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Since the 17th century, calculating and imaging are strongly intertwined in practices of analogue simulations: massive amounts of data are processed simultaneously, emerging as structures, pictures, models, or graphs which at least suggest the idea of immediate mathematics. On the level of the instruments and things, this corresponds the concept of self-recording devices. The paper reconstructs one of the initial scenes of this epistemic constellation: the analogue simulation practices of John Smeaton's water wheel models.

This study is based on prior research and aims to improve stream wheel performance based on virtual prototyping. Examined stream wheel structure is developed in several vairants concerning its blades number, geometry and dimensions. Final result shows nearly 50% power output increase for some load cases. The research presents another advantage of virtual prototyping – for design variants evaluation without need for expensive physical prototyping and testing.

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.

International audience; The Hydrostatic Pressure Wheel is an innovative solution to regulate flow discharges and waters heights in open channel networks. Indeed, they can maintain a water depth while producing energy for supplying sensors and a regulation system. To prove the feasibility of this solution, a complete model of water depth–discharge rotational speed relationship has been elaborated. The latter takes into account the different energy losses present in the turbine. Experimental measurements achieved in IMFT laboratory allowed to calibrate the coefficients of head losses relevant for a large range of operating conditions. Once the model had been validated, an extrapolation to a real case showed the possibility of maintaining upstream water level but also of being able to produce sufficient energy for supplying in energy isolated sites. The solution thus makes it possible to satisfy primary energy needs while respecting the principles of frugal innovation: simplicity, robustness, reduced environmental impact.

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.

The purpose of this research is to study the effect of different immersed depths on water wheel performance and flow characteristics using numerical simulations. The results indicate that the simulation methods are consistent with experiments with a maximum error less than 5%. Under the same rotational speeds, the efficiency is much higher and the fluctuation amplitude of the torque is much smaller as the immersed radius ratio increases, and until an immersed radius ratio of 82.76%, the wheel shows the best performance, achieving a maximum efficiency of 18.05% at a tip-speed ratio (TSR) of 0.1984. The average difference in water level increases as the immersed radius ratio increases until 82.76%. The water area is much wider and the water volume fraction shows more intense change at the inlet stage at a deep immersed depth. At an immersed radius ratio of 82.76%, some air intrudes into the water at the inlet stage, coupled with a dramatic change in the water volume fraction that would make the flow more complex. Furthermore, eddies are found to gradually generate in a single flow channel nearly at the same time, except for an immersed depth of 1.2 m. However, eddies generate in two flow channels and can develop initial vortexes earlier than other cases because of the elevation of the upstream water level at an immersed radius ratio of 82.76%.

This study to determine the efficiency of next-G geese foot turbine, the Angled Watermill is utilized in rural or remote areas, with potential rivers and local people to easily adapt the material. It is necessary to design a new turbine that can able to extract energy from free fluid flow or zero headwater power resources. The design and material of the design were done using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. The method is to know the most optimal modification of goat water turbine design from the variation in width and number of feet of Next-G geese foot mill legs as follows: (1) 600; (2) 700 mm; (3) 750 mm, for the number of legs used 4 pieces, 6 pieces, 8 legs. The results of development the Next-G goose foot wheel mill blade is the moment pressure value increased for the width of the water wheel blade 750 mm, and the moment pressure decreases to 600 mm. The number of feet 4 blade the pressure moment is increased and decreasing for the number of feet of 8 blade. The optimum moment pressure is applied to the width 750 mm waterwheel blade and the number of 4 impeller feet.

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.

The purpose of this research was to study and compare a small hydropower turbine efficiency at low head water by making a comparison between the Water Free Vortex Turbine and the Small Under Shot Water Wheel. The experiment and analyze were carried out to find the torque and energy of the turbine, as well as the overall efficiency of both types of turbines at the flow rate of 0-950 l/min and at the head water of 0-0.5 m. From the experiment, it was found that at a flow rate of 950 l/mim, the highest amount of generated energy of the Small Under Shot Water Wheel, was at 7.51 W, the torque was 4.78 N-m and the highest efficiency was 13.96 % at the rotational speed of 15 rpm. As for the Water Free Vortex Turbine, the highest amount of generated energy was 14.5 W, the torque was 2.77 N-m and the highest efficiency was 35.92 % at the rotational speed of 50 rpm. Furthermore, the torque of the Small Under Shot Water Wheel was higher than the Water Free Vortex Turbine, but the cycle speed and the energy generated by the Water Free Vortex Turbine was higher. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Water Free Vortex Turbine is more suitable as a small hydropower electricity generator than the Small Under Shot Water Wheel at the height of the head water less than one meter.

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.

In this study, the internal structure of a Heumgyeonggak-nu (欽敬閣漏) was designed, and the power transmission mechanism was analyzed. Heumgyeonggak-nu is an automated water clock from the Joseon Dynasty that was installed within Heumgyeonggak (欽敬閣), and it was manufactured in the 20th year of the reign of King Sejong (1438). As descriptions of Heumgyeonggak-nu in ancient literature have mostly focused on its external shape, the study of its internal mechanism has been difficult. A detailed analysis of the literature record on Heumgyeonggak-nu (e.g., The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty) indicates that Heumgyeonggaknu had a three-stage water clock, included a waterfall or tilting vessel (欹器) using the overflowed water, and displayed the time using a ball. In this study, the Cheonhyeong apparatus, water wheel, scoop, and various mechanism wheels were designed so that 16 fixed-type scoops could operate at a constant speed for the water wheel with a diameter of 100 cm. As the scoop can contain 1.25 l of water and the water wheel rotates 61 times a day, a total of 1,220 l of water is required. Also, the power gear wheel was designed as a 366-tooth gear, which supported the operation of the time signal gear wheel. To implement the movement of stars on the celestial sphere, the rotation ratio of the celestial gear wheel to the diurnal motion gear ring was set to 366:365. In addition, to operate the sun movement apparatus on the ecliptic, a gear device was installed on the South Pole axis. It is expected that the results of this study can be used for the manufacture and restoration of the operation model of Heumgyeonggak-nu.

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.

Sondaggi di scavo condotti negli anni 1999-2002 all’interno del parcheggio e della Stazione di Ostia Antica hanno portato alla scoperta di edifici connessi con la necropoli di Pianabella e con impianti abitativi ad essa preesistenti. Il comune denominatore di questi rinvenimenti è l’uso di anfore funzionali al drenaggio nel caso della struttura ad uso funerario, inserite su doppia fila a contenere la parete retrostante nello scavo presso la Stazione. In quest’ultimo caso, la disposizione consentiva di sfruttare una falda d’acqua mineralizzata tramite l’uso della ruota idraulica del tipo «a cassetta». Secondo la tipologia delle anfore di tipologia simile a quelle della zona vicina della Longarina, l’attività dell’impianto si colloca tra la seconda metà del I sec. a.C. e la prima metà del I sec. d.C. L’estensione e le modalità di sistemazione di questi ultimi ritrovamenti fa ipotizzare un grande intervento pubblico di risanamento del suolo probabilmente realizzato in età augustea. Amphorae placing for different uses in the Ostia suburb. Excavations conducted in the years 1999-2002 inside the station of Ostia Antica for the construction of a pedestrian underpass and for the creation of an external parking area, permitted the discovery of buildings connected with the necropolis of Pianabella and with housing systems. Both for the funerary structure and for the ditch with the remains of an hydraulic wheel pertinent to a villa, common is the use of amphorae functional to the drainage in the first case, and inserted vertically on double row to contain the wall behind in the second case; in this latter form, the disposal allowed to exploit a mineral water flap through the use of the «cassette» type hydraulic wheel. Following the typology of amphorae, similar to those in the close area of the Longarina, the activity of this disposal ranks between the second half of the first century B.C. and the first half of the first century A.D. Form and size of this disposal suggest a large and public intervention of drainage realized in the Augustan age.

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.

Grist mills are structures in which stone wheels are used to grind grain (e.g. corn, wheat) into a powder-like form for human consumption. Circular stone wheels provided the pressure to grind the grain and separate seed components. In most grist mills the energy for turning the heavy stones was derived from water power. The most visible part of some these mills was the externally mounted water wheel. However, other common configurations of the water ‘turbine’ internal to the structure were used (Figure 1). While grist mills existed in Europe at least as early as the 11th century such mills were not present in the United States until the last 1600s. No comprehensive census has been conducted for grist mills in the U.S. although an estimate of all water powered mills in eastern U.S. was 65,000 in 1840. Many of these water powered mills in the census estimate were for textile, sawmills, manufacturing, and other non-grain-grinding applications.Most often, the mill site included a small impoundment for creating a reliable source of water during low-flow stream conditions. These ponds were created in the late 1700s and especially in the 1800s as a reliable water source for turning grist or saw mills. By the middle of the 20th century the grist mills had all but vanished. Except for a few historic relics and conversion to touristic sites, the mill infrastructure has disappeared on the landscape while the mill ponds typically remain, serving other purposes, such as fishing or hunting lakes, or merely aesthetic environments.The local ecosystems around the mills sites have been artificially modified by the presence of these stream impoundments providing a new environment for fish, mammals, avian species, and of course, humans. While numerous positive ecosystem values may be observed from their continued presence, the risk of dam failure to both downstream systems and humans is substantial. In fact, such a catastrophic series of dam failures (51 in South Carolina) occurred in October of 2015 from a heavy rainfall event. In other instances the impoundments now store toxic sediment originating from sources farther upstream such as mining, military or industrial processes.Where are these historic mill sites and mill ponds? No inventory of mills or their ponds exist in South Carolina (and only for a few northeastern states). In this research we developed a systematic approach for identifying and mapping historic mill sites and ponds using a geohistorical framework and applied to South Carolina. The approach relied on 1) numerous geospatial sources, and 2) an analytical model of confidence mapping for predicting sites. The developed approach resulted in a new database of definitive and likely historic mill sites and mill pond locations throughout South Carolina. The sources of geospatial information was largely cartographic in nature including the following:USGS Historic Topographic Map SeriesRobert Mills 1820 atlas covering South CarolinaHistoric aerial photographyNational Hydrography Data (NHD)National Wetlands Inventory (NWI)National Inventory of DamsSC Department of Health and Environmental Control for Regulated DamsToponyms from the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)U.S. Census TIGER street dataThe design for a predictive model (Figure 2) using diverse historic data with various scales and reliability is problematic. Most of the grist mills have disappeared from the landscape and do not exist in contemporary geospatial databases. Historic maps might include toponyms for the sites or ponds but their map projection, scale, and subsequent distortions in geometry are problematic. In addition, some of the sources for data are derived from a similar source and thus, are not statistically independent. The design of the analytical model for mapping confidence in mill site locations was calibrated and subsequently validated using several independent sources of information. Numerous field visits to known and suspected locations for mills sites were conducted throughout the physiographic regions of South Carolina.The model of likelihood included factors for the reliability of the source, the mapping scale and spatial accuracy of the source, correlation with other sources, and likelihood of correspondence with grist mills.

The number of water wheels operated by the community in West Sumatra, Indonesia, in 1970 was around 4082 units, and now it is estimated that there are around 420 units. The water wheel system is made permanent, made of wood, the construction is quite heavy so that it becomes a problem when installing it. Water Wheel Knock Down System (W2KDS) is a good alternative and solution because the construction is light, and its components can be broken down so that it is easier to install in remote villages. The formulation of the problem of this research is how the performance of W2KDS driving rice milling? The research objective was to analyze W2KDS performance, transmission efficiency, and rice milling productivity. The research methodology is an experiment with the stages of designing W2KDS systems and components, building W2KDS-rice milling, and analyzing the performance of W2KDS driving rice milling. The type of W2KDS that has been successfully built is a breast shot with an outer wheel diameter of 180 cm, an inner diameter of 120 cm, a blade width of 60 cm, 20 blades, and a belt-pulley power transmission system. The results of the W2KDS performance analysis of rice milling driving are, at a water flow rate of 88 L/s, head of 5 m, and a rotational speed of 60 rpm, the resulting torque is 551 Nm, power 3400 W, W2KDS efficiency 78.1%, transmission system efficiency 88.2% and rice milling productivity of 86.40 kg of rice/hour.

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.

This research continued the success of previous research which has managed to build a Water Wheel Knock Down System (W2KDS) which can be devided into small components for easy carrying, in term of installing and testing it to an isolated location. Based on the success of the research were inspired to developed this W2KDS system that is capable of moving the W2KDS build a rice milling. The method of this research is a survey to the location, planning systems and components, the manufacturing process of components and assembly W2KDS and then have it tested. The percentage of prime mover and transmission efficiency shows 79%, 94% respectively and productivity rice milling is 144 kg/hour. This result shows the quality of prime mover and transmission are made is can be proud of. For the production of rice milling is quite satisfactory

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...

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.

Water power is a type of power obtained from the force created by flowing water. Energy created from flowing water can be harnessed as a form of mechanical energy that can be utilized to generate electricity. Undershot water wheels have been extensively used to take advantage of the water flowing from rivers or waterfalls. This research was conducted by using water turbines with bowl-shaped blades made of iron and acrylic. The diameter of the turbines was 30 cm, and the diameter of the blades was 9 cm. Four, six, and eight blades were used in the three water turbines for this research. The blades were discharged and loaded to turn the turbine to generate force. The results of the study showed that the highest efficiency (? = 74.22%) was found in the six-blade turbine with a discharge of 0.01228 m3/s. It can be concluded that water turbines with bowl-shaped blades can be used as an alternative energy in small-scale electric generators.&nbsp

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.

This study aims to reevaluate the characteristics of local regions and the formation of cities through research on the history of water use in so-called “water cities”, whose construction was strongly influenced by rivers and canals. In this study, we established a collaborative framework with the local people living and working in the area. Through collaborative research, we reveal present regional problems and newly found regional values as well as the local history, and aim to establish a methodology for creating a future vision of the city by Utilizing natural energy and regional resources for regional revitalization, which will contribute to proactive efforts by local residents.

In a scene in Michal Goldman's documentary film Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt, two female friends of Umm Kulthum are reminiscing about her decision in the 1930s to purchase land for a villa in Cairo's Zamalek district. At the time, the women relate, Zamalek had very few buildings and was considered a remote location, far from the city center. “What were you thinking about to buy something so far away?” one of the women recalls her mother telling Umm Kulthum. At this point, the other woman, who had been distractedly knitting a scarf on her lap, suddenly brightens up and enters the conversation: “Do you remember the water wheel on the river in front of her house?” she excitedly asks her companion. “There was a waterwheel.” She imitates its high-pitched whirring sound as she turns her hand to trace the circular path of the wheel itself. “People used to say she kept it to remind her of the old days.”