Water Wheel Research Articles

Preparation of Titanium Dioxide Films on Water Wheel for Domestic Wastewater Treatment

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) was prepared by Sol-Gel technique that was coated on the grade 304-stainless steel. Effect of dip coated speed, number of coated cycles and annealed temperature on films properties were investigated. The optimum condition for film preparation was at dip coated speed of 0.12 cm/s, number of coated cycles of 20 cycles and annealed temperature of 500 °C. TiO2 film was crystal structure in anatase phase that had the main plane (101). Surface morphology of the TiO2 films formed grain that look like knobby shape. nanograin sizes were slightly difference that showed in the range of 10-50 nm. Under optimum condition, TiO2 film was used as photocatalyst to treat domestic wastewater. TiO2 film was coated on the paddles of water wheel and 24 paddles were used to create water wheel. Films surface area were contact to wastewater and the light around 0.504 m2 under working volume and working area of 0.0135 m3 and 0.09 m2, respectively. Under irradiation of the near UV with average intensity of 0.89 mW/cm2 over 24 hrs., and rotational speed of 17 rev/min. that were controlled by microcontroller box set. To compare treatment efficiency, uncoated TiO2 - water wheel (UTWW) was run in the same condition of coated TiO2 - water wheel (CTWW). The result showed that the CTWW had higher treatment efficiency than the UTWW. Especially for COD, TS, TDS and PO43-, CTWW had greater treatment efficiency than the UTWW that percentage difference were greater than 90%.

Evaluation of Health Conditions of Wooden Structures of the Former Slave Quarters of Farm Santa Maria do Monjolinho, Located in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

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.

Evaluation of a novel pneumatic bioreactor system for culture of recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cells

Single use culture systems are a tool in research and biotechnology manufacturing processes and are employed in mammalian cell-based manufacturing processes. Recently, we characterized a novel bioreactor system developed by PBS Biotech. The Pneumatic Bioreactor System™ (PBS) employs the Air-wheel™, which is a mixing device similar in structure to a water wheel but is driven by the buoyant force of gas bubbles. In this study, we investigated the physical properties of the PBS system, with which we performed biological tests. In 2 L PBS, the mixing times ranged from 6 (30 rpm, 0.175 vvm) to 15 sec (10 rpm, 0.025 vvm). The kLa value reached upto 7.66/h at 0.5 vvm, even without a microsparger, though this condition is not applicable for cell cultures. Also, when a 10 L PBS equipped with a microsparger was evaluated, a kLa value of upto approximately 20/h was obtained particularly in mild cell culture conditions. We performed cultivation of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells in 2 and 10 L PBS prototypes. Results from the PBS were compared with those from an Erlenmeyer flask and conventional stirred tank type bioreactor (STR). The maximum cell density of 10.6 × 106 cells/mL obtained fromthe 2 L PBSwas about 2 times higher than that from the Erlenmeyer flask (5.6 × 106 cells/mL) andwas similar to the STR (9.7 × 106 cells/mL) when the CHO-S cells were cultured. These results support the general suitability of the PBS system using pneumatic mixing for suspension cell cultivation as a novel single-use bioreactor system.

Hydropower converters with head differences below 2·5 m

Hydropower with very low head (VLH) differences constitutes a largely unused potential source of renewable energy. A literature review of hydropower converters for VLH differences covering the engineering literature from the 1830s onwards was conducted to assess the potential of historic, current and emerging technologies. The results showed that a large number of different interesting technologies were used/developed, and that several novel and promising concepts are currently under development. Technologies emerged for different market segments: water wheels for low flow rates, turbines for large flow volumes. To take account of increased ecological demands and the desire for cost reduction, further improvements of existing technologies and new converter technologies have been developed. Other concepts described in the literature were apparently never applied although they promise development potential. The information gathered allowed for a comparison of available technologies with respect to area of application, performance, ecological impact and cost level.

Flow acceleration by converging nozzles for power generation in existing canal system

Small-scale hydro or micro-hydro power has been increasingly used as an alternative energy source, especially in remote areas where other power sources are not viable. In the larger hydro projects potential energy of the water is converted to electrical power, whereas such small-scale hydro power systems utilize kinetic energy of the flow. These systems can be installed in small rivers or streams with little or no discernible environmental effects. Usually, these systems do not require a huge infrastructure like dam or major water diversions, rather use water wheels with least environmental impacts. This paper presents a report on how flow can be accelerated through convergent nozzles for run-of-river turbines in open flow channels. An existing canal in Pakistan has been used for the analysis based on its easily accessible data. The analytical and computational work presented here converts kinetic energy of water flow to electric power.

Increasing Efficiency of Overshot Waterwheel with Overflow Keeper Double Nozzle (OKDN) by Using Hydraulic Ram System

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 Study on the Internal Structure of Heumgyeonggaknu

Heumgyeonggaknu is a water-hammering type automatic water clock which was made by Jang Yeong-Sil in 1438. The water clock that is located in Heumgyeonggaknu consists of Suho which is equipped with 2-stage overflow. Constant water wheel power is generated by supplying a fixed amount of water of Suho to Sususang, and this power is transferred to each floor at the same time. The 1st floor rotation wheel of Gasan consists of the operation structure which has the shape of umbrella ribs. The 2nd floor rotation wheel is made so that the 12 hour signal, Gyeong-Jeom signal, and Jujeon constitute a systematic configuration. The 3rd floor rotation wheel is made so that the signal and rotation of Ongnyeo and four gods can be accomplished. Based on the above conceptual design, this paper analyzed the internal signal generation and power transmission of Heumgyeonggaknu.

Ancient water robotics and Abou-l Iz Al-Jazari

Although water resources have been developed throughout the centuries for the service of different civilizations, at different scales and in different regions, their use in automation has been conceived only recently. Research into the history of water from an automation point of view has led to some unknown or hidden facts. Starting from the ancient Greek period before the prophet Christ and after about the 12th century, many researchers tried to make use of water power for working some simple but effective devices for the service of mankind. Among these are the haulage of water from a lower level to a higher elevation by water wheels in order to irrigate agricultural land. Hero during the Hellenistic period and Vitruvius of the Roman Empire were among the first who tried to make use of water power for use in different human activities, such as water haulage, watermills, water clocks, etc. The highlights of these works were achieved by a 12th century Muslim researcher, Abou-l Iz Al-Jazari, who lived in the southeastern part of modern day Turkey. He reviewed all the previous work from different civilizations and then suggested his own designs and devices for the use of water power in automation of excellent types. He even combined animals and water power through early designs of valves, pistons, cylinders and crank mills, as will be explained in this paper. His works were revealed by German historians and engineers in the first quarter of the 19th century. Later, an English engineer translated his book from Arabic into English, revealing the guidelines for modern automation and robotic designs originating from the 12th century. This paper gives a brief summary of the early workers' devices and Abou-l Iz Al-Jazari's much more developed designs with his original hand-drawn pictures.

Training of panellists for the sensory control of bottled natural mineral water in connection with water chemical properties

As bottled mineral water market is increasing in the world (especially in emergent and developed countries), the development of a simple protocol to train a panel to evaluate sensory properties would be a useful tool for natural drinking water industry. A sensory protocol was developed to evaluate bottled natural mineral water (17 still and 10 carbonated trademarks). The tasting questionnaire included 13 attributes for still water plus overall impression and they were sorted by: colour hues, transparency and brightness, odour/aroma and taste/flavour/texture and 2 more for carbonated waters (bubbles and effervescence). The training lasted two months with, at least, 10 sessions, was adequate to evaluate bottled natural mineral water. To confirm the efficiency of the sensory training procedure two sensory groups formed the whole panel. One trained panel (6 persons) and one professional panel (6 sommeliers) and both participated simultaneously in the water tasting evaluation of 3 sample lots. Similar average scores obtained from trained and professional judges, with the same water trademarks, confirmed the usefulness of the training protocol. The differences obtained for trained panel in the first lot confirm the necessity to train always before a sensory procedure. A sensory water wheel is proposed to guide the training in bottled mineral water used for drinking, in connection with their chemical mineral content.

京都・鴨川東部における水力利用産業地域の変遷

Biwako Canal in Kyoto City was constructed in 1890 in order to develop the water power for the electricity, wheels and transportation by ships around the eastern district of Kamo river. This area was firstly planned as an industrial center by the Governor Mr. Kunimichi Kitagaki. With the exchange of the purpose on canal from water wheel to hydroelectric power, the urban development had a structural change. This paper shows that in the eastern district of Kamo river, especially around the pool for transportation by ships, many of water wheels were concentrated for the rice polishing and then transported to copper industry. The transfer of the water rights of the stakeholders and the transformation of the industries are discussed based on the newly discovered archives.

The Adaptable Gas Turbine

Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work. Hydrocarbon-fueled turbines, however, are one of the youngest energy conversion devices: Their first use in either generating electricity or powering jet aircraft flight took place in 1939. Through the efforts of many thousands of engineers in the intervening 70 years or so, such gas turbines have come to dominate aircraft propulsion and, with their now-unmatched thermal efficiency and low cost, are the superstars of electric power plants. With energy a central concern in modern society, gas turbine technology continues to be innovative.

Over and Undershot Waterwheels in the 18th Century. Science-Technology Controversy

The present paper concerns the development of theory and experiments on water wheels in the 18th cen- tury. At that time, as a result of a growing demand for energy, a better understanding of the functioning of watermills, even at the theoretical level, was required in order to improve their efficiency. A hint about the evolution of the theory of wheels in the 19th century is reported also. We have tried to clarify the role played by some protagonists as Antoine Parent, Jean-Charles de Borda and John Smeaton. Their role has not been fully recognised even in contemporary studies. Then some considerations are developed on the relationships between science and technology on this particular subject, concluding that it was a happy and well-balanced marriage.

流し掛け水車の周辺の流れのMPS法による数値解析

The applicability of MPS method as an assessment tool for flow regimes in installing a current water wheel in an open channel as one of the development of micro-scale hydropower generation in irrigation systems, was examined. As a result, the simulated flow regimes agreed qualitatively with the experimental results at given rotational speeds of the water wheel. However, the simulated energy difference between upstream and downstream of the water wheel was about 20% larger than the experimental results at given rotational speeds in the case the length of water turbine runner was 0.1m. The main reasons were considered to be numerical pressure fluctuation known as a problem of original MPS method, and lack of phenomenal representation based on employing the 2D single-phase model.

Experimental study on small vertical axis water wheel turbine generator

Experimental study on small vertical axis water wheel turbine generator

非農業者住民の揚水水車に対する選好性評価の決定要因が保存活動への参加動機に及ぼす影響

非農業者住民の揚水水車に対する選好性評価の決定要因が保存活動への参加動機に及ぼす影響

J056052 流雪溝における発電用下掛け水車性能に関するフィールド実験(〔J056-05〕再生可能エネルギー(水力・太陽光)(5))

J056052 流雪溝における発電用下掛け水車性能に関するフィールド実験(〔J056-05〕再生可能エネルギー(水力・太陽光)(5))

Experimental investigation on the effect of channel width on flexible rubber blade water wheel performance

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.

Design and evaluate a drum screen filter driven by undershot waterwheel for aquaculture recirculating systems

Micro-screen rotating drum filters are an alternative to sand filtration especially when excessive waste water is a concern. The filtering process of drum screen filters is very simple, yet very efficient and reliable due to their overall design and operation. Drum filters are designed with few moving parts to ensure a long life with low operating/maintenance costs.Micro-screening essentially captures particles on a screen fabric while letting the water pass. This paper describes a design of two an industrial-scale drum screen filters driven by undershot wheel and its performance installed in recirculating aquaculture system culturing tilapia at El-Nenaeia fish farm. These filters are consisted of a woven metal mesh of 100μm. The design criteria for solids loading rate in the influent water is 10kgm−2min−1.The results indicate that the design parameters of the filter such as surface are and rotation speed were affected by the water flow rate, where the surface area and drum speed ranged from 1.58 to 27.87m2, and 1.05 to 8.40, respectively. The results also indicated that the efficiency of filter decreased during the first two months compared to the last two months of fish growth period, with an average 34.22±8.85% during the first 60 days and an average 52.41±16.77% during the last period. Using water wheels for driving the screen filter is very important in saving energy, where the filter with such dimensions needs 1.0hp for driving it, which represents 18.0kW daily.

A Natural-Born Linthead

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In my mother's picture box was an old black and white photograph of her and my daddy as a smiling, young Alabama working-class couple, wearing their Sunday best. They were standing across from village kindergarten, at south end of Fairfax Mill where they both worked, along with thousands of other employees. The cotton mill, a blue-paned, three-story, red-brick monolith, rose grand and mighty in background, and they seemed small and shy before it; and incredibly young and happy. I am sure many Chattahoochee Valley families have a similar photograph in their family albums; my parents' story was not uncommon. It was repeated by countless other young people in first half of last century. They had their pictures made in front of mills to commemorate their arrival in a strange land and a new beginning--in my parents' case a beginning that would lead to four generations of my family working in West Point Manufacturing textile plants. Like many Valleyans, my parents grew up in rural Randolph County, Alabama, and joined a steady migration of friends and relatives to what everybody simply knew as the which lay hard against Georgia line in eastern Alabama, seeking jobs and a better life, and they found it. They left backwoods farms, that were basically unchanged since 1800s, for a mill house with electric lights, running water, coal fireplaces, and an inside toilet--they never had it so good. They might as well have been on another planet. Riverdale and Langdale were company's first mills, starting production in 1866, powered by water wheels turned by Chattahoochee River. The founders of what was to become West Point Manufacturing were area planters, merchants, and former Confederate soldiers who started two cotton mills with money scavenged from smoke and rubble of Civil War. One of mightiest textile manufacturing enterprises in history of world began as much with desperation as with hope; as it turned out, Providence smiled on their bold venture. By early 1900s, West Point Manufacturing owned five Alabama mill villages in Chattahoochee Valley. Each of villages was built around its own mill, starting with Lanett at northern end, and then, in descending order, Shawmut, Langdale, Fairfax, and Riverdale. The mills were electrified and no longer depended on waterwheels for power. The boundaries between each village were amorphous, with one blending into other, but each mill village possessed a strong self-identity that fueled fierce rivalries, mainly concerning their respective athletic teams. Their baseball teams, particularly, were revered and supported with a near religious fervor. (In later years, Valley and Lanett High Schools would produce a steady supply of football players for college and professional ranks.) Of such intensity were animosities that a wedding between residents of different villages was seen as a mixed marriage. Each West Point Manufacturing Company mill village was a self-contained universe of employee housing, churches, schools, grocery and drug stores, cafes, barber shops, beauty parlors, shoe repair shops, filling stations, dry cleaners, doctors, including chiropractors, and picture shows. A person could live without ever setting foot off mill village, if so inclined. (Indeed, it was rumored that only way some mill village folk could find West Point, Georgia, mill company headquarters a few miles away across state line, was to follow Chattahoochee Valley Railroad tracks out of town.) The only item not easily obtainable was alcohol. Because of teetotalers who ran Valley, strong spirits were prohibited. But they were available, if you knew right person--and most people knew that person, and several more just like him. It was a time and a place that we shall never see again, and it was not by any means a bad place. …

A Dynamic Library of Porphyrinic True Nanorings

Behind the wheel: a 10 nm diameter nanoring, containing 24 porphyrin units, has been created by a Vernier-templating self-organization of hexa- or octadentate templating units and linear covalently linked porphyrin oligomers. Coordination of a bidentate ligand triggers a conversion of the molecular nanocylinder into a molecular nanoannulus to afford the dimeric species, which can adopt a water wheel structure.