Moderators, let me know if you want this to be moved to the Hydro forum
Hi Warpspeed
How did you know that was going to be my next question? I have been trying to understand the relationship between horsepower, watts and torque in layman's terms. I have seen the equations on paper, but I can't understand what it means as it relates to my project(math with letters isn't natural
) Chris Olsen talks about torque at the shaft or available watts from a particular prop. If I am going to use one of his designs I need to be able to figure if can be powered with a reasonable sized machine that can be pulled up on the beach.
I found an undershot waterwheel calculator, but it is telling me that my design has 0 estimated energy production. I am going to have 53 feet of blades in the water. I think there should be some power there.
http://www.borstengineeringconstruction.com/Undershot_Water_Wheel_Design_Calculator.html That pasted kinda funny, but the numbers are there. The bold print is the questions that requires answers in order to solve the calculation. What Am I doing wrong? If it helps the proposed design is basically a 4 axle rolling pin with barrels cut for blades. If somebody understands this calculator it may be useful. One thing that I did notice is that the RPM is only calculated at 2.1, but it allows me to change calculated numbers.
I can only estimate at this point because the water is (((cold)))
Stream Velocity (FPS) 1
Wheel Design Diameter (Feet, larger diameters yield more torque and lower RPM)
6
Wheel Design Width (Inches)
640
Blade Thickness (Inches, from Blade Stress Analysis Calculator)
.25
Shaft Diameter (Inches, from Shaft Stress Analysis Calculator)
1.5
Expected Wheel Efficiency (%, 15-25 with flat or 65-75 with curved blades is typical)
65
Expected Generator Efficiency (%, 90 typical for PMG)
75
Maximum Theoretical Power (KW, HP=KW/0.745)
0.001
Estimated Power (KW, HP=KW/0.745)
0.001
Estimated Energy (KWH/Month)
0
Maximum Steady Shaft Torque (Ft-Lbs)
2.3
Effective Head (Feet)
0.02
Effective Flow Rate (GPM, CFS=GPM/448.
372.0
Minimum Optimal Diameter (Feet)
0.05
Maximum Optimal Diameter (Feet)
0.09
Working Diameter (Feet)
5.98
Working Circumference (Feet)
18.80
Working Cross-Sectional Area (SF)
0.8
Optimal Rim Tangential Speed (FPS)
0.7
Optimal Rotation Speed (RPM)
2.1
Number of Blades
1274
Blade Spacing (Inches)
0.18
Blade Width (Inches)
0.19
Number of Radial Arms
4
Weight of Wheel (Lbs)
11948
Maximum Blade Force (Lbs)
1.6
Maximum Shaft Force (Lbs)
11950.0
Maximum Blade Bending Moment (In-Lbs)
85.8
Maximum Shaft Bending Moment (In-Lbs)
955997.3