Oscillating cylinder steam engine

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A simple oscillating cylinder engine, part of a Mamod SE2 working steam model
An oscillating cylinder steam engine (also known as a wobbler in the US)[citation needed] is a
simple steam-engine design that requires no valve gear. Instead the cylinder rocks, or oscillates, as
the crank-shaft moves the piston, pivoting in the mounting trunnion so that ports in the cylinder line
up with ports in a fixed port face alternately to direct steam into or out of the cylinder.
Oscillating cylinder steam engines are now mainly used in toys and models but, in the past, have
been used in full-size working engines, mainly on ships and small stationary engines. They have the
advantage of simplicity and, therefore, low manufacturing costs. They also tend to be more compact
than other types of cylinder of the same capacity, which makes them advantageous for use in ships.

Contents

1 Operation
2 Reversing
3 Marine
4 Hydraulic motors
5 Examples
6 See also
7 References

Operation

Operation of a simple oscillating cylinder steam engine

The steam needs to be fed into the end of the cylinder at just the right time in the cycle to push the
piston in the correct direction. In the other direction, the steam needs to be allowed to escape from
the cylinder. As the crankshaft rotates, the piston rod moves up and down (or side to side in the case
of a vertical cylinder) as well as in and out. Because the piston rod is rigid and the piston itself is
long relative to its diameter, this causes the cylinder to rock, or "oscillate" on its special mounting
(trunnion). In the design usually found in a toy or model engine, a hole in the side of the cylinder
(one at each end for a double-acting cylinder) and a pair of holes in the port block are arranged so
that this rocking motion lines up the holes at the correct times, allowing steam to enter the cylinder
in one direction and to escape into the atmosphere or condenser in the other direction.[1]
In full-size engines, the steam and exhaust ports are usually built into the pivot (trunnion) mounting.
However, separate valves may be provided, controlled by the oscillating motion. This allows the
cutoff timing to be varied to enable expansive working, as in, for example, the engine in the paddle
ship PD Krippen. Alternatively, expansive working can also be provided by means of Woolf
compounding, just as compactly if the two expansion stages are provided on either side of a single
piston within a single cylinder, all arranged as a trunk engine (however, an oscillating cylinder
engine does not benefit from the advantage of compactness that a trunk engine would otherwise
provide, as it has that already from its own design features). Each approach to expansive working
compromises the advantage of simplicity but still retains the advantage of compactness.[2]

Reversing
An oscillating cylinder engine cannot be reversed by means of the valve linkage (as in a normal
fixed cylinder) because there is none. Reversing of the engine can be achieved by reversing the
steam connections between inlet and exhaust or, in the case of small engines, by shifting the
trunnion pivot point so that the port in the cylinder lines up with a different pair of ports in the port
face. In the latter case, the fixed port face is usually provided with three ports, the central one being
the steam feed and the outer two being exhausts, only one of which being in use at any time,
depending on the required direction of running.

Marine
Main article: marine oscillating steam engine
This section requires expansion. (March 2015)

Hydraulic motors

Armstrong's hydraulic motor for the Swing Bridge, River Tyne

Single-acting oscillating hydraulic motors were used for early hydraulic machinery, such as that
produced by William Armstrong for the development of Victorian civil engineering, particularly
around docks and moving bridges.

Examples
Examples of oscillating cylinder steam engines

A reversible oscillating cylinder on a toy steam engine. The trunnion is shifted by an eccentric on
the lever.

A typical small stationary oscillating cylinder engine

Model of a marine oscillating steam engine designed by Joseph Maudslay, clearly showing how the
cylinders pivot on the trunnions, through which the steam is passed.

See also