Hi Reggie
 RA> ........................................................ In a power
 RA> AC>station, the slurry is not burned until well drained and aerated,
 RA> AC>a process that might take days between coal receipt and use.
 RA> No. (I did a senior project with the stuff in University.)
 RA> CWS is like ink, or very black paint. (It tends to spread...)
 RA> It's typically no more than 30% by wt. water; and the water
 RA> actually helps the combustion process.
Drat. I was involved with the auxiliary power supply to a coal slurry power
plant at Wangi NSW in 1960s/ 70s. The study put thumbs down on the system [I
don't know why] maybe they should have kept the stuff wet!!
                                       ^^^^
     (It dissociates into OH
 RA> radicals, which attack the soot, for more efficient combustion.)
Energy from the breakdown of water, has been such an attractive goal. All
that good water around and we still haven't made good energy source of it
except as hydro generation. Sorry for switching the topic!
                                                         
 RA>          The heat
 RA> used to vaporise the water is a small fraction of the heat of
 RA> combustion, so that's really not a big concern, esp. considering
 RA> that handling the slurry has less parasitic power requirements
 RA> than lump coal does.
The parasitic power is still required but at the mine not the generating
station. I guess the pipeline pumping power is less that the rail freight
power or conveyor power.
 RA> "Rigid" set of drivers? Not hardly! Look closely...
 RA> The side rods have joints near each crank pin, except at the ends.
 RA> The drive axle journal bearings are in blocks, which float up and
 RA> down in slots designed into the loco frame.
I surrender! I look forward to reading about a self- steering version. for
energy saving on curves. In NSW we seem to have more curves than straights!
 RA> the drive rod system! Note also that the rotating mass of all the
 RA> drive rods, and half (exactly) of the main rods, can be counter-
 RA> ballanced in the wheels.
More dang unsprung weight!
   
RA> [fully] sprung and equalized. The equalizing system adjusts
RA> the spring tensions so that all axles receive their share of
RA> the burden.
That word [fully] when tagged to a steam loco coupled drivers is a bit
emotive? The dynamics are awfully hard to express in text.
 RA> > The heavy side rods, pinned to each drive wheel, also restrain any
 RA> independence of vertical movement of any single axle as IT passes over
 RA> a valley or hill in the rail head.
 RA> * No; as I said, they're jointed near the middle crank(s).
Again I surrender. I take your word that a joint will eliminate the extra
dynamic forces that bother me.
Those smart French, putting Michelin tyres on city trains!!
Cheers.....ALEC
... ....The wheel is environmentally unviable
--- PPoint 1.92
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