Water Turbine Runner - Lincoln, Rhode Island - Rhode Island Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This historical marker and two turbine runners are in front of the Blackstone River State Park Visitor Center, where there is a large parking lot and wide walkways making for easy access.

The sign has the following text and illustrations:

WATER TURBINE RUNNER

Welcome to Rhode Island’s Blackstone River State Park and the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. To your right* is an example of a turbine runner. This device rotates within a turbine as water falls through the blades.


WATER POWER & AMERICA’S
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The creative harnessing of the power of water drove America’s Industrial Revolution. Mill engineers transferred waterpower into mechanical energy using falling water to turn a waterwheel or turbine. A series of drive shafts and gears transferred the power of the waterwheel or turbine to overhead shafts on each floor of the mill powering the machinery.

These turbine runners and housing units were submerged in open “flumes” or boxes that allowed the water to flow from Mill Pond via the head race, through the turbine to discharge into the tailrace below and return to the river below the dam.

A 23” diameter runner would produce between 60 and 90 horsepower with a 16 foot head of water. A 27” runner would produce between 80 and 110 horsepower with a 16 foot head of water.

This energy powered the machinery that created the textiles that made the Blackstone Valley Famous.

There are three illustrations arranged vertically along the right hand side of this plaque.

The uppermost is a schematic drawing of a five-story mill incorporating water power and using four turbine runners. The caption reads:

Transverse view of Manville Company’s No. 3 Mill, Manville, RI.
1874. This mill used the power of four turbines, 400 HP each.

In the middle is a photograph of a new-looking turbine runner. Its caption reads:

The artifact next to you is a turbine runner, the moving part of the machine that transformed moving water into power. These runners were contained in an iron housing that directed and controlled the water flow.

The drawing at the bottom right shows a turbine runner and lists its myriad components by name. The caption reads:

Turbines replaced the old fashioned waterwheel in the mid-19th century, signaling a critical breakthrough in harnessing the maximum amount of power from the water flowing through it.



[*ed. These two turbines are actually placed to the left of the sign.]

Related Website: [Web Link] Organization that Placed the Marker: Not listed Year Marker was Placed: Not listed

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