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Superheated steam was widely used in main line steam locomotives. Saturated steam has three main disadvantages in a steam engine: it contains small droplets of water which have to be periodically drained from the cylinders; being precisely at the boiling point of water for the boiler pressure in use, it inevitably condenses to some extent in the steam pipes and cylinders outside the boiler ...
A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, in some steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There are three types of superheaters: radiant, convection, and separately fired. A superheater can ...
The steam thus produced is at the same temperature as the water below it. This is called saturated steam. If the steam is taken away from the boiler, in a pipe, and then further heat is applied to that steam, the steam can rise above the temperature of the water in the boiler. This heated-above-the-boiler-temperature steam is called "superheated".
Steam is also useful in melting hardened grease and oil residues, so it is useful in cleaning kitchen floors and equipment and internal combustion engines and parts. Among the advantages of using steam versus a hot water spray are the facts that steam can operate at higher temperatures and it uses substantially less water per minute. [13]
A superheated boiler on a steam locomotive. L.D. Porta gives the following equation determining the efficiency of a steam locomotive, applicable to steam engines of all kinds: power (kW) = steam Production (kg h −1)/Specific steam consumption (kg/kW h). A greater quantity of steam can be generated from a given quantity of water by ...
When the heat delivery is sufficiently rapid, a localized superheating can occur, resulting in a water hammer destroying the vessel. The SL-1 nuclear reactor accident is an example of a superheated burst of steam. However, in the SL-1 example the pressure was released by the forced ejection of control rods which allowed the steam to be vented.
The superheated steam is then piped through the main steam lines to the valves before the high-pressure turbine. Nuclear-powered steam plants do not have such sections but produce steam at essentially saturated conditions. Experimental nuclear plants were equipped with fossil-fired superheaters in an attempt to improve overall plant operating cost.
The steam which was used to turn the turbine is exhausted into the condenser and is condensed as it comes in contact with the tubes full of cool circulating water. The condensed steam, commonly referred to as condensate. is withdrawn from the bottom of the condenser. The adjacent image is a diagram of a typical surface condenser.