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The Zuppinger water wheel, developed in the 1850s, is one of the most efficient water wheels and is commonly used for low-head hydropower generation. The high efficiencies of the wheel over a wide operating range, its simplicity in design and slow rotational speed offer a low-cost and environmentally friendly low-head hydropower solution. A physical and numerical model study of a wheel is presented in this paper. Three-dimensional numerical simulations were performed using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code Flow-3D. The influence of grid size on the results of the numerical model was assessed using a systematic grid refinement study. Grid convergence indices (GCIs) were calculated for two grid sets each, with three different grid sizes, using a constant grid refinement ratio. The GCIs were reduced to levels below 5% for the selected quantities of interest. The CFD model results were compared with physical model results at different operating points of the wheel. The maximum differences in power output and efficiency between the physical and numerical model results were 2.5% and 8%, respectively.

Nowadays, the exploitation of renewable hydropower energy sources promotes the research about water wheel as a significant source of hydropower. However, the performance characteristics of floating...

The performance of controlled hybrid renewable hydro matrix wheels/ wind in micro grid application during the variations of water speed and load is described and investigated. This hybrid contained three wheels and three wind turbines modeled in MATLAB Simulink. This presented hybrid model consists of a water wheel and a generator in the main channel, wind turbine drives an induction generator, battery, variable static load, DC link, and control unit. Appropriate controllers are used to maintain the DC-link voltage constant at its desired value with variations of load, water and wind speed. The obtained simulated result shows that the studied hybrid system with the proposed controller and the storage system have a better performance of load voltage and current waveform compared with the case of not using an energy storage unit and the case of without a controller under the water, wind speed and load variations.

Utilizing the kinetic energy of a flowing river for irrigation could be tracked back to Hellenistic and Roman periods. In modern days, hydroelectric plants are built for harvesting the kinetic energy of the flowing river. However, a large investment is required in the hydroelectric plants for maximizing the power output. Here we present a low-cost and scalable TENG (triboelectric nanogenerators) based energy harvesting water wheel (ww-TENG). The water wheel works in a sliding freestanding TENG mode which generates power from the charges flow induced by contact electrification and electrostatic induction. A conformal fluorine coated carbon paper (f-CP) was employed to form the alternate electrodes. The deposited fluorine layer provides the benefits of high affinity to attract electrons as well as hydrophobicity for water repelling. The carbon paper offers a high electrical conductivity and rough structure to form a superhydrophobic property. These features enables a large charge induction and fast water/TENG separation for maximizing the power output of the energy harvesting water wheel. A lab-scale water wheel (diameter 10 cm and width 2.5 cm) is fabricated and a maximum 5.3 μW output power was measured under 50 MΩ resistance at a linear flow velocity of 2.6 m/s. The ww-TENG was employed for charging a 10 μF capacitor to 16 V and lighting up a commercial LED light bulb. As a comparison, an electromagnetic generator (EMG) could only charge the capacitor to 2.7 V with the same period of time. The EMG obtains a high power output at low load resistance case ( 10 MΩ). The present ww-TENG shows great potential for harvesting the kinetic energy from flowing river and targets for the applications with large load resistance like electrostatic systems.

Hydropower technology has been around for more than a century. Hydropower comes from converting the energy in flowing water—using a water wheel or a turbine—into useful mechanical power. This power is then converted into electricity by an electric generator. Micro-hydropower systems are small hydropower plants that have an installed power generation capacity of less than 100 kilowatts (KW). Many micro-hydropower systems operate “run of river,” which means that no large dams or water storage reservoirs are built, and no land is flooded. Depletion of fossil fuel and the inability to meet the rising demand of electricity is some drawbacks for the economic development of India. This paper presents the study to investigate the possibility of the micro-hydro power generation and its advantages in India.

Free-stream water wheels running on floating river installations may contribute to hydropower production as part of a decentralized network meeting the highest ecological standards. While such devices are certainly not novel, their dynamics are complex and a need exists for an optimization of their power-producing characteristics. In this work, a parametrized two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulation is coupled to a genetic optimizer seeking to maximize the generated shaft power within a large domain of design parameters. Two objectives are pursued simultaneously: maximize the hydraulic efficiency, and maximize the power density of the device. After nearly 2000 individuals are evaluated, a Pareto front is identified; a family of designs is created to cover the trade-off between the two objectives. The results indicate that compared to operators constrained by the flow-exposed area, operators constrained by the rotor size would trade a 40% reduction in hydraulic performance in order to gain a 50% increase in power per unit rotor area. This optimization of the free-stream water wheel, the first in published literature to our knowledge, allows for the quantification of this trade-off and the publication of broadly-applicable design guidelines for the corresponding optimal blade geometry, number of blades, radius, and depth.

PurposeThe paper presents a techno-economic analysis of the electromechanical equipment of traditional vertical axis water mills (VAWMs) to help investors, mill owners and engineers to preliminary estimate related benefits and costs of a VAWM repowering.Design/methodology/approachTwo sustainable repowering solutions were examined with the additional aim to preserve the original status and aesthetics of a VAWM: the use of a vertical axis water wheel (VAWW) and a vertical axis impulse turbine. The analysis was applied to a database of 714 VAWMs in Basilicata (Italy), with known head and flow.FindingsExpeditious equations were proposed for both solutions to determine: (1) a suitable diameter as a function of the flow rate; (2) the costs of the electromechanical equipment; (3) achievable power. The common operating hydraulic range of a VAWM (head and flow) was also identified. Reality checks on the obtained results are shown, in particular by examining two Spanish case studies and the available literature. The power generated by the impulse turbine (Turgo type) is twice that of a VAWW, but it is one order of magnitude more expensive. Therefore, the impulse turbine should be used for higher power requirements (>3 kW), or when the electricity is delivered to the grid, maximizing the long-term profit.Originality/valueSince there is not enough evidence about the achievable performance and cost of a VAWM repowering, this work provides expeditious tools for their evaluation.

In this paper, an analysis of the performance and flow fields of water wheel turbines for tidal energy extraction is carried out using experimental and numerical methods. The purpose of this work is to develop a water turbine suitable for sites, where fast and shallow surface flows are available, such as rivers or tidal currents. For both methods, the water wheel turbine is tested over a range of tip speed ratios with a differing number of rotor blades, ranging between three and twelve. The results indicate that the numerical simulation shows agreement with the experiment in most cases. Also, the water wheel turbine operates effectively at a range of small tip-speed ratios, where the highest turbine efficiency is produced. Under the same working conditions, the turbines using between six and nine blades generate a greater efficiency and cause lesser reverse flows than others when submerged in water. In contrast, the 3-bladed turbine is the least efficient design as it produces the lowest amount of energy and causes intense vibrations and noises. These noises are a result of a collision between the incoming flow of the channel and the wheel blades during the experimentation, especially at high load conditions. By adding more blades, the torque generated is improved considerably; however, the upstream and downstream depths of the turbine, in this case, are also elevated significantly. Furthermore, in the inlet region, the 3-bladed and 6-bladed turbines have a smaller shock loss and a lower resistance to the main flow from the inlet than the others. Meanwhile, it is found that the flow in the outlet region on the turbines with between nine and twelve blades is in the opposite direction to the wheel’s rotation, significantly obstructing the main flow from the inlet.

Dethridge water wheel is a simple hydraulic machine originally invented for measuring volume of flow supplied to the farms. The wheel has been in widespread use for more than a century for the application of water charges in irrigated farmlands. The Dethridge water wheel resembles distinct characteristics making it a suitable device for utilising very low-head sites within irrigation canals, small streams and at the outlets of the waste water treatment plants for pico-hydropower generation. In this paper, performance characteristics of the Dethridge water wheel model is studied in different channel geometry settings. Different wheel to channel width ratios and gradual transition shapes were tested. The wheel performance improves in the channel width that is two to three times greater than the wheel width. The gradual transition shape has however insignificant impact on the performance of the wheel.

Water wheel low speed surface aerator Chaipattana Model RX-2-2 was the 9th patented aerator in the world. The patent was granted to the late king of Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, with Patent No. 3127 February 2nd, 1993, Water wheel low speed surface aerator Chaipattana Model RX-2-2. This model powered by induction motor 2 HP (1.5 kW) 380 VAC 50 Hz 1,450 RPM with warm gear and sprockets. Water wheel low speed surface aerator Chaipattana Model RX-2-2 widely used in Kingdom of Thailand with standard aeration efficiencies (SAE) of 0.7-1.2 kgO2.kWh-1. However in many instances it had no access to conventional power. Rural people could not afford for electical bills. Solar powered aeration would meet these requirements, without a battery powered storage, lower power consumption, longer operation time, low cost, easy to operate, lighter, and easy to transportation. The aim of this project was to develop a system that has lower power consumption, 0.25 HP (200 W) operate with solar power without battery. It could operate at least 8 hours. Water wheel low speed surface aerator Chaipattana Model RX-2-3 was developed. This model is capable of transferring oxygen at SAE up to 1.5-2.1 kgO2.kWh-1. This new design was developed a solar controller that match motor with solar cell for optimum performance.

Since its appearance in the first century BC, the water wheel has developed with increasing pre-industrial activities, and has been at the origin of the industrial revolution for metallurgy, textile mills, and paper mills. Since the nineteenth century, the water wheel has become highly efficient. The reaction turbine appeared by 1825, and continued to undergo technological development. The impulsion turbine appeared for high chutes, by 1880. Other turbines for low-head chutes were further designed. Turbine development was associated, after 1890, with the use of hydropower to generate electricity, both for industrial activities, and for the benefits of cities. A model “one city + one plant” was followed in the twentieth century by more complex and efficient schemes when electrical interconnection developed, together with pumped plants for energy storage.

Nowadays, the world is more focused on hydraulic energy, which scientists have initiated thorough analyses of hydropower resources. The potential of wind power generation is immense. It is an historical source of energy but wind power is not applicable in this case. In India, water can be used for both - as a source of electricity and for irrigation and agricultural use. Impulse type water wheels were employed until flow is accessible. According to available literature, there are three types of water wheels and the application of a particular type of water wheel depends upon the stream of water. In this article, an extremely uncomplicated category impulse water wheel is fabricated. To fabricate this water wheel, little engineering is required. The experimental results obtained indicate that intensity of generated power depends upon the angle of water impact on the turbine blade, height, quantity of water flowing in pipe etc. The aim of this article is to suggest an alternative source of economical and environmentally friendly green energy for a small quantity of fluid flowing. There are various sources of small quantity water such as large society storage tank water, sewer line water, canals water and many more. The construction cost of water wheels is not as much since it does not have an intricate blade profile.

This study aims to develop a water pump that utilizes natural hydro energy as driving force to deliver water to a higher ground. The conceptual design of using water wheel to extract kinetic energy from water flow, and transfer the energy to power multiple piston pump was created based on the extensive literature review findings. The actual prototype is then built and modified to suit the actual environment considerations. Findings show that single pump is able to produce maximum pressure head of 7.14 m and the maximum volume flowrate achieved is 19.2 l/h (320 ml/min). However, when multiple piston is connected in series (in this research three pistons is used), the maximum water head increased to 13.77 m and the maximum volume flowrate about 19.2 l/h. This result shows that the water pump can be used in remote area or places at higher ground that does not have constant water access. Performance of the whole system can be improved by several factors such as adding more blades to the water wheel, steeper angle and better piston shaft design for water pump, and also proper water sealing of the whole system to prevent head loss and increase the overall performance.

This chapter has described four main parts. The first part covers the history of irrigation in Egypt where the Egyptian man lived around the Nile River and was dependent on the floodwaters of the Nile. At that time, the Egyptian man was farming only at the time of the flood, but in the Delta region, the flood was more. After the flood, farmers were laying their seeds in the wet area. In this period, the kings of the pharaohs were trying to control the water through the construction of dams, canals and diversions. The second part discusses the irrigation systems in Egypt before and after the construction of the High Dam in Aswan and the civilization of ancient Egypt and progress in irrigation crops. After the construction of the dam in Aswan, the Nile River in Egypt became a series of irrigation canals, which led to the expansion of the cultivated area. The third part includes machinery and equipment for irrigation in ancient Egypt, such as shadoof, Archimede’s screw and water wheel (Saqia). The fourth part of this chapter is irrigation systems in Egypt today. Irrigation systems are surface irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, drip irrigation and high water lifting.

In Indonesia the needs toward energy has been increasing. Therefore, eco-friendly renewable energy becomes an alternative power source. In relation to the idea, within the conduct of the experimental study the researcher designed a Savonius-type waterwheel with horizontal axis and the waterwheel was tested in the river stream. Then, within the design the researcher applied one waterflow regulator with the angle variation 30˚, 45˚ and 60˚. The study was conducted on river flow with a flow velocity of ± 0.6 m / s. the result is the addition of the deflector angle affects the ability to support the load, the maximum wheel efficiency(Cp) of 0.57.

This article tells the story of engineering and technology at Castleford Water Mills from the seventeenth century to the twentieth century through the presentation of recently discovered design plans and deeds, supplemented by other historical research. One of Castleford's mills was operated by Dr Thomas Allinson's Natural Food Company and therefore retained stoneground milling when fashions for white flour prompted other mills to switch to roller systems. The millstones were powered by a high-efficiency breastshot wheel, believed to be the last of its type taken out of industrial service in Britain. Many of its features, and its subsequent longevity, can be attributed to the influential works of William Fairbairn and John Smeaton. Detailed colour designs show the construction specifications of this water-wheel and its civil housing, along with other engineering plans such as a previously unrecorded Henry Simon horizontal turbine. Links with John Smeaton and the entry in his catalogue of designs for Castleford Oil Mill are also explored, and a former flood mill is identified at the site.

Muara Enim is one of the districts in southern Sumatra. To support the rapid advancement of agriculture in the region is necessary a good irrigation. location field in the village of pandan enim higher than the water source, therefore the need for assistance to waterwheel water into irrigation canals. There should also be planning dimensions to accommodate irrigation water resulting from rain water wheel and the corresponding calculation. Paddy fields in the village of pandan enim enim estuary district has a land area of ​​ 1500 hectares is rain-fed types. With the help of the water wheel in the dry season so that people's needs can also be met on the agricultural aspects. Keywords : water wheel, water flow,velocity of water flow

Quantification of uncertainty in three dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling is one of the challenging tasks demanding extensive computational resources. This paper deals with the grid refinement study for the three dimensional CFD model of a Dethridge water wheel as a rotating object and a free surface flow. Dethridge water wheel is a potential device to be used for hydropower generation in open channel flow. Grid refinement study is performed for the Dethridge water wheel model on three different grid resolutions and numerical uncertainty is quantified using the Grid Convergence Index (GCI). Key parameters relevant to the wheel performance are analysed and compared with the measured values. The small values of GCI indicate that the dependency of the results on the cell size is reduced.

Breastshot water wheels are gravity hydraulic machines employed in low head sites. The scope of this work is to test the performance of a breastshot water wheel with two geometric inflow configurations: a sluice gate at different openings and two vertical overflow weirs. With the sluice gate, the maximum efficiency of the plant is 75%, constant over a wide range of flow rates, while the efficiency with the weir is increasing in the same flow rate range. Therefore, the wheel with the weir can exploit higher water volumes, and also it performs better at high power input. In practical applications, the inflow configuration can be effectively controlled to optimize the operative working conditions of breastshot water wheels, depending on the external hydraulic ones. The experimental results are also discussed in dimensionless terms, in order to support engineers in the design of similar breastshot water wheels.

In this paper, a numerical experiment on a tidal turbine was performed based on a water wheel design using the commercial CFD code ANSYS-CFX to contribute to the development of water wheels. The water wheel type tidal turbine was studied with different numbers of rotor blades (including ten, twelve and twenty blades types) and with different blade shapes (Straight, Curved and Zuppinger types) for comparison at several values of tip speed ratio (TSR) ranging from 0.7 to 1.2. The numerical results indicated that the 10-bladed type and the Straight-bladed type turbines absorb the highest power efficiency, up to 43 % at TSR 0.9. In addition, the 20-bladed and the Curved-bladed types showed the lowest performances in all cases of TSRs comparing with the others. Besides that, it was found that this turbine operates much effectively at low range of TSR, especially at TSRs 0.9 and 1 for all cases of blade shapes and all numbers of blades.

Water wheels are hydropower converters installed in sites with heads typically below 6 m. Due to their low environmental impacts and costs, water wheels are sustainable technologies. The estimation of their weight is essential to quantify construction and transportation costs, and the load on the ground. The weight estimation of a water wheel is the aim of the present study. A short-cut equation, relating the wheel weight to head and flow rate, is derived by collecting and analysing a database of existing water wheels. A qualitative comparison with analogous equations for Kaplan and Francis turbines is shown, illustrating the similarity between water wheels and Francis turbines. The proposed equations can be used in civil engineering applications to estimate the permanent load of a water wheel, while the collected database can be used for elaborations and validations in future researches and projects.

A rotary hydrostatic pressure machine (RHPM) is a hydropower converter for very low head applications (less than 2.5 m). An RHPM can be installed in straight canals, because its wheel can g...

Since ancient times and for hundreds of years, grain mills, hammers, sawmills, spinning mills, and hemp rollers have been powered by water wheels. In the nineteenth century there were hundreds of thousands of mills in all of Europe. It is an enormous historical and cultural heritage of inestimable value, which is for the most part, abandoned today. Recently, there is a renewed interest in their reuse, both for their widespread diffusion in the territory and for the excellent environmental integration and intrinsic sustainability. Even when, for economic reasons, their recovery for the original tasks is not suitable, the conversion into mini plants for the production of electricity can be advantageous. In the paper, analyzing some typical examples of the old water mill of the Piemonte region, in North-West of Italy, the mechanical architecture of old water mill, from water wheels to millstones, is described and the functional details of various mechanisms are provided. In fact, by knowing only the specifics of the ancient mills, it is possible to enhance their potential and restore them from the perspective of a renewed high quality production, or reconvert them in mini-plants for the production of electricity.

For hundreds of years, millstones, hammers, sawmills, spinning mills have been powered by water wheels. Recently, there is a renewed interest in their use, both for their widespread diffusion in the territory, and for the excellent environmental integration. In the paper, the mechanical architecture of an old water mill, from water wheels to millstones, is described and the functional details of various mechanisms are provided.

The rationale behind this research is the development of a zero-head floating system using a conventional hydrokinetic water wheel as a model to examine and determine its performance in an open channel condition for energy harvesting in Nigeria. The power is determined by flow of water in the stream which is responsible for rotating the blades. The research entails the water flow driven by a pump at 0.4[m/s] and 0.6[m/s] water velocities around a pool. The turbine is made to float under this free stream velocity. Feasibility study of its viability in Gari dam in Kano state of Nigeria was carried out and an average flow and discharge were determined during the dry season. Findings of this research were quite impressive and can be used to design a suitable floating zero-head turbine for energy harvesting in Nigerian rural areas where the head is low and energy is required not only for mechanization but also for lighting and irrigation purpose.

The rationale behind this research is the development of a zero-head floating system using a conventional hydrokinetic water wheel as a model to examine and determine its performance in an open channel condition for energy harvesting in Nigeria. The power is determined by flow of water in the stream which is responsible for rotating the blades. The research entails the water flow driven by a pump at 0.4[m/s] and 0.6[m/s] water velocities around a pool. The turbine is made to float under this free stream velocity. Feasibility study of its viability in Gari dam in Kano state of Nigeria was carried out and an average flow and discharge were determined during the dry season. Findings of this research were quite impressive and can be used to design a suitable floating zero-head turbine for energy harvesting in Nigerian rural areas where the head is low and energy is required not only for mechanization but also for lighting and irrigation purpose.

In this paper, a new hydromatrix power wheels generation unit is presented. This presented hydromatrix power unit is aimed to convert the water movement in the main river branches into electrical power. It is found that the generated power based on the proposed hydromatrix power can be generated about 5 GW/h in Egypt. The proposed hydromatrix power unit based on the under shot water wheel type and the generated electrical power using this proposed unit is calculated at head; difference equal to 1 meter is presented.

Thanks to a new sensibility to renewable energy and to local and smart electricity production, traditional water wheels are regarded again as a clean and accessible way for pico-micro hydro electricity generation, especially in presence of very low heads and small flowrates. In particular, among the different kinds of water wheels, the overshot ones exploit the lowest flowrates with the highest efficiency (efficiency up to 85–90%). Therefore, in order to determine the performance characteristics and to estimate the power losses and the output power for overshot water wheels, theoretical and experimental analyses are here developed. By a numerical optimization process, the power losses and the mechanical output power are theoretically quantified. A critical angular velocity is also identified (about 65% of the runaway speed). When the wheel rotation speed approaches the critical velocity, volumetric losses at the top of the wheel begin to increase linearly with the rotational velocity, while the other power losses start to decrease, due to the lower amount of water available to the wheel.

Breastshot water wheels were in widespread use in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth century for the production of energy; although they represent an economic, efficient and sustainable technology, only a small amount of research has been paid to water wheels nowadays, in particular to the breastshot ones. In this work a theoretical approach is adopted to estimate the different kinds of power losses occurring inside a breastshot water wheel, in order to predict its mechanical output power. The theoretical results are then validated with experimental results on a physical steel model. The characteristics experimental curves of the wheel are also illustrated, reporting the wheel efficiency and output power versus the flowrate, stream and wheel velocity. The average estimated error between the experimental and the estimated theoretical output power is 9%, which is much lower than that calculated using some past formulations found in literature. The theoretical results show that the big power losses are the dissipation of the stream kinetic energy against the blades and the hydraulic losses in the headrace, after the passage through the sluice gate; therefore, a better design of the inlet and blades geometry may improve the efficiency of the wheel.

At low head sites and at low discharges, water wheels can be considered among the most convenient hydropower converters to install. The aim of this work is to improve the performance of an existing breastshot water wheel by changing the blade shape using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. Three optimal profiles are investigated: the profile of the existing blades, a circular profile and an elliptical profile. The results are validated by performing experimental tests on the wheel with the existing profile. The numerical results show that the efficiency of breastshot wheels is affected by the blade profile. The average increase in efficiency using the new circular profile is about 4 % with respect to the profile of the existing blades.

For tidal power barrages, a breast-shot water wheel, with a hydraulic transmission, has significant advantages over a conventional Kaplan turbine. It is better suited to combined operations with pumping that maintain the tidal range upstream of the barrage (important in reducing the environmental impact), and is much less harmful to fish. It also does not require tapered entry and exit ducts, making the barrage much smaller and lighter, so that it can conveniently be built in steel. For the case of the Severn Estuary, UK, it is shown that a barrage at Porlock would generate an annual average power of 4 GW (i.e. 35 TWh yr −1 ), maintain the existing tidal ranges upstream of it and reduce the tidal ranges downstream of it by only about 10%. The weight of steel required, in relation to the annual average power generated, compares very favourably with a recent offshore wind farm.

The paper presents the research undertaken to design and develop a 3D sustainable renewable power station model that is sustainable, competent and of high efficiency at reasonable cost. The paper focuses on the optimization of the 1D micro Hydropower systems. The constant and secure supply of green power is made possible through combined power plant using renewable energies resources. Studies reveal that water wheels are not as efficient as turbines but could offer efficiency in excess of 80% for overshoot & undershoot water wheels, with 75% for breastshot water wheels. The technical issues that limit the water wheel efficiency have been studied and a new design is presented in this paper. The simulation to the new design is hereby presented and some experimental measurements of efficiency and power can be delivered Keywords: 3D sustainable power station, Hydro wheels / turbines, efficiency.

This paper presents a micro-hydropower generation system with local region implementation. The micro-hydropower generation system can be utilized for generating small amount of energy within towns. The generating system is required to be robust, have a simple configuration with a stable output. The authors developed the hanger part of the bridge structure with a twin water wheel test apparatus. This study is carried out by making a bridge structure with the twin water wheel prototype test apparatus using a small size facility. This paper describes the field tests for the generation system with a prototype test apparatus. Furthermore, it describes the local region implementation the purpose was to power agricultural infrastructure.

Potential renewable energy source that can be greatly utilized is the water flow, namely hydropower. The hydropower is one of the efforts to answer the energy crisis occurred in several regions due to lack of awareness to develop alternative energy. This effort will be done by designing a hydroelectric power plant. Before being made, it was studied using CFD simulation using Ansys Student Version 19.1 that was calculated based on flow assumptions. One model of the approach used is k-epsilon, with the initial flow rate of 5 m/s. By using water-liquid fluid material, the speed of water produced around the wheel is 2.19 m/s while the speed of water after passing the water wheel is 5.07m/s.

The waterwheel is a component of the spinning water that energizes the rotating axis. Waterwheel is a means to convert water energy into mechanical energy in the form of torque on the shaft of the mill. One of the functions of water is to improve water quality. But the use of waterwheels manually is inefficient, because the mill works continuously even though the water quality is good. So it takes intelligent algorithm to be able to produce waterwheels that can benefit the local community for the needs of high protein foods. By adjusting some variables in determining water quality to improve the water quality of shrimp habitat, consisting of: water pH, water temperature, disoolved oxygen and salinity. And in uncertainty input from existing parameters can form a probability distribution that determines water quality and the movement of the mill. The sensor reading results into a reference microcontroller in sending PWM signals on the boost converter as DC motor drivers to run waterwheels slowly or quickly based on inputs. And with the Internet of Things (IoT) technology will make it easier to control, more practical, effective and efficient.

The cost-effective and ecologically acceptable exploitation of hydropower machine with small scale (low head and low flow rate) is still a challenging area. Breastshoot water wheel is one mode of the small scale hydropower machine that is common to use to generate power. The effect of using upper shroud on a breastshoot water wheel was evaluated. The research was done by examining two breastshoot water wheels with the outer diameter and hub diameter of 240 mm and 160mm respectively. Furthermore, the blade width is 40 mm. The wheel consist of 2 wheel which separated by 4mm thickness rim which the diameter the same as outer diameter of the outer wheel. Each side of the wheel consists of 12 blades. The experimental was done with two variations of wheel, i.e with upper shroud and without upper shroud. The torque was measured with prony brake method. The breastshoot wheel that was tested in this research is zuppinger water wheel type. The experimental result shows that the efficiency of the breastshoot water wheel with upper shroud is higher than water wheel without upper shroud in all speed range.

Brazil still has a diversity of architectural structures that represent various historical periods experienced. However, much of this cultural heritage is not properly maintained and this work aims to contribute to the conservation of the wooden structure of a historic site in the state of São Paulo. Problems related to the health/physical normality of wood present in historical building structures are commonly found, therefore, assessment measures and maintenance should be performed to secure the structural integrity of these parts, so that these architectural references are not lost over time. The farm Santa do Maria Monjolinho, located in São Carlos, the central region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, declared cultural heritage in 2007 by the department of state assets - CONDEPHAAT - stands out for the richness of its architectural set which was built in the nineteenth century, under the dominance of the coffee economy. Its facilities include the main house, yard coffee, granary and machine room, aqueduct and water wheel, chapel, mill, barn, settler houses and the building of the former slave quarters, fully preserved by the family Malta Campos. The old slave quarters, the object of our study, was built in the mid nineteenth century: today is the building that has the highest level of degradation. Originally consisted of two large environments, called wards, one female and the other male, with the function of house the farms slaves. After abolition, italian colonists adapted the building turning it into five houses with party walls of clay and wattle-and-daub. The roof, which consists in a wood structure and clay tiles, is bulging and has loads of broken tiles and the timber (rafters, beams and purlins) structurally compromised due to moisture attack and wood decay agents. The roof structure is supported by brickwork pillars and fresh mainstays, and some of them exhibit some level of degradation. To evaluate the health of these mainstays were used wood samples from other similar structures in the same property, built at the same era of the slave quarters. Tests of shear, compression parallel to the fibers and density that were developed made possible to make an analogy to the strength and condition of the wooden structures that support the roof of the slave quarters. The results as such tests show the reduction of the mechanical resistance of the pieces evaluated, leading to the need to reassess the conditions of service of the structures considered. Seeking an evaluation and diagnosis of health and structural conditions of the roof of the slave quarters, we intend to perform nondestructive tests on some parts of the wood of the structure itself. To do so, the following equipment could be used: Stress Wave Timer, Pylodin and Resistograph, offered by USP. Thus, using data obtained by the tests will be possible to determine the percentage of deterioration of structural components and the indication of restoration suitable for conservation of the structure, while cultural heritage of regional significance.

Waterwheel has been developed over two millennia to be efficient hydraulic machine but have weaknesses due to his inability to increase the torque although the flow of water has been increased - because the efficiency of this water wheel is only dependent on the volume of buckets and gravitational those are always constant. In this study demonstrated a new method to improve the torque of overshot waterwheel (OWW) by recapturing overflow of water from the buckets and the excess flow from the channel to be converted into kinetic energy through the nozzle and then squirt against to the curve vane in the buckets by using hydraulic ram pump system. The result of performance test proved that OKDN using hydraulics ram able to improve their efficiency more than conventional overshot wheel.

A laboratory scale flexible rubber blade water wheel has been investigated at the hydraulic laboratory of University of Southampton. The effect of channel width on water wheel performance has been studied. Different upstream and downstream channel widths are set for the tests. In this paper, the experimental set up, tested water wheel and the measurement procedure are described and the experimental results are shown. Results show significant improvement in power output and efficiency in reduced channel width.

Multiple winnowers and their application to mine ventilation were recorded in the historical documents of Europe in the 16th century. These winnowers were inefficient since they do not work on the principle of centrifugal. The European winnower in its true sense was introduced from China in the 18th century. Winnower came into being in China in the 2nd-1st century B.C. In its early days, it ran exactly based on the principle of centrifugal, or in a way similar to the Europe’s, of which the latter was used for over 1300 years. The ancients’ unilateral recognition of the principle of winnower might be attributed to their impression of hand fan or water wheel. Based on the numerical simulation, despite the use of rotary blowers, they partially understood the principle of centrifugal in quite a long period of time.

In Malaysia, Malacca River has long been the tourism attraction in Malacca. However, due to negligence, the river has been polluted by the litters thrown by tourists and even local residents, thus reflects a negative perception on Malacca. Therefore, this paper discusses about a fully automated river debris management system development using a stand-alone photovoltaic system. The concept design is to be stand alone in the river and automatically pull debris towards it for disposal. An off-grid stand-alone photovoltaic solar panel is used as renewable energy source connected to water pump and Arduino Uno microcontroller. The water pump rotates a water wheel and at the same time moves a conveyor belt; which is connected to the water wheel by a gear for debris collection. The solar system sizing suitable for the whole system is shown in this paper. The dumpster barge is equipped with an infrared sensor to monitor maximum height for debris, and instruct Arduino Uno to turn off the water pump. This system is able to power up using solar energy on sunny days and using battery otherwise.

The most fundamental questions regarding the history of water mills are when and where was the water mill invented and the relationship historically between the horizontal water mill, that with a horizontal water wheel and the vertical water mill that with a vertical water wheel as described by Vitruvius (De Architectura X, 5, 2). In both cases they are operated by a spindle that goes through a hole in the lower mill stone and turns the upper stone. In the horizontal mill this spindle is conn...