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A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous blades or buckets attached to the outer rim forming the drive mechanism. Water wheels were still in commercial ...
Depending on water flow and design, Pelton wheels operate best with heads from 15–1,800 metres (50–5,910 ft), although there is no theoretical limit. [citation needed] Such "peltric sets", consisting of a Pelton wheel, an induction generator and a control mechanism, are used in Nepal. [9]
The main difference between early water turbines and water wheels is a swirl component of the water which passes energy to a spinning rotor. This additional component of motion allowed the turbine to be smaller than a water wheel of the same power. They could process more water by spinning faster and could harness much greater heads.
Turgo turbine and generator At Milford Sound, New Zealand. The Turgo turbine is an impulse water turbine designed for medium head applications. Operational Turgo turbines achieve efficiencies of about 87%. In factory and lab tests Turgo turbines perform with efficiencies of up to 90%. It works with net heads between 15 and 300 m. [1]
Watermill of Braine-le-Château, Belgium (12th century) Interior of the Lyme Regis watermill, UK (14th century). A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower.It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering.
Francis type units cover a head range from 40 to 600 m (130 to 2,000 ft), and their connected generator output power varies from just a few kilowatts up to 1000 MW. Large Francis turbines are individually designed for each site to operate with the given water flow and water head at the highest possible efficiency, typically over 90% (to 99% [6]).
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A water power engine includes prime movers driven by water and which may be classified under three categories: [1] Water pressure motors, having a piston and cylinder with inlet and outlet valves: their action is that analogous of a steam- or gas-engine with water as the working fluid – see water engine; Water wheels [2]