The slide valve, simply explained

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About this book

"The slide valve, simply explained by William John Tennant" is a technical engineering guide from the late 19th century, within the Victorian era. Aimed at students and practitioners, it explains how steam-engine slide valves work and how to set and modify them, using clear diagrams and a simple hands-on model to visualize motion. The book focuses on valve motion fundamentals—lap, lead, travel, eccentric advance, compression, and expansion—while also surveying practical valve types and gears used on locomotives and stationary and marine engines. The book progresses from the plain D-slide valve to a cardboard-disc model that treats the eccentric as a crank, letting readers trace admission, cut-off, release, and compression. It introduces lead and cushioning at dead centres, then shows how outside lap yields expansion and how inside lap or inside lead changes exhaust timing; “free exhaust” is explained by widening ports without changing events.