Mechanism analysis of water powered bellows in ancient western illustrations
The purpose of this paper is to identify the mechanism of water powered bellows in the questionable illustrations of ancient western books. The water powered bellows are classified by the types of water wheels and the ways of power transmissions. The characteristics of topological structures and the feasibility of designs are presented based on historical records and mechanism analysis. Focusing on the unreasonable or unclear designs, the components of mechanisms are analyzed so as to present their corresponding mechanical drawings.