Water power engine
Encyclopedia
A Water power engine includes prime mover
s driven by water and which may be classified under 3 categories.
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
s driven by water and which may be classified under 3 categories.
- Water pressure motors, having a piston and cylinder with inlet and outlet valves: their action is that analogous of a steam- or gas-engine with water as the working fluidWorking fluidA working fluid is a pressurized gas or liquid that actuates a machine. Examples include steam in a steam engine, air in a hot air engine and hydraulic fluid in a hydraulic motor or hydraulic cylinder...
- see water engineWater engineThe water engine is a positive-displacement engine, often closely resembling a steam engine, with similar pistons and valves, that is driven by water pressure. The supply of water was derived from a natural head of water, the water mains, or a specialised high-pressure water supply such as that...
; - Water-wheelsWater wheelA water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...
; - Turbines, deriving their energy from high velocity jet of jets (the impulse machine), or from water supplied under pressure and passing through the vanes of a runner which is thereby caused to rotate (the reaction type).
See also
- Water engineWater engineThe water engine is a positive-displacement engine, often closely resembling a steam engine, with similar pistons and valves, that is driven by water pressure. The supply of water was derived from a natural head of water, the water mains, or a specialised high-pressure water supply such as that...
- Water-returning engineWater-returning engineA water-returning engine was an early form of stationary steam engine, developed at the start of the Industrial Revolution in the middle of the 18th century. The first beam engines did not generate power by rotating a shaft but were developed as water pumps, mostly for draining mines...
- Water turbineWater turbineA water turbine is a rotary engine that takes energy from moving water.Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now they are mostly used for electric power generation. They harness a clean and renewable energy...
- Working fluidWorking fluidA working fluid is a pressurized gas or liquid that actuates a machine. Examples include steam in a steam engine, air in a hot air engine and hydraulic fluid in a hydraulic motor or hydraulic cylinder...
- Rankine cycleRankine cycleThe Rankine cycle is a cycle that converts heat into work. The heat is supplied externally to a closed loop, which usually uses water. This cycle generates about 90% of all electric power used throughout the world, including virtually all solar thermal, biomass, coal and nuclear power plants. It is...
- Working fluid
- HydroelectricityHydroelectricityHydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...