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Ancient road transport devices: Developments from the Bronze Age to the Roman Empire
Cesare ROSSI,Thomas G. CHONDROS,Kypros F. MILIDONIS,Sergio SAVINO,Flavio RUSSO
Front. Mech. Eng.. 2016, 11 (1): 12-25.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-015-0358-6
The development of transportation systems has significantly enhanced the welfare and modernization of society. Wooden vehicles pulled by animals have been used for land transportation since the early Bronze Age. Whole-body gharries with rigid wheels pulled by oxen appeared in Crete by 2000 BC or earlier. Horses originating from the East were depicted in early Cretan seal-rings of the same period. The two-wheeled horse-drawn chariot was one of the most important inventions in history. This vehicle provided humanity its first concept of personal transport and was the key technology of war for 2000 years. Chariots of Mycenaean and Archaic Greece with light and flexible four-spoked wheels acting as spring suspensions were depicted in vase paintings. The development of this vehicle incorporated the seeds of a primitive design activity and was important for engineering. The Trojan horse since 1194 BC and the helepolis since 700 BC were the first known machines on a wheeled base transported by horses or self-powered. Ancient engineers invented bearings lubricated with fat, and Romans introduced the ancestors of ball bearings for their wagons and carts. The historic evolution of wheeled transportation systems, along with early traction, suspension, and braking systems, is presented in this paper. Analytical and numerical methods are incorporated to analyze the most conceivable loading situations of typically reconstructed wheeled transportation systems in ancient times. Traction requirements both for horse-driven machines and the power for internal motors are also analyzed. This study can serve as a basis for further development of detailed reconstruction of transportation systems in antiquity.
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How did Archimedes discover the law of buoyancy by experiment?
Hidetaka KUROKI
Front. Mech. Eng.. 2016, 11 (1): 26-32.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-016-0368-z
After Archimedes and Vitruvius era, for more than 2000 years, it has been believed that the displaced water measurement of golden crown is impossible, and at his Eureka moment, Archimedes discovered the law of buoyancy (Proposition 7 of his principles) and proved the theft of a goldsmith by weighing the golden crown in water. A previous study showed that a small amount of displaced water was able to be measured with enough accuracy by the introduced method. Archimedes measured the weight of displaced water. He did not find the law of buoyancy but rather specific gravity of things at the moment. After which, Archimedes continued to measure the specific gravity of various solids and fluids. Through these measurements, he reached the discovery of the law of buoyancy directly by experiment. In this paper, the process to the discovery of Archimedes’ principle (Proposition 5) is presented.
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Rolling-element bearings in China: From ancient times to the 20th century
Lie SUN,Ang LI
Front. Mech. Eng.. 2016, 11 (1): 33-43.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-016-0373-2
The development of rolling-element bearings in China has spanned a long period. Based on several typical and important cases, the present article reconstructs the history of rolling-element bearings in China by dividing it into four stages according to the various characteristics of the bearings. The first stage represents the origin of rolling bearings in China, which remains controversial because of several suspected races and cages that were likely the components of bearings more than a millennium ago. At the second stage, a type of simple roller bearing was used for astronomical instruments not later than the 13th century based on clear philological and physical evidence. A similar bearing was also applied to an abridged armillary in the 17th century. Another type of spherical thrust bearings with rolling elements, which is a key component of a traditional Chinese windmill, could support a rotating shaft that moves rotationally and at an angle. At the third stage, the Chinese began studying and using the so-called European-style bearing since the 17th century. Moreover, over the last 100 years, the modern rolling bearing industry was gradually established in China, particularly because of the technology transfer from the Soviet Union in the 1950s. At the fourth stage, the Chinese government initiated the relatively rapid development of bearing technology. The government launched the “bearing movement” from the 1950s to the 1960s to establish the modern bearing industry and to promote rolling bearings as replacement for traditional sliding bearings. Furthermore, a number of large professional factories and institutions in China have continually introduced advanced technology and equipment. At present, these companies and institutions play a significant role in the international bearing industry.
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Russian school of the theory and geometry of gearing: Its origin and golden period (1935 --1975)
Dmitry BABICHEV,Sergey LAGUTIN,Natalya BARMINA
Front. Mech. Eng.. 2016, 11 (1): 44-59.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-015-0360-z
During the second half of the twentieth century, Soviet scientists were among the world leaders in the theory and geometry of gearing or the theoretical fundamentals of designing gears and gear-cutting tools. The authors of the current paper review works related to the development of the theory of gearing (TG) written in Russian from the mid-1930s to the present. Overall, the review covers more than 400 publications of nearly 200 authors (among more than 1000 studied works). This review involves some works on gear strength and accuracy to attract more experts. This paper presents a short list of works from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century and discusses the basic concepts of the TG. This paper also includes a review of more than 160 papers in Russian for the period of 1935–1975, which is the “golden age” of the TG. The main features and achievements during this period are also considered. The distinctive feature of this review is the use of diagrams that visually present TG experts and the dates and themes of their published works. The diagrams also show the following aspects: 1) The most popular and important themes in a specific period, 2) the most important publications on the themes of interest to readers, and 3) the direction of the works and scope of interests of every researcher.
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