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cylinder material

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cylinder material

Home › Forums › Beginners questions › cylinder material

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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  • 7 October 2013 at 20:36 #131973
    michael burton 1
    Participant
      @michaelburton1

      hi can a steam cylinder be made out of aluminium i would be using a bronze liner obv car and bike engines are made out of aluminium but i was worried as to slide valve surface being ally and what type of meterial i should use for said valve.

      im going to the metal supplie shop tomorow and was gunna try to pick up some of the material i need the reason for using ally was i need a block 3.5'' square and it was the cheapest route

      cheers for any help

      7 October 2013 at 20:36 #6903
      michael burton 1
      Participant
        @michaelburton1
        7 October 2013 at 20:54 #131978
        JasonB
        Moderator
          @jasonb

          Is this for your traction engine?

          If so I would tend to say no, if just for a little stationary engine then yes

          I'd go for a block of cast iron, cost about £5 more than aluminium but you would save on the cost of the bronze liner.

          Edited By JasonB on 07/10/2013 20:55:27

          7 October 2013 at 21:39 #131982
          michael burton 1
          Participant
            @michaelburton1

            hi yes it for the traction engine the only reason i was going to use the liner mainly was because on the plans for the smaller version that i have scaled up used a wastited cylinder linder around the outside to direct the steam up in to the regulator chest i supose tho with abit of thinking i could redsign it to do away with this part and reposition the steam ports

            8 October 2013 at 07:31 #132000
            JasonB
            Moderator
              @jasonb

              Its more a problem of corrosion that I was thinking of.

              If your design is steam jacketed then you can still do it with a CI block and CI liner which will still be cheaper than ali/bronze. This one of mine is an iron casting with a liner cut from iron bar. You can do it by drilling two steam passages to get around the cylinder but the heating effect of the jacket is helpful.

              8 October 2013 at 11:51 #132020
              Geoff Rogers
              Participant
                @geoffrogers81118

                as JasonB says, corrosion would also be my main worry. Some aircraft grades of aluminium may be ok, others most definitely not.

                Steam can be a very demanding fluid.

                9 October 2013 at 00:08 #132085
                nigel jones 5
                Participant
                  @nigeljones5

                  to be frank – yes, no problems. Sure it will oxidise, but do you realy intend on running it for the next 120 years…thought not. Having said that, i would opt for cast!

                  9 October 2013 at 07:41 #132089
                  JasonB
                  Moderator
                    @jasonb

                    By corrosion I was thinking more along the lines of galvanic/catalitic attack being bolted to a copper boiler with bronze fixings all in a damp warm enviroment, rather than surface oxidation

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