Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-10
MARKS AN ADVANCE
Expert Opinion of Westing-
house Turbine Engine.
IN HANDS OF NAVY CHIEFS
Regarded as of Great Value to the
War Vessels.
RESULT OF YEARS OF STUDY
Inventor Declares It Is Not an Ex-
periment-Its Advantages as
Viewed by Engineers.
RESULT OF YEARS OF STUDY
BY WILLIAM F.. CURTIS

BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS
! Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
| Herald.
George Westinghouse, the inventor and
manufacturer and the head of the firm
which bears his name, has submitted to
the Navy Department a design of tur-
bine engine which represents what many
experts consider the greatest advance in
steam engineering that has been made in
many years. 1t is combination Of a
turbine engine and reduction gear in
vented by Admiral George Wallace Mel
vile retired) and his associate, Mr..
Macalpine, which Mr.. Westinghouse has
adapted to his own invention. The value
OF the invention lies in the fact that 1t
| will OCCUPY only one-half the space
of the ordinary turbine or reciprocating
engine; it will have only one-half the
weight, and can be installed at about
| two-thirds of the cost. 1t can be handled
| by the captain or pilot from the bridge
of ship and will develop 80 per cent
more power than the engines now In
use, from the same amount OF fuel.
The highest engineering authorities be-
| lieve this invention will surpass In value
! and importance everything that Mr..
| W eStlnglOuSe mas yet anu ~
| will be remembered that he has been
| producing new machinery ever since he
| invented and built a rotary engine in
| his 1athers machine shop at Schenectady
when he was only fifteen years old. The
air brake gave him his earliest reputa-
| tion and it Is probable that he has since
| contributed more to the advancement and
efficiency of the mechanical world than
any other one man. He has invented sew
| era steam and gas engines, steam tur-
1 md ole
| was the pioneer against great opposition
| in introducing alternating current ma
| chinery, which has rendered possible the.
development OF water power Tor long
distance electrical transmission. His air
| brake and automatic railway signals
| have made high speed in railroading pos
! sfble and safe, and his other inventions
have multiplied the. producing power of
| human hands many hundred fold.
Under Investigation.
His latest invention, which he submit
ted to the Navy Department few days
ago, has been referred to board of en-
gineers for investigation, and, while he
has received much encouragement. no
decision will be rendered until the most
thorough inquiry has been made and the
| board has had an opportunity to observe
| the practical working of seventy-five-
| hundred horsepower engine, which is now
| in operation at the works of the Westing-
house Machine Company, East Pittsburg,
and its efficiency mas been fully demon
| strated. II the report of the commission
shall prove favorable. it is expected that
| a similar engine will be installed In a
collier now being built for the navy.
Mr.. Westinghouse insists, however, that
it Is not an experiment. He says 1t is
| incomparably less of an experiment than
even the further installation of any
| known form of direct connected slow
] speed turbines. 1t is the result of more
| than ten years of study, and the develop
ment Of the last three years. It is more
| of a growth than a discovery. Mr. West
/ inghouse has been working upon 1t at his
East Pittsburg shops all these years, and
| has made repeated tests under the ebser-
walton of eminent engineers of every ma
ton. There has been no practical appiica-
ton to navigation because he desired to
prove 1T land first, and to that end
/ built complete apparatus in Pittsburg,
! where it has been in operation for more
/ than seventeen months, to the satisfaction
of the engineering profession generally, as
/ well as that of his own men.
Avoided Experimental Features.
II am sure" said Mr.. Westinghouse,
that no one who has had a reasonable
acquaintance with the turbine work car
ried out by the Westinghouse Machine
|
will question the ability or the judgment
of the engineering staff at my disposal,
and I have avoided the introduction of
| any untried or experimental features.
! While the machine as whole is a
novelty, on analysis it will be found to be
made up of elements that have thoroughly
proven their precticability and reliability.
| The inherent possibilities Of turbine for
| economy, speed and convenience have
been utilized to the fullest extent. They
are not based upon theoretical PROPOSE
| tions, but are purely mechanical features
which have to do with simplicity, adapt
ability, economy and method of control.
| THE chief points in it's favor con-
tinued Mr.. Westinghouse. ARE that it
| requires only one-half the room, one-half
/ the weight and two-thirds of the expense
of the direct-connected turbine engines
| now in use. 1t can be constructed and
installed much more rapidly than the
| heavier. larger and more complicated APP
| paratus now in use: the self-adjusting
| and yielding stator blade admits of the
| immediate starting OF the turbine from a
| cold condition to full speed: the same
| boiler capacity will give 30 per cent
greater propulsive energy. and an addi-
tional emergency capacity from 80 to so
per cent above normal full speed power.
That is, given maximum boiler capacity
for $4,000 horsepower with direct connect
ed turbines or reciprOcating engines, the
Westinghouse turbine and reduction gear
will furnish from forty to forty-five
thousand horsepower aVallaDle FOR In |
creased speed in an emergency.
THE economy of high steam at cruising |
speed, as we'll as of full and emergency |
speed, will be considerable, and the ap-
pication Of this new form of propelling |
machinery to the dreadnoughts of the
American navy will make them the |
most reliable. the most efficient, and the |
fastest warships afoat, with increased |
cruising radius of inestimable value.
"One Of the most essential considera-
tons in the construction of cruisers and |
battleshipS is storage space for fuel for
the efficiency of a ship is measured by
the distance it can steam without re-
newing it's fuel supply, BY reducing the
dimensions Of the engines the coal space
is enlarged i'm corresponding degree
and that is an improvement of the great
est Importance.
Simplicity and Accessibility.
Another very important advantage is
the simplicity of the apparatus and it's
accessibility. In warships these is prob
ably no single feature of more serious
consideration. 1t is consequently impor-
tant to design the machinery with especial
convenience in dismantling and opening
1t for inspection and repair This is