Boiler Design: Girder or Plate Stay Design

Can anyone suggest authoritative texts that have calculations or detailed explanations relating to the design, sizing (thickness of stay & width of 'feet' etc.), and positioning (number and location across or along the firebox), of Firebox Crown Girder or Plate Stays for copper boilers in our, model, sizes?

 

I am also interested in empirical data and calculations comparing the support given by girder or plate stays connected to, and those not connected to, the outer boiler wrapper, and the effect on strength /support of piercing these stays to improve water circulation.

 

Clearly the above also applies to girder or plate stays on other surfaces such as backheads, tube-plates, etc.

 

Any suggestions or recommendations of general model boiler design texts are also of interest.

Hello Weary

The two books to which I refer on all boiler matters are:

Model Locomotive Boilers, Martin Evans ISBN 0 85344 022 0

How Steam Locomotives really work, Semmens & Goldfinch ISBN-13: 978 0 19 860782 3

the former is probably out of current print

Tony

Hello Weary,

 

Contact Australian Model Engineering at their web site,  they will be able to put you in touch with the Australian Boiler standards for Miniature Steam Locomotives.  The standards in Australia are very detailed all aspects are covered.

 

Gardener69

Thank you for your responses and suggestions.

 

Model boiler design parameters appear to be very poorly covered in the model engineering press, some of the standard texts are vague on key points.

Where technical guidance is absent I think that I have established some of the principles being used by looking at published boiler design. 

 

I am currently awaiting my copy of the Australian Copper Model Boiler Code, which appears to be the most recently published text following a long period with little published - unless someone knows differently!  

 

A 'punchy' M.E. article covering the theory, calculations, and parameters used by the current model boiler designers would be interesting, and could be useful to many, especially if it covers the areas not clearly described thus far.  

I suspect though that it would have to be an edited article by a third party with anonymous individual contributions though.