Explore the anatomy of a Ukrainian steppe windmill.
This exhibit connects historic woodworking practices to a simplified, inspectable mechanical model.
Wind: Pair = ½ρπR²v³; ρ = 1.225 kg/m³, R = 4.2 m.
Shaft: Pshaft = Pair × Cp × η, with Cp = 0.28, η = 0.68.
Yaw: vaxial = v × max(cos θ, 0), where θ is the cap angle.
Speed: ω = λvaxial/R, λ = 2.8; rpm = 60ω/(2π).
Gear train: nstone = g × nrotor; T = Pshaft/ω.
Teaching throughput: q = Pshaft / (25 Wh/kg). It is not a historical output record.
Constant density, fixed power coefficient, idealized gear ratio, steady wind, rigid timber parts, no blade stall, bearing heating, material fatigue, gusts or grain variability. In this teaching model, cap yaw reduces the effective axial wind to v × max(cos θ, 0), with θ the cap angle.
A six-sail, octagonal timber tower with a rotating cap is a composite representation. Ukrainian regional mills also included post mills that turned their entire wooden bodies into the wind.
Illustrative reconstruction, not an official model and not affiliated with any institution, company or manufacturer.
Traditional Ukrainian windmill typologies: the Ukrainian Encyclopedia, Vitriak, and the Kyiv Monument Register entry on 19th–20th-century windmills. Gear transmission and grain milling: Tring Local History Museum, What a Windmill Does. These are background references, not measurements for this digital object.
1–5 select a viewing mode. Arrow keys orbit the camera. + / − zoom. R resets the view. Space toggles operation. Escape closes a panel.