Steam Again a Possibility
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AMERICAN engineers appear to be even more interested in the possibilities of reviving the steam road vehicle than are we. Here, the steam wagon and its steady elimination are usually treated with an air of regretful finality. The question is, are we correct in assuming that its day is past and that it can never, make a return. Is it merely flogging a tired horse to raise any hope in this direction?
The matter has been raised once more at the Annual Conference of the Society of Automotive Engineers of America. One lecturer has been intrepid enough to state publicly that, in his view, the steamer could once more become a success.
His opinion is based upon the improvements which could be effected, particularly in relation to the higher qualities of the materials which would be used in its construction, and various devices .which might be embodied in its design to make it far more automatic. The driver would then have little, if any, more to do than he has now when dealing with the petrol vehicle or oiler.
No Return to Normal Boiler In any case we do not believe that there could be any return to the type with the familiar boiler. Whatever ' might be devised would probably be more in the nature of the flash steam generator, and it is here in particular that new steels, etc., might be employed.
The coal or coke-burning machine would, for a considerable number of years, be out of the question because of our difficult solid-fuel position. Therefore, we should have to make use of imported petroleum or products of this, and would thus lose any advantage which might have been gained by employing home-produced fuel. If we must use liquid fuel then it would still seem that the most economical way of employing it is in the internal,combustion engine, although, admittedly, this must employ grades considerably higher than might be usable for the generating of steam, even in a flash boiler.
Water Replenishment a Difficulty Then it is necessary to consider the inconvenience of being forced to take in supplies of water at fairly frequent intervals. Some vehicles have been designed in which condensers are incorporated, but this type has never given really satisfactory results; one built in Germany some years before the war was, we were informed, dependent upon distilled water, and although the loss of this was not considerable it introduced another complication and unwelcomed additional expenditure.
As regards other sources of heat, atomic energy has been put forward as a possibility. So far, apparently the only known method of utilizing such energy is by employing its tremendous emission of heat, and the most convenient system of doing this would be by raising steam. The weight of the protection required to prevent the emission of dangerous rays would, however, appear to rule this out in the case of road vehicles. It may be, of course, that this great disadvantage may eventually be overcome by some more simple and lighter means, but there are no indications at the moment that this is a possibility of the near future.