Alphonse Sagebien
Encyclopedia
Alphonse Eléonor Sagebien (1807-1892) was a French
hydrological
engineer born in Amiens
and the inventor of the Sagebien wheel
- a device that made hydraulically powered systems much more efficient in extracting energy from moving water.
Sagebien graduated with a degree in engineering in 1833 at École Centrale Paris
and worked primarily in metallurgy
. He discovered many of the mineral seams still worked today in the French department of Pas-de-Calais. After 1848, he shifted to hydrological engineering, designing and patenting the wheel that bears his name. This invention is able to extract 50% more energy from flowing water than previous paddle-based systems and is still used today.
Sagebien was also a municipal counsellor for Amiens from 1878 to 1888.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
hydrological
Hydrology
Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
engineer born in Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
and the inventor of the Sagebien wheel
Sagebien wheel
The Sagebien wheel is a type of water wheel invented by Alphonse Sagebien of France. It was one of the most efficient breastshot water wheel designs of its era; when working on a low head of water, the Sagebien wheel could reach efficiencies of up to 90% in real world examples.-Design:Traditional...
- a device that made hydraulically powered systems much more efficient in extracting energy from moving water.
Sagebien graduated with a degree in engineering in 1833 at École Centrale Paris
École Centrale Paris
École Centrale Paris is a French university-level institution in the field of engineering. It is also known by its original name École centrale des arts et manufactures, or ECP. Founded in 1829, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious engineering schools in France and has the special status...
and worked primarily in metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
. He discovered many of the mineral seams still worked today in the French department of Pas-de-Calais. After 1848, he shifted to hydrological engineering, designing and patenting the wheel that bears his name. This invention is able to extract 50% more energy from flowing water than previous paddle-based systems and is still used today.
Sagebien was also a municipal counsellor for Amiens from 1878 to 1888.