Which primary risk increased in early steam engines due to the use of cast iron boilers?

💡 Explanation

When early steam engines used cast iron boilers, tensile strength limitations were exposed because cast iron is brittle compared to later steel, leading to catastrophic boiler ruptures under pressure. Therefore, boiler rupture was a greater risk, rather than piston, cylinder, or valve failures requiring different stress and wear mechanisms.

• Which structural failure mode commonly affected timber sailing ships as they aged, especially in tropical waters?
• Which systematic error influenced calculated planetary positions from astrolabes using Ptolemaic models?
• Which primary structural risk increased due to ziggurat's mud brick construction and rainfall exposure?
• Which advantage was conferred by the intensive labor investment required cultivating chinampas in Aztec society?
• Which benefit results when the Aztecs constructed chinampas in shallow lake beds?
• Which structural failure mode most critically threatened the stability of the Crystal Palace during high winds?