A Steam separator, sometimes referred to as a moisture separator, is a device for separating water droplets from steam. The simplest type of steam separator is the steam dome on a steam locomotive. Stationary boilers and nuclear reactors may have more complex devices which impart a "spin" to the steam so that water droplets are thrown outwards by centrifugal force and collected.
It is important to remove water droplets from steam because:
- In all engines, wet steam reduces the thermal efficiency
- In piston engines, water can accumulate in the cylinders and cause a hydraulic lock which will damage the engine
- In thermal power stations, water droplets in high velocity steam coming from nozzles (or vanes) in a steam turbine can impinge on and erode turbine internals such as turbine blades.
Famous quotes containing the word steam:
““If Steam has done nothing else, it has at least added a whole new Species to English Literature ... the booklets—the little thrilling romances, where the Murder comes at page fifteen, and the Wedding at page forty—surely they are due to Steam?”
“And when we travel by electricity—if I may venture to develop your theory—we shall have leaflets instead of booklets, and the Murder and the Wedding will come on the same page.””
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)