Abstract
THE use of wooden pipes as a means of conveying water dates back almost to prehistoric times. They were much used in the Middle Ages. During recent years, traces of the water supply system of London (c. 1600) by means of hollow trunks of trees have often been found during excavations. In World Power of May, there is a paper by T. Pausert, telling how wooden pipes made of staves and bound with hoops are coming into modern practice all over the world. Generally, the staves are made of pine or larch wood, and are planed off to give a smooth finish after assembly. The contact surfaces are dove-tailed. When the pipe is filled with water, the wood swells and becomes water-tight. These wooden pipes are either placed on the ground or laid in the open on supports. Their diameters vary from 5 cm. to 6 metres. A great advantage is the immunity of the wood from the effects of water whether it is pure, acid, alkaline, saline or contains selinite. For this reason, wooden pipes are much used in the chemical industry. An important point is that salts are not deposited on the walls of the pipes, so that the latter do not become choked and their rate of flow affected. There is no risk of electrolysis from stray electric currents. If an increased pressure becomes necessary, it is easy to reinforce them by the addition of new steel hoops. If a sudden hydraulic surge occurs, the inherent elasticity acts as a safety valve; the staves being bound by hoops enable the longitudinal joints to let water escape in small jets. When the pressure comes back to normal, the staves resume their original position, and become water-tight again. Their cheapness, durability and the ease with which they can be transported in mountainous regions enable the power engineer to arrive at solutions to many of his problems by their use.
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Wooden Pipe Lines. Nature 138, 198 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138198b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138198b0