully passed land and water tests.

On his amphibian, which can be called the prototype of all-terrain vehicles, Evans installed a machine with a steam pressure of ten atmospheres!

The nine-meter car-boat had a weight of about 15 tons. The steam engine drove the rear wheels and propeller. By the way, Oliver Evans was also a supporter of the creation of a high-pressure steam engine. On his amphibian, which can be called the prototype of all-terrain vehicles, Evans installed a machine with a steam pressure of ten atmospheres!

If the inventors of the 18th and 19th centuries had the technology of the 21st century at their fingertips, can you imagine how much technology they would come up with!? And what technology!

XX century and 204 km / h on the steam car Stanley

Yes! The 18th century gave a powerful impetus to the development of steam transport. Numerous and varied designs of self-propelled steam carts began to increasingly dilute horse-drawn vehicles on the roads of Europe and America. By the beginning of the 20th century, steam-powered cars had spread significantly and became a familiar symbol of their time. As is the photograph.

The 18th century gave a powerful impetus to the development of steam transport

It was their photographic company that the Stanley brothers sold when, in 1897, they decided to seriously engage in the production of steam cars in the United States. They created well-selling steam cars. But this was not enough for them to satisfy their ambitious plans. After all, they were just one of many such automakers. So it was until they designed their "rocket".

It was their photographic company that the Stanley brothers sold when, in 1897, they decided to seriously engage in the production of steam cars in the United States.

Sure Stanley cars had the glory reliable car. The steam unit was located at the back, and the boiler was heated using torches of gasoline or kerosene. The flywheel of a double-acting steam two-cylinder engine rotates to the rear axle by means of a chain drive. There were no cases of boiler explosions at Stanley Steamer. But they needed a splash.

Of course, Stanley cars had the reputation of a reliable car.

With their "rocket" they made a splash all over the world. 205.4 km/h in 1906! No one has gone so fast! A car with an internal combustion engine broke this record only 5 years later. Stanley's plywood steam-powered "Rocket" defined the shape of racing cars for many years to come. But after 1917, Stanley Steamer increasingly experienced competition from the cheap Ford T and retired.

Doble brothers' unique steam cars

This famous family managed to provide decent resistance to gasoline engines right up to the beginning of the 30s of the XX century. They didn't build cars for records. The brothers truly loved their steam cars. Otherwise, how else to explain the honeycomb radiator invented by them and the ignition button? Their models were not like small locomotives.

The brothers Abner and John revolutionized steam transport.

The brothers Abner and John revolutionized steam transport. To get moving, his car did not need to warm up for 10–20 minutes. The ignition button pumped kerosene from the carburetor into the combustion chamber. He got there after lighting with a glow plug. The water heated up in a matter of seconds, and after a minute and a half, the steam created the necessary pressure and it was possible to go.

The exhaust steam was sent to the radiator for condensation and preparation for subsequent cycles. Therefore, for a smooth run of 2000 km, Doble cars needed only ninety liters of water in the system and several liters of kerosene. Nobody could offer such profitability! Perhaps it was at the Detroit Auto Show in 1917 that Stanley met the Doble Brothers model and began to wind down their production.

The Model E became the most luxurious car of the second half of the 20s and the latest version of the Doble steam car. Leather interior, polished elements of wood and elephant bone delighted wealthy owners inside the car. In such a cabin, one could enjoy mileage at speeds up to 160 km / h. Only 25 seconds separated the moment of ignition from the moment of launch. It took another 10 seconds for a car weighing 1.2 tons to accelerate to 120 km / h!

All these high-speed qualities were incorporated in a four-cylinder engine. Two pistons were pushed out by steam at a high pressure of 140 atmospheres, while the other two sent the cooled steam low pressure into a honeycomb condenser-radiator. But in the first half of the 30s, these beauties of the Doble brothers ceased to be produced.

Steam trucks

However, one should not forget that steam traction developed rapidly in freight transport. It was in the cities that steam cars caused snobs to become allergic. But the goods must be delivered in any weather and not only in the city. What about intercity buses and military equipment? You can't get off with small cars there.

Freight transport has one significant advantage over passenger cars - these are its dimensions.

Freight transport has one significant advantage over passenger cars - these are its dimensions. They allow you to place powerful power plants anywhere in the car. Moreover, it will only increase the carrying capacity and throughput. And what the truck will look like is not always paid attention to.

Among the steam trucks, I would like to highlight the English Sentinel and the Soviet NAMI. Of course, there were many others, such as Foden, Fowler, Yorkshire. But it was Sentinel and NAMI that turned out to be the most tenacious and were produced until the end of the 50s of the last century. They could run on any solid fuel - coal, wood, peat. The omnivorous nature of these steam trucks put them beyond the influence of oil prices, and also allowed them to be used in hard-to-reach places.

Workaholic Santinel with an English accent

These two trucks differ not only in the country of manufacture. The principles of the location of the steam generators were also different. Sentinels are characterized by the upper and lower arrangement of steam engines relative to the boiler. At the top location, the steam generator supplied hot steam directly to the engine chamber, which was connected to the bridges by a system of cardan shafts. With the lower location of the steam engine, i.e., on the chassis, the boiler heated the water and supplied steam to the engine through the pipes, which guaranteed temperature losses.

Sentinels are characterized by the upper and lower arrangement of steam engines relative to the boiler.

The presence of a chain transmission from the flywheel of a steam engine to cardans was typical for both types. This allowed the designers to unify the production of Sentinels depending on the customer. For hot countries such as India, steam trucks were produced with a lower, separated arrangement of the boiler and engine. For countries with cold winters - with the upper, combined type.

For hot countries such as India, steam trucks were produced with a lower, separated arrangement of the boiler and engine.

Many proven technologies were used on these trucks. Spools and steam distribution valves, single and double acting motors, high or low pressure, with or without gearbox. However, this did not extend the life of the English steam trucks. Although they were produced until the end of the 50s of the XX century and even served in the military before and during the 2nd World War, they were still bulky and somewhat resembled steam locomotives. And since there were no interested persons in their cardinal modernization, their fate was sealed.

Although they were produced until the end of the 50s of the XX century and even served in the military before and during the 2nd World War, they were still bulky and somewhat resembled steam locomotives.

To whom what, and to us - US

To lift the war-ravaged economy Soviet Union, it was necessary to find a way not to waste oil resources, at least in hard-to-reach places - in the north of the country and in Siberia. Soviet engineers were given the opportunity to study the design of the Sentinel with an overhead four-cylinder direct-acting steam engine and develop their own "answer to Chamberlain".

In the 30s, Russian institutes and design bureaus made repeated attempts to create an alternative truck for the timber industry.

In the 30s, Russian institutes and design bureaus made repeated attempts to create an alternative truck for the timber industry. But each time the case stopped at the testing stage. Using their own experience and the opportunity to study captured steam vehicles, the engineers managed to convince the country's leadership of the need for such a steam truck. Moreover, gasoline cost 24 times more than coal. And with the cost of firewood in the taiga, you can generally not mention it.

A group of designers led by Yu. Shebalin simplified the steam unit as a whole as much as possible. They combined a four-cylinder engine and a boiler into one unit and placed it between the body and the cab. We put this installation on the chassis of the serial YaAZ (MAZ) -200. The work of steam and its condensation were combined in a closed cycle. The supply of wood ingots from the bunker was carried out automatically.

This is how NAMI-012 was born, or rather on the off-road forest. Obviously, the principle of bunker supply of solid fuel and the location of the steam engine on the truck was borrowed from the practice of gas generators.

The fate of the owner of the forests - NAMI-012

The characteristics of the steam domestic flatbed truck and timber carrier NAMI-012 were as follows

  • Load capacity - 6 tons
  • Speed ​​- 45 km / h
  • Range without refueling - 80 km, if it was possible to renew the water supply, then 150 km
  • Torque at low speeds - 240 kgm, which was almost 5 times higher than the base YaAZ-200
  • A natural circulation boiler created a pressure of 25 atmospheres and brought steam to a temperature of 420 ° C
  • It was possible to replenish water supplies directly from the reservoir through ejectors
  • The all-metal cab did not have a hood and was pushed forward
  • The speed was controlled by the amount of steam in the engine using a feed/cutoff lever. With its help, the cylinders were filled by 25/40/75%.
  • One reverse gear and three control pedals.

Serious shortcomings of the steam truck were the consumption of 400 kg of firewood per 100 km of track and the need to get rid of water in the boiler in cold weather.

Serious shortcomings of the steam truck were the consumption of 400 kg of firewood per 100 km of track and the need to get rid of water in the boiler in cold weather. But the main disadvantage that was present in the first sample was poor patency in an unloaded state. Then it turned out that the front axle was overloaded with the cabin and the steam unit, compared to the rear. We coped with this task by installing a modernized steam power plant on the all-wheel drive YaAZ-214. Now the power of the NAMI-018 timber carrier has been increased to 125 horsepower.

But, not having time to spread throughout the country, steam generator trucks were all disposed of in the second half of the 50s of the last century.

But, not having time to spread throughout the country, steam generator trucks were all disposed of in the second half of the 50s of the last century. However, together with gas generators. Because the cost of converting cars, the economic impact and ease of operation were labor intensive and questionable, compared to gasoline and diesel trucks. Moreover, by this time oil production was already being established in the Soviet Union.

Fast and affordable modern steam car

Do not think that the idea of ​​a steam-powered car is forgotten forever. Now there is a significant increase in interest in engines that are alternative to internal combustion engines on gasoline and diesel fuel. The world's oil reserves are not unlimited. Yes, and the cost of petroleum products is constantly increasing. The designers tried so hard to improve the internal combustion engine that their ideas almost reached their limit.

Electric cars, hydrogen cars, gas generators and steam cars have become hot topics again. Hello, forgotten 19th century!

Now there is a significant increase in interest in engines that are alternative to internal combustion engines on gasoline and diesel fuel.

A British engineer (England again!) demonstrated the new possibilities of a steam engine. He created his Inspuration not only to demonstrate the relevance of steam-powered cars. His brainchild is made for records. 274 km / h - this is the speed that is accelerated by twelve boilers installed on a 7.6 meter car. Just 40 liters of water is enough to liquefied gas literally in an instant brought the temperature of the steam to 400 ° C. Just think, it took 103 years for history to break the speed record for a steam-powered car set by the Rocket!

In a modern steam generator, you can use powdered coal or other cheap fuels, such as fuel oil, liquefied gas. That is why steam cars have always been and will be popular.

But in order for an environmentally friendly future to come, it is again necessary to overcome the resistance of oil lobbyists.

All global concerns are preparing to begin mass production of electric vehicles, which should replace smelly cars with internal combustion engines. But besides the electric and gasoline engine, mankind knows steam engines and has known them for several centuries. Today we will talk about these undeservedly forgotten helpers of man.

19th century? Or maybe the first steam engine was created in the 18th century? Don't guess, don't guess. In the first century BC, i.e. More than 2 thousand years ago, the Greek engineer Heron of Alexandria created the first steam engine in the history of mankind.

The engine was a ball that rotated around its axis under the action of steam coming out of it. True, the ancient Greeks had difficulty understanding the essence of the process, so the development of this technology froze for almost 1500 years ...

Emperor Steam Toy

Ferdinand Verbst, a member of the Jesuit community in China, built the first steam powered car around 1672 as a toy for the Chinese emperor. The car was small in size and could not carry a driver or passenger, but it may have been the first working steam transport ("car"). But it was the first steam car in the history of mankind, albeit a toy one.

Newton project

Renowned scientists also considered the idea of ​​"riding" the power of steam and creating a self-propelled carriage. One famous such project was Isaac Newton's carriage project. The crew consisted of a cart equipped with a steam boiler with a nozzle, through which, using a valve, the driver could bleed steam, thereby dispersing the cart. But the great scientist never realized his project, Newton's steam car remained on paper.

Thomas Newckman and his groundwater pumping machine

The first device put into practice was the Newckman engine. Briton Thomas Newckman designed a steam engine that was similar to modern engines. A cylinder and a piston that moved in it under the influence of steam pressure. Steam was produced in a huge boiler, which did not allow using this machine in any other way as a machine for pumping groundwater.

James Watt

Scotsman James Watt undertook to improve Newksman's machine. He noticed that in order to reduce coal consumption, it is necessary to constantly maintain in the cylinder high temperature, and also attached a condenser to the machine, where the exhaust steam was collected, which subsequently turned into water and was again sent to the boiler with the help of a pump. All this would have made it possible to put the engine on the frame and create the first steam car, but Watt considered this type of transport dangerous and did not engage in further development. Moreover, the designer received a patent for his car, which became an obstacle for other designers to work on the first steam car.

Not yet a car, but already a cart

The creator of the first self-propelled vehicle was the Frenchman Nicolas-Joseph Cugno. In 1769, the inventor created a three-wheeled wagon - the "small Cugno cart", which was also called the "Fardier". As conceived by the author, this strange vehicle was supposed to be used to transport guns. Not yet a car, but already a self-propelled cart.

Only Cugno's cart had a lot of flaws. The weight of the engine was about a ton, so the cart was hardly driven by two people. Another drawback of the small Kunho cart turned out to be a low power reserve - only one kilometer. Refueling in the form of water in the cauldron, building a fire on the road where the cauldron was transferred, were too long and complicated procedures. The speed also wanted to be better, only 4 km / h.

But the cart had its merits, too. The carrying capacity was two tons, which was very much liked by the generals of the French headquarters, who allocated 20 thousand francs to Kunyu for further work on the cart.

The designer used the funds received with benefit and the second version of the cart was already moving at a speed of up to 5-7 kilometers per hour, and the firebox installed under the boiler made it possible to maintain the temperature on the go, and not stop every 15 minutes to kindle a fire.

This embryo of the future car made the first accident in history. The wheel of the cart jammed and it rammed the wall of the house.

Despite Cugno's successes, work was suspended for a banal reason: the money ran out. But to our delight, the cart of the French designer has survived to this day and we can see it with our own eyes.

Roper's Steam Bicycle

The inventors were in a state of constant search. If Kuno moved along the path of creating a car, then the American Sylvester Howard Roper undertook to create a future motorcycle. It would be more correct to say a steam bike.

Roper placed the steam engine under the seat, the steam outlet was carried out directly behind the saddle. Speed ​​control was carried out using a handle on the steering wheel. Turning it away from him, the driver increased the speed, turning in the opposite direction, braking was carried out.

Roper's trips on the first bike caused shock and indignation of others, well, just like we are outraged by noisy motorcycles now. Roper even complained to the police. The inventor was saved from prison and a fine only by the absence of a law that would prohibit riding the right bike.

And just like modern bikers, Roper, driving his steam bike, crashed.

Steam amphibian

Oruktor Amphibolos, the first amphibious machine, was developed in 1804 by American inventor Oliver Evans. The boat-shaped hull was fitted with 4 wheels and a paddle wheel at the stern. It was a gigantic machine: nine meters long and weighing 15 tons.

Omnibus Enterprise

The disadvantage of all the first steam engines was the low carrying capacity and low speed. Horse carts (omnibuses) were faster than the fastest steam engine. Engineers have come to grips with horsepower.

The first car for eight people was designed by Richard Trevithick. But Richard's car did not interest investors. Thirty years later, Walter Hancock took over and created the first steam omnibus, called the Enterprise. A ton of water, a two-cylinder engine, a speed of 32 kilometers per hour and a range of up to 32 kilometers. It even allowed the Enterprise to be used as a commercial vehicle. And this was already the success of the inventors - the first bus drove through the streets.

First car

The first steam engine, which looked not like a cart with a pan, but like an ordinary car, was designed by the brothers Abner and John Doble. Doble's car already had many of the nodes familiar to us, but more on that later.

While still a student, Abner began in 1910 to develop steam engines in his own workshop. What the brothers managed to do was to reduce the volume of water. As you remember, the Enterprise used a ton of water. The Doble model at 90 liters had a power reserve of up to one and a half thousand kilometers. The brothers-inventors equipped their cars with an automatic ignition system. It is today that we turn the key to strike a spark in the engine. Doble's ignition system injected kerosene into the carburetor, where it was ignited and fed into a chamber under the boiler. The necessary pressure of water vapor was created in a record 90 seconds for those times. 1.5 minutes and you can get under way. You will say for a long time, but the steam engines of other designers started moving in 10 and even 30 minutes.

The exhibited sample of the Dolbov car at an exhibition in New York caused a sensation. Only during the exhibition, the brothers collected orders for 5,500 cars. But then the first began World War, which caused a crisis and a shortage of metal in the country, and production had to be forgotten for a while.

After the war, the Dobles presented to the public a new and improved model of the steam car. The necessary pressure in the boiler was reached in 23 seconds, the speed was 160 kilometers per hour, and in 10 seconds the car accelerated to 120 kilometers per hour. Probably the only drawback of the car was its price. Unrealistic for those times 18 thousand dollars. The greatest steam car in the history of mankind was produced in the amount of only 50 copies.

Faster steam

Again the brothers-inventors, this time the Stanley brothers, took up the creation of a car on boiling water. Their racing car was ready to race in 1906. On a Florida beach, the car accelerated to 205.4 kilometers per hour. At that time it was an absolute record, even for a car with a gasoline engine. Here's a pot on wheels.

The brothers were only stopped by the injury of one of them, received as a result of an accident on a parobolide. The Stanley brothers' car speed record has been unbeaten for over a century.

inspiration

The next speed record was set on August 26, 2009 on the Inspiration car. The car, more like a fighter, was driven by two turbines, which rotated thanks to steam supplied at a pressure of 40 bar from twelve highly efficient boilers. Under the hood of this device, 360 horsepower is hidden, which made it possible to accelerate to 225 kilometers per hour.

ParoRussia

Steam cars, of course, could not pass by Russia. The first domestic model working on coal and water in 1830 could have been Kazimir Yankevich's "Bystrokat". According to the designer's calculations, this steam engine could accelerate to a speed of 32 kilometers per hour. But the car remained on paper.

The first steam engine was created by a talented Russian peasant Fyodor Blinov. In 1879, he received a patent "for a special device wagon with endless rails for the transport of goods on highways and country roads." Later, this car turned into a caterpillar steam tractor, which Blinov also taught to turn due to the difference in torque on each of the tracks. But the brainchild of the inventor was not appreciated, only a small award was given.

The first Russian steam cars began to be produced at the Moscow Dux plant. Those who collect retro models know this elegant Lokomobil car.

“Cars do not make noise at all, which still cannot be said about gasoline ones. Even electric cars, powered by electricity, this power of the future, make more noise (buzz, rather) than Dux steam cars. Its whole mechanism is so simple and compact that it fits under the seat and does not require any protruding parts for its placement, such as the nose of gasoline cars, does not have gear changes, electric batteries, magnetos, easily broken candles, in a word, all that which is the cause of most breakdowns and troubles in gasoline cars, ”wrote the magazine Avtomobil at the beginning of the last century.

The rapidly developing internal combustion engines running on gasoline put an end to the development of steam vehicles. Inventors tried to revive this technology, but their ideas did not find support.

Interest in water vapor, as an affordable source of energy, appeared along with the first scientific knowledge of the ancients. People have been trying to tame this energy for three millennia. What are the main stages of this path? Whose reflections and projects have taught mankind to extract the maximum benefit from it?

Prerequisites for the emergence of steam engines

The need for mechanisms that can facilitate labor-intensive processes has always existed. Until about the middle of the 18th century, windmills and water wheels were used for this purpose. The possibility of using wind energy directly depends on the vagaries of the weather. And to use water wheels, factories had to be built along the banks of rivers, which is not always convenient and expedient. And the effectiveness of both was extremely low. A fundamentally new engine was needed, easily managed and devoid of these shortcomings.

The history of the invention and improvement of steam engines

The creation of a steam engine is the result of much thought, success and failure of the hopes of many scientists.

The beginning of the way

The first, single projects were only interesting curiosities. For example, Archimedes built a steam gun Heron of Alexandria used the energy of steam to open the doors of ancient temples. And researchers find notes on the practical application of steam energy to actuate other mechanisms in the works Leonardo da Vinci.

Consider the most significant projects on this topic.

In the 16th century, the Arab engineer Tagi al Din developed a design for a primitive steam turbine. However practical application it did not receive due to the strong scattering of the steam jet supplied to the blades of the turbine wheel.

Fast forward to medieval France. The physicist and talented inventor Denis Papin, after many unsuccessful projects, stops at the following design: a vertical cylinder was filled with water, over which a piston was installed.

The cylinder was heated, the water boiled and evaporated. The expanding steam lifted the piston. It was fixed at the top point of the rise and the cylinder was expected to cool and the steam to condense. After the steam condensed, a vacuum was formed in the cylinder. The piston, freed from fastening, rushed into vacuum under the action of atmospheric pressure. It was this fall of the piston that was supposed to be used as a working stroke.

So, the useful stroke of the piston was caused by the formation of a vacuum due to the condensation of steam and external (atmospheric) pressure.

Because the Papin steam engine like most subsequent projects, they were called steam-atmospheric machines.

This design had a very significant drawback - the repeatability of the cycle was not provided. Denis comes up with the idea of ​​getting steam not in a cylinder, but separately in a steam boiler.

Denis Papin entered the history of the creation of steam engines as the inventor of a very important detail - the steam boiler.

And since they began to receive steam outside the cylinder, the engine itself passed into the category of external combustion engines. But due to the lack of a distribution mechanism that ensures uninterrupted operation, these projects have hardly found practical application.

A new stage in the development of steam engines

For about 50 years, it has been used to pump water in coal mines. Thomas Newcomen's steam pump. He largely repeated the previous designs, but contained very important novelties - a pipe for the withdrawal of condensed steam and a safety valve for the release of excess steam.

Its significant disadvantage was that the cylinder had to be either heated before steam was injected or cooled before it condensed. But the need for such engines was so high that, despite their obvious inefficiency, the last copies of these machines served until 1930.

In 1765 English mechanic James Watt, engaged in the improvement of Newcomen's machine, separated the condenser from the steam cylinder.

It became possible to keep the cylinder constantly heated. The efficiency of the machine immediately increased. In subsequent years, Watt significantly improved his model, equipping it with a device for supplying steam from one side to the other.

It became possible to use this machine not only as a pump, but also to drive various machine tools. Watt received a patent for his invention - a continuous steam engine. The mass production of these machines begins.

By the beginning of the 19th century, over 320 Watt steam engines were operating in England. Other European countries also began to buy them. This contributed to a significant increase in industrial production in many industries, both in England itself and in neighboring states.

Twenty years earlier than Watt, in Russia, the Altai mechanic Ivan Ivanovich Polzunov worked on the steam engine project.

The factory authorities suggested that he build a unit that would drive the blower of the melting furnace.

The machine he built was a two-cylinder and ensured the continuous operation of the device connected to it.

Having successfully worked for more than a month and a half, the boiler started leaking. Polzunov himself was no longer alive by this time. The car was not repaired. And the wonderful creation of a single Russian inventor was forgotten.

Due to the backwardness of Russia at that time the world learned about the invention of I. I. Polzunov with a great delay ....

So, to drive a steam engine, it is necessary that the steam generated by the steam boiler, expanding, presses on the piston or on the turbine blades. And then their movement was transferred to other mechanical parts.

The use of steam engines in transport

Despite the fact that the efficiency of steam engines of that time did not exceed 5%, to late XVIII centuries they began to be actively used in agriculture and transport:

  • in France there is a car with a steam engine;
  • in the USA, a steamboat begins to run between the cities of Philadelphia and Burlington;
  • in England, a steam-powered railway locomotive was demonstrated;
  • a Russian peasant from the Saratov province patented a caterpillar tractor built by him with a capacity of 20 hp. with.;
  • Attempts were repeatedly made to build an aircraft with a steam engine, but, unfortunately, the low power of these units with the large weight of the aircraft made these attempts unsuccessful.

By the end of the 19th century, steam engines, having played their role in the technical progress of society, were giving way to electric motors.

Steam devices in the XXI century

With the advent of new energy sources in the 20th and 21st centuries, the need to use steam energy appears again. Steam turbines are becoming an integral part of nuclear power plants. The steam that powers them is obtained from nuclear fuel.

These turbines are also widely used in condensing thermal power plants.

In a number of countries, experiments are being carried out to obtain steam due to solar energy.

Reciprocating steam engines are not forgotten either. In mountainous areas as a locomotive steam locomotives are still used.

These reliable workers are both safer and cheaper. They do not need power lines, and fuel - wood and cheap grades of coal - are always at hand.

Modern technologies allow capturing up to 95% of emissions into the atmosphere and increasing efficiency up to 21%, so that people have decided not to part with them yet and are working on a new generation of steam locomotives.

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Steam engines were used as a driving engine in pumping stations, locomotives, on steam ships, tractors, steam cars and other vehicles. Steam engines contributed to the widespread commercial use of machines in enterprises and were the energy basis of the industrial revolution of the 18th century. Steam engines were later superseded by internal combustion engines, steam turbines, electric motors, and nuclear reactors, which are more efficient.

Steam engine in action

invention and development

The first known device powered by steam was described by Heron of Alexandria in the first century, the so-called "Heron's bath" or "aeolipil". The steam coming out tangentially from the nozzles fixed on the ball made the latter rotate. It is assumed that the transformation of steam into mechanical motion was known in Egypt during the period of Roman rule and was used in simple devices.

First industrial engines

None of the described devices has actually been used as a means of solving useful problems. The first steam engine used in production was the "fire engine", designed by the English military engineer Thomas Savery in 1698. Savery received a patent for his device in 1698. It was a reciprocating steam pump, and obviously not very efficient, since the heat of the steam was lost every time the container was cooled, and quite dangerous in operation, because due to the high pressure of the steam, the tanks and engine pipelines sometimes exploded. Since this device could be used both to turn the wheels of a water mill and to pump water out of mines, the inventor called it a "miner's friend."

Then the English blacksmith Thomas Newcomen demonstrated his "atmospheric engine" in 1712, which was the first steam engine for which there could be commercial demand. This was an improvement on Savery's steam engine, in which Newcomen substantially reduced the operating pressure of the steam. Newcomen may have been based on a description of Papin's experiments held by the Royal Society of London, to which he may have had access through a member of the society, Robert Hooke, who worked with Papin.

Diagram of the Newcomen steam engine.
– Steam is shown in purple, water in blue.
– Open valves shown in green, closed - red

The first application of the Newcomen engine was to pump water from a deep mine. In the mine pump, the rocker was connected to a rod that descended into the mine to the pump chamber. The reciprocating movements of the thrust were transmitted to the piston of the pump, which supplied water to the top. The valves of early Newcomen engines were opened and closed by hand. The first improvement was the automation of the valves, which were driven by the machine itself. Legend tells that this improvement was made in 1713 by the boy Humphrey Potter, who had to open and close the valves; when he got tired of it, he tied the valve handles with ropes and went to play with the children. By 1715, a lever control system was already created, driven by the mechanism of the engine itself.

The first two-cylinder vacuum steam engine in Russia was designed by the mechanic I.I. Polzunov in 1763 and built in 1764 to drive the blower bellows at the Barnaul Kolyvano-Voskresensky factories.

Humphrey Gainsborough built a model condenser steam engine in the 1760s. In 1769, Scottish mechanic James Watt (perhaps using Gainsborough's ideas) patented the first significant improvements to the Newcomen vacuum engine, which made it much more fuel efficient. Watt's contribution was to separate the condensation phase of the vacuum engine in a separate chamber while the piston and cylinder were at steam temperature. Watt added a few more important details to the Newcomen engine: he placed a piston inside the cylinder to expel steam and converted the reciprocating movement of the piston into the rotational movement of the drive wheel.

Based on these patents, Watt built a steam engine in Birmingham. By 1782, Watt's steam engine was more than 3 times as efficient as Newcomen's. The improvement in the efficiency of the Watt engine led to the use of steam power in industry. In addition, unlike the Newcomen engine, the Watt engine made it possible to transmit rotational motion, while in early models of steam engines the piston was connected to the rocker arm, and not directly to the connecting rod. This engine already had the main features of modern steam engines.

A further increase in efficiency was the use of high pressure steam (American Oliver Evans and Englishman Richard Trevithick). R. Trevithick successfully built high-pressure industrial single-stroke engines, known as "Cornish engines". They operated at 50 psi, or 345 kPa (3.405 atmospheres). However, with increasing pressure, there was also a greater danger of explosions in machines and boilers, which initially led to numerous accidents. From this point of view, the most important element of the high-pressure machine was the safety valve, which released excess pressure. Reliable and safe operation began only with the accumulation of experience and the standardization of procedures for the construction, operation and maintenance of equipment.

French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot demonstrated the first working self-propelled steam vehicle in 1769: the "fardier à vapeur" (steam cart). Perhaps his invention can be considered the first automobile. The self-propelled steam tractor turned out to be very useful as a mobile source of mechanical energy that set in motion other agricultural machines: threshers, presses, etc. In 1788, a steamboat built by John Fitch was already operating a regular service along the Delaware River between Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) and Burlington (state of New York). He lifted 30 passengers on board and went at a speed of 7-8 miles per hour. J. Fitch's steamboat was not commercially successful, as a good overland road competed with its route. In 1802, Scottish engineer William Symington built a competitive steamboat, and in 1807, American engineer Robert Fulton used a Watt steam engine to power the first commercially successful steamboat. On 21 February 1804, the first self-propelled railway steam locomotive, built by Richard Trevithick, was on display at the Penydarren ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.

Reciprocating steam engines

Reciprocating engines use steam power to move a piston in a sealed chamber or cylinder. The reciprocating action of a piston can be mechanically converted into linear motion for piston pumps, or into rotary motion to drive rotating parts of machine tools or vehicle wheels.

vacuum machines

Early steam engines were called at first "fire engines", and also "atmospheric" or "condensing" Watt engines. They worked on the vacuum principle and are therefore also known as "vacuum engines". Such machines worked to drive piston pumps, in any case, there is no evidence that they were used for other purposes. During the operation of a vacuum-type steam engine, at the beginning of the cycle, low-pressure steam is admitted into the working chamber or cylinder. The inlet valve then closes and the steam cools and condenses. In a Newcomen engine, the cooling water is sprayed directly into the cylinder and the condensate escapes into a condensate collector. This creates a vacuum in the cylinder. Atmospheric pressure at the top of the cylinder presses on the piston, and causes it to move down, that is, the power stroke.

Constant cooling and reheating of the working cylinder of the machine was very wasteful and inefficient, however, these steam engines allowed pumping water from a greater depth than was possible before their appearance. A version of the steam engine appeared in the year, created by Watt in collaboration with Matthew Boulton, the main innovation of which was the removal of the condensation process in a special separate chamber (condenser). This chamber was placed in a cold water bath and connected to the cylinder by a tube closed by a valve. A special small vacuum pump (a prototype of a condensate pump) was attached to the condensation chamber, driven by a rocker arm and used to remove condensate from the condenser. The resulting hot water was supplied by a special pump (the prototype of the feed pump) back to the boiler. Another radical innovation was the closure of the upper end of the working cylinder, at the top of which was now low-pressure steam. The same steam was present in the double jacket of the cylinder, maintaining its constant temperature. During the upward movement of the piston, this steam was transferred through special tubes to the lower part of the cylinder in order to be condensed during the next stroke. The machine, in fact, ceased to be "atmospheric", and its power now depended on the pressure difference between low-pressure steam and the vacuum that could be obtained. In the Newcomen steam engine, the piston was lubricated with a small amount of water poured on top of it, in Watt's engine this became impossible, since there was now steam in the upper part of the cylinder, it was necessary to switch to lubrication with a mixture of grease and oil. The same grease was used in the cylinder rod stuffing box.

Vacuum steam engines, despite the obvious limitations of their efficiency, were relatively safe, using low-pressure steam, which was quite consistent with the general low level of 18th century boiler technology. The power of the machine was limited by low steam pressure, cylinder size, the rate of fuel combustion and water evaporation in the boiler, and the size of the condenser. The maximum theoretical efficiency was limited by the relatively small temperature difference on either side of the piston; it made vacuum machines designed for industrial use too big and expensive.

Compression

The outlet port of a steam engine cylinder closes slightly before the piston reaches its end position, leaving some exhaust steam in the cylinder. This means that there is a compression phase in the cycle of operation, which forms the so-called “vapor cushion”, which slows down the movement of the piston in its extreme positions. It also eliminates the sudden pressure drop at the very beginning of the intake phase when fresh steam enters the cylinder.

Advance

The described “vapor cushion” effect is also enhanced by the fact that the intake of fresh steam into the cylinder begins somewhat earlier than the piston reaches its extreme position, that is, there is some advance of the intake. This advance is necessary so that before the piston starts its working stroke under the action of fresh steam, the steam would have time to fill the dead space that arose as a result of the previous phase, that is, the intake-exhaust channels and the volume of the cylinder not used for piston movement.

simple extension

A simple expansion assumes that the steam only works when it expands in the cylinder, and the exhaust steam is released directly into the atmosphere or enters a special condenser. The residual heat of the steam can then be used, for example, to heat a room or a vehicle, as well as to preheat the water entering the boiler.

Compound

During the expansion process in the cylinder of a high-pressure machine, the temperature of the steam drops in proportion to its expansion. Since there is no heat exchange (adiabatic process), it turns out that the steam enters the cylinder at a higher temperature than it leaves it. Such temperature fluctuations in the cylinder lead to a decrease in the efficiency of the process.

One of the methods of dealing with this temperature difference was proposed in 1804 by the English engineer Arthur Wolfe, who patented Wulff high-pressure compound steam engine. In this machine, high-temperature steam from the steam boiler entered the high-pressure cylinder, and then the steam exhausted in it at a lower temperature and pressure entered the low-pressure cylinder (or cylinders). This reduced the temperature difference in each cylinder, which generally reduced temperature losses and improved the overall efficiency of the steam engine. The low-pressure steam had a larger volume, and therefore required a larger volume of the cylinder. Therefore, in compound machines, the low pressure cylinders had a larger diameter (and sometimes longer) than the high pressure cylinders.

This arrangement is also known as "double expansion" because the vapor expansion occurs in two stages. Sometimes one high-pressure cylinder was connected to two low-pressure cylinders, resulting in three approximately the same size cylinders. Such a scheme was easier to balance.

Two-cylinder compounding machines can be classified as:

  • Cross compound- Cylinders are located side by side, their steam-conducting channels are crossed.
  • Tandem compound- Cylinders are arranged in series and use one rod.
  • Angle compound- The cylinders are at an angle to each other, usually 90 degrees, and operate on one crank.

After the 1880s, compound steam engines became widespread in manufacturing and transportation, and became virtually the only type used on steamboats. Their use on steam locomotives was not as widespread as they proved to be too complex, partly due to the difficult operating conditions of steam engines in rail transport. Although compound locomotives never became a mainstream phenomenon (especially in the UK, where they were very rare and not used at all after the 1930s), they gained some popularity in several countries.

Multiple expansion

Simplified diagram of a triple expansion steam engine.
High pressure steam (red) from the boiler passes through the machine, leaving the condenser at low pressure (blue).

The logical development of the compound scheme was the addition of additional expansion stages to it, which increased the efficiency of work. The result was a multiple expansion scheme known as triple or even quadruple expansion machines. Such steam engines used a series of double-acting cylinders, the volume of which increased with each stage. Sometimes, instead of increasing the volume of low pressure cylinders, an increase in their number was used, just as on some compound machines.

The image on the right shows a triple expansion steam engine in operation. Steam flows through the machine from left to right. The valve block of each cylinder is located to the left of the corresponding cylinder.

The appearance of this type of steam engines became especially relevant for the fleet, since the size and weight requirements for ship engines were not very strict, and most importantly, such a scheme made it easy to use a condenser that returns exhaust steam in the form fresh water back to the boiler (it was impossible to use salty sea water to feed the boilers). Ground-based steam engines usually did not experience problems with water supply and therefore could emit exhaust steam into the atmosphere. Therefore, such a scheme was less relevant for them, especially considering its complexity, size and weight. The dominance of multiple expansion steam engines ended only with the advent and widespread use of steam turbines. However, modern steam turbines use the same principle of dividing the flow into high, medium and low pressure cylinders.

Direct-flow steam engines

Once-through steam engines arose as a result of an attempt to overcome one drawback inherent in steam engines with traditional steam distribution. The fact is that the steam in an ordinary steam engine constantly changes its direction of movement, since the same window on each side of the cylinder is used for both inlet and outlet of steam. When the exhaust steam leaves the cylinder, it cools its walls and steam distribution channels. Fresh steam, accordingly, spends a certain part of the energy on heating them, which leads to a drop in efficiency. Once-through steam engines have an additional port, which is opened by a piston at the end of each phase, and through which the steam leaves the cylinder. This improves the efficiency of the machine as the steam moves in one direction and the temperature gradient of the cylinder walls remains more or less constant. Once-through machines with a single expansion show about the same efficiency as compound machines with conventional steam distribution. In addition, they can operate at higher speeds, and therefore, before the advent of steam turbines, they were often used to drive power generators that require high rotational speeds.

Once-through steam engines are either single or double acting.

Steam turbines

A steam turbine is a series of rotating disks fixed on a single axis, called the turbine rotor, and a series of fixed disks alternating with them, fixed on a base, called the stator. The rotor disks have blades on the outer side, steam is supplied to these blades and turns the disks. The stator discs have similar blades set at opposite angles, which serve to redirect the steam flow to the following rotor discs. Each rotor disc and its corresponding stator disc is called a turbine stage. The number and size of the stages of each turbine are selected in such a way as to maximize the useful energy of the steam of the speed and pressure that is supplied to it. The exhaust steam leaving the turbine enters the condenser. Turbines spin at very high speeds, and so special step-down transmissions are commonly used when transferring power to other equipment. In addition, turbines cannot change their direction of rotation, and often require additional reverse mechanisms (sometimes additional reverse rotation stages are used).

Turbines convert steam energy directly into rotation and do not require additional mechanisms for converting reciprocating motion into rotation. In addition, turbines are more compact than reciprocating machines and have a constant force on the output shaft. Because turbines have more simple design they tend to require less maintenance.

Other types of steam engines

Application

Steam engines can be classified according to their application as follows:

Stationary machines

steam hammer

Steam engine in an old sugar factory, Cuba

Stationary steam engines can be divided into two types according to the mode of use:

  • Variable duty machines such as rolling mills, steam winches and similar devices that must stop and change direction frequently.
  • Power machines that rarely stop and do not have to change direction of rotation. These include power motors in power stations, as well as industrial motors used in factories, factories, and cable railways before the widespread use of electric traction. Engines low power used on ship models and in special devices.

The steam winch is essentially a stationary engine, but mounted on base frame so that it can be moved. It can be secured by a cable to the anchor and moved by its own thrust to a new location.

Transport vehicles

Steam engines were used to drive various types vehicles, including:

  • Land vehicles:
    • steam car
    • steam tractor
    • Steam excavator, and even
  • Steam plane.

In Russia, the first operating steam locomotive was built by E. A. and M. E. Cherepanov at the Nizhny Tagil plant in 1834 to transport ore. He developed a speed of 13 miles per hour and carried more than 200 pounds (3.2 tons) of cargo. The length of the first railway was 850 m.

Advantages of steam engines

The main advantage of steam engines is that they can use almost any heat source to convert it into mechanical work. This distinguishes them from internal combustion engines, each type of which requires the use of a specific type of fuel. This advantage is most noticeable when using nuclear energy, since a nuclear reactor is not able to generate mechanical energy, but only produces heat, which is used to generate steam that drives steam engines (usually steam turbines). In addition, there are other heat sources that cannot be used in internal combustion engines, for example, solar energy. An interesting direction is the use of the energy of the temperature difference of the World Ocean at different depths.

Other types of external combustion engines also have similar properties, such as the Stirling engine, which can provide very high efficiency, but are significantly larger and heavier than modern types of steam engines.

Steam locomotives perform well at high altitudes, since their efficiency does not drop due to low atmospheric pressure. Steam locomotives are still used in the mountainous regions of Latin America, despite the fact that in the lowlands they have long been replaced by more modern types of locomotives.

In Switzerland (Brienz Rothhorn) and Austria (Schafberg Bahn), new steam locomotives using dry steam have proved their worth. This type of steam locomotive was developed on the basis of Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) models, with many modern improvements such as the use of roller bearings, modern thermal insulation, burning light oil fractions as fuel, improved steam pipelines, etc. . As a result, these locomotives have 60% lower fuel consumption and significantly lower maintenance requirements. The economic qualities of such locomotives are comparable to modern diesel and electric locomotives.

In addition, steam locomotives are significantly lighter than diesel and electric locomotives, which is especially true for mining. railways. A feature of steam engines is that they do not need a transmission, transferring power directly to the wheels.

Efficiency

The coefficient of performance (COP) of a heat engine can be defined as the ratio of useful mechanical work to the spent amount of heat contained in the fuel. The rest of the energy is released into environment in the form of heat. The efficiency of the heat engine is

, Article published on 05/19/2014 05:36 Last edited on 05/19/2014 05:58

The history of the development of the steam engine is described in sufficient detail in this article. Here are the most famous solutions and inventions of the times of 1672-1891.

First work.

Let's start with the fact that back in the seventeenth century, steam began to be considered as a means for driving, all kinds of experiments were carried out with it, and only in 1643 Evangelista Torricelli discovered the force action of steam pressure. Christian Huygens, 47 years later, designed the first power machine, powered by an explosion of gunpowder in a cylinder. It was the first prototype of an internal combustion engine. On a similar principle, the Abbot Otfey's water intake machine is arranged. Soon Denis Papin decided to replace the force of the explosion with the less powerful force of steam. In 1690 he built first steam engine, also known as a steam boiler.

It consisted of a piston, which, with the help of boiling water, moved up in the cylinder and, due to subsequent cooling, lowered again - this was how force was created. The whole process took place in this way: under the cylinder, which simultaneously performed the function of a boiler, a furnace was placed; when the piston was in the upper position, the furnace moved back to facilitate cooling.

Later, two Englishmen, Thomas Newcomen and Cowley - one a blacksmith, the other a glazier - improved the system by separating the boiler and cylinder and adding a tank of cold water. This system functioned by means of valves or faucets, one for steam and one for water, which were alternately opened and closed. Then the Englishman Bayton rebuilt the valve control into a truly clocked one.

The use of steam engines in practice.

Newcomen's machine soon became known everywhere and, in particular, was improved by the double action system developed by James Watt in 1765. Now steam machine turned out to be sufficiently complete for use in vehicles, although due to its size it was better suited for stationary installations. Watt offered his inventions to industry as well; he also built machines for textile factories.

The first steam engine used as a means of transportation was invented by the Frenchman Nicolas Joseph Cugnot, an engineer and amateur military strategist. In 1763 or 1765, he created a car that could carry four passengers at an average speed of 3.5 and a maximum of 9.5 km / h. The first attempt was followed by the second - a car appeared for transporting guns. It was tested, of course, by the military, but due to the impossibility of long-term operation (the continuous cycle of the new machine did not exceed 15 minutes), the inventor did not receive support from the authorities and financiers. Meanwhile, in England, the steam engine was being improved. After several unsuccessful Watt-based attempts by Moore, William Murdoch and William Symington, Richard Travisick's rail vehicle, commissioned by the Welsh Colliery, appeared. An active inventor came into the world: from underground mines, he rose to the ground and in 1802 presented mankind with a powerful a car, reaching a speed of 15 km / h on flat ground and 6 km / h on the rise.

Preview - Click to enlarge.

Ferry-powered vehicles were also increasingly used in the United States: Nathan Reed in 1790 surprised the people of Philadelphia with his steam car model. However, his compatriot Oliver Evans, who fourteen years later invented the amphibious vehicle, became even more famous. After the Napoleonic Wars, during which "automobile experiments" were not carried out, work began again on invention and improvement of the steam engine. In 1821, it could be considered perfect and quite reliable. Since then, every step forward in the field of steam-powered vehicles has definitely contributed to the development of future vehicles.

In 1825, Sir Goldsworth Gurney, on a 171 km long section from London to Bath, organized the first passenger line. At the same time, he used a carriage patented by him, which had a steam engine. This was the beginning of the era of high-speed road carriages, which, however, disappeared in England, but became widespread in Italy and France. Similar vehicles have reached highest development with the appearance in 1873 of the "Curts" by Amede Balle weighing 4500 kg and the "Mansel" - more compact, weighing just over 2500 kg and reaching a speed of 35 km / h. Both were forerunners of the technique that became characteristic of the first "real" cars. Despite the high speed steam engine efficiency was very small. Bolle was the one who patented the first well-functioning steering system, he arranged the controls and controls so well that we still see it on the dashboard today.

Preview - Click to enlarge.

Despite the tremendous progress in the field of internal combustion engine, steam power still provided a more uniform and smooth running of the machine and, therefore, had many supporters. Like Bollet, who built other light cars, such as the Rapide in 1881 with a speed of 60 km/h, the Nouvelle in 1873, which had a front axle with independent wheel suspension, Leon Chevrolet launched several cars between 1887 and 1907. with a light and compact steam generator, which he patented in 1889. De Dion-Bouton, founded in Paris in 1883, produced steam-powered cars for the first ten years of its existence and achieved significant success in doing so - its cars won the Paris-Rouen race in 1894.

Preview - Click to enlarge.

However, Panhard et Levassor's success in using petrol led De Dion to switch to internal combustion engines. When the Bolle brothers took over their father's company, they did the same. Then the Chevrolet company rebuilt its production. Steam-powered cars disappeared faster and faster from the horizon, although they were used in the USA even before 1930. At this very moment, production ceased and the invention of steam engines