The mechanical processes during the expansion phase of a steam explosion with intimately fragmented liquid particles is investigated based on elementary principles and analytical solutions. During a short load pulse, the different densities of the water and the melted particles lead to different velocities. After the load pulse, viscosity effects lead to a slow down of the higher velocities and to a corresponding reconversion of the kinetic energy of the mixture into thermal energy. It is shown that both effects are proportional to each other. The ratio between the residual and the applied mechanical energy is defined as the mechanical efficiency of the steam explosion. Using data typical for a steam explosion in a pressurized water reactor, mechanical efficiencies of <50% are estimated. Considering that the thermodynamic efficiencies are quite limited, the very low conversion rates from thermal energy into mechanical energy observed during steam explosion experiments can be more easily understood.