Hydraulics
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Table of Hydraulics and Hydrostatics, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. |
Hydraulics is a
science and
engineering subject dealing with the mechanical properties of
liquids. Hydraulics is part of the more general discipline of
fluid power. The word "hydraulics" originates from the
Greek word ὑδϱαυλικός (
hydraulikos) which in turn orginates from ὕδϱαυλος meaning
water organ which in turn comes from ὕδϱω (
water) and αὐλός (
pipe). The earliest masters of this art were
Hero of Alexandria and
Ctesibius. The ancient engineers focused on sacral and novelty uses of hydraulics, rather than practical applications. Ancient Sinhalese used hydraulics in many applications, in the Ancient kingdoms of
Anuradhapura,
Polonnaruwa etc. The discovery of the principle of the valve tower, or valve pit, for regulating the escape of water is credited to Sinhalese ingenuity more than 2,000 years ago. By the first century A.D, several large-scale irrigation works had been completed. Macro- and micro-hydraulics to provide for domestic horticultural and agricultural needs, surface drainage and erosion control, ornamental and recreational water courses and retaining structures and also cooling systems were in place in
Sigiriya,
Sri Lanka.
One of the founders of modern hydraulics was
Benedetto Castelli, a student of
Galileo Galilei.
Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the
engineering uses of fluid properties. Hydraulic topics range through most science and engineering disciplines, and cover concepts such as pipe
flow,
dam design,
fluid control circuitry,
pumps,
turbines,
hydropower,
computational fluid dynamics, flow measurement, river channel behavior and erosion.
*
International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research*
Water supply*
Waste water treatment*
Hydraulic machinery*
Hydraulic network*
Hydraulic fluid*
Hydropneumatic automobile suspension*
National Fluid Power Association*
Pneudraulics*
International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research (IAHR)*
visualization of hydraulic concepts*
Information about Fluid Power is also available on the National Fluid Power Association web-site nfpa.com*
Decision tree to choose an uncertainty method for hydrological and hydraulic modelling
