New-York tribune., 1906-07-26
STEAM TURBINES IN GERnANY.

The hesitation which Germans evinced for a
time to adopt the steam turbine after it had
achieved popularity in England has always been
more or less Of Il puzzle. Inasmuch as the in
ventOr who first brought the device to a high
degree of efficiency a foreigner, there was Il
shadow of an excuse for suspecting that inter
national prejudice might not have been without
influence. somewhat more reasonable ex-
PLANTATION however, is found in a statement made
few days ago by DIR. Riedler in the course of
an address before the German Society of Engi-
neers in Berlin. He referred to certain tests
made under the auspices of the German naval
administration on q small gunboat, the Lubbock.
These indicated that the steam consumption of
a turbine was 7S per cent greater than that Of
a reciprocating engine of the same nominal ca
pacity when vessel was driven at only thirteen
knots, but that the two were on par when a
considerably higher speed was developed
Either because the tests were not carried far
enough, or for some other reason, no evidence
was obtained which showed that after the speed
has been increased to a certain point the tur-
bine is the more economical of the two. The
experiments Of the British Admiralty with the
Amethyst and TOpaZe seemed to prove that such
is the case and that the dividing line between
economy and wastefulness is somewhere near a
speed of sixteen or eighteen knots. 1t will prob
ably be found impossible to lay down a Uniform
rule for vessels of all sizes but the general fact
that the steam consumption of turbine to the
horsepower is smaller when a vessel is moving
rapidly than when she moves slowly has now
been pretty firmly established by independent
testimony.
IT is obvious that the steam turbine has more
to commend it to the merchant marine, and es-
pecially to the owners of swift transatlantic
steamships, than to the navies of the world.
Under favorable weather conditions more than
81 per cent of the work done by the engines of the
st. Louis the Deutschland or the Oceanic, for in
stance, would he performed Mt the limit of their
power That is where the value of the new motor
would be displayed most advantageOusly. The
engineers of the Cunard company say that the
Campania and the Lucania burn 1.6 pounds Of
coal an hour for each horsepower developed when
driven at full speed with reciprOcating engines
whereas they believe that the IIlsitania and the
Mauretania will need only 1.45 pounds under
similar circumstances. Both in time of pence
and during a war many of the movements of
battleships and cruisers are executed at moderate
speed, as are the transfers of a single vessel of
squadron from one station to another and
the visits OF courtesy TO foreign nations. If the
cost OF fuel when cruising alone were to dictate
the type of engine to be employed in the navy,
therefore, perhaps the one now in most general
use would deserve the preference. There are
other things to be borne in mind, however, and
these might be regarded as sufficiently important
TO outweigh smallness Of coal bills.
war vessel is built primarily for fighting.
An emergency calling for the exercise OF her
true function might not arise Cor years, but her
original mission must not be forgotten. Now,
the efficiency Of a warship in action depends
largely on the facility with which she can be
maneuvred and this in turn is controlled by
her speed Since the turbine appears to be
peculiarly adapted to the service demanded in
a supreme crisis, there is an almost unanswer-
able argument in favor of its adoption. 1t Is
asserted, furthermore, that turbine can be so
placed that its centre Of gravity will be lower
than that OF n reciprocating engine Hence
vessel equipped with the one should show greater