Author(s)

OLIVIER CLEYNEN, EMEEL KERIKOUS, STEFAN HOERNER, DOMINIQUE THÉVENIN

Abstract

The power characteristics of a small-scale floating water wheel model operated in a water channel are monitored when buoyant bodies designed according to volume constraints are added by its sides. It is shown that specific body angle configurations can reduce and even compensate for the power loss associated with the interference of the bodies’ wake with the wheel. The bodies’ Froude number and longitudinal position are also shown to influence power characteristics. This investigation of the influence of the buoyancy-providing installation on the power output of a free-stream water wheel paves the way for more precise optimization work using computational and experimental techniques.

Keywords

floating water wheels, free-stream hydropower, river flow, free surface