The invention of the water mill was of great importance for the history and development of technology. The first such structures were used for overflowing water even in Ancient Rome, later they began to be used to obtain flour and for other industrial purposes.
History of invention
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 expanded every year. Even in the first century BC, the Roman scholar Vitruvius described such a construction in his treatise "10 books on architecture." Its action was based on the rotation of the wheel from the effects 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 originates from the first millstones that ancient people used to obtain flour. Such devices were initially manual, then began to use the physical power of slaves or animals that rotated the milling wheel.
The history of a water mill began with the use of the design of a wheel moving from the strength of the river flow to implement the process of grinding grain into flour, and the foundation 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 the rim: during rotation, they plunged into water, scooped it up, and, after lifting it upside down, they tipped it into the gutter.
The device of ancient mills
Over time, people began to build water mills and use the power of water to produce flour. Moreover, in lowland areas at low river flow rates, dams were arranged to increase the pressure, thereby providing an increase in water level. To transmit motion to the mill device, gear motors were invented, which were made of two wheels in contact with the rims.
Using a system of wheels of various diameters, in which the axes of rotation were parallel, ancient inventors were able to carry out the transmission and transformation of motion, which could be directed to the benefit of people. Moreover, the larger wheel must make a smaller number of revolutions as many times as its diameter exceeds the second, small one. The first wheeled gear systems began to be used 2 thousand years ago. Since then, inventors and mechanics have been able to come up with many options for gears, using not only 2, but also more wheels.
The device of the water mill of the ancient era, described by Vitruvius, contained 3 main parts:
- An engine consisting of a vertical wheel having vanes that rotate with water.
- The transmission mechanism is a second vertical wheel with teeth (transmission), which rotates the third horizontal, called a gear.
- An actuator consisting of two millstones: the upper one is driven by gears and mounted on its vertical shaft. To obtain flour, the grain was poured into a funnel bucket located above the upper millstone.
Water wheels were installed in several positions with respect to the flow of water: lower-impact - on rivers with a high flow rate. The most common were “hanging” structures installed in free flow, immersed in the water with the lower blades. Subsequently, began to use the mid-and high-water types of water wheels.
The maximum possible coefficient of efficiency (efficiency = 75%) was provided by the work of upper-mill or bulk types, which was widely used in the construction of “by-pass” floating mills that ran on large rivers: the Dnieper, Kure, etc.
The significance of the discovery of the water mill was that the first ancient 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 hydroconstructions
The first water mills in Europe, according to historical data, appeared during the reign of Charlemagne (340 CE) in Germany and were borrowed from the Romans. At the same time, such mechanisms were also 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 in England there were already more than 5.5 thousand.
Water mills in the Middle Ages were widespread throughout Europe, they were used for the processing of agricultural products (flour, oil mill, cloth), for lifting water from a mine and in metallurgical production. By the end of the 16th century there were already 300 thousand, and in the 18th century. - 500 thousand. At the same time there was their technical improvement and increase in power growth (from 600 to 2220 horsepower).
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 using wheels. He proposed, for example, the construction of a vertical saw, which was driven by the flow of water supplied to the wheel, i.e., the process became automated. Leonardo also made drawings of several options for using hydraulic structures: fountains, methods of draining swamps, etc.
A striking example of a hydropower installation was the water supply mechanism for the installation of fountains and water supply for palaces in Versailles, Trianon and Marly (France), for which a dam was built on the river. Sene. From the constructed reservoir, water flowed under pressure to 14 low-impact wheels of 12 m in size. They lifted it with the help of 221 pumps to a height of 162 m to the aqueduct, from which it entered the palaces and fountains. The daily volume of water supplied was 5 thousand m 3.
How a water mill works
The design of such a mill remained unchanged for many centuries. The main material for the construction was a tree, from which they built a barn, made wheels and shafts. Metal was used only in some details: axles, fasteners, staples. Occasionally, a barn was erected from stone.
Types of mills that used water energy:
- Whorled - built on mountain rivers with a fast current. They are similar in design to modern turbines: they made blades 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 lower and upper battle.
Water flowed from the dam to the mill with the upper battle, then went along the gutter to the wheel with ditches, which rotated under its weight. When using the lower battle, 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 structure of a typical wooden water mill: the rotational movement comes from the lower drive (wheel) [6], at the top there is a bucket (hopper) [1] for grain and trough [2], feeding it to the millstones [3]. The resulting flour fell into the tray [4], and then poured into a chest or bag [5].
The grain flow was regulated by a dispenser, a special box with an opening, which influenced the fineness of flour grinding. 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 for grinding grain, but also for stripping millet, buckwheat or oats, from which groats were made. Such machines were called grits. Enterprising owners used mill constructions for crushing tows, for felting homespun cloth, for scratching wool, etc.
Construction of mills in Russia
In ancient Russian chronicles, mention of water wheels and mills dates back to 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 a diploma to the Dominican monastery the right to build a bread mill. And in 1389, the wife of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, such a building went by will.
In Veliky Novgorod, the mention in the birch bark of the construction of the mill dates back to the 14th century. Pskov chronicles of the 16th century They talk about the construction of such a structure on the Volkhov River, which attracted the entire local population. A dam was built that blocked part of the river, but it collapsed due to a severe flood.
On flat terrain, water mills in Russia were built with a high-pylon wheel. In the 14-15 centuries. whorled devices began to appear, in which the wheel was located horizontally on a vertical shaft.
Such self-taught master constructions were built without any drawings and diagrams. Moreover, they not only copied the already built structures, but each time they added their 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 well-known engineer William Genin, who built 12 large plants in the Urals, was able to ensure their work from hydraulic power plants. Subsequently, water energy was widely used by specialists in the construction of mining and metal-working enterprises throughout Russia.
At the beginning of the 18th century, about 3 thousand manufactories were operating throughout the territory, which used hydraulic installations for the functioning of production. These were metallurgical, sawmills, paper, weaving and other enterprises.
The most famous and unique complex for providing energy to the mining and smelting complex 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 facilities, from which water through underground galleries passed into an open channel (535 m long) to the mill, where the wheel of a sawmill construction rotated. Next, water flowed through the next underground channel to the machine’s hydraulic wheel to raise ore from the mine, then to the third and fourth. At the end, it flowed through an adit more than 1 km long into the river below the dam, its total path was more than 2 km, the diameter of the largest wheel was 17 m. All structures were built from local materials: clay, wood, stone and iron. The complex has successfully worked for more than 100 years, but only the dam of the Zmeinogorsk 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 ideas into practice by participating in the creation of a colored glass enterprise based on the operation of a three-wheel hydraulic installation. The works of two other Russian academicians - D. Bernoulli and L. Euler - have gained worldwide importance in using the laws of hydrodynamics and hydraulic engineering and laid the theoretical foundation for these sciences.
Use of water energy in the East
The use of water wheels in China was first described in detail in a book by Sun Insin in 1637. It describes in detail about their use for metallurgical production. Chinese designs 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 of a Chinese official reciprocating mechanism based on water wheels.
In ancient China, several hundred mills were built along the rivers, but in the 10th century. the government began to ban them due to obstruction of river shipping. The construction of mills gradually expanded in neighboring countries: Japan and India, in Tibet.
Wheels for water supply in Islamic countries
The countries of the East, in which people profess the Islamic religion, are 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 the cities, and to raise it from the river built mills, which were called "norias."
According to historians, the first such structures were built 5 thousand years ago in Syria and other countries. On the Oront River, one of the most full-flowing in the country, the construction of elevators was widespread in the form of huge wheels of water mills, which scooped up water with numerous blades and supplied it to the aqueduct.
A striking example of such a structure is the elevators of the city of Hama that have survived to our times, the construction of which dates back to the 13th century. They continue to work to the present, 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 these types of industries:
- for land reclamation and provision of water for crops in the fields;
- a sawmill in which the energy of the water was used to process wood;
- metallurgy and metal processing;
- in mining for processing stones or other rocks;
- in weaving and wool manufactories;
- for lifting water from a mine, etc.
One of the oldest examples of the use of water power is a sawmill in Hierapolis (Turkey), its mechanisms were discovered during excavations and dated to the 6th century. n e.
In some European countries, archaeologists discovered the remains of old mills from the era of Ancient Rome, which were used to crush quartz with the content of 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, in which 16 water wheels were installed, supplying energy to 16 flour mills, thus providing bread to the nearby city of Alert. 4.5 tons of flour were produced here daily.
A similar mill complex on the Yanikul hill supplied in the 3rd century. the city of Rome, which was rated by the emperor Aurelian.
Do-it-yourself watermarking
Such an architectural element as a water wheel has gained popularity along with swimming pools, cascades or fountains. Of course, such structures perform a decorative rather than a practical function. Every owner with the skills to work with wooden parts can build a water mill with his own hands.
The size of the wheel is recommended to choose a minimum of 1.5 m, but not more than 10 m, which depends on the area of the site. The mill house is also selected for its future purpose: a building for storing equipment, a play area for children, and decoration of the territory.
Parts manufacturing:
- 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 its center should be a pipe around which rotation occurs;
- the finished product is mounted on bearings with 2 bearings, which make them of oak timber, metal corner, brick;
- to the upper part of the wheel a chute should fit, along which water flows onto the blades; it is let down either from a hose with a pump, or it comes after rain;
- It is recommended to process all parts to increase the working life: wooden - varnish, metal - paint against corrosion;
- for water drainage, channels are laid in the direction of the beds or to another container;
- at the final stage, the structure is decorated with decorative elements.
The device on the outskirts of the decorative water mill will be a great aesthetic addition to the landscape.
Famous historical mills
Lady Isabella's largest operating water mill is located near the village of Lexi on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. This building was erected in 1854 by self-taught engineer Robert Casement in honor of the wife of a 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.).
Canals were specially laid, through which water from mountain rivers passed through the bridge and was supplied to rotate the wheel with a diameter of 22 m, which is still considered the largest in the world, thanks to which it has been popular with tourists for many years.
One of the original sights of France is the old water mill located near Vernon (France). Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it rests on the 2 pillars of the old stone bridge that once connected the banks of the Seine. The exact date of its construction is unknown, however, according to some reports, it was built during the confrontation with Richard the Lionheart and was of strategic importance. In 1883, she was immortalized by the famous artist Claude Monet on one of his canvases.
The creation of a water mill is an important stage in the history of the development of technology, 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 to machine production in the world.