All we need to solve calculations is to go to the right page or get the appropriate software. But back then, engineers had to be much, much more creative. Today we're sharing the story of Russian engineer Vladimir Lukianov and his Hydraulic Integrator, a platform capable of solving non-homogeneous differential equations. In essence, calculations were processed as hydraulic analogies, with interconnected reservoirs where the operator controlled the levels and flow of water. Each run demanded extensive preparation, but even with its constraints, the integrator achieved impressive things.
Vladimir Lukianov: From Railways to Concrete Research
Vladimir Sergeevich Lukianov (or Lukyanov) was born in Moscow in 1902. He graduated as a railway engineer in 1925 and designed the Troitsk-Orsk and Kartaly-Magnitogorsk networks.
His railway career continued for five more years, until he moved to the Central Institute of Railway Engineers to carry out research tasks. Among his priorities was the calculation of temperatures in concrete structures.
Typically, construction was done during the summer, but Lukianov explored the possibility of building in winter without sacrificing integrity. The problem was that available calculation methods were not fast or precise enough. That's how, in 1936, he developed the initial version of the Hydraulic Integrator.
How the Water-Powered Computer Worked
The first design was crude, built from iron, tinplate and glass tubes, but it not only solved the concrete temperature problems, it also became the first water-based calculation system and the first computer compatible with solving partial differential equations.
The integrator used a series of reservoirs (some fixed, others mobile) connected to each other with pipes of variable hydraulic resistance. By altering the height of those reservoirs, the user could change the flow of liquid into the main reservoirs.
Working with the Integrator was not simple. Its operators had to set multiple parameters before each calculation, and its complexity increased with the new two- and three-dimensional models.
From Research to Production
In 1949, the State Institute of Computing Machines was created, and the Integrator was one of the first models to enter general production. In fact, several units were exported, finding applications in the construction of power plants, metallurgy, mining, geology and rocketry.
Four decades after its original launch, the Integrator was used in more than 100 Soviet agencies and organizations, and it remained so until the fall. Today, two units remain in the Moscow Polytechnic Museum.
Source: History Computer
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