Steam Locomotive Tractive Effort
How to calculate the torque when administered traction?
I try to understand how to quantify an estimate of the Ball Park torque produced by a Steam Engine to stall, in other words in its infancy. If traction is measured in kg 31,200 could I take the radius of the wheel and multiply? The radius of 2.125 feet to be. 31,200 * 2.125 = 66,300 ft / lbs Well because the steam reciprocating product its maximum torque at zero RPM they are able to move with "gets carried away" so to speak. Large steam traction engines can be connected to a Prony brake to measure torque and figures in the 3000 ft.lbs are not uncommon. I just wanted to quantify the torque of a Locomotive for discussion. The engine in question is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtEU_iDu7RQ
Well, in theory, yes. The collective "couple" all wheel drive would be the number you calculated. But how a steam engine develops TE, the drivers are a force in each wheel, resulting from the fungus. It is therefore not a simple calculation torque. I'm not sure that knowing the couple, as you have defined, is relavent the Steam Locomotive performance, unlike the diesel-electric, which applies torque to each wheel motor through traction motors. It would interesting to know what you are trying to use this number for a couple.
SP&S 700 Steam engine