Model of McNaught Type Compound Steam Engine
date: label: date made
content: mid 19th century
notes: label: Description
content: This is a model of an early design for a compound steam engine. A compound steam engine consists of a high pressure cylinder and one or more lower pressure cylinders. The steam exhausted from the high pressure cylinder is used as inlet steam for the next lower pressure cylinder. Each cylinder is sized in proportion to its inlet steam pressure so that each produces the same amount of work. Compounding was introduced in 1845 by John McNaught and widely used in many applications from steamship propulsion to powering large electrical generators.
label: Description
content: The model represents McNaught’s original approach for the addition of compounding to standard beam engines. The original low pressure steam cylinder is seen at the right with its piston rod attached to the right end of the beam. McNaught added the smaller, high pressure cylinder just to the right of the crankshaft connecting rod at the left end of the beam. Hundreds of engines had their capacity increased by “McNaughting”, and new engines were built on this principle for many years.
topic: label: Subject
content: Model
label: Subject
content: Steam Engines
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
label: See more items in
content: Engineering, Building, and Architecture
label: Exhibition
content: Power Machinery
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Armstrong Technical High School, Washington, D. C.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MC.315636
label: catalog number
content: 315636
label: accession number
content: 220003
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Engine, Steam
label: Object Name
content: engine, steam, model
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 22 in x 9 1/2 in x 20 in; 55.88 cm x 24.13 cm x 50.8 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall:;
label: Measurements
content: overall: 99 in x 36 in x 48 in; 251.46 cm x 91.44 cm x 121.92 cm