Water Power

Bayobo, P. H. G., Nogot, B. C. A., Paulo, A. L. H.

 INTRODUCTION TO WATER POWER
Water power, otherwise known as hydropower,
utilize running or falling water in order to generate
electricity or to power machines.

Humans have been harnessing the energy of river

currents for centuries, using water wheels spun by
rivers initially to process grains and cloth.
It is the leading source of sustainable renewable source of energy which
generates 20% of the world’s electricity, and it is the most efficient way to
generate electricity.

Aside from being the leading source of sustainable renewable energy source, it
is also regarded as the ideal fuel for electrical energy generation.
 WATER WHEEL

A water wheel is a type of device that takes

advantage of flowing or falling water to generate
power by using a set of paddles mounted around a
wheel.

Laxey Wheel
 WATER WHEEL
History

Originally, the waterwheel is used for crop

irrigation and grinding grains, as well as to supply
drinking water to villages. In later years, they
drove sawmills, pumps, forge bellows, tilt-
hammers, and trip hammers, and even powered
textile mills. Sakia Gear

The traces of early use of waterwheels can be

found from the Hellenistic Period (323 BC),
Greco-Roman World, Early Medieval Europe,
China, and India.

Noria
 TYPES OF WATERWHEEL
Overshot wheels are a type of waterwheel that can be built if there is a
significant height drop in the river or body of water being used to move
the wheel. This wheel type was employed for head differences of 2.5 to
10 m, and flow rates of 0.1 to 0.2 m³/s per m width

Undershot wheels are built in areas with little to no slope. These

wheels are inefficient compared to other types because the waterwheel
relies on large quantities of water moving quickly to move the wheel.
This wheel type can be used for very small head differences of 0.5 to
2.5m, and large flow volumes ranging from 0.5 to 0.95 m³/s per m width.

Breastshot wheels are used where there is a moderate drop in the

height of the water between 1.8 to 2.4 meters. This wheel type was
used for head differences of 1.5 to 4m, and flow rates of 0.35 to 0.65
m³/s per m width
POWER AND EFFICIENCY OF WATERWHEEL

POWER
❖ Kinetic Energy - depends on the velocity of the water as it enters the
waterwheel.
❖ Potential Energy - depends on the head of the change in height between the
entry and exit point from the wheel.

EFFICIENCY
❖ Overshot Waterwheel - 85 to 90%
❖ Breastshot Waterwheel - around 79%
❖ Undershot Waterwheel - 71 to 76%
 WATER WHEEL

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
● Simple construction ● It has slow speed
● Suitable even for low ● Speed cannot be
water head easily controlled.
● Cheaper ● Heavy and big
● Constant efficiency compared with the
even if discharge is capacity to produce
constant. power.
 Turbine
HISTORY

Water wheels have been used for hundreds of years for industrial power. Their main
shortcoming is size, which limits the flow rate and head that can be harnessed. The
migration from water wheels to modern turbines took about one hundred years.

The word turbine was introduced by the French engineer Claude Burdin in the early 19th
century and is derived from the Greek word "τύρβη" for "whirling" or a "vortex". 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.

As far as hydropower goes, many of the most significant developments took place in the
19th century. French engineer, Benoit Fourneyron designed a turbine in 1827 that had
the ability to create a power output of 6 horsepower.
 Turbine
Following this, James Francis, a British-American engineer then created the first water
turbine that we still see in use today. Even now, this water turbine remains the most
widely-used turbine used to create electrical energy.

As the 1870s arrived, an inventor from the United States, created the Pelton wheel. In
1880, Lester Allan Pelton later patented his impulse water turbine. His invention
increased the efficiency of electricity production through its innovative use of cupped
blades.

Later, after the turn of the 20th century, V. In 1913, the Austrian Professor, Viktor Kaplan
created the Kaplan Turbine that consisted of a propeller with adjustable blades.

Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial
power prior to electrical grids. Now, they are mostly used for electric power generation.
Water turbines are mostly found in dams to generate electric power from water potential
energy.
 Turbine

Water Turbine. The force of

falling water or flow of water
through a waterway pushing
against the turbine's blades
which causes the turbine to
spin. A water turbine is much
like a windmill, except the
energy is provided by falling
water instead of wind. The
turbine converts the kinetic
energy of falling water into
mechanical energy.
 Theory of Operation
IMPULSE TURBINES

● Impulse turbines change the direction

of flow of a high velocity fluid or gas
jet. The resulting impulse spins the
turbine and leaves the fluid flow with
diminished kinetic energy.
● There is no pressure change of the
fluid or gas in the turbine blades (the
moving blades), all the pressure drop
takes place in the stationary blades
(the nozzles).
● Before reaching the turbine, the fluid's
pressure head is changed to velocity
head by accelerating the fluid with a
nozzle.
 Theory of Operation
REACTION TURBINES
● Reaction turbines develop torque by reacting to the fluid's pressure or mass. The
pressure of the fluid changes as it passes through the turbine rotor blades.
● A pressure casement is needed to contain the working fluid as it acts on the turbine
stage(s) or the turbine must be fully immersed in the fluid flow (such as with wind
turbines).
● The casing contains and directs the working fluid and, for water turbines, maintains
the suction imparted by the draft tube.
 Impulse Turbines
Pelton Turbine
● Invented by American inventor Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s.
● Pelton wheels are the preferred turbine for hydro-power where the available water
source has relatively high hydraulic head at low flow rates. It can reach up to 95%
efficiency, and even 90% on ‘micro’ scale systems.
● Many earlier variations of impulse turbines existed, but they were less efficient than
Pelton's design. Water leaving those wheels typically still had high speed, carrying away
much of the dynamic energy brought to the wheels.
 Impulse Turbines
Turgo Turbine
● A variation and modification of Pelton wheel made by Gilkes in 1919, designed for
medium head applications with net heads between 15 and 300 m. Operational Turgo
turbines achieve efficiencies of about 87%.
● The buckets used in turbo turbines have single cups, and the cups are more shallow.
● A Turgo runner looks like a Pelton runner split in half. For the same power, the Turgo
runner is one half the diameter of the Pelton runner, and so twice the specific speed.
The Turgo can handle a greater water flow than the Pelton because exiting water
doesn't interfere with adjacent buckets.
 Impulse Turbines
Cross Flow Turbine
● Developed by the Australian Anthony Michell, the Hungarian Donát Bánki and the
German Fritz Ossberger.
● Unlike most water turbines, which have axial or radial flows, in a cross-flow turbine the
water passes through the turbine transversely, or across the turbine blades. After
passing to the inside of the runner, it leaves on the opposite side, going outward.
Passing through the runner twice provides additional efficiency
● When the water leaves the runner, it also helps clean it of small debris and pollution. The
cross-flow turbine is a low-speed machine that is well suited for locations with a low head
but high flow.
 Reaction Turbines
Francis Turbine
● The process of arriving at the modern Francis runner design took from 1848 to
approximately 1920. It became known as the Francis turbine around 1920, being
named after British-American engineer James B. Francis.
● Most frequently in medium- or large-scale hydroelectric plants. These turbines can be
used for heads as low as 2 meters and as high as 300 meters.
● It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts.
Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over
95% efficiency.
 Reaction Turbines
Kaplan Turbine
● It was developed in 1913 by Austrian professor Viktor Kaplan, who combined
automatically adjusted propeller blades with automatically adjusted wicket gates to
achieve efficiency over a wide range of flow and water level.
● The Kaplan turbine was an evolution of the Francis turbine. Its invention allowed
efficient power production in low-head applications which was not possible with
Francis turbines.
 Pros
● Mostly found in dams to generate
electric power from water potential
energy.
● Has a lot of variations for different
conditions, thus, lots of applications.
● Operate at high efficiencies.
● Designed to run for decades with very
little maintenance of the main
elements; overhaul intervals are on
the order of several years.
● Considered a clean power producer,
as the turbine causes essentially no
change to the water.
Cons
● Normal wear and tear includes pitting
corrosion from cavitation, fatigue
cracking, and abrasion from
suspended solids in the water.
● Damaged areas are cut or ground out,
then welded back up to their original
or an improved profile. Elaborate
welding procedures are required to
achieve the highest quality repairs.
● Historically there have also been
negative consequences, mostly
associated with the dams normally
required for power production.
 RAM PUMPS
HISTORY

The first record of Rams was found in England in 1772 and was called as
“pulsation engine” invented by John Whitehurst, in the year 1816 Joseph
Montgolfier improved and be able to make the earlier pulsation engine
automated by adding some valves. The pulsation engine continuously
been patented and used as power source up to present, ram pumps or
also known as Hydram or Hydraulic Ram Pumps are installed and working
worldwide.
WHAT IS RAM PUMPS

Ram pump is a device which efficiently

operates without any external energy such as
electric energy or fossil fuels because the
kinetic energy of the water is the only power it
need to work, thus it is cost effective and very
useful in rural areas especially in farms that
lacks in other form of energy. It uses the water
hammer effect that develops pressure that
allows some of the input water that powers the https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.icimod.org%2Farticle%2Fwhen-
water-flows-up-how-the-hydro-ram-pump-can-potentially-increase-arable-land-size-in-gilgit-

pump to be lifted or transfer to a higher point baltistan%2F&psig=AOvVaw2x_3EaFD8evIKIAejMHqWD&ust=1638186874951000&source=images

&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCMjIx-b_uvQCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

than where the water source located first.

 (Parts of hydraulic ram pump https://akvopedia.org/wiki/File:PrincipleHydraulicRam.jpg )

working cycle of ram pump

● Water enters the drive pipe speeds up that makes the water pushes the waste valve to
close, because the water inside the pipe is still moving even the waste valve is close it
creates higher pressure in the pump and the water hammer effect takes place that
causes a small amount of water to be pumped through the check valve to the air
chamber, there the air in the air chamber pushes the water up to the delivery pipe that
transfer the water to higher elevation place than the water source.
 Power efficiency of Ram Pumps

A typical energy efficiency of ram pumps is 60%, up to 80%. Also the

volumetric efficiency relates the volume of water delivered to total water taken
from the source, the portion of water available at the delivery pipe will be
reduced by the ratio of the delivery head to the supply head. Thus if the source
is 2 meters above the ram and the water is lifted to 10 meters above the ram,
only 20% of the supplied water can be available, the other 80% will be spilled
via the waste valve.
 Advantages
● Pollution free for it does not use fuels to
work
● Cheap to assemble
● continuously pumps over long period of
time
● The parts are exposed so it is easy for
maintenance.
Disadvantages
● mainly used for pumping potable water
because it cannot pump viscous fluids
● It can pump only one tenth of the received
water volume remaining being wasted
through waste valve.
Overall Ram pumps have been efficient for all the farmers and/or
homeowners, it shows effectiveness without using other elements but the
pipes, valves and the water itself. It is not that versatile but it is surely useful
to its intended purpose.
 Solving Water Power
Formula:
P=ηρQgh
Where:
P = power (Watts)
η = turbine efficiency
ρ = density of fluid (kg/m3)
Q = flow rate (m3/s)
g = gravitational acceleration (m/s2)
h = head (m)*
*Note: Head.
For still water, this is the difference in height between the inlet and outlet
surfaces. Moving water has an additional component added to account for the
kinetic energy of the flow. The total head equals the pressure head plus velocity
head.
 Application of Water Power
1. Generates Eco Friendly Energy

It is a source of renewable energy that does not produce air pollution and other toxic by-
products that makes it as eco-friendly energy source. Places that rely to this power
source has identified to have cleaner air and water, satellite imaginary proves that the
home to the most hydropower in United states in pacific Northwest is a place of low
carbon emission.

2. Creates Recreational Activities

Boating, swimming and fishing are some recreational activities that the reservoirs of
hydropower offer and most of the hydropower installation reservoirs are required to be
accessible for public so this advantage can be taken.
 Application of Water Power

3. Flood Risk Management

Flood management is a crucial part of hydropower plants because of the large volumes of water
that are accumulated to its reservoirs. Hydropower plants are actually intended to control and/or
prevent flood but sometimes it also cause flood when the reservoirs to the area overflow.

4. Provides Agricultural Irrigation Facility

Water from reservoirs are more used to irrigate crops at the time of droughts or extended dry
period where the natural water source is low. Other farms that are located to areas far from
natural water source rely to reservoirs to water their plants.
 References
Bellis, M. (2019). The History of the Water Wheel. Retrieved from
Thttps://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-waterwheel-
4077881&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1638452770929000&usg=AOvVaw1y3rWxpkuWZV-unss0eyZd

Donev, J.M.K.C. et al. (2018). Energy Education - Waterwheel [Online]. Available:

https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Waterwheel. [Accessed: November 30, 2021].

Gupta, J. (n.d.). Types of Impulse Turbine. https://mechanicaljungle.com/types-of-impulse-turbine

Gupta, J. (n.d.). What is Reaction Turbine? https://mechanicaljungle.com/reaction-turbine/

Saif, M. (July, 2021). What is impulse turbine and pelton wheel. https://www.theengineerspost.com/impulse-
turbine-working/

Saif, M. (April, 2021). Types of Reaction Turbine. https://www.theengineerspost.com/types-of-reaction-turbine/

Salian P. (n.d) Hydroelectric Power Plant – classification, Working and Application

https://electricalfundablog.com/hydroelectric-power-plant/
 References
Salian P. (n.d) Hydroelectric Power Plant – classification, Working and Application https://electricalfundablog.com/hydroelectric-power-
plant/

National Hydropower Association (n.d) Clean & Suitable https://www.hydro.org/waterpower/why-hydro/clean-and-sustainable/

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (n.d) Why use Hydropower? https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/benefits-hydropower

(Baker K., Bretthauer K., Behaim J.V.) October 10, 2019 Using Hydro Power Plant for Flood Prevention Enrergypedia
https://energypedia.info/wiki/Using_Hydro_Power_Plants_for_Flood_Prevention

Rutledge K. January 21, 2011 “Reservoir” National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/reservoir/

Technical notes: Hydraulic Ram Pump September 2007 from

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_041913.pdf

"How does a hydraulic ram pump work?" 1 April 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. <https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-
equipment/question318.htm>

“Hydraulic Ram Pumps - How They Work and are Used” August 2009 Hydraulics in Civil Engineering

https://www.brighthubengineering.com/hydraulics-civil-engineering/44729-learn-about-hydraulic-ram-pumps/#advantages-and-
disadvantages
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Hydram-Modern-Design-23-Efficiency-A-typical-energy-efficiency-is-60-but-up-to-80-
is_fig2_317031378
 Open Educational Resources
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0BLOKEZ3KU
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC9IVBGmITo
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpigNNTQix8
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZY_5RhSC
 SAQ and Activities
SAQ
1. A manually controlled precursor of the hydraulic ram was called_______.
2. A part that Montgofier add to make the first hydram automated.
3. It is a hydro powered device that rely to kinetic energy of the water to work.
4. It is a device that has paddles and uses flowing and falling water to generate power.
5. It relies on large quantities of water moving quickly to move the wheel.
6. It is a device first used for grinding grains.
7. Turbines that require a pressure casement is needed to contain the working fluid as it acts on
the turbine stages or the turbines must be fully immersed in the fluid flow.
8. A reaction turbine that was made as an evolution of Francis turbine for low-head applications.
9. Turbines that utilizes kinetic energy of the moving fluid that is responsible for the spinning of the
turbine and thus leaves the fluid flow with diminished kinetic energy.
10. An impulse turbine that makes water to pass through the turbine transversely, or across the
turbine blades.

Activity
1. A stream in Tanay goes through a turbine that has 250 feet of head, with 25 cubic feet per
second of flow, and a power output of 300 BTU/s. What is the efficiency of the turbine?
2. Advantages and disadvantages of water power in the agricultural sector.