A steam separator, sometimes referred to as a moisture separator or steam drier, is a device for separating water droplets from steam. The simplest type of steam separator is the

steam dome The steam dome is a vessel fitted to the top of the boiler of a steam engine. It contains the opening to the main steam pipe and its purpose is to allow this opening to be kept well above the water level in the boiler. This arrangement acts as a ...

on a

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

. Stationary

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...

s and

nuclear reactors A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from ...

may have more complex devices which impart a "spin" to the steam so that water droplets are thrown outwards by

centrifugal force In Newtonian mechanics, the centrifugal force is an inertial force (also called a "fictitious" or "pseudo" force) that appears to act on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference. It is directed away from an axis which is paralle ...

and collected. All separators require

steam trap A steam trap is a device used to discharge condensates and non-condensable gases with a negligible consumption or loss of live steam. Steam traps are nothing more than automatic valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, d ...

s to collect the water droplets that they remove. It is important to remove water droplets from steam because: * In all engines, wet steam reduces the

thermal efficiency In thermodynamics, the thermal efficiency (\eta_) is a dimensionless performance measure of a device that uses thermal energy, such as an internal combustion engine, steam turbine, steam engine, boiler, furnace, refrigerator, ACs etc. For a ...

* In piston engines, water can accumulate in the cylinders and cause a hydraulic lock which will damage the engine * In

thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...

s, water droplets in high velocity steam coming from nozzles (or vanes) in a

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam tu ...

can impinge on and erode turbine internals such as turbine blades. * In other steam-using industrial machinery, water can accumulate in piping and cause steam hammer: a form of

water hammer Hydraulic shock (colloquial: water hammer; fluid hammer) is a pressure surge or wave caused when a fluid in motion, usually a liquid but sometimes also a gas is forced to stop or change direction suddenly; a momentum change. This phenomenon com ...

caused by water build up 'plugging' a pipe then being accelerated by the steam flowing through the pipe until it reaches a sharp bend and results in catastrophic failure of the pipe. Steam drier is also sometimes applied to a drier which operates as a low-temperature

superheater A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There ...

, adding heat to the steam.

Applications

* Engines * Boilers * Turbines * Rubber vulcanizing machines * Steam-powered irons * Cooking processes using a steamer * Atomizers * Catalyzing systems * Other steam systems

Sources

Nuclear Encyclopedia article

Steam boiler components Boilers Steam power Nuclear reactors {{tech-stub

Applications

See also

Sources