PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION Fuel oil in its power generating characteristics is a factor of prime importance on land and sea in these momentous times. The clarion call to service is heard on all sides. And in answering this call, it must be remembered that to save is to serve. Implicity hoping that this book may aid in establishing a fuller knowledge of the fundamental laws of fuel oil and steam engineering, and that a consequent saving in fuel will inevitably result where these laws are properly put into practice, no matter how small may be the resulting good, the authors offer to the engineering and industrial world at this time this work, which had its incipiency six years ago in certain power economy tests in Oakland, California, later to be used in lecture notes at the University of California, and finally to be rounded out by a study of power plant practice in California covering a period of several years. The book has as its underlying theme a study of fuel oil power plant operation, and the use of evaporative tests in increasing the efficiency of oil fire plants. To accomplish this end the subject matter has been treated in three main subdivisions: First, an exposition of the elementary laws of steam engineering; second, the process involved in the utilization of fuel oil in the modern power plant; and, third, the testing of boilers when oil fired. In treating the first subdivision, the elementary laws of steam engineering are set forth in a new manner, in that the viewpoint is taken from that of the oil-fired instead of the coal-fired power plant operator. In the second subdivision, the results of considerable labor and analysis are set forth from the collecting and collating of data involved in burner, furnace, and fuel oil tests, hitherto appearing in disconnected form and in widely varying sources. In the third subdivision the authors have given definite suggestions for fuel oil tests-largely suggestions recently presented personally by the authors at the invitation of the Power Test Committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at a hearing of the Committee in New York City for the purpose of standardizing the rules for boiler tests where oil is used as a fuel. The many illustrative problems that have been worked out in the chapters on steam engineering and boiler economy are based upon the data obtained from the latest edition of Marks & Davis' "Tables and Diagrams of the Thermal Properties of Saturated and Superheated Steam," published by Longmans, Green & Company, which may be purchased through any reputable book dealer for the sum of one dollar. For a careful study of these illustrative examples the reader should provide himself with a copy of these steam tables, although this is not necessary for most of the discussions on fuel oil and furnace design as treated in the text. The six beautiful views of the economy measuring apparatus installed at the Long Beach Plant of the Southern California Edison Company, featured in this book, are extended through the courtesy of R. J. C. Wood, superintendent of generation for the Southern Division of that company. Throughout the work the authors have attempted to set forth standard practice in fuel oil and steam engineering. As a consequence they are indebted to a large group of manufacturers, engineers and power plant operators for their timely suggestions in pointing out and developing the fundamental laws of fuel oil and steam engineering practice that are dwelt upon in this work. ROBERT SIBLEY. C. H. DELANY. SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., May 1, 1918. CONTENTS THE MODERN POWER PLANT for Fuel OIL CONSUMPTION. The storage tank-Pumps for storage supply-The hot-well— Feed-water heaters-Feed-water pumps-Economizers-The Newton's laws of motion-Three fundamental units of length, mass and time-Velocity, acceleration, and force defined-Con- ception of work and power-Various types of energy employed for The steam gage-The difference between absolute pressure and gage pressure-The column of mercury-Vacuum pressures-Con- fusion in pressure units-Relationship of pressure units-Inches of water and pounds pressure per square inch-The thirty inch vaccum-The practical formula for conversion of pressures -To reduce barometer readings to the standard thirty inch vacuum-Corrections for the brass scale of a barometer-Example Fixed points for thermometer calibration-The various tempera- ture scales employed-Relationship of fahrenheit and centigrade values-Relationship of fahrenheit and reaumur values-Relation- ship of centigrade and reaumur values-Methods of temperature measurement-Estimation by flame color-The melting point of metals and alloys-The method of immersion-The alcohol and mercurial thermometers-The expansion pyrometer-Electri- THE ELEMENTARY LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS. The irrefutable experiments of Davy-Joule's complete demon- stration of the mechanical equivalent of heat-The first law of thermodynamics-Boyle's law-Charles' law-The absolute scale Three states are possible in all bodies-The fundamental principle in steam engineering-Steam engineering still supreme-The for- mation of ice-Latent heat of fusion-The formation of steam- Latent heat of evaporation-Other variations occur with changes of pressure-Data easily taken from steam tables-Total heat of steam-Total heat of dry saturated steam-Other instances of total The steam tables as adopted in this discussion-Recapitulation of fundamental evaluations-Analysis of a typical page of steam tables-Temperatures in fahrenheit units-Pressures in absolute notation-Pressures in atmospheres-Specific volume-Specific density-The heat of liquid-The latent heat of evaporation- Total heat of dry saturated steam-Internal and external work- HOW TO COMPUTE BOILER HORSEPOWER. The meaning of the word "rating"-The development of the word "horsepower"-The boiler horsepower-The conversion of boiler horsepower to mechanical horsepower units-The myriawatt as a basis of boiler performance-Relationship of boiler horsepower and HOW TO DETERMINE QUALITY OF STEAM. Dry saturated steam-Superheated steam-Computation of total heat of superheated steam-Steam calorimeters-The determina- tion of superheat-Determination of moisture in saturated steam— The barrel or tank calorimeter-Surface condenser tank calorimeter. THE STEAM CALORIMETER AND ITS USE. The chemical calorimeter-The throttling calorimeter-The limitations of the throttling calorimeter-The electric calorimeter -The separating calorimeter-Correction for steam used by calori- meter-The sampling nipple-Conclusions on moisture measuring apparatus-Latent heat of evaporation-A second formula for heat of evaporation-Relationship of specific volume for superheated RATIONAL AND EMPIRICAL FORMULAS FOR STEAM CONSTANTS The value of formulas in steam engineering-Relation between temperature and pressure of saturated steam-The total heat of saturated steam-Regnault's formula-Henning's formula-Latent heat of evaporation-A second formula for heat of evaporation- Relationship of specific volume for superheated steam-A simpli- THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FURNACE OPERATION IN FUEL OIL PRACTICE. 100 The fundamentals of the tea-kettle and the boiler are the same- Inefficiency of tea-kettle operation-Efficiency in the modern THE BOILER SHELL AND ITS ACCESSORIES FOR STEAM GENERATION. The laws of heat involved in steam generation-The principle of operation of the steam boiler-Mathematical equation for heat transference-Mathematical law for total heat absorption-Rela- tionship of rate of heat transfer-Necessity for boiler accessories— Injector or pump for feed water supply-Check and non-return |