Compressed Air Practice In Mining Classic Reprint

Author : W. L. Saunders
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9781330174487
Total Pages : 62 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (744 download)

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Download or read book Compressed Air Production or the Theory and Practice of Air Compression written by W. L. Saunders and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2015-06-25 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Compressed Air Production or the Theory and Practice of Air Compression Compressed air is air under pressure. It is usual to define compressed air as air increased in density by pressure, but we may produce compressed air by heat alone, as illustrated by the discharge of a cork from an empty bottle when heated. Though one of the oldest of the sciences, compressed air is, in its development and use, one of the youngest. Hero, of Alexandria, a century before Christ experimented and wrote upon Pneumatics, calling special attention to the influence of heat in expanding and contracting air. It is said that Hero put into practical use an invention by which the opening and closing of temple doors was effected by the alternate rarefaction and condensation of air which was brought in contact with heated and cooled surfaces of altar tops. Yet the science of pneumatics played no important part in industrial progress until scarcely more than a century ago it came into general use for diving-bells, and was later on applied by Brunei to caisson work. In 1830 the French Academy of Sciences gave a medal to Thillorier for his method of compressing gases by stages. In 1849 the Baron von Rathen suggested the use of compressed air at 750 pounds pressure per square inch in locomotives. It is a singular fact that the Baron, in describing the method by which he proposed to attain this high pressure, advised compound compressors with inter-coolers. The special advantages of cooling the air between the different stages of compression were set forth. This stage compression and inter-cooling is one of the most important recent improvements made in air-compressing machinery. Until recent years the use of compressed air in America has been confined almost exclusively to mining, tunneling, bridge building, or to work in a confined space for which no other power was available. Electricity has recently become a competitor of compressed air in that it, too, may be used in confined spaces, and may be transmitted long distances and distributed. Until such competition arose the question of producing compressed air economically was but little agitated. The attention of engineers was mainly devoted to the development of an apparatus for using compressed air, it being taken for granted that air was an expensive power at best. The manufacturer sought to perfect his compressor on lines of low first cost, light weight, economy of space and general availability. Dry, pure air, delivered at a sufficient pressure by a machine which could be depended upon, has been the controlling consideration. Reprinted from Compressed Air. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.