236 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[August, 



at tlie present day, probably among the best and most effective 

 structures of tlieir kind in existence. They have now been at 

 work upwards of twenty years, during wliicli time they have re- 

 <piired no rcjiairs, and tliey remain nearly as perfect as when they 

 were erected. 



It was originally intended to have erected four of these wheels 

 at the Catrine Works, but only two have been constructed; pre- 

 parations were, however, made for receiving two others, in the 

 event of an enlargement of the reservoirs in the hilly districts, 

 and more power being required for the mills. This extension has 

 not yet been wanted, as these two wheels are equal to itO-horse 

 jiower, and are sufficiently powerful, e.xcept in very dry seasons, to 

 turn the whole of the mills. The water-wheels were so placed and 

 arranged as to connnunicate their motion to a series of connecting 

 cross-shafts, and by means of large spur-wheels and pinions, to 

 transmit the united power of tlie water-wheels through large hoi'i- 

 zontal shafts to a cotton-mill at a considerable distance, and also 

 by means of a pair of large be\el-wheels and shafts, to kee]) in 

 motion another mill of equal magnitude, in another direction. 

 These water-wheels are 50 feet in diameter, 10 ft. 6 in. wide inside 

 the bucket, and 13 inches deep on the shi-oud; the internal spur 

 segments are 48 ft. 6 in. diameter, 3j inches ]iitch, and 15 inches 

 broad on the cog; the large spur-wheels are 18 ft. 2g in. in diame- 

 ter, 3j inches in the pitch, and 16 inches wide on the cog; and the 

 |)inions are the same width and pitch, but are 5 ft. 6 in. in diame- 

 ter; the large bevel-wheels are 7 feet in diameter, Sg inches in the 

 jiitch, and 18 inches broad on the cog, their proportions being cal- 

 culated to convey the united power of all the four water-wheels, 

 should the original design ever be completed. The water for the 

 supply of the wheels is conveyed from the river Ayr in a canal 

 ami tunnel, and from thence, along the side of a rising bank, to 

 the wheel-house. From this point it is conveyed to the water- 

 wheels by a large sheet-iron trough, supported on iron columns. 

 'When viewed from the entrance, the two wheels already erected 

 have a very imposing effect, each of them being elevated upon 

 stone piers; and as the whole of the cisterns, sluices, winding ap- 

 paratus, galleries, &c., are considerably elevated, they are conveni- 

 ently approached in every part. Under the wheels is a capacious 

 tunnel, terminating at a considerable distance down the river. 



The shuttle, and the method of regulating the water to obtain 

 uniform velocity, might also be noticed; but as these must vary 

 with the locality in which the water-wheels are established, it is 

 not necessary to enter minutely into a description of them. 



Water-wheels on a principle introduced by M. Poncelet have 

 attained some considerable reputation on the continent; and as 

 the author has constructed one of them for Mr. De Bergue, it is 

 necessary to allude briefly to the peculiarities it possesses. The 

 buckets are of a curvilinear form, and are quite open at the back, 

 without any sole-plate; so that they are perfectly ventilated. The 

 water impinges upon them at nearly the lowest point of the wheel, 

 the shuttle being arranged to draw upwards; and as the water 

 enters, it follows the inside cavity of the bucket, rises and falls 

 over into the next in succession, and so on. By this system the 

 force of the water is expended on the wheel itself, instead of losing 

 much of its power in rushing along through the wheel-race, as 

 generally occurs in even well-made undershot wheels. 



M. Poncelet has treated this subject at such length in his able 

 work on water-wheels, that it is not necessary here to enter into 

 further details; but it may be observed, that a practical improve- 

 ment might be effected by terminating the lower stone platform of 

 the race somewhat short of the vertical line of the ceiitre of the 

 wheel, as the escape of the water would be facilitated, and the as- 

 cending buckets would he more easily relieved of their contents: 

 this is a point of such importance for all wheels, that it must 

 equally apply to this form. 



In this Pa])er, the turbine, with the improvements recently in- 

 troduced in it by Fourneyron, Zuppinger, Whitelaw, and others, 

 has been entirely omitted. There are many published statements 

 relative to these improvements; but its limited employment in 

 this country, up to the present time, scarcely renders it necessary to 

 refer to it. It is, however, asserted that as much as ninety to 

 ninety-two per cent, had been obtained from M. Fourneyron's'tur- 

 Iiine; but that gentleman, in a recent visit to this country, kiiuUy 

 furnished the author with data taken from several of his machines, 

 which reduce the duty to a mean of seventy-two per cent. M. 

 Zuppinger and Mr. Whitelaw do not claim a higher duty in their 

 machines, the average being from seventy to seventy-four per cent. 

 upon the theoretical value of the fall. 



Remarlts made at the Meeting after the reading of the foregoing Paper. 



Sir J. Re.nnie said, Mr. Fairliaini's experience in the construction of water- 

 wheels was so great, and the peueral remarks of tbe Paper were so accurate, 

 that little could he added, and he was grieved to disagree with any point in it ; 

 but he could not accord with the statement of few improvements having 

 heen introduced sinie the time of Smeaton. Sir J.Rennie must claim some 

 merit for his late lather, who had both studied the theory and practice of 

 water-wheels; and he would not permit Mr. Fairhairn to detract from his 

 own merit, as he was universally acknowledged to he at least one of the roost 

 successful constructors of these machines. The late Mr. Rennie introduced 

 the system of laying the water on to the wheel in a thin stream, not exceed- 

 ing 10 inches in depth. In addition to this, and for the purpose of-taking 

 the utmost advantage of the fall, he used the curved moveahle shuttle, and 

 at the same time tried various curves for the buckets. It apjieared that Mr. 

 Fairliairn had directeil his attention to nearly the same points, as there was 

 great similarity in the machines, he having apparently taken the subject up 

 where Mr. Rennie had left it, and the excellent result appeared in the state- 

 ments contained in the Paper. Poncelet's experiments on this subject 

 showed, that in some wheels constructed with curved huckets, but without 

 sole-plates, and receiving the water almost like undershot wheels, an advan- 

 tage of ten per cent, over the ordinary forms could he attained. The expe- 

 riments of the Franklin Institute, made upon large wheels, were perhaps the 

 most valuable. The greatest result obtained was, he believed, about sixty 

 per cent, with a velocity of about 8 feet per second. As the opinioD of 

 Professor Robison had been quoted, it might not he uninteresting to state, 

 that on one occasion be was consulted by his former pupil, the late Mr. 

 Rennie, as to the best form and dimensions of a water-wheel, and that the 

 result was a conaplete failure; proving that his practice was not as good as 

 his theory. Some time since, it was expected that the turbine would, in a 

 great measure, supersede water-wbeels; but, however well they might be 

 adapted for peculiar situations, they had not been generally introduced. 

 Fourneyron brought the idea from Germany, and materially improved upon 

 the construction, until, as he stated, about seventy-five per cent, of power 

 was obtained from them ; but he had never yet seen any turbine perform 

 that amount of duty. Whitelaw's wheel followed, and was stated to have 

 attained about the same power. These machines, however, were both difficult 

 of construction, and did not appear to make progress among engineers. 



Mr. Fairbairn regretted that he bad not read an account of the improve- 

 ments of the late Mr. Rennie, both before he had constructed the wheels, 

 and when he wrote the Paper, as he could not have failed to benefit by fol- 

 lowing in the steps of so worthy a predecessor. The turbine bad been 

 noticed very cursorily in the Paper, because the subject had been nearly 

 exhausted in the excellent Paper by Mr. Lewis Gordon,' and because that 

 machine had really been but little employed in this country, although some- 

 what extensively on the continent, lie had constructed one for M. Four- 

 neyron, which had heen sent to Italy, and was stated to have done good 

 work. He had also erected one for Mr. Whitelaw in Yorkshire, for a fall of 

 120 feet. It was at first 2 feet in diameter, and made about 400 revolutions 

 per minute, at which speed about thirty per cent, of power was obtained : 

 it was then altered to 2 ft. 6 in. diameter, when about fifty per cent, was 

 arrived at ; and he believed that other alterations had still further improved 

 its action. Some practical difficulties alw.iys occurred, such, among others, 

 as the means of lubricating the main vertical spindle under water, which, 

 for ordinary cases, tended to induce a preference for good water-wheels. 

 Mr. Whitelaw had asserted, that with a good fall, as much as seventy or 

 seventy-five per cent, of power could he obtained but M. Fourneyron did 

 not anticipate more than seventy-two per cent. Mr. Fairbairn had seen 

 abroad a kind of turbine working horizontally, which received the water, 

 through pipes, from a very high fall, into curved buckets, upon the two op- 

 posite extremities of its diameter: the velocity was very considerable, and 

 the power gained was stated to be great. 



Mr. Croker said, one of the most successful of M. Fourneyron's turbines 

 was erected at St. Blasieu, in the Black Forest, upon a fall of 350 feet. The 

 diameter was \2{ inches; and when the sluice was open about one-third of 

 an inch, the machine made 2,250 revolutions per minute, with an expendi- 

 ture of water not exceeding 60 cubic feet. The supply of water was de- 

 rived from streams amongst the surrounding hills, and being collected into 

 a reservoir, distant about three-quarters of a league from the turbine, was 

 thence conveyed to it in cast-iron pipes, 18 inches in diameter. The turbine 

 was used for driving a spinning factory, containing 8,000 water spindles, 

 with the roving-frames, carding-engines, and all other necessary machinery. 

 The duty of the machine was calculated, from experiment, to be equal to 

 seventy per cent, of the water expended. 



Mr. Glynn said, bis custom in the construction of water-wheels had been 

 to obtain free egress for the air by simple openings through the sole-plate 

 into the interior of the wheel. The contrivance for conveying the air up- 

 wards, adopted in the wheels which had been described, was a decided im- 

 provement, and would tend materially to that regular filling and emptying of 

 the buckets, without which uniformity of motion could nut be insured ; and 

 for many of the fabrics manufactured by water-power that regularity was 

 essential. The ordinary velocity of the wheel was about 6 feet per second ; 

 and with respect to the per centage of power obtained, when the water fell 

 upon the wheel without impulse, and left it without velocity, he conceived 



» See 'Journal,' Vol. V. 1842, page 268. 



