What was the 'valve' used in ancient Roman aqueducts?


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Avius Quovis

A device that controls the direction, pressure, and flow rate of a fluid through a pipe through which a fluid such as a liquid or gas passes is called a ' valve '. Director at the Wright Paleohydrological Institute , which conducts research on water resource management and infrastructure design in ancient civilizations for the 'valves' used in ancient Rome , where advanced water systems were built. Mr. Wayne Lorenz, who serves, explains.

Ancient Roman Valves | Valve Magazine
https://www.valvemagazine.com/articles/ancient-roman-valves

In ancient Rome, many water services were built to supply fresh water to cities and factories, and a series of water services, also known as the Roman Aqueduct , is considered to be one of the factors that made ancient Rome prosperous. Lorenz points out that abundant water has played an important role in improving public health, increasing the workforce and developing the Roman economy.

The Roman Aqueduct, built in each city of the Roman Empire, has many technologies such as water pipe design, advanced surveying technology, tunnel construction, lead piping, reverse siphon for crossing valleys, water storage tanks, and sand basins that remove impurities. It was supported. The water crew, which was precisely designed by highly scholarly engineers, was able to use gravity to transport water to urban areas several tens of kilometers away from the water source.


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Lorenz argues that ancient Rome was also equipped with a system to control the amount of water sent to urban houses and factories, and valves of a level close to modern systems were used. In fact, the valve design used in ancient Rome seems not to be much different from the rotary plug valves used in modern times.

A bronze valve like the one in the picture below has been found in the ruins of Pompeii , which was actually under the control of ancient Rome. The pipe extending to the left and right from the main body is the connection part with the water pipe, and it seems that the valve and the water pipe were welded using molten lead.



The picture below shows a 'plug' for controlling the flow rate with a valve.



The plug is perforated on both sides and is designed so that when the plug is firmly inserted into the cylindrical chamber in the center of the valve, the water pipe and the hole in the plug are just parallel. If the hole in the plug is aligned with the direction of the water pipe, water can pass through the inside of the plug as it is, but if the plug is rotated half a turn in the chamber, the hole will be blocked by being perpendicular to the water pipe. Therefore, it is possible to block the flow of water. You can also finely change the flow rate by adjusting the rotation of the plug.



Also, by driving a rod into the small hole at the bottom of the valve, the valve body and the plug were fixed, and it was possible to prevent the plug from rotating arbitrarily or popping out of the valve due to changes in pressure etc. .. Lorenz says that valves that work much like the valves used in this ancient Rome can be purchased at modern hardware stores.



Lorenz points out that the sizes of water pipes and valves were standardized in ancient Rome. It is known that the water pipes and valves manufactured by the Romans had almost the same relative dimensions, and the standards were standardized throughout the empire.

Furthermore, it seems that the valves made in ancient Rome have almost the same material composition, and the ratios of copper 73%, lead 18%, and tin 9% are almost consistent. This shows that the Romans set standard alloy standards for manufacturing water pipe valves and performed high-precision quality control.

Also, the valve design in ancient Rome seems to be suitable for water pipe design at low water pressure. The water pressure in Pompeii's water system is estimated to be about 0.055M Pa to 0.062MPa, which is lower than the standard water pressure of 0.2 to 0.39MPa in modern times, but in ancient Rome. Lorenz said it was sufficient for water distribution to cities and factories.



in Hardware,   Science, Posted by log1h_ik