The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1916-10-13
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Rear Admiral Robert $.
Griffin, chief of the bureau of steam engineering,
according to writer i'm the New York Sun.
These engines, which will be of the electrlcdrive
type expected to push the 900-foot ships
through rough seas at speed approaching 30
knots; that is about four knots better than the
latest United States destroyers and Mt the rate
of passenger train running n carefully
graded road.
When Admiral Griffin tells the story one gains
from his manner the impression that about all
he had to do was To speak To Captain Dyson
about it and The design of these $6OO0,000 en-
gnes sprang into existence. but those who know
the admiral have their own opinion about that;
and it differs somewhat radically from the inn
preston.
yes" said the chief "at hrst IT was rather
appalling when we realized the magnitude of those
engines. The largest in any of our battleShips
give 25,0O0 horse power; those Of the Lusania
were 10000; and II is said that those which drive
the English Tiger at about 80 knots are from So
600 to 10000 SO that we had to
make leap and at first IT seemed like leap inr
the dark, to provide approximately 100000 horse,
power. But somehow, when we got the conditions
right before u.s. everything seemed To unfold
itself and fall into the right place and there really
was little difficulty
ave saw at the outset that It was impossible
to control and apply the power without adopting
oil fuel and the electric drive. In the great
mercantile ships like the Aquitania and tho
Vaterland had examples of the 9OO-foot
boats with Il speed of - 90 knots, but II is
the last few knots which are so difficult to get
Very roughly speaking the cruisers steam
ing at 10 knots will consume the equivalent OF
$50 tons Of coal a day and TO attain somewhere
between 81 and - knots will burn up the same
quantity in one hour; to put IL another way the
coal required to drive Of these cruisers at
full speed for day will drive battlcship across
the Atlantic and back. If full speed can he main
tanned steadily for three days and seven hours
it will take from New York to Liverpool: but
that would require 1900 tons of coal it is
certain that such will never be attempted
coal fuel.
"No can tell what the chcmistenginccr Of
the future will do; but until something is found
battle cruisers will have TO depend upon oil to
convert water into steam; and without that sub
stitute they cannot be driven many consecutive
hours at full speed II would not he possible to
transmit so much power shaft or one
screw. Therefore IL is distributed to four shafts
each receiving about 10000 horse power or dou-
bic the total power i'm superdreadnauCht and
greater than that Of any but the largest of the
modern merchantmen.
'If only low moderate rate Of speed were
required the old-style rccprocatlng engines
would because more economical, probably be- sc-
lected but TO secure the high rates turbines will
be adopted.
"The electric drive is not difficult to compre-
hend If will think of the familiar trolley sub
way or railway car driven by electricity. The
power is created by the operation Of steam-driven
generators or dynamos. They produce the cleo
trio current which Is carried by wire To the many
small motors in the cars scattered along the sys-
TEN. The motorman or engineer turns on the
power and the motor is driven ahead he moves
his lever and the power is shut Off he shoves 1T
farther over and reverses his motor. For many
small motors say several large ones and you have
the plan Of the ships electric drive. The turbines
operate the generators of the current for the mo-
tors, and the motors turn each of the four pro-
heller shafts Of the ship.