The Éolienne Bollée is an unusual

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

, unique for having a

stator The stator is the stationary part of a rotary system, found in electric generators, electric motors, sirens, mud motors, or biological rotors (such as bacterial flagella or ATP synthase). Energy flows through a stator to or from the rotat ...

and a rotor, as a

water turbine A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work. Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, t ...

has. The

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

invention was first

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

ed in 1868 by Ernest Sylvain Bollée in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. A further patent dated 1885 differed mainly in two ways: First, in how the

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

was turned to face the wind and second, in an improvement which increased the flow of wind through the turbine was added. The turbines built according to the 1885 patent were commercially successful.The Eolienne Bollée

The windpump business

Ernest Sylvain Bollée (19 July 1814 – 1891) and Auguste Sylvain Bollée (1847–1906) took out the original patent No. 79985 in 1868 for a "hydraulic wind engine". Ernest Bollée described himself as a

hydraulic engineer Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the move ...

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

. During the 1860s, due to poor health, Ernest delegated control of the three parts of his business to each of his sons. Auguste was given control of the wind engine manufacturing side of the business. The patent of 1885, with the improvements, is No.167726. In 1898 Auguste sold the business to Édouard-Émile Lebert. Auguste is estimated to have made about 260 Éoliennes. Lebert passed the business to Gaston Duplay in 1918 and on 1 January 1926 the business passed to the Société Anonyme des Éoliennes Bollée (SAEB). SAEB erected at least three éoliennes. Operations seem to have ceased around 1931.

Construction

The Éolienne Bollée was designed to be constructed in a modular form, thus allowing éoliennes of various sizes to be built. The tower could be a standard pylon type, either of triangular or square plan, or a

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

column with an external

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...

. The éoliennes built with this type of tower have a very distinctive appearance. The actual turbine itself consists of two rings, the first being the stator and the second being the rotor. The stator has more blades than the rotor. A new device added to the 1885 patent was a funnel affixed to the stator, enabling the éolienne to capture wind from a larger area than the rotor, and increasing its speed through the turbine. A small

fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "f ...

operated upwind of the rotor, and through a system of gears turned the turbine to face the wind. Also, through a

counterweight A counterweight is a weight (object), weight that, by applying an opposite force, provides balance and stability of a machine, mechanical system. The purpose of a counterweight is to make lifting the load faster and more efficient, which saves e ...

system, it turned the turbine out of wind as the wind speed increased, thus preventing damage in very strong winds, when the éolienne would be edge on into the prevailing wind. The cast-iron columns were made in sections of diameter, having twelve cast-iron treads or wrought iron steps forming a complete spiral around the column. A half column was available, allowing éoliennes to be built to any desired height.

Unique feature

The Éolienne Bollée is unique amongst other forms of windmill because of the stator. All

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

s have a

rotor ROTOR was an elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers. To get it operational as quickly as possible, it was initially made up primarily of WWII-era syst ...

, whether it is the sails on a traditional windmill or the blades of a modern

. The Éolienne Bollée is the only wind-powered turbine where the wind passes through a set of fixed blades (stator) before driving the windmill itself (rotor).

Operation

The rotor is turned by the wind, and through a bevel wheel drives a shaft inside the column (if used) or in the centre of the tower. At the lower end this drives a horizontal shaft through a

gearbox A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...

, which typically drives three throw

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes Slurry, slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of application ...

.A pump with three pistons operated by a crankshaft

Sizes

The éoliennes came in four sizes: , , and diameter. :The 2.5 m éolienne has a 24 blade stator and an 18 blade rotor. :The 3.53 m éolienne has a 34 blade stator and a 24 blade rotor. :The 5 m éolienne has a 44 blade stator and a 32 blade rotor. It was claimed that a 3.53 m éolienne with a pump would be able to pump: * of water per hour in a wind, * of water per hour in a wind, * of water per hour in a wind, and * of water per hour in a wind. Pumps were available in seven sizes: , , , , , , and diameter.

Variation

Lebert built some very similar wind engines with a single rotor, and lacking the stator (thus they were not true turbines). They were either or diameter. At least three of these are known to have been built, including at Rugles,

Eure Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2021, Eure had a population of 598,934.Parigné-l'Évêque,

. The Clarkson wind engine consisted of a rotor or a number of rotors, one behind the other, revolving in a casing with fixed guide vanes between and of opposite pitch to those of the rotors, and having a further casing to admit a fresh supply of wind to the rotors behind. The cylindrical casings are open at each end with a larger opening facing the wind. The wind catches a number of wheels and feathered vanes fixed to a shaft revolving in bearings inside the casings. When the wind has passed between the vanes of the front wheel it is directed by the guide vanes to the second wheel and is again taken up by guides and passed to a third wheel and so on, the action each time increasing the effect of the wind on the shaft and improving efficiency. The Clarkson of which an illustration survives (1919) was erected by the Air Power Co. of

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

on the estate of Lord Derby. This small engine was designed to work in a wind, but could start under load in a wind of only . The wind wheel was only diameter and is designed to lift of water per hour to a height of in a wind, or double that quantity in a wind. All the Air Power wind engines were fitted with roller bearings, a starting and stopping arrangement and an automatic gear to cut off all wind above any desired velocity. They were mounted on a strong steel tower, with a ladder and circular platform.Cookson, M M (2002) Some Unusual and Little Known Wind Engines, ''Wind and Water Mills, 21, 54 - 63''

Purchasers

In the early years, under the Bollée family, the vast majority of purchasers were

aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

and

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

, only six éoliennes being sold to

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

by 1888. After Lebert took over, the pattern of sales changed, with more éoliennes being sold for communal water supply, particularly in

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

. A few éoliennes were sold abroad, including two to a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

at Cowfold,

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

; one to a monastery at

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

; one to a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

; one to a mine in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

; and one to

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...

Locations

Some éoliennes have survived. In France, the oldest surviving éolienne is at the Bollée bell

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

in Saint-Jean-de-Braye, near

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region of France. It is named after two rivers which run through it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher (river), Cher in its southern p ...

,Les Moulins de France, p. 68. and another at the Bollée museum in Orléans. A few have been restored to working order. The grounds o
Château Bouvet-Ladubay
in Saumur also contain an excellent example. The is an éolienne Bollée in the Parc de Clairbaudieres, Chateau Clerbaud in Paizay le Sec, Vienne.

An Éolienne Bollée described

The éolienne at Épuisay is on a square plan lattice tower of eight sections, high. The rotor drives a pump which pumps water from a depth of , the pump itself being at a depth of . A

petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American and Canadian English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends ...

was provided to work the pumps in times of calm. By wind, an hour could be pumped.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Éolienne at Pomponne
in French * in French
Gallery
of photos of éoliennes * JOHN WALTER AND RÉGIS GIRARD; ''THE ÉOLIENNE BOLLÉE'' (Documentation
archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eolienne Bollee Windpumps Wind turbines Wind power in France Science and technology in France Windmills in France