Steam Engine
The term combustion chamber is also used to refer to an additional space between the firebox and boiler in a steam locomotive. This space is used to allow further combustion of the fuel, providing greater heat to the boiler.
Large steam locomotives usually have a combustion chamber in the boiler to allow the use of shorter firetubes. This is because:
- Long firetubes have a theoretical advantage in providing a large heating surface but, beyond a certain length, this is subject to diminishing returns.
- Very long firetubes are prone to sagging in the middle.
Read more about this topic: Combustion Chamber
Famous quotes containing the words steam engine, steam and/or engine:
“Now that the steam engine rules the world, a title is an absurdity, still I am all dressed up in this title. It will crush me if I do not support it. The title attracts attention to myself.”
—Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle] (1783–1842)
“Clean the spittoons.
The steam in hotel kitchens,
And the smoke in hotel lobbies,
And the slime in hotel spittoons:
Part of my life.”
—Langston Hughes (1902–1967)
“There is a small steam engine in his brain which not only sets the cerebral mass in motion, but keeps the owner in hot water.”
—Unknown. New York Weekly Mirror (July 5, 1845)