Hydromechanical

Hydromechanical Technology History & Development

The conversion of kinetic energy into mechanical energy is not a new idea. As far back as 2000 years ago, wooden waterwheels were used to convert kinetic energy into mechanical energy. The exact origin of water wheels is not known, but the earliest reference to their use comes from ancient Greece.

Waterwheels

Waterwheels are a hydropower system for extracting power from a flow of water. It was a widely used system in the Middle Ages, powering most industry in Europe, along with the windmill. The most common use of the water wheel was to mill flour, where it was known as the watermill, but other uses included foundry work and machining, and pounding linen for use in paper. The largest waterwheels in the world are located in the Syrian city of Hama. A water wheel consists of a large wheel, typically wooden, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface. The wheel is mounted vertically on a horizontal axle that is used as a power take-off. Historic water wheels came in two basic forms, the undershot and overshot waterwheels (Wikipedia,2006).

For more information on Waterwheel visit Wikipedia's Waterwheel page, or for great pictures and some information see the Waterwheel Factory's Homepage.

Hydraulic Rams/Hydrams/Hammer Pumps

The downward movement of water from a height can also be used to pump water. The basic principle is that the movement of a large amount of water over a short distance creates enough pressure to pump a small amount of water a large distance. Devices that use this principle are called hydraulic ram pumps (or hydrams, see Figures 2 and 3).

For a simple animation of how a hydram works click here (15KB)
An Australian inventor, Ralph Glockemann, has developed a hydram pump that only requires a head of 0.5m, and yet is capable of pumping water to a height of over 200m. In the Glockemann Pump, the force of the inlet water acting on a diaphragm is used to pump smaller amounts of water long distances. The pump is able to use a flow rate of 4.5 litres per second and head of just 1.0m, to pump over 1500 litres per day to a height of 100m. This form of water pumping requires no fuel and is almost silent in operation, making it much more environmentally friendly than petrol or diesel powered pumps (Peck, 1995). There are many hydram manufacturers in Australia and globally, that offer various forms of hydram technology designed for specific applications, but which all follow the same basic principals.

Further Information

RISE Resources - Information regarding available renewable energy resources.

RISE Technologies - An extensive collection of information regarding renewable energy technologies.

RISE Applications & System Design - Renewable energy application information and system designs.

RISE System Displays - Case studies and information on installed renewable energy systems & performance data.

Tamar Designs, Australia

Platypus Power

Rainbow Power Company

Glockemann Water Pumps

References

Peck, K 1995, "Water-powered pumping", Soft Technology 53: pp. 40 - 42, Alternative Technology Association, Melbourne.

Wikipedia, 2006. "waterwheels" (Online) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterwheel (Accessed 23 February 2007).