- #1
RonL
Gold Member
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- 219
Horizontal Waterwheel (from: "centrifugal force" thread)
This is all over my head, but I'm in the water and I want to learn,
Maybe you guys need a mechanical challenge to apply your classical physics to.
I know very little of what has been said, or how to make calculations, but I think I have an understanding of mechanical things and how they work, size relations have a tendency to mess things up
In relation to what's been discussed, a project I would like to propose, is a horizontal waterwheel.
We start with a body of water around 10 feet deep, with a bedrock bottom. A perfectly flat mount point of suitable size is machined onto the surface of the bedrock, and a standpipe is secured in a perfect vertical position, this pipe will serve at least three functions, maybe more.
1.Two or more sections can be sealed to serve as compressed air storage.
2.A portion will serve as a conduit for water inlet at the bottom center of the waterwheel.
3.The top area will serve as a place to mount a compressor unit (air, and possibly a refrigeration system).
The wheel will be a shell of some diameter (in my case 10') and a depth of around 4', in the center a bearing sleeve is secured and braced as needed, with one or more holes to allow water to flow in.
Two or more air motors driving water pumps, are mounted and designed to move water discharge at a tangent to the inner curve of the shell.
At rest the shell sets in the water at a depth just short of sinking. Compressed air in the standpipe is used to start the motor driven pumps and as velocity builds, the water(inside the shell) starts to spill over the top. The reduced volume of water allows the shell to rise, reducing external friction against the lake body. As the shell rises up the standpipe, ports in both the pipe and sleeve align and water enters at the near void bottom center, which creates a continual replacement for the water being forced over the top.
With the help of friction tabs attached to the inner shell a great amount of kinetic energy from the rotating body of water will transfer torque to the shell, which in turn drives the air compressor mounted to the stand pipe.
Not sure if I have provided enough detail, (there are several ways to add to this basic design). Hope to see if anyone will have thoughts as to the forces, or non forces at play here.
My thoughts are, what's in play here is,
1. Gravity
2. Hydraulics (fluid dynamics)
3. Friction ( positive and negative)
4. Air compression and expansion (thermal transfer)
5. Heat pump cycle, transformed into mechanical functions (mentioned, but no details)
6. Solar transfer, Sun to Lake surface.
My main point here is based on the OP, and the general discussion, what's going on with the spinning water, and shell ?? I think that power can be removed as a results of gravity, and mass storage of energy between the sun and lake.
Some really sharp people have contributed to this thread and I hope to hear some good responses. I have the land, and most materials, but the time, manpower, and resources(financial mostly) exceed my limits.
Thanks for any input.
Ron
This is all over my head, but I'm in the water and I want to learn,
Maybe you guys need a mechanical challenge to apply your classical physics to.
I know very little of what has been said, or how to make calculations, but I think I have an understanding of mechanical things and how they work, size relations have a tendency to mess things up
In relation to what's been discussed, a project I would like to propose, is a horizontal waterwheel.
We start with a body of water around 10 feet deep, with a bedrock bottom. A perfectly flat mount point of suitable size is machined onto the surface of the bedrock, and a standpipe is secured in a perfect vertical position, this pipe will serve at least three functions, maybe more.
1.Two or more sections can be sealed to serve as compressed air storage.
2.A portion will serve as a conduit for water inlet at the bottom center of the waterwheel.
3.The top area will serve as a place to mount a compressor unit (air, and possibly a refrigeration system).
The wheel will be a shell of some diameter (in my case 10') and a depth of around 4', in the center a bearing sleeve is secured and braced as needed, with one or more holes to allow water to flow in.
Two or more air motors driving water pumps, are mounted and designed to move water discharge at a tangent to the inner curve of the shell.
At rest the shell sets in the water at a depth just short of sinking. Compressed air in the standpipe is used to start the motor driven pumps and as velocity builds, the water(inside the shell) starts to spill over the top. The reduced volume of water allows the shell to rise, reducing external friction against the lake body. As the shell rises up the standpipe, ports in both the pipe and sleeve align and water enters at the near void bottom center, which creates a continual replacement for the water being forced over the top.
With the help of friction tabs attached to the inner shell a great amount of kinetic energy from the rotating body of water will transfer torque to the shell, which in turn drives the air compressor mounted to the stand pipe.
Not sure if I have provided enough detail, (there are several ways to add to this basic design). Hope to see if anyone will have thoughts as to the forces, or non forces at play here.
My thoughts are, what's in play here is,
1. Gravity
2. Hydraulics (fluid dynamics)
3. Friction ( positive and negative)
4. Air compression and expansion (thermal transfer)
5. Heat pump cycle, transformed into mechanical functions (mentioned, but no details)
6. Solar transfer, Sun to Lake surface.
My main point here is based on the OP, and the general discussion, what's going on with the spinning water, and shell ?? I think that power can be removed as a results of gravity, and mass storage of energy between the sun and lake.
Some really sharp people have contributed to this thread and I hope to hear some good responses. I have the land, and most materials, but the time, manpower, and resources(financial mostly) exceed my limits.
Thanks for any input.
Ron