ROMANCE OF ENGINEERING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14240, 10 December 1909, Page 7

ROMANCE OF ENGINEERING.

THE STEAM TURBINE.

At the meeting of the British "Associ* tion in Winnipeg, Canada, Sir W. H. White, K.C.8., Sc.D., LL.D., F.R.S., in an address to the engineering section, said the rapid development of the marine steam turbine during the last seven years constituted one of the romances of engineering, and the magnitude of the work done and the revolution initiated, by Mr. Charles Parsons would be more justly appreciated hereafter than it could be at present. In May, 1909, there were 273 vessels built and under construction •in which steam turbines of the Parsons type are employed, the total horse-power being more than three and a-half millions. In' the Royal Navy every new warship, from the torpedo-boat up to the largest battleships and armoured cruisers, was fitted with turbine engines; and the perfor- f mances of vessels which had been, tested on service had been completely satisfactory, in many instances surpassing all records for powers developed and speeds attained. In the war-fleets of the world this example is being imitated, although << in some cases it was at first criticised -or: condemned. In the mercantile marine- as a whole, while the new system had not made equal advance, many notable ex- ■ amples could be found of what could be accomplished by its adoption. It was now admitted that steam turbines enable | higher speeds to be attained in vessels of ■ given dimensions; and in steamers builtV for cross-channel and v : ; special ; services, ; where high speed is essential and coal consumption relatively unimportant, turbines had already ousted reciprocating engines. For oversea service and long voyages an impression had existed that the coal consumption ' of turbine-engined . ships would considerably exceed that of ships drived by triple or quadruple expansion ' reciprocating engines. ■: Critics f had dwelt on the , reticence in regard to', actual rates of coal' consumption practised •■''-■ by owners of turbine steamships. ; ; Naturally there were other reasons for reti- J cence than those which would arise if the coal consumption were excessive ;' but pio-i neers in the use yof turbine machinery V might reasonably claim the . right of nonpublication of results of trials in the J making of which they had incurred large expenditure and taken considerable risks if they thought that silence i was f beneficial in their business interests. ' - 1 Even if it were true that in the 1 earliest applications of the new system economic results had not been obtained l equal to '{ those ■',;;'= realised in ? reciprocating engines i which' -■ had; been . gradually; improved during , half m a century, that circumstance should ' not be . regarded as bar to; acceptance of , a type ■; of engine that, admittedly possessed very great - advantages ; { in other ways, ; but should r .be regarded as. an-incentive to im-; 5 L provements that '■ would X secure greater ' economy of coal. ; Sir William continued :S , The crowning triumph of the marine steam turbine :up to the present time is to be found in the great Cunard steamships Lusitania and Mauretania. The passages made this year by the latter ship since she was refitted have been marvellously regular, and the 25 - knots ,- average across the Atlantic, > which ; was ]; maximum , contemplated in" the agree-1 ment between the Government and the • I Cunard Company, has-been continuously exceeded. : As one intimately > concerned *,; with the design"; of the Mauretania, who' has had large experience "in ship; design, has made a life-long study of the laws of steamship performance, , and ha d the honour of serving on the committee which recommended the employment of ji turbinesg in these great ships, the .writer ventures'to assert that equal " : results * could not possibly ' have been ;■ obtained with 5 ' reciprocat- • ing engines in vessels of the same form and dimensions. Contrary opinions have been expressed, but they" have been either based upon incorrect data 1 or have omitted g consideration of the fact that, in 5 vessels f : of such great engine-power it was necessary to have 1 time to perfect the organisa-' tion of the staff in order to secure uniform conditions of stoking and steam production, and to bring i the "human ele- ;: ment" into a condition which would ensure the highest degree of efficiency 'in-' working > the > propelling apparatus. This necessity for ; time and f training : ; has been | illustrated again and again in' the case:of ,;| new types of Transatlantic steamers, including ■ some which held the' record ' for | speed prior to the appearance of the Gunarders. In ■ the 1 ; Lusitania and Mauretania the ; engine-power ris fully 60 per cent, greater -than that of l their/ swiftest,; predecessors, J: yet no ; similar allowance appears Ito 1. have been thought ' necessary:. by some critics, who assumed that performances on the earlier voyages repre-. « sented the maximum capabilities of the vessels. Subsequent events have shown; this view to be fallacious and have justified the recommendation; of * the Turbine |; Committee and the action : of the ■ Cunard ■: directors. Allegations made in regard to excessive coal consumption; have . also been \ disproved '■ by experience; ' and; in this re-;7 spect the "anticipations of the 'committee » and of Mr. Parsons have been fully : realised. '..' ", '■";; ' , i''' J