Evaluation of Low-Cost Floating Undershot Water Wheel with Varied Water Level and Blade Numbers

2. Despite the potential of hydropower, hydroelectric power systems require

expensive and elaborate structures such as drums which block rivers and storage

ponds or lakes, which adversely impact the environment. But as stated from the

previous section, hydroelectric power doesn’t necessarily require a large dam. The

presence of flowing rivers, mini-hydropower such as water wheel becomes an

alternative solution. However, as most water wheel are fixed in position and do not

vary with water level, these harvesters are frequently blocked by debris and require

expertise for maintenance of the complex structure and it cannot operate in

optimum performance where there is a change in water level. Thus, researcher

aims to develop a cost-efficient floating water wheel device which is portable and

which varies with water level and blade numbers .

1. Construct a low-cost water wheel based on the existing water wheel.

2. Compare the power output of the water wheel at varied combination of
water level and blade numbers
3. Evaluate the performance of the floating water wheel at varied
combination of water level and blade numbers
4. Convert kinetic energy of the water flow into electrical energy.

1.
The study will be conducted in 5 trials with one-hour interval. Multimeter will be used
to determine the power generated by the water wheel
Testing of water wheels were done for different types of wheels at site. The wheels for
testing were made by using three types of blades and two different numbers of blades
compositions (6 and 12) at different water level (0.25m, 0.5, and 0.75m). Multimeter will
be used to determine the power generated by the water wheel. After that, results will
be gathered for further analyses and evaluation.