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In a steam engine, cutoff is the point in the piston stroke at which the inlet valve is closed. On a steam locomotive, the cutoff is controlled by the reversing gear.. The point at which the inlet valve closes and stops the entry of steam into the cylinder from the boiler plays a crucial role in the control of a steam engine.
The atmospheric engine, invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, combined the ideas of Thomas Savery, who he was forced to go into partnership with due to Savery's patent, and Denis Papin, using his invention of a piston. It was the first practical application of the steam engine in a mine and was used to dewater coal and tin mines.
With larger engines, the linkages involved in controlling cutoff and direction grew progressively heavier and there was a need for power assistance in adjusting them. Steam (later, compressed air) powered reversing gears were developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
An oscillating cylinder engine cannot be reversed by means of the valve linkage (as in a normal fixed cylinder) because there is none. Reversing of the engine can be achieved by reversing the steam connections between inlet and exhaust or, in the case of small engines, by shifting the trunnion pivot point so that the port in the cylinder lines up with a different pair of ports in the port face.
Cutoff (meteorology), a high- or low-pressure system stuck in place due to a lack of steering currents. Cutoff (physics), a threshold value for a quantity. Cutoff (reference value), a one-sided reference range in health-related fields. Cutoff (steam engine), the point in the piston stroke at which the inlet valve is closed.
Period cutaway diagram of a triple-expansion steam engine installation, circa 1918. This particular diagram illustrates possible engine cutoff locations, after the Lusitania disaster and others made it clear that this was an important safety feature. A marine steam engine is a steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat.
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The first kind is the steam lap, which is the amount by which the valve overlaps the steam port on the live steam side of the piston or slide valve (i.e. the distance the valve needs to move to just begin to uncover the port).