The 9th International Renewable Energy Congress (IREC 2018)
Design and Analysis of Hydroelectric Generation
using Waterwheel
Jamal A. Hameed1, Amer T. Saeed2, Mugdad H. Rajab3
Renewable Energy Research Group
College of Petroleum &Minerals Engineering.
Tikrit University
Tikrit, Iraq
Jamalhamed2000@gmail.com, asaee2@unh.newhaven.edu, magdadhamid@yahoo.com
Abstract—This research gives an idea about the effective use of
water wheels in a river flow, which gives power generation with
low cost. It also describes the working principle, design and
calculations, applications and challenges along with future scope
of using waterwheel.
Nowadays, generated hydropower from waterwheel is one of
the cheapest ways to produce electricity. Hydropower can be
implemented in the developing nation like Iraq to supply domestic
electricity to cover the increased demand for electricity due to the
increase in population. The modern water wheels are made from
steel which have many functions as a new technology, promising
no harmful effects on the environment. In this paper, those
modern water wheels will be used to produce the electricity
through attaching the waterwheel to a generator with help of a belt
and pulley arrangement, so the electrical energy is resulted from
mechanical energy. The full bridge rectifier is used to transmit
electricity in its most efficient form i.e. from direct current into
pure direct current while the regulator is used to regulate the
current, and the battery helps to store it.
Keywords-- waterwheel; hydropower; renewable energy.
I. INTRODUCTION
As a result of rapid development in all areas of technology,
electricity is mostly important for human development.
Electricity is essential for some basic activities such as lighting,
cooling, operation of household appliances etc. The recent
increase in the demand for electrical energy supply in rural
areas of developing countries has given additional weight to
study generation the small hydroelectric power as a renewable
energy and to study the feasibility of the hydroelectric power
plant with particular reference to the construction of water
wheel, which has to meet the electrical needs of the villages in
rural areas of Iraq.
The current situation in rural areas of Iraq is bad, electricity
is still poor, about 40% of the villages have not seen what
electricity is! Iraq is an agricultural country and a community
with a large water wealth. There are many rivers in Iraq and
50% of Iraq’s population lives in rural areas. It is very important
for us to think about improving the country's situation by
developing electric power projects, especially in villages and
remote areas where electricity is still unavailable. With the
978-1-5386-0998-9/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE
development of hydraulic engineering, the use of new materials
has produced a new form of energy and the efficiency of water
wheels has greatly improved. Although the advent of water
turbines and steam engines, water wheels have evolved further,
especially in Switzerland and Germany. This technology has
reached a high point of engineering beauty and can be used at
the same time as a water pump for irrigation and farming
without the need for primitive energy or fossil energy.
This paper focuses on the implementation of the power
plant using the model of the Undershot Water Wheel, giving a
low-cost power generation solution for the purpose of
supplying electricity. This is achieved through a waterwheel
interleaved with a dynamometer, and converts mechanical
energy into electrical energy, with the help of a belt and reel
arrangement. The rectifier allows the full bridge of electricity
to be transmitted in its most efficient form. The regulator is used
for regulating current and battery for storage. One of the most
important things in this paper is to study the development of
hydropower generation projects by the water wheel, which is
the construction of a generator without the rotor and the use of
the starter installed on the structure of the water wheel, (gearless
waterwheel without drive shaft with integrated alternating
current generator) [2].
The following paper explains the working principle,
design and calculations, applications and challenges along with
future scope of Undershot Water Wheel .This paper will focus
on medium scale stream with the output of 10 kw. This water
wheel will be used for domestic electricity and various other
general electrical applications such as lighting in rural and
urban areas.
The main object of this project is:
• To demonstrate that the simple axis
horizontal design can generate energy in the
form of electricity using connection of
gearbox with generator.
• To compare it with a new modular gearless
waterwheel without drive shaft with
integrated alternating current generator.
 • To analyze the generated output power from A. Main Types of Water wheels
the designed Modern water wheels. There are several types of water wheels that have been used
for electric power generation. In this research, we will focus only
on the two basic types which are most commonly used in rivers,
II. FEATURES OF HYDROPOWER GENERATION namely [3].
SYSTEMS
1. Undershot Water wheels
Hydroelectric power is generated through operations that
depend on the natural flow of water. The most common is to In undershot waterwheels, the paddles are flat and simply
convert this energy into electrical energy with no emissions dragged round by the flowing water (figure 2). Although
directly from this conversion process; that means its undershot wheel is not the most efficient one, but its
environment friendly, harmless and thus a secure energy from efficiency is nearly to 60% and this is good especially on the
renewable energy source. Water wheels installation and Euphrates or Tigris River due to high water head.
operation are easy and do not need high costs for maintenance.
In addition to the economic benefits of this system, it has high
efficiency, reliability and low cost.
The use of water in energy production from hydroelectric
generating station depends on:
• Q: water flow (in cubic meters per second)
• h: head of water (m)
• Ș: the efficiency of the waterwheel , electric generator
and the electric converter, to convert kinetic energy into Fig. 2: Undershot Waterwheels model
electrical energy.
Produced electrical energy is proportional to the amount of 2. Overshot Waterwheels
water flow, the height of the water, and the coefficient of
proportionality (gravity factor) as [1]: Overshot waterwheel can achieve an efficiency of
ܲ ൌ ܳ ‫ כ ݄ כ‬ͺǤͷ݇ܰȀ݉ ଷ
(1) 60% with careful design (figure 3). The disadvantage
of this type of wheel is that its diameter must almost
The value (8.5) resulted from (݃ ‫ כ ߩ כ‬Ʉ§ͺǤͷ݇ܰȀ݉ଷ ) equal to the head. This can produce very large wheels,
Where g: wheel gravity, and ȡ: water density kg/m3 for example, the diameter of Laxey Wheel in the Isle
Ș is efficiency and was calculated roughly about 75% for of Man is 125 ft. Variations on the overshot wheel
hydropower stations. worth considering, wheels are capable of efficiencies
For example: in a stream of the river, if the water height is 1 of over 70%. The water hits the overshot water wheel
meter and the water flow is 1.25 cubic meters / second, higher than on the undershot wheel and is more
implementation of those values in the power equation (1) we get efficient.
the capacity of the plant:
P = 1.25 m³/s * 1 m * 8.5 kN/m³ § 10.5 kW. This station is
good for efficiency up to 70% in the conversion of kinetic energy
into electrical energy. Most hydroelectricity is produced from
dammed water and released to drive a water wheel and
generator. The produced energy from water moving depends on
the volume released, and on the difference in height between the
water wheel and the water source which is called the head. The
amount of potential energy which can be harnessed from the
water is proportional to the head (figure 1) [2]. Types of water Fig. 3: Overshot Waterwheels model
wheels and their efficiency are important to be studied to
calculate the produced energy. B. The efficiencies of undershot wheels

In order to investigate the efficiencies of undershot wheels,

Fig. 1: The head of undershot water wheel
some measurements were conducted. In this paper, water wheel
type undershot, also known as the "stream wheel" was designed
and placed directly into the fast-flowing river. In this type of
waterwheel, the movement of water pushes the bottom of the
wheel and then leads to rotate waterwheel in only one direction
for water flow. Compared this type of the waterwheel with the
others, it is the simplest, cheapest and easiest wheel to construct.
The wheel was originally designed for a head of 1.5-2 m and a
flow rate of 1.0 m³/s. In figure 4, the efficiency is given as a • The product of the force (F) with the angular velocity
function of the flow rate. The efficiency of designed wheel of the water wheel (߱ௐ ) and the radius of the water
reached to 70% for a broad range of flows. [4]. wheel (r)

ܲௐ ൌ ‫߱ כ ܨ‬ௐ ‫ݎ כ‬ (6)

Solving this equation system by the force, the dynamic speed

and the surface speed of the water wheel are eliminated; we
obtain the equation for the power of the waterwheel:
The performance is optimal at: [4]

௥‫כ‬ఠ ௩ೈ ଵ
ൌ ൌ  (7)
௩ಷ ௩ಷ ଷ
Fig. 4: Efficiency curves for an undershot water wheel
The optimum surface speed is so only 1/3 of the flow rate of the
The efficiency against flow rate curve is one of the main river, which is why a modern water wheel should have a speed
characteristics of any turbine as shown in figure 4. Where the control in order to operate it with the optimum speed. Whether
Qmax is the river’s maximum flow rate and Q is the river’s varies measuring the flow rate of the river is required by ultrasound
flow rate. The efficiency reached to around 75% when the ratio Doppler probe or the flow rate, varies greatly with respect to the
Q/ Qmax is 0.42, and remained at this level until Q/ Qmax become water level.
1.0 since 1 is the maximum ratio of Q/ Qmax . The maximum possible power can then be calculated as:

III. POWER CHARACTERISTIC CURVES ଶ

ܲௐ̴ை௣௧ ൌ ‫ݒ כ ߩ כ ߱ܿ כ ܣ כ‬ி ଷ (8)
ଶ଻
Performance and Efficiency
The hydraulic power (ܲி ሻ depends on their kinetic energy So the efficiency of water deep bad wheel is the ratio (ˁ) of the
which resulted from the speed of the river flow (˜୊ ) in m/s, the surface speed of the water wheel and the surface speed of the
influence of the water wheel cross-sectional area (‫ܣ‬ሻ, and water river, when the ˁ ൌ ‫ݒ‬ௐ Ȁ‫ݒ‬ி (9)
density (ȡ), and can be calculated as follows: Efficiency measure is introduced as:
ଵ
ܲி ൌ ‫ݒ כ ߩ כ ܣ כ‬ி ଷ (2) ௉ೈ ௩ೢ ௩
ଶ
௩
ଷ
ଶ
ߟൌ ൌ ܿ௪ ቆ െ ʹ ൬ ೢ൰ ൅ ൬ ೢ ൰ ቇ
௉ಷ ௩೑ ௩೑ ௩೑
The performance of a deep blade water wheel can be
calculated from the dynamic pressure of the flow on the blade: ߟ ൌ ܿ௪ ሺˁ െ ʹሺˁሻଶ ൅ ሺˁሻଷ ሻ ൌ ܿ௪ ˁሺͳ െ ˁሻଶ (10)
ଵ
‫ ܨ‬ൌ ‫ݒ כ ߩ כ ߱ܿ כ ܣ כ‬ௗ ଶ (3) This relationship is illustrated in figure 5.
ଶ

Where the flow of water (the water density (ߩሻ in kg / m³)

uses a force (‫( )ܨ‬in Newton) on the blades with the cross
sectional area (in m²). The drag coefficient (…ன ሻ is a
dimensionless number has the coefficient §1.35. Effective for
the dynamic print speed (˜ୢ ) is calculated from the flow rate of
the river, reduced by the surface speed of the water wheel (˜୛ ):

‫ݒ‬ௗ ൌ  ‫ݒ‬ிି ‫ݒ‬ௐ (4)

The power of the water wheel (in watts) is calculated though: Fig. 5: Efficiency of undershot water wheel as a function of ‫ ؃‬speed ratio
• The product of the force by the surface speed of the and independence on the parameters
water wheel : ‫ܹݒ‬
Although the efficiency appears to be relatively small in
relation to the through an underwater propeller (underwater
ܲௐ ൌ ‫ݒ כ ܨ‬ௐ (5) wind turbine), the achievable efficiency is about § 60%
according to the law of Betz (this is applicable for an underwater
propeller, as Betz of a non-compressible medium emanated) [5
Or: & 6].
 IV. WORKING PRINCIPLE
A. Project description
The construction of the project and hydropower generating
unit depends on the specific details of the site. After constructing
the waterwheel, there are many steps need to be done for
hydropower generating unit, including:
• Construction turning point for water from a river or using water
from the tank. The hydroelectric power depends on the
minimum flow of water available around the year.
• To protect our project, there must be a barrier to prevent the
entry of fish floating solids by using a net or a set of rails to avoid
the entry of large objects. Also, there must be a gate to prevent
the entry of water and then stop the movement of the wheel, in
case there is maintenance.
• Connecting a water wheel with electric generator system
associated through gearbox, to get the biggest electrical energy.
The generator system is connected with electricity network in
order to provide electricity to the number of houses or buildings
(figure 7).
• Using mathematical equations to calculate the water capacity
of the power plant (P) which depends on the water flow (in cubic
meters per second) and water head (m), the efficiency of the
waterwheel, the electric generator and electric transformer for
converting the kinetic energy into electrical energy.
B. Development of modern water wheels
Water wheels are still considered as an alternative
experimental technology that belongs to an era before steam
energy. Scientists and engineers have a great deal of attention to
the conversion of hydraulic power to hydro electrical power.
This has led to the development of more water wheels in
efficient energy conversion and very low cost. The development
of hydraulic engineering in combination with new materials,
such as wrought iron instead of wood, allows more suitable
hydraulic shapes. The use of a power generation systems from
waterwheels is very flexible and can be used in different
environments. The power generation depends on the amount of
water flow from the source (river or stream) and speed. This
system can be designed to reduce potential damage caused by
large dams or other large hydroelectric sites. Competition has
begun to develop the efficiency of power generation devices
associated with water wheels, as it will be explained in part VI.
C. The tasks
This section introduces the tasks, objects and operations of
the study briefly. The object of this study is to describe the
technical and social feasibility of a hydroelectric plant to power
the villages at the rivers in Iraq. To be able to assess its
feasibility, it was necessary to examine the conditions on the
ground in Iraq, especially on the Euphrates and Tigris based in
a field study. The ultimate goal is the realization of the
hydroelectric plant and feasibility confirmation. Due to the
common task, the basic evaluation took place jointly during the
field study. The following shows the implementation steps that
are going through this basic evaluation procedure.
Installation of (long-term) instrument types to determine the
runoff forming processes and hydrological parameters
• Water gauge.
• Yardstick for determining a representative water level.
Reconnaissance of the terrain to locate potential sites,
evaluate the sites.
• GPS measurement points and tracking (location, height
difference).
• Flow measurement.
• Surveying of sites.
Interaction with the residents / decision makers integrative
process for determining the social impacts of the needs and
knowledge of residents.
• Meetings to exchange information
•Joint inspections with decision makers to intermediate
accounting and process Control.
Experimental / demonstration model with a water wheel
The results and findings of these operations are the basis for the
analysis the feasibility, and are therefore vital importance for the
present study.
D. Hydropower is economical
• This technique can work 24 hours a day, without
having to primitive energy or fossil fuels.
• Clean energy, renewable, constant and economic, can
be used in all the nearby rivers and canals.
• Help and improve the economics of energy, where up
to 250KW systems without the need for complex
control systems.
• It has aesthetic benefits to provide an attraction to
encourage visitors to these sites.
• This technique is completely free of emissions and no
negative impact on animals and plants.
• Low operating costs and very long life.
• High operating safety and low maintenance.
• Sophisticated technology.
• Highest harvesting factor for all regenerative energies
V. CHARACTERISTICS OF UNDER-SHOT WATER WHEEL
(DESIGN WATER WHEEL MODEL)
Our design of a waterwheel system, to build prototype model
with energy converter of diameter = 5.0 m can deliver power up
to (10 KW), that can be demonstrated a new method of the
torque improving using water flow. To get an optimal method
of prototype manufacturing, the design must satisfy the strength
terms. The Finite Element Methods using modeling software is
reliable to check the strength of design results. The water wheel
consists of several prefabricated components that can be
assembled on site of a waterwheel system. The individual
components are shown in figure 6, the prototype of a fully
functioning power plant water wheel installed with generator, which contains a large number of moving parts (transmission,
gearbox, power converter and measurement group. belt drive, generator, etc.)[13].
The project “Power plants use water wheels with energy
converters in modular principle” is dedicated to a particular area
of generating electrical energy from renewable energy sources.
The economic use of electric power for stand-alone grids, i.e.
without power supply in a power grid in the power range below
10kW shall be substantially in the rural settlement area for the
home and small craft enterprises [8 & 9].
Fig.7: Modular gearless waterwheel without drive shaft and with integrated
alternating current generator.

Characteristic of the invention of this modular is the

integrative arrangement of the modular rotor in the support
structure of a waterwheel, wherein the degree of overlap of the
pole with (stationary) stator segments is adapted to the
hydraulic-mechanical potential of each waterwheel location.
One advantage is the cost-effective and accurate prefabrication
of bend-welded thin-walled stainless steel bodies in the small
series and less mechanics, less wear, approximately 10% more
than increase efficiency. In this case, identical pole-wheel
segments are used with permanently watertight cladding, which
are produced as standard and thus inexpensive to manufacture,
easy to transport and easy to assemble. This also applies to the
stator segments, which are likewise identical among one
another.

Since the invention dispenses with concentric energy

Fig. 6: Prototype of a fully functioning power plant water wheel dissipation, the drive shaft is dispensed with axle pins are
required and the entire wheel body is very delicate. The
invention optimizes the mass-power ratio of the machine with a
VI. ORGANIZATION AND METHOD OF WORK positive effect on efficiency and production costs. Also, no

Usually, the purpose of automatic control unit that control

the valve at the entrance of waterwheel is to maintain a constant
speed (and pulse current) when the load on the generator
changes. In cases where systems are multiple sources with the
network, the control devices on the waterwheels ensure the flow
of energy from the generator to the grid. The pulse power must
commensurate with the pulse main network stream generated by
the caller. The generator always works on the first pulse network
regardless of the speed of rotation.

In these days where modern electronic control devices are

available, energy it is often easier to run the generator at any
random frequency and feed production through the network
adapter that produces a pulse. The modern electronic control
devices now allow the use of permanent magnets prove current
is volatile. This method allows the use of low-speed waterwheel Fig. 8: Induction distance = Arc length of the stator segment.
/ low pressure to be able to compete, but can also be run in the
best speed for power generation, and is controlled by pulse mechanical contact in the energy coupling between rotor and
current electronic devices instead of the generator. [10, 11 & 12]. stator. Modular design: Rotor segments and stator segments
(copper coils) cast in resin. Ring generator = waterproof less
VII. TECHNICAL PROBLEM SOLVING/MODULAR GEARLESS material.
WATERWHEEL WITHOUT DRIVE SHAFT WITH INTEGRATED AC The number of segment that we need to build the generator can
GENERATOR. be calculated by knowing the number of cells on the stator as
Using the advanced model of water-wheel technology follow:
requires slower water wheel rotation, inexpensive maintenance
cost, and more spaces compared with the conventional method,
 A water wheel is optimized for the water quantity Q = 250
l/sec: It works with water volumes (Vw) of 25 l/sec to approx.
500 l/sec. [14].
Location data / calculation
Wheel Head Hw = 4200 mm, Diameter (D) = 4000 mm, Q =
250 l/sec (about 200 days / year)
Filling ratio = 0.45, and Speed = 1.35 m/sec
Wheel rim depth (radial) = 0.45 x 1.35 = 330 mm = 0.33 m
଴Ǥଶହ଴௠ͿȀ௦
WŠ‡‡Ž”‹™†‹–Š ൌ ൌ ͳǤʹͷ݉
଴Ǥଷଷ௠‫כ‬ଵǤଷହ௠Ȁ௦‫כ‬଴Ǥସହ
Number of cells: 10 x (4.00 - 0.33) = 36.7
Chosen = 40 cells = 20 segments
CONCLUSIONS
A detailed study of production electric power project using
water wheels has been conducted in this research. Renewable
and sustainable energy system has played an important role in
low operation and maintenance cost which is very suitable in
rural areas with a clean environment. Using water wheel to
generate electricity has a significant economic impact on the
rural economy.
[5] G. Müller, “Waterwheel as apower source”, David Keir Bldg., Stranmillis
Rd, Belfast BT7 5AD, Renewable Energy – Muller (2005).
[6] G. Capecchi, “Over and undershot waterwheels in the 18th century”.
Science-technology controversy, Advances in Historical Studies, 2013;
2(3): 131-139.
[7] Emanuele Quaranta and Stefano Fontan, “Effecincy of traditional
Waterweels,” E-proceedings of the 36th IAHR World Congress, 28 June
– 3 July, 2015, Netherlands.
[8] G. Akhyar Ibrahim1, C. H. Haron1, and C. Husna Azhari1, “Traditional
water wheels as a renewable rural energy “ The Online Journal on
Power and Energy Engineering (OJPEE) Vol. (1) – No. (2), Reference
Number: (W09-0014).
[9] Zoë Jones, “Domestic electricity generation using waterwheels on
moored barge”, Ph.D, Thesis, School of the Built Environment, P24-28
Heriot-Watt University (2005).
[10] M.G. Simoes and F.A. Farret, “Renewable Energy System: Design and
Analysis with induction generators” CRC Press, Florida, USA, (2004).
[11] R. Gorla and A. Khan, “Turbo-machinery: Design and theory”, Marcel
Dekker Inc. USA , (2003).
[12] Wolfgang Clement Ingenieurbüro Hartmuth Drews Marktvorteil
Innovativstes System : Berlin , November 2005
[13] Wolfgang Clement,“Marktvorteil getriebelose Energiewandlung ohne
Antriebswelle”, Ingenieurbüro Berlin , November 2005.
[14] Praful Yelguntwar, Pranay Bhange, Yogesh Lilhare , and Ankit Bahadure,
“Design, fabrication & testing of a waterwheel for power generation in an
open channel flow”, International Journal of Research in Engineering &
Advanced Technology IJREAT, Volume 2, Issue 1, Feb-Mar, 2014.

In this paper, power plant was designed by using undershot

waterwheel. The measurements of efficiency and other
parameters were calculated for undershot water wheels giving
maximum efficiencies of 71 – 76% over a broad range of flows.
Water wheels appear to be efficient and ecologically acceptable
energy converters. The traditional electricity prices are
expected to increase in the next few years. Therefore, using
water wheel plant will reduce the difference-cost between the
produced electricity from renewable and non-renewable
sources. However, there is still slight increase additional costs
borne by electricity consumers as part of the price of electricity.

In the long term, the opposite direction and adjust the

competitiveness of renewable energy at the same rate with
lower costs to less conventional energy. Also in the future,
establishment of a clearing house to clarify issues relating to the
application of renewable energy law will result in key issues to
be resolved and the use of legal protection before the civil
courts can be avoided.

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