About wind- and watermills

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Invisible Pink Unicorn
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About wind- and watermills

Post by Invisible Pink Unicorn »

I'm just a lurker, but I like help you guys in making realistic(functional) windmills. But I like to talk about windmills. I've seen a few and worry about designs I see. If I had a scanner I would post my concepts. A few links to pictures will do I think. I hope to improve your already nice looking concepts.

I will just layout what a normal basic needs:
Rotor/arms/sails/whatever to catch wind a make an axle turn. It sounds easy but Rotor/arms/sails must be positioned in a way that a mill never run backwards or do nothing at all.
The Persian turbine/mill 200BC in the link below used walls to direct the wind. It at least turns forward and backward. [url]http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/SJ/wind/398.html[/url]
Exception:[url]http://www.newenergy.org.cn/english/product/windmill/[/url]

Horizontal mills, needs to rotate it's arms in the direction of the wind, unless offcours the mill is paced in at fantasy location where wind only comes from one(or maybe two)side(s).
Large stone mills (or others)will need there arms fixed in a light rotatable roof. How this roof will turn differs...
Internal by hand: [url]http://www.geraldbrimacombe.com/France/Greece%20-%20Mykonos%20windmills.jpg[/url]
External by hand:
[url]http://www.soton.ac.uk/~nsc103/To%20Upload%20Amsterdam/Windmill%20Village.jpg[/url]
automated:
[url]http://www.echelon.co.yu/images/photo/windmill.jpg[/url]
Passive(only very light mills or a huge wind-board(in fantasy)):
[url]http://www.photohome.com/pictures/windmill-pictures/windmill-1a.jpg[/url]

Other windmill types in wood:
External:
http://www.pcbypaul.com/wpclipart/geography/Windmill.png
Internal:
[url]http://dutch-landscape.fotopages.com/?entry=138165[/url]

Enough about that. Maybe more later if people like to know. NEXT... function.
FUNCTION

Think about what can a mill process in a place like hammerfall.

Grains-mills
If it surrounded by farmland (and not desert) it can process all kind of grains. You will also need a bakery.


Pump-mills
If there is a desert it could be irrigated with a windmill that will pump water from deep under the ground.
In wet area's land can be pumped dry to make it suitable for living. You will need dyke's.

Industry mills
Production of paper, paint, plant-oil, sawmill.. etc
These mills need an production hall usually under the mill.

If there is (rain)Forrest in Hammerfall it is possible produce wood-planks and paper, but not too close to the forest because it would take away a lot of wind.

The paint-mill has hammers to smash paint ingredients and large vertical millstones that crunch those ingredients even more. Oil-mills use similar stones and hammers to crunch seeds and nuts for oil: [url]http://www.jonagames.nl/Bezienswaardigheden/ZaanseSchans/hpim3504a.jpg[/url] (hammers on the left) [url]http://www.jonagames.nl/Bezienswaardigheden/ZaanseSchans/hpim3505a.jpg[/url]

This should be enough for now...

SP... when using strait sail on the arms of the mills use a rack behind it. or use clever design like some Spanish mills. [url]http://www.spainphotos.net/images/Murcia/Murcia-Windmill.jpg[/url][/url]
Last edited by Invisible Pink Unicorn on Sat Jan 14, 2006 7:24 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Boompiee
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Post by Boompiee »

I would actually really enjoy seeing some watermills as well. They would give a great "country" feel to the surrounding area I think, especially in wooded area's they would fit right in. A lot easier to model as well.. Though perhaps they wouldn't be as common in Hammerfell. Well, just a thought :)
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Invisible Pink Unicorn
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Post by Invisible Pink Unicorn »

Hm... There are two types of water mills.
1. water goes over the waterwheel
[url]http://www.thisfunsforyou.com/image/love/reminiscing/watermill.jpg[/url]
2. water goes under the waterwheel
[url]http://www.2400.be/nieuws/images/20050626/watermolen4_m.jpg[/url]

1. The first is only to be used mountain and hill sides. Not much water is necessary
2. Usable in big/fast streams.

It is often so that watermills have mill lakes. These are water reserves, because streams are often not powerful enough. The lake will be naturally refilled with help of a lock by night.

About the possibilities Hammerfall?... You people decide.
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Lutemoth
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Post by Lutemoth »

And the Invisible Pink Unicorn spoke unto me, and said, "Write this stuff down."
[/spam]

This is very useful information, thanks IPU. I know we'll be seriously considering the effectiveness of windmills, and should aquire more engineering basics of said constructs
HoonDing mongori tiavo; Lemansha temin diang hibat.
The Hoon Ding guides us; all others can Make Way.
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Invisible Pink Unicorn
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Post by Invisible Pink Unicorn »

I do sound a litle bit arrogant for a lurker, that was not my intention. I try to help, but I can't help sounding like Deity. :/

I could go into more detail. Please, ask if more info is needed.
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Lutemoth
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Post by Lutemoth »

oh, no-no-no, no distaste of said valuable info here. I secretly read the gospel of IPU in my spare time :]

Do you have any record of less successful wind-power machines around? I've been fawning over the idea of low-technology constructs in Hammerfell
HoonDing mongori tiavo; Lemansha temin diang hibat.
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Invisible Pink Unicorn
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Post by Invisible Pink Unicorn »

Yeah... hmmhmm... I haven't got a picture. There used to be wooden mills that drifted on water. Cheap way to build, but never succesfull.

an other one: [url]http://www.heemkunde.nl/berghsekernen/zeddam/torenmolen/images/blz%2027.jpg[/url]
This used to be a much more inefficient form, it is more then one time renovated. There is only one usefull floor. The groundfloor is not used(The starecase is from the outside because of it).

On the possitive side: it could be an defensive tower.

An other nagative point, those "butterfly arms" are outdated and innefficient.

And btw... windmills in europe are inventions origanlly comming from the mideast by crusade... Marroco if i'm not mistaken. They were very crude. I'll look for pics.

one other version the one I've shown: [url]http://fishpond.owlfish.com/images/persian-windmill.jpg[/url]

chineese windmill for pumping water for rice fields: [url]http://www.vanalleswat.org/panemoontekening.jpg[/url]

I could not find anything else.

(edit) ow... and an other one: http://www.radford.edu/~wkovarik/envhist/RenHist/4.Wind.pix/windmill.sm.fw.jpg
El Scumbago
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Post by El Scumbago »

If I may...
Medieval windmills in Mediterranean.
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Invisible Pink Unicorn
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Post by Invisible Pink Unicorn »

Indeed... I should have known. :/ I'm not omnipotent. At least this is what I found about them:

"...Entirely on the same lines we find that the most primitive windmills, as we know them from the region of the Near East and around the Mediterranean, had sails which were short and bulging. Later on, sails grew longer, at first with a sail-cloth projecting both in front of and behind the stock:

compare the square-rigged sea-going vessel, so familiar to us from illustrations, but now hardly ever found on the oceans unfortunately. It seems that the renowned Leeghwater, in the first half of the seventeenth century, was the first to suggest that it would be better to replace this sail by one entirely behind the stock. It had happened that when the storm changed its direction, the gusts began to blow on the back of the sails, causing them to turn in the opposite direction. In such a case the brake on the wind shaft has no effect, for instead of contracting on the brake wheel, it will be loosened through the reversal of the direction of rotation, so that the sails will turn faster and faster. This may cause them to break or the bearing to run hot, finally resulting in the mill being set on fire. Such an unfortunate event seems to have induced Leeghwater to introduce the sails in the form in which we know them to this day. The trouble of the flapping of the sail-cloths as they pass the mill body was also much reduced." [url]http://webserv.nhl.nl/~smits/windmill.htm[/url]

They are not much different then the tower-mill I've shown in my last post. The biggest difference is offcource the sails.

BTW... that like has some interesting pictures and info, sadly only Dutch mills. There should be more sites like that.

I'll do an other search...

Et voila! These are intresting... [url]http://www.culture.gr/2/21/213/21307n/e213gn11.html[/url]
Can't imagine something more crude than this. If you have the right location with one-sided wind you have winner.

Other link I found:
Early History of windmills
[url]http://architecture.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=architecture&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telosnet.com%2Fwind%2Fearly.html[/url]

Somebody interested in horse-mills? :)
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