NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Falkirk Wheel

The Falkirk Wheel, named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland, is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The difference in the levels of the two canals at the wheel is 24 metres, roughly equivalent to the height of an eight storey building. The structure is located near the Rough Castle Fort and the closest village is Tamfourhill. On 24 May 2002, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Falkirk Wheel as part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations. The opening had been delayed by a month due to flooding caused by vandals who forced open the Wheel's gates.^[1] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 568 pixelsFull resolution (2315 Ã— 1644 pixel, file size: 882 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Civil engineering History of the British... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 568 pixelsFull resolution (2315 Ã— 1644 pixel, file size: 882 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Civil engineering History of the British... Falkirk (An Eaglais Bhreac in Scottish Gaelic) is a town in central Scotland lying to the north west and north east of the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively. ... This article is about the country. ... StrÃ©py-Thieu boat lift (Belgium). ... The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal in Scotland. ... The Union Canal is a 50 km (31. ... This article is about the floor of a room or building. ... A section of the Antonine Wall just to the west of the fort. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... Queen Elizabeth II makes an official appearance at the CBC Headquarters as part of her Jubilee goodwill tour, October 2002. ...

Design of the Falkirk Wheel

Architectural services were supplied by Scotland-based RMJM, from initial designs by Nicoll Russell Studios and engineers Binnie Black and Veatch.^[2] The wheel, which has an overall diameter of 35 metres, consists of two opposing arms which extend 15 metres beyond the central axle, and which take the shape of a Celtic-inspired, double-headed axe. Two sets of these axe-shaped arms are attached about 25 metres apart to a 3.5 metre diameter axle. Two diametrically opposed water-filled caissons, each with a capacity of 80,000 gallons (302 tons), are fitted between the ends of the arms. RMJM are a British architectural practice, founded in 1956 by Robert Matthew and Stirrat Johnson-Marshall. ... In engineering, a caisson is a retaining, watertight structure used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships. ...

These caissons always weigh the same whether or not they are carrying their combined capacity of 600 tonnes of floating canal barges as, according to Archimedes' principle, floating objects displace their own weight in water, so when the boat enters, the amount of water leaving the caisson weighs exactly the same as the boat. This keeps the wheel balanced and so, despite its enormous mass, it rotates through 180° in five and a half minutes while using very little power. It takes just 22.5 kilowatts (kW) to power the electric motors, which consume just 1.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy in four minutes, roughly the same as boiling eight kettles of water. A tonne or metric ton (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. ... In physics, buoyancy is the upward force on an object produced by the surrounding fluid (i. ... The watt (symbol: W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one joule per second. ... The watt-hour (symbol WÂ·h) is a unit of energy. ...

The wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and is regarded as an engineering landmark for Scotland. The United Kingdom has one other boat lift: the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire. The Falkirk Wheel is an improvement on the Anderton Boat Lift and makes use of the same original principle: two balanced tanks, one going up and the other going down. Anderton Boat Lift The Anderton Boat Lift provides a link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal, and is situated near the village of Anderton, near Northwich, in north Cheshire, north_west England. ... Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a county in North West England. ...

How the wheel rotates

The wheel rotates together with the axle, which is supported by four-metre-diameter slewing bearings that are fitted to the ends of the axle and have their outer rings mounted on the plinths, which in turn are constructed on top of piled foundations. Deep foundations are foundations for structures and/or other heavy loads that circumvent weak or compressible soil layers to provide adequate support for the aforementioned structures or loads. ...

The slewing bearing at the machine-room end of the axle has an inner ring gear which in this configuration acts as a rotating annulus. The rotating annulus is driven by ten hydraulic motors which are assembled on a stationary bearing and motor assembly known as the planet carrier which in turn is also mounted onto a plinth similar to the one at the other end of the axle. The drive-shafts of the motors have pinion gears which act as stationary planetary gears in this train of gears and engage the rotating annulus ring gear. An electric motor drives a hydraulic pump which is connected to the hydraulic motors by means of hoses and drive the wheel at 1/8 revolution per minute. Epicyclic gearing is used here to increase output speed. ...

Construction of the wheel

The wheel was constructed by Butterley Engineering at Ripley in Derbyshire under Millennium Plans to reconnect the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, mainly for recreational use. The two canals were previously connected by a series of 11 locks, but by the 1930s these had fallen into disuse, were filled in and the land built upon. The Butterley Engineering sign in 2006 Butterley Engineering are an engineering company based in Ripley, Derbyshire. ... Map sources for Ripley, Derbyshire at grid reference SK398505 Ripley is a small town in the Amber Valley area of Derbyshire in England. ... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. ... This is a new article to help identify Millennium Projects that were planned and in some cases implemented round the world in time for the Millennium Celebrations. ... Canal locks in England. ...

The Millennium Commission decided to regenerate the canals of central Scotland to connect Glasgow with Edinburgh once more. Designs were submitted for a lock to link the canals, with the Falkirk Wheel design winning. As with many Millennium Commission projects the site includes a visitors' centre containing a shop, café and exhibition centre. The Millennium Commission logo The Millennium Commission in the United Kingdom was set up to aid communities at the end of the 2nd millennium and the start of the 3rd millennium. ... â€œGlaswegianâ€ redirects here. ... , Edinburgh (() pronounced ; Scottish Gaelic: ) is the capital of Scotland and its second largest city. ...

ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (3264x2448, 1742 KB) Summary Description: The Falkirk Wheel in action Date: 2005-08 Author: AndiW 12:38:37, 2005-09-04 (UTC) Permission: picture taken by myself Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Falkirk Wheel ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (3264x2448, 1742 KB) Summary Description: The Falkirk Wheel in action Date: 2005-08 Author: AndiW 12:38:37, 2005-09-04 (UTC) Permission: picture taken by myself Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Falkirk Wheel ...

How the caissons are kept level

The caissons need to rotate at the same speed as the wheel but in the opposite direction to keep them level and to ensure that the load of boats and water does not drop out when the wheel turns.

Each end of each caisson is supported on small wheels which run on the inside face of the eight-metre-diameter holes at the ends of the arms, allowing the caissons to rotate. The rotation is controlled by means of a train of gears: an alternating pattern of three eight-metre-diameter ring gears and two smaller jockey gears, all with external teeth. The central large gear acts as a stationary sun gear. It is fitted loosely over the axle at its machine-room end and fixed to a plinth to prevent it from rotating. The two small jockey gears are fixed to each of the arms of the wheel at its machine-room end and act as planet gears. When the motors rotate the wheel, the arms swing and the planet gears engage the sun gear, which results in the planet gears rotating at a higher speed than the wheel but in the same direction. The planet gears engage the large ring gears at the end of the caissons, causing them to rotate at the same speed as the wheel but in the opposite direction. This keeps the caissons stable and perfectly level.

The docking-pit

The docking-pit is a drydock-like port which is isolated from the lower canal basin by means of watertight gates and kept dry by means of water pumps. When the wheel rotates and stops with its arms in the vertical position it is possible for boats to enter and exit the lower caisson when the gates are open without flooding the docking-pit. The space below the caisson is empty. U.S. Navy submarine USS Greeneville in dry dock following collision with a fishing boat. ...

If it were not for inclusion of the docking-pit the caissons and extremities of the arms of the wheel would be immersed in water at the lower canal basin each time the wheel rotates. This would result in a number of undesirable situations developing, such as providing buoyancy to the bottom caisson and the viscosity of the water causing an increase in the required power. In physics, buoyancy is the upward force on an object produced by the surrounding fluid (i. ...

How the canal was routed through the wheel

The route chosen to take the Union Canal to the site of the wheel involved building a completely new section of canal, leading from the original terminus at Port Maxwell to link up with a new basin to the south of the wheel.

The water level in this basin is the same as the aqueduct at the top section of the wheel, the two being joined by the new 150 metre long Rough Castle Tunnel with elliptical cross section. This is the most recent new canal tunnel to be built in the UK since canal excavation in Dudley, West Midlands. Pont du Gard, France, a Roman aqueduct built circa 19 BC. It is one of Frances top tourist attractions and a World Heritage Site. ... Elliptical may refer to: Ellipse: a shape and mathematical construct Elliptical trainer: an exercise machine This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Map sources for Dudley at grid reference SO9390 Dudley is a town in the West Midlands, England. ...

There are two locks to drop the canal level from that of the Union Canal to this basin. The tunnel was required because the canal had to pass underneath the route of the Antonine Wall without disturbing its archaeological remains. Just at this point the tunnel also passes below a road and the main Edinburgh to Glasgow railway line. The Antonine Wall, looking east, from Barr Hill between Twechar and Croy The Antonine Wall, remains of Roman fortlet, Barr Hill, near Twechar Location of Hadrians Wall and the Antonine Wall in Scotland and Northern England. ...

Costs and prices

The Falkirk Wheel cost £17.5 million, and the restoration project as a whole cost £84.5 million^[3] (of which £32 million came from National Lottery funds). â€œGBPâ€ redirects here. ... A play here! sign outside a newsagent, incorporating the National Lotterys logo of a stylised hand with crossed fingers which emulates a smiling face. ...

The Falkirk Wheel Visitor Centre offers scheduled one-hour, round trip boat tours, called "The Falkirk Wheel Experience", that include passage on the wheel. The tours start below the wheel in the Forth & Clyde Canal, ascend via the wheel to the Union Canal, visit nearby areas on the Union Canal, and then return. As of 2007, the boat tour costs £8 for adults, £4.25 for children aged 3-15 (free for children under 3), OAP concession £6.50, student/UB40 concession £6.50, and family price of £21.50 (2 adults and 2 children) with a discount of 10% for a group of 20 or more.^[4]^[5] 2007 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Future rotating boat-lifts

A similar design of boat-lift has been suggested for a proposed new canal that would run along Marston Vale in Bedfordshire. It would be part of a large-scale project creating an area of leisure and tourism facilities linked to the future expansion of Bedford and Milton Keynes. The lift would link the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes with the River Great Ouse at Bedford.^[6] The Forest of Marston Vale is an evolving community forest in Marston Vale, which runs south west from the towns of Bedford and Kempston in Bedfordshire, England towards the M1 motorway. ... Bedfordshire (abbreviated Beds) is a county in England that forms part of the East of England region. ... , Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, England. ... , Milton Keynes is a large town in northern Buckinghamshire, in South East England, about 45 miles (75 km) north-west of London, and roughly halfway between London and Birmingham. ... The canal at Braunston The Grand Union Canal is a canal in England and part of the British canal system. ... For other Rivers named Ouse, see Ouse The River Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. ...

A future expansion of the Forth & Clyde canal at the entrance to the River Forth has been proposed. It would use two new boat-lift structures, with horse's heads around 115 feet tall.^[7]

Photographs

Contents

Design of the Falkirk Wheel

How the wheel rotates

Construction of the wheel

How the caissons are kept level

The docking-pit

How the canal was routed through the wheel

Costs and prices

Future rotating boat-lifts

Photographs

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Contents

Design of the Falkirk Wheel GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

How the wheel rotates

Construction of the wheel

How the caissons are kept level

The docking-pit

How the canal was routed through the wheel

Costs and prices

Future rotating boat-lifts

Photographs

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Design of the Falkirk Wheel