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At the beginning of the 20th century steam boilers operated at high pressures and temperatures made it possible to employ a new steam engine of the rotary motion type instead of reciprocating one. It was the steam turbine. The introduction of steam turbines was a step of great importance in marine engineering as a new type of machinery had several outstanding advantages. This allowed transforming large potential energy of steam produced into kinetic energy of propulsion with greater efficiency than that was done by steam piston engines. Steam turbines occupy less space, they produce less vibration, they are also better adopted to superheat.

The end of the 19th century was marked with works by C. Parsons and G. De Laval who were the first to design steam reaction turbines in 1883-84. C. Curtis patented his first steam impulse turbine in 1896. A decade later a Russian engineer P. Kuzminsky proposed steam turbine as a main ship engine in 1892. In 1894 the Marine Steam Turbine Company Ltd. was formed in England for the purpose of testing the application of Parsons Turbines to the propulsion of ships. By 1905 the British Navy adopted turbines as the most suitable prime power plant for surface warships of all types.

Tests with turbines carried out on several ships of the US Navy showed that their main disadvantage was low efficiency at low speed. But the superiority of turbines over steam piston engines was obvious.

Part 2

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range v	—	находиться в диапазоне, в пределах
couple v	—	соединять
propeller shaft	—	вал гребного винта
screw propeller	—	гребной винт
rpm (revolutions per minute)	—	обороты в минуту
mechanical reducing gear	—	турбозубчатый агрегат, редуктор, понижающая передача
reliable a	—	надежный
gearing n	—	зубчатая передача
fuel consumption	—	расход топлива
knot (kt)	—	морской узел (единица измерения скорости судна)
attendance n	—	обслуживание

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The first turbines’ speed was over 2.600 rpm, and it increased rapidly from year to year. At the same time the propeller speed ranged from 150 to 250 rpm. A turbine directly coupled to the propeller shaft couldn’t be efficient because the turbine as a high-speed machine had to drive a low-speed device, the screw propeller. The only solution to the problem was to use a speed reducing device between the turbine and the propeller shaft.

Since 1890 De Laval in Stockholm, Sweden, had used mechanical reducing gear on small ships with turbine machinery. In 1897 Sir Charles Parsons fitted mechanical gearing on a vessel with a turbine engine of 10 horsepower. This experiment was successful and similar devices were installed on small warships. Mechanical reduction gear was a reliable system. It became possible to reduce fuel consumption at the same speed while the maximum speed was increased by several knots.

At about 1912 mechanical gearing was introduced in Russia. They were installed on battleships and cruisers. The fastest warship in the world of that time was the “Novik” launched in St. Petersburg. Her steam turbines developed speed 37.4 kt at 40,000 shp.

Soon turbines with mechanical gearing became the most common type of propulsive machinery for all types of surface ships. The advantages of the new turbines are as follows: less occupied space and weight; reduction of vibration; increased economy; lower first cost and reduced cost of attendance. One of its disadvantages is a high level of noise.

Note shp., s.h.p., SHP (shaft horse power)

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