Water mill: discovery value, scope, device and principle of operation

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

The invention of the watermill was of great importance for the history and development of technology. The first such structures were used to overflow water in ancient Rome, later they began to be used to obtain flour and for other industrial purposes.

Invention Story

The water wheel was invented by people in ancient times, thanks to which a person received a reliable and simple engine, the use of which has been expanding every year. As early as the first century BC, the Roman scientist Vitruvius described such a structure in his treatise "10 Books on Architecture". Its action was based on the rotation of the wheel from the impact of the flow of water on its blades. And the first practical application of this discovery was the possibility of grinding grains.

The history of mills dates back to the first millstones used by ancient people to obtain flour. Such devices were at first manual, then they began to use the physical strength of slaves or animals that turned the flour wheel.

The history of the water mill began with the use of the design of a wheel driven by the force of a river flow to carry outthe process of grinding grain into flour, and the basis for this was the creation of the first engine. Ancient machines evolved from irrigation devices called chadufons, which were used to raise water from a river to irrigate land and fields. Such devices consisted of several scoops mounted on a rim: during rotation, they were immersed in water, scooped it up, and after lifting it up, they overturned it into a chute.

Arrangement of ancient windmills

Over time, people began to build water mills and use the power of water to produce flour. Moreover, in the flat areas, at a low speed of the flow of rivers, dams were arranged to increase the pressure, thereby ensuring an increase in the water level. To transmit movement to the mill device, geared motors were invented, which were made from two wheels in contact with rims.

Using a system of wheels of different diameters, whose axes of rotation were parallel, the ancient inventors were able to transfer and transform movement that could be directed to the benefit of people. Moreover, the larger wheel must make fewer revolutions as many times as its diameter exceeds the second, small one. The first wheel gear systems began to be used 2 thousand years ago. Since then, inventors and mechanics have been able to come up with many variations of gears, using not only 2, but more wheels.

The device of the water mill of the ancient era, describedVitruvius, contained 3 main parts:

An engine consisting of a vertical wheel having blades that are rotated by water.
The transmission mechanism is a second vertical toothed wheel (transmission) that rotates a third horizontal one called a pinion.
Actuating mechanism consisting of two millstones: the upper one is driven by a gear and mounted on its vertical shaft. Grain for flour was poured into a bucket-funnel located above the upper millstone.

Water wheels were installed in several positions relative to the flow of water: downstream - on rivers with a high flow rate. The most common were "hanging" structures, installed on a free flow, submerged in water by the lower blades. Subsequently, they began to use medium and top-piercing types of water wheels.

The maximum possible efficiency (efficiency=75%) was given by the work of overhead or bulk types, which was widely used in the construction of "canoe" floating mills that ran on large rivers: the Dnieper, Kura, etc.

The significance of the discovery of the water mill was that the first antique mechanism was invented, which could later be used for industrial production, which became an important stage in the history of the development of technology.

Medieval hydraulic structures

The first watermills in Europe, according to historical data, appeared during the reign of Charlemagne (340 AD) in Germany andwere borrowed from the Romans. At the same time, such mechanisms were built on the rivers of France, where by the end of the 11th century. already there were about 20 thousand mills. At the same time, there were already more than 5.5 thousand of them in England.

Water mills in the Middle Ages were widespread throughout Europe, they were used for processing agricultural products (flour-grinding, oil-pressing, fuller), for lifting water from a mine and in metallurgical production. By the end of the 16th century there were already 300 thousand of them, and in the 18th century. - 500 thousand. At the same time, their technical improvement and increase in power growth (from 600 to 2220 horsepower) took place.

The famous artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci, in his notes, also tried to come up with new ways to use the energy and power of water with the help of wheels. He proposed, for example, the design of a vertical saw, which was set in motion by a stream of water supplied to the wheel, i.e., the process became automated. Leonardo also made drawings of several options for using hydraulic structures: fountains, ways to drain swamps, etc.

A striking example of a hydropower plant was the water supply mechanism for fountains and water supply of palaces in Versailles, Trianon and Marly (France), for which a dam was specially erected on the river. Seine. From the reservoir, water was supplied under pressure to 14 bottom-piercing wheels measuring 12 m. They lifted it with the help of 221 pumps to a height of 162 m to the aqueduct, from which it flowed to palaces and fountains. The daily volume of water supplied was 5 thousand m3^3.

How a watermill works

The design of such a mill has remained unchanged for many centuries. The main material for the construction was wood, from which the barn was built, wheels and shafts were made. Metal was used only in some parts: axles, fasteners, brackets. Occasionally, the barn was built of stone.

Types of mills that used water energy:

Whorled - built on fast-flowing mountain rivers. By design, they are similar to modern turbines: blades were made on a vertical wheel at an angle to the base, when the water flow fell, rotation occurred, from which the millstone moved.
Wheel, in which the "water" wheel itself rotated. Two types were built - with a lower and upper battle.

Water came from the dam to the overhead mill, then it was directed along the chute to the wheel with ditches, which rotated under its weight. When using the lower fight, a design with blades is used, which are set in motion when immersed in a water stream. To improve work efficiency, a dam was often used to block only part of the river, called the boon.

The figure below shows the device of a typical wooden water mill: the rotational movement comes from the lower drive (wheel) [6], at the top there is a bucket (bunker) [1] for grain and a chute [2], feeding it to the millstones [3]. The resulting flour fell into the tray [4], and then spilled into the chest or bag [5].

Adjustment of the grain supply was carried out by a dispenser, a special box with a hole that influenced the fineness of grinding flour. After receiving it, it was necessary to sift through a special sieve installed above the chest, which oscillated using a small mechanism.

Some water mills were used not only to grind grain, but also to peel millet, buckwheat or oats, from which cereals were made. Such machines were called croupers. Entrepreneurial owners used mill structures for pounding tows, for felting homespun cloth, for combing wool, etc.

Building mills in Russia

In the ancient Russian chronicles, the mention of water wheels and mills occurs from the 9th century. Initially, they were used exclusively for grinding grain, for which they were nicknamed "flour" and "bread". In 1375, Prince Podolsky Korpatovich granted the Dominican monastery the right to build a grain mill by a charter. And in 1389, such a building was left to the wife of Prince Dmitry Donskoy by will.

In Veliky Novgorod, a birch bark document mentioning the construction of a mill dates back to the 14th century. Pskov chronicles of the 16th century. tell about the construction of such a structure on the Volkhov River, to which the entire local population was involved. A dam was built that blocked part of the river, but it collapsed due to severe flooding.

On the flat terrain, water mills in Russia were built with a filling overhead wheel. In the 14-15 centuries. whorled devices began to appear in whichthe wheel was placed horizontally on a vertical shaft.

These designs were built by self-taught masters without any drawings and diagrams. Moreover, they not only copied the already erected structures, but each time added their own innovations to their device. Even during the time of Peter the Great, masters from European countries began to come to Russia, who showed their skills and knowledge in this area.

One of Peter's associates, the famous engineer William Genin, who built 12 large plants in the Urals, was able to ensure their operation from hydraulic power plants. Subsequently, water energy was widely used by specialists in the construction of mining and metalworking enterprises throughout Russia.

At the beginning of the 18th century, about 3 thousand manufactories operated throughout the territory, which used hydraulic installations for the functioning of production. These were metallurgical, sawmill, paper, weaving and other enterprises.

The most famous and unique complex for providing energy to the mining and smelting plant was built in 1787 by engineer K. D. Frolov at the Zmeinogorsk mine, which had no analogues in the world. It included a dam, water intake structures, from which water passed through underground adits into an open channel (535 m long) to a mill, where the sawmill wheel rotated. Further, water flowed through the next underground channel to the hydrowheel of the machine for lifting ore from the mine, then to the third and fourth. At the end, it flowed through an adit more than 1 km long back into the river below the dam, its total path was more than 2 km,the diameter of the largest wheel is 17 m. All structures were built from local materials: clay, wood, stone and iron. The complex has been successfully operating for more than 100 years, but only the dam of the Zmeinogorsky mine has survived to this day.

Research in the field of hydraulics was also carried out by the famous scientist M. V. Lomonosov, who put his scientific thoughts into practice, participating in the creation of a colored glass enterprise based on the operation of a hydraulic installation with three wheels. The works of two more Russian academicians - D. Bernoulli and L. Euler - acquired world significance in the use of the laws of hydrodynamics and hydraulic engineering and laid the theoretical foundation of these sciences.

Using water energy in the East

The use of water wheels in China was first described in detail in the book of Sunn Yingxing in 1637. It details the use of them for metallurgical production. Chinese structures were usually horizontal, but their capacity was high enough to produce flour and metal.

The use of water energy was first started back in the 30s. n. e., after the invention by a Chinese official of a reciprocating mechanism based on water wheels.

In ancient China, several hundred mills were built, located along the rivers, but in the 10th century. the government began to ban them because of the obstruction of river navigation. The construction of mills gradually expanded in neighboring countries: Japan and India, in Tibet.

Water wheels in Islamic countries

CountriesThe East, in which people profess the Islamic religion, is for the most part a territory with a very hot climate. Since ancient times, regular water supply has been very important. Aqueducts were built to supply water to cities, and to raise it from the river, mills were built, which they called "norias".

According to historians, the first such structures were erected 5 thousand years ago in Syria and other countries. On the Orontes River, one of the deepest in the country, the construction of elevators was widespread in the form of huge wheels of water mills, which scooped water with numerous blades and supplied it to the aqueduct.

A vivid example of such a structure is the elevators of the city of Hama, which have survived to our times, the construction of which dates back to the 13th century. They continue to work to this day, being both an ornament and a landmark of the city.

The use of hydropower in various industries

In addition to obtaining flour, the scope of water mills extended to the following types of industries:

for melioration and providing water to crops in the fields;
a sawmill that used water power to process wood;
metallurgy and metal processing;
in mining for processing stones or other rocks;
in weaving and woolen manufactories;
for lifting water from the mine, etc.

One of the oldest examples of usewater power - a sawmill in Hierapolis (Turkey), its mechanisms were discovered during excavations and dated to the 6th century. n. e.

In some European countries, archaeologists have discovered the remains of old mills from the era of Ancient Rome, which were used to crush quartz containing gold mined in mines.

The largest complex using the power of water was built, according to historical data, in the 1st century. in the south of France under the name Barbegal, which had 16 water wheels that supplied energy to 16 flour mills, thus providing bread to the nearby city of Alert. Every day, 4.5 tons of flour were produced here.

A similar mill complex on Janiculum Hill supplied supplies in the 3rd c. the city of Rome, which was appreciated by Emperor Aurelian.

Creating a water structure with your own hands

An architectural element such as a water wheel has gained popularity along with pools, cascades or fountains. Of course, such structures perform a decorative rather than a practical function. Every owner who has the skills to work with wooden parts can build a water mill with his own hands.

It is recommended to choose a wheel size of at least 1.5 m, but not more than 10 m, depending on the area of the site. The mill house is also selected according to its future purpose: a building for storing inventory, a play area for children, and decorating the territory.

Production of parts:

as a basis for a water wheel, you can take a bicycle or knocked down from a tree to which the blades are attached; in the centerit should have a pipe around which it rotates;
the finished product is mounted on bearings on 2 supports, which are made of oak beams, metal corners, bricks;
to the top of the wheel should fit a chute through which water flows onto the blades; it is brought either from a hose with a pump, or it comes after rain;
all parts are recommended to be processed to increase the service life: wooden - varnished, metal - painted against corrosion;
to drain water, lay channels in the direction of the beds or to another container;
at the final stage, the building is decorated with decorative elements.

Setting up a decorative water mill in the countryside will be a wonderful aesthetic addition to the landscape.

Famous historic windmills

The largest operating water mill "Lady Isabella" is located near the village of Lexie on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. This structure was erected in 1854 by self-taught engineer Robert Casement in honor of the wife of the local governor general, and the purpose of its construction was to pump groundwater from a local mine for the extraction of natural resources (zinc, lead, etc.).

Channels were specially laid, through which water from mountain rivers passed through the bridge and was fed to rotate a wheel with a diameter of 22 m, which is still considered the largest in the world, thanks to which many tourists have already enjoyed successyears.

One of the original sights of France is an old water mill located near the city of Vernon (France). Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it rests on 2 pillars of an old stone bridge that once connected the banks of the Seine. The exact date of its construction is unknown, however, according to some sources, it was erected during the period of opposition to Richard the Lionheart and was of strategic importance. In 1883, the famous artist Claude Monet immortalized her on one of his canvases.

The creation of the water mill is an important step in the history of technology development, because it is considered the first design that could be used for various purposes for processing agricultural and other products, which was the first step towards machine production in the world.