An external combustion engine is an engine where a fluid is
heated by an external source. A steam engine is an example of
external combustion. The combustion (or burning) that powers the
steam engine in the diagram below comes from coal or wood. This occurs outside of the
engine.
Steam is created when water is turned into
a vapor or gas as it is heated by a combustion chamber. The steam
expands the volume of water by about 1600 times. The force caused by
this expansion is the source of all steam-powered engines. Look at
the steam engine below.
The water pressure drives a piston back and forth.
The piston is attached to the crankshaft. The crankshaft changes the
back-and-forth motion of the piston to a turning motion that drives the
steam engine.
Directions: Answer the questions about steam and
internal combustion engines.
1.
expands
the volume of water by about 1600 times.
2. The combustion (or burning) that powers a steam engine
comes from
or wood.
3. A
is attached to a crankshaft.
4. Does the combustion that powers a steam engine occur inside
or outside the engine?
5. Steam is created when water is
turned into a vapor or gas as it is heated by a
chamber.
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