Opposed piston engines

[penberth3]

Used to be found in Commer vans, as I recall?

Commer TS3 - Wikipedia

Definitely 1950's and 60's Commer trucks. Engine too big for the vans?
Front mounted exhausts were a give-away for the two-strokes.

 

[tjbrace]

The Military seem to use nuclear and get a million miles between services. Could this be miniturised?

 

[JumbleDuck]

The Military seem to use nuclear and get a million miles between services. Could this be miniturised?

Ford seriously thought about it:

 

[mjcoon]

Ford seriously thought about it:

Oh, is that a nuclear power plant? Looks more like a roulette wheel! And having the cab outside the wheelbase is going to need ultra-smooth roads...

 

[Kukri]

The Military seem to use nuclear and get a million miles between services. Could this be miniturised?

I have had some chats with Lloyd’s Register of Shipping about this. They are working on it seriously at merchant ship scale.

The “fuelled for life” submarine reactors use a grade of fuel which would not be available for civilian use, so a modern nuclear ship would need refuelling - a process that takes months - every few years.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

The Military seem to use nuclear and get a million miles between services. Could this be miniturised?

NO, it will never happen for many reasons, beyond this discussion.

 

[wombat88]

NS Savannah - Wikipedia

 

[JumbleDuck]

The Military seem to use nuclear and get a million miles between services. Could this be miniturised?

Yes. I have colleagues who work in this area. There is a lot of interest in small reactors, often called "Small Modular Reactors" and there is a good list of current design on Wikipedia: Small modular reactor - Wikipedia. Rolls-Royce have a page on their project: Small modular reactors

That's just smallness, though. Putting them on ships is another matter, but of course it has been done before.

 

[Bilgediver]

Few taps too many Like another video on a Port line ship where the cooling hoses are flopping around.... Third engineer where are you

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

The Rolls Royce modular reactor design already exist and has been used for other purposes. We initiated the concept for applicability of this design for civil usage some 12 ago, certain bodies have been involved including Sheffield University, under the watch of some key figures in the Atomic nuclear sector; I and many colleagues have recently retired; age is catching up with all of us. The science and engineering is straight forward but the engineering design safety case to overcome regulatory and security is very challenging to the point where the cost makes other solutions more viable.

 

[Bilgediver]

Poignard got in before me with the Doxford.

There was a Doxford Song; it was a game at parties where marine engineers were present as long as they could find six girls to act the chorus.

The Doxford was known to engineers from rational European nations as “the one with the rubber crankshaft...” here is why:

Spent many years with Doxfords from a 1944 three cylinder economy version to a four cylinder P type of the late 60's. I have some pictures somewhere of some engineers aboard the Cornish City ( Ruston AO Medium Speed Diesels) getting some amusement by reliving those Doxford memories but without the girls.

Four people stand in line with hands on head and then try to move in correct timing to replicate the movement of the upper pistons , looks good when they get it right.

The Doxford was almost silent and one can hardly say that about the Commer engine which had a bark something like this.

PS

Don't get me started on the Ruston AO but it was an interesting 5 years.

 

[penberth3]

The Doxford was almost silent and one can hardly say that about the Commer engine which had a bark something like this.

I'm old enough to remember trucks on the road with the FD6. And if 6 isn't enough cylinders, you could have 12:

ETA: the same string of videos has the Commer TS3 - back on topic at last!

 

[Alicatt]

The Fred Olsen Line's 1953 MS Braemar had a double acting two stroke diseasel to power our cruise over to Norway in 1972
Built by Thorneycroft with an 8 cylinder Burmeister & Wain double acting 2stroke diesel of 6,250hp giving a cruising speed of 16.5knots
The engine room on the ship was my favourite place

Fred Olsen Lines M/S Blenheim 1951 & M/S Braemar 1953 - Deck Plans

 

[Kukri]

Double acting! Crikey! I had thought those pre- dated the Ark!

 

[penberth3]

Very similar to the Commer engine, this is a Sulzer with a piston pump for the scavenging. Commers used a Roots blower.

 

[JumbleDuck]

For those with a hankering after ancient diesels there is no better place for a day out than Internal Fire, the Museum of Power at Tan y Groes where they will fire things up at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately not particularly easy to sail to: Aberporth is near, Cardigan isn't too far and Fishguard is about 30 miles away. Still well worth it.

 

[179580]

Few taps too many Like another video on a Port line ship where the cooling hoses are flopping around.... Third engineer where are you

That's a J type, no flailing hoses flapping there

 

[Bilgediver]

That's a J type, no flailing hoses flapping there

No flapping hoses causing damage to the swinging arm tracks which are in another video but too many slack telescoped pipes which need readjusting before another long passage.

 

[Kukri]

Cue a discussion on the decline and fall of the Doxford. (In my case the rare East Asian sub-species, the Taikoo-Doxford).

My recollection is that Burmeister and Wain applied the humane killer, but it had been starved of development funding for years. See “British Industry...”

Having said that, was there ever a way to make a Doxford less “labour intensive”?

I once worked for a man who said - I think quite sincerely - that Pielsticks were fine as long as you did the heads every 2,000 hours.

 

[Bilgediver]

Cue a discussion on the decline and fall of the Doxford. (In my case the rare East Asian sub-species, the Taikoo-Doxford). My recollection is that Burmeister and Wain applied the humane killer, but it had been starved of development funding for years. See “British Industry...” I only saw the B&W opposed piston engines when enjoying the social activities of places such as Calcutta including visits to Bank Line ships. Much heavier built engines than the Doxford and got the impression that possibly not so easy to work on. The days of Bank Line Hungry Hain's and starvation Smith's. I was with the latter who had built all the post 1950 ships at Doxford's but also had some Empire ships such as Great City which were built in the early 40,s . The last Doxfords they had were the Cardiff and Houston City in the early sixties after which they started a relationship with Fairfield's of Glasgow who installed Sulzer RD engines. Many other companies went a similar route which Doxford's couldn't follow due to the limitations of Pallion Yard.