|
Beam engines to pump out mines were powered by condensing steam.
The steam filled the space above the piston then cold water was sprayed into the space which produced a vacuum pulling the piston up.
The action was not translated into a circular motion. It just went up and down.
The dual action piston used live steam injected into a cylinder by a shuttle valve operated by the cam rod. A much better use of the steam.
By the time it got to ships it evolved into the triple expansion engine where the steam when exhausted from the small piston powered the next larger cylinder and so on.
The sizes of the piston meant the steam did equal work in each cylinder.
|