uld in general be of any of the numerous sliding
supports that are available. Expansion is taken care of by such a method
of support and by the providing of large radius bends where necessary.
It was formerly believed that piping would actually expand under steam
temperatures about one-half the theoretical amount due to the fact that
the exterior of the pipe would not reach the full temperature of the
steam contained. It would appear, however from recent experiments that
such actual expansion will in the case of well-covered pipe be very
nearly the theoretical amount. In one case noted, a steam header 293
feet long when heated under a working pressure of 190 pounds, the steam
superheated approximately 125 degrees, expanded 8-3/4 inches; the
theoretical amount of expansion under the conditions would be
approximately 9-35/64 inches.
[Illustration: Bankers Trust Building, New York City, Operation 900
Horse Power of Babcock & Wilcox Boilers]
FLOW OF STEAM THROUGH PIPES AND ORIFICES
Various formulae for the flow of steam through pipes have been advanced,
all having their basis upon Bernoulli's theorem of the flow of water
through circular pipes with the proper modifications made for the
variation in constants between steam and water. The loss of energy due
to friction in a pipe is given by Unwin (based upon Weisbach) as
f 2 v*v W L
E_{f} = ----------- (37)
gd
where E is the energy loss in foot pounds due to the friction of W units
of weight of steam passing with a velocity of v feet per second through
a pipe d feet in diameter and L feet long; g represents the acceleration
due to gravity (32.2) and f the coefficient of friction.
Numerous values have been given for this coefficient of friction, f,
which, from experiment, apparently varies with both the diameter of pipe
and the velocity of the passing steam. There is no authentic data on the
rate of this variation with velocity and, as in all experiments, the
effect of change of velocity has seemed less than the unavoidable errors
of observation, the coefficient is assumed to vary only with the size of
the pipe.
Unwin established a relation for this coefficient for steam at a
velocity of 100 feet per second,
/ 3 \
f = K| 1 + --- | (38)
\ 10d /
where K is a constant experimentally determined, and d the internal
diameter of the pipe in feet.
If h repr
|