Wind Mills Background And History: Benoit Fourneyrons Turbine

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The History of Water Turbines
Introduction
Millions if not billions of people today use electricity and yet only a few know or understand how it is produced. Some have heard of hydroelectric power but still cannot explain how they get to use electricity or how it gets to their houses and companies. To understand how electricity is produced, one needs to first understand what turbines are and their use in the production of electricity. Water turbines can simply be described as the generators which help to convert energy from moving water to electricity. Water is a very important resource for human beings and they not only require it to live but also for other purposes such as production of electricity. Before man could exploit a majority of the natural resources in the world, he first exploited water and a few others. This happened through the use of water wheels which were also called noria and were mainly used for purposes of irrigation. The use of watermills or water wheels spread fast across the planet and it reached a point in history where waterpower was considered one of the most important motive power source. Aside from being used for irrigation, watermills were also used to grind grains to flour and while this was originally used in Greece it spread to other parts of the world and was eventually used in sawmills and even the textile industry. However, in the 19th century, there were major improvements and the idea of a water turbine was conceived. Of course the first water turbine had little in common with the modern water turbine but credit is always bestowed to the likes of Benoit Fourneyron, James Francis, and Victor Kaplan. The contributions of these men cannot be downplayed and it is through their role as pioneers that the modern turbines were developed. While looking into the contributions of these men, this article seeks to provide details regarding the history of water turbines and the improvements that happened over time.
History of Water Turbines
As already stated, watermills came first and then gave way to water turbines. According to Lewis, Cimbala, and Wouden (2), watermills or “water wheels were used extensively for milling” in the 18th century. The textile industry, saw mills, and flour mills benefitted greatly from the technology of water wheels. Additionally, Lewis et al. (2) continue to state that watermills were also used in mining operations mainly to help lift ore, and personnel. Local economies were highly dependent on the water wheels and improvements were always made to enhance efficiency. Smeaton made some notable contributions and improvements to the water wheel but it is not until 1827 that French engineer Benoit Fourneyron made a major break.
* Benoit Fourneyron’s Turbine
Claude Burdin is credited with coming up with the name turbine which he did in the 19th century. However, it is through his student, Benoit Fourneyron that the world came to be introduced to the first water turbine. According to the International Hydropower Association, Fourneyron’s water turbine was “capable of producing around 6 horsepower.” According to Lewis et al. (4), Fourneyron’s turbine could almost achieve 80% efficiency. This was a major improvement and one that guaranteed more work could be done. Fourneyron had challenged the world and more so engineers who had to either match his genius or develop something better than his design. Instead of leaving his design as it was, Fourneyron continued to develop his design and Lewis et al. (4) state that he was even able to improve his design to a point where it could produce 50 horsepower from the meagre 6 he started with.
Fourneyron’s success led to the development of such water turbines around the world. According to Budenholzer and Landis (2017), Fourneyron’s success led to the development of “more than 100 such machines” and these “achieved efficiencies up to 75 percent at full load.” The world was amazed and as more people continued to copy and use Fourneyron’s design, others like Uriah Boyden decided to improve and enhance its efficiency. However, des...