How machinery layout could make high-pressure steam reliable

What reliability and maintenance problems would accompany advanced high-pressure naval machinery?

The main risks lie in joints and complex pipe runs, so compact modular boiler-turbine-generator units could make the plant more reliable and maintainable.

High-pressure steam reliability depends partly on the arrangement of joints and bends, not simply the pressure inside a straight pipe. American mass-produced 600 psi boilers provide a different comparison from highly specialized German machinery. A hypothetical British 850 psi plant might place each boiler beside a turbine driving a generator, shortening the steam connection and avoiding unnecessary corners. Several separate machinery rooms could each contain one of these units. At lower speeds, one operating unit might provide enough power while others receive maintenance. The proposed layout also fits British interest in electric drive and concern about the American experience with the Lexington class.