Jurnal Polimesin discharge throughout the seasons.

In reality, not all river flow rates

are constant, and many watersheds have relatively modest
Department of Mechanical Engineering discharges.
State Polytechnic of Lhokseumawe
http://e-jurnal.pnl.ac.id/polimesin Utilization of the kinetic energy of river flow with several
already-known waterwheels, such as the container model
e-ISSN : 2549-1999 No. :2 Month : April
waterwheel, overshot, undershot, and undershot [6-8]. The
p-ISSN : 1693-5462 Volume : 21 Year : 2023 technology of small-scale micro-hydro power facilities using
several waterwheels above has been patented, including Japanese
Article Processing Dates: Received on 2022-09-04, Reviewed on patent no. JP2013127234A relates to waterwheels with variable
2022-10-11, Revised on 2022-10-23, Accepted on 2022-10-27, and blade angles in the overshot (overshot) water flow. US patent no.
Available online on 2023-04-25 US2019/0186457A1 has patented an undershot type waterwheel
that increases its wheel's power by directing a civil dam structure
The effect of variations in electric load on the toward its torso. European patent no. WO/2017/220995A1 has
performance of a 3 kW Micro Hydro Power Plant using also obtained a patent on the undershot type waterwheel by
an undershot waterwheel configuring the blades to enhance the inflow energy to the
waterwheel's blades. With respect to the majority of existing
Yusuf Dewantoro Herlambang1*, Bono1, Gatot Suwoto1, patents, no combination of civil structures with undershot
Suwarti1, Baktiyar Mei Hermawan1, F Gatot Sumarno1, waterwheels for power generation in open flow [9-10] at varying
Margana1, Marliyati3 discharge and electrical load flows (for irrigation canals and rivers
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politeknik Negeri in rural areas) with complete specifications have yet been
Semarang, Semarang 50275, Indonesia accomplished.
2
Department of Accounting, Politeknik Negeri Semarang, In addition to the gravitational potential energy, the influence
Semarang 50275, Indonesia of the weight of the water flowing into the blades must be
*Corresponding author: [email protected] regarded in the waterwheel [11-13]. The acceptable water drop
height for the wheel is between 0.1 m and 12 m, and the water
Abstract capacity is between 0.05 m3/s and 5 m3/s. The waterwheel is
utilized in regions where the water discharge is variable and the
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of the
water level is low. A waterwheel [14-16] with a slow rotation
undershot water wheel type with a 3 kW generator as a micro-
speed can be made of wood, whereas a waterwheel with a high
hydro power plant that generates electricity by utilizing water
rotation speed and enormous waterfalls can be made of iron.
power from paddy fields and local resources. Where the irrigation
The waterwheel is a device that converts the kinetic energy of
canal can irrigate approximately 247 hectares of rice fields during
water into mechanical energy [17-20], with the thrust of the water
the dry season. The research technique employs a waterwheel with
flow causing the axis of the wheel to rotate. This rotating wheel
a 1.1-meter diameter, 12 blades with a 70-centimeter blade arm
drives an electrical generator. Thus, electricity will be produced
length, and a 2-inch shaft diameter. The transmission system
that can be utilized for a variety of purposes. The flowing water
employs a chain to increase rotation and decrease slippage and
will strike the wheel's blades, causing the wheel to receive a
rotation losses, making it simpler to drive the generator to produce
number of forces that cause it to move. The operation of the
electricity. The test was conducted by varying the lamp capacity
waterwheel generates electricity until multiple energy
from 100 W to 800 W while maintaining constant water discharge
transformations occur due to electricity consumption. The same
and flow. Water discharge, water head, generator rotation, electric
principle applies to the use of electrical energy in this study as it
current traveling through the load, and output voltage are the test
does to other renewable energy generators, such as solar cells and
parameters. With a discharge of 0.476 m 3/s, a water flow speed of
fuel cells [21-22].
3.229 m/s, a waterwheel rotation of 42.39 rpm, and electric power
The first is the transformation of water's potential energy into
of 207 W, the utmost efficiency value of 8.35% was determined.
mechanical energy (motion) by the wheel. Both of these
mechanical energies will rotate the generator, causing electrons to
Keywords: Undershot waterwheel, electric load, generator power, leap due to the generator's rotation. This results in an
waterwheel rotation, efficiency electromagnetic current. The electric current is then distributed to
residences, rooms, factories, and anything else that requires it.
Here, depending on the need, the electric current is converted into
1 Introduction light energy for lamps or illumination, as in iron or oven, or into
In tandem with the depletion of fossil fuels, the annual growth fan propulsion, machines, and the like [23-25].
rate of Indonesia's electrical energy consumption is constant. This Utilizing the height of the descending water and the water
impacts Indonesia's elevated electricity demand [1-5]. According capacity, waterwheels are the most commonly imitated method of
to data from the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), its production. In addition to the gravitational potential energy, the
approximately 40 million Indonesians have not had access to influence of the weight of the water flowing into the blades must
electricity for a complete day, representing approximately 20% of be regarded in the waterwheel [26-28]. The acceptable water drop
the population. A total of 2,519 villages (mostly in four provinces: height for the wheel is between 0.1 m and 12 m, and the water
Papua, Maluku, Central Kalimantan, and Maluku) have not capacity is between 0.05 m3/s and 5 m3/s. The waterwheel is
received electricity from PLN, and there are still approximately utilized in regions where the water discharge is variable and the
12,659 villages out of a total of 82,190 villages in Indonesia water level is low. If the rotational speed is low and the cascades
without electricity. Therefore, efforts are being made to satisfy the are large, the material for the waterwheel can be wood, but if the
demand for electrical energy by utilizing micro-hydro power rotational speed is high and the waterfalls are large, the
plants. Micro-hydro is a small-scale hydroelectric power facility waterwheel can be made of iron [22].
with a per-unit capacity limit of 5 kW to 1 MW. Utilizing the Consequently, developing a model of an undershot type
energy of the watershed is one method of using micro-hydro combination waterwheel with a blade curvature angle of 30
power facilities (DAS). degrees to the flow of water discharge and electrical loading
A river flow suitable for use as a source of driving energy for variations is necessary for optimal performance. The waterwheel
micro hydro is one that flows year-round and has a consistent
Disseminating Information on the Research of Mechanical Engineering - Jurnal Polimesin Volume 21, No. 2, April 2023 214
can serve as the driving force for a Microhydro Power Plant diameter of the waterwheel is 1100 mm, and its twelve blades are
(MHP). The application of this undershot waterwheel with a 700 mm wide.
robust and sturdy galvalume plate blade as the prime mover for
other loads such as electricity generators is still uncommon or
nonexistent, particularly in Indonesia, which has low water flow
rates, particularly around irrigation waterways or river flows.
Therefore, this research represents an innovation in the application
of undershot waterwheels to open-channel systems as micro
hydropower facilities [29-31]. Examine the experimental model of
the combination breastshot and overshot waterwheel with a 30-
degree blade curvature angle.

2 Materials and Procedures

2.1 Materials
The stages of this research are conducted beginning with the
process of manufacturing waterwheels based on previously
determined design drawings, planning proportions, and
calculations. In the second stage of manufacturing the Waterwheel
blades, the type of material to be used is determined; specifically,
4 used drums with a thickness of 1.5 mm divided into 3 parts with
a height of 700 mm to produce some blades of the wheel and a 2-
mm-thick iron plate to cover the waterwheel. The diameter of the
waterwheel is 1100 mm, and its 12 blades are 700 mm wide. The
shaft is composed of AISI 1045 solid shaft steel with a diameter of
50,8 mm and a length of 1300 mm.
The manufacturing apparatus for the waterwheel consists of a
lathe and its accessories, an electric welding machine and its
accessories, a drilling machine, a cutting grinding machine, a
hacksaw, a steel ruler, a ring wrench, a plate cutter, a screwdriver,
an L wrench, and one set of tapping. The third step involves
varying the lamp capacity from 100 W to 800 W to test the
waterwheel on an open channel for agricultural irrigation. The
next step is to examine the characteristics of the waterwheel based
on the results of the experiments conducted in order to achieve
optimal performance according to the waterwheel's specifications. Fig. 1. Design of undershot waterwheel with chain transmission
The test measures the head on the flow channel, the rotation of mechanism to drive an electric generator
the generator shaft as measured by a manual tachometer, the speed
of the water flow as measured by a flow watch, and the voltage Fig. 1 shows the names of undershot waterwheel components:
and current of the generator as measured by the measuring (1) Blade holder plate with a thickness of 2 mm for holding the
instrument. While these data are used to calculate the discharge, waterwheel blade; (2) Fan belt B115 type for waterwheel rotation
hydraulic power, electrical power, and efficiency of the turbine. transmission; (3) Pulley 6 inches for transmitting the mechanical
All data is presented in tabular format with illustrative graphs in power of the waterwheel to the gear transmission mechanism; (4)
order to facilitate discussion and analysis. Preparation, preparing Generator of the asynchronous type for generating electrical
all test apparatus that will be used as both supporting components energy; (5) Fan belt B77 type for transmitting power from the gear
and measurements, including meters, Flow Watch, Hand transmission mechanism to the generator. (6) Pulley of three
Tachometers, Ammeters, and Voltmeters. inches for mechanical power transmission from the gear to the
At this stage, obtained after testing and data collection, the generator pulley; (7) Pulley of eight inches for mechanical power
parameters measured are the rotation of the wheel, the rotation of transmission. (8) Pillow block measuring three-quarters of an
the generator, the quantity of discharge, and the water flow speed. inch; (9) UNP 100 mm x 50 mm x 5 mm as a waterwheel support
After all the tests have been completed, the performance data of frame; (10) Shaft 20 mm in the gear transmission; (11) Sprockets
the waterwheel can be obtained and further analysis can be Z16 type to support transmission using chains; (12) Gear to
conducted by creating a graph of the tested wheel's performance transmit mechanical power to an electric generator; (13) Sprockets
characteristics. Z40 type to support transmission using chains; (14) Pulley 16
inches to transmit mechanical power from the waterwheel to the
gear mechanism; (15) Shaft 50 mm for transmitting mechanical
2.2 Methods power through the pulley; (16) Arm with a length of 1100 mm to
During the production of this waterwheel, a design has been hold the waterwheel atop.
chosen that has been adapted to the data acquired from field The results of the undershot waterwheel test are shown in
survey measurements in order to obtain the characteristics of the Table 1, along with the test parameters electrical loading, wheel
waterwheel that will be produced. The waterwheel’s design rotation, generator rotation, electric current, voltage, water flow
criteria include its durability, uniform size and shape, and rate, and water velocity.
resistance to corrosion. Based on these criteria, the iron plate
material was selected for the 2 mm waterwheel cover, and the
used drum material was selected for the 1.5 mm waterwheel blade
because it met the criteria in comparison to other materials. The

Disseminating Information on the Research of Mechanical Engineering - Jurnal Polimesin Volume 21, No. 2, April 2023 215
Table 1. Test results data on the undershot waterwheel that at a lamp load of 100 W, the rotation of the wheel can reach
Electric Waterwheel Generator/ Electric Voltage Mass Water 45 rpm. The rotation speed of the waterwheel decreases to 15.255
Load Rotation Electric Current (V) flow rate Velocity rpm along with the increase in the highest lamp load at the time of
(W) (RPM) Power (A) ( ) testing, which is 800 W.
( )
(RPM)
0 48,42 2152 0 345 0,476 3,229
100 45 2000 0,6 293 0,476 3,229
140 42.39 1884 0,75 276 0,476 3,229
180 31.185 1386 0,8 203 0,476 3,229
200 30.082 1337 0,85 194 0,476 3,229
240 27.697 1231 0,95 160 0,476 3,229
280 25.402 1129 1 148 0,476 3,229
300 24.885 1106 1,05 136 0,476 3,229
340 23.872 1061 1,1 110 0,476 3,229
380 23.152 1029 1,2 100 0,476 3,229
400 22.425 996.7 1,25 92 0,476 3,229
440 21.307 947 1,3 90 0,476 3,229
480 20.661 918,3 1,35 84 0,476 3,229
500 20.571 914,3 1,4 80 0,476 3,229
Fig. 3. Characteristics of generator power toward the electric load
540 19.836 881,6 1,45 74 0,476 3,229
580 19.192 853 1,5 70 0,476 3,229 Fig. 3 explained that the highest electrical power that can be
600 18.99 844 1,5 68 0,476 3,229 achieved is 207 W at a lamp load of 140 W, and the discharge
tends to be constant. While the highest lamp load that can be
640 18.184 808,2 1,55 64 0,476 3,229
achieved is 800 watts, with a voltage of 42 V and the lowest
680 17.172 763,2 1,55 60 0,476 3,229 power achieved is 71.4 W. The above is influenced by the rotation
700 16.989 755,1 1,6 55 0,476 3,229 of the pinwheel which decreases with increasing electrical load.
740 16.254 722,4 1,6 50 0,476 3,229 So that as the lamp load increases, lower electrical power is
generated. From the data above, the maximum power occurs at a
780 15.592 693 1,65 45 0,476 3,229
voltage of 276 V, because at that point, a current of 0.75 A is
800 15.255 678 1,7 42 0,476 3,229 generated. So that the optimal power is 207 W.

3 Results and Discussion

The test results were obtained by following the research
procedure, which included measuring the water head at the sluice
with a ruler, measuring the speed of water flow with a flow watch,
constructing a series of ammeters, voltmeters, and generators with
spade and crocodile cables, lowering the wheel to its maximum
position, and turning it on. generator, starting the test with a load
of 0 W, measuring the speed of rotation on the generator shaft
with a hand tachometer, reading the current flowing with an
ampere meter at each loading, reading the voltage at the generator
output with a voltmeter at each loading, recording the results of
the generator current, generator voltage, and the rotational speed
of the generator shaft, cleaning up the equipment after the test,
processing the data, and recording the rpm of the generator.

Fig. 4. Characteristics of system efficiency toward the electric

load

Efficiency is generated by calculating electrical power divided

by hydraulic power. Electrical power is influenced by the voltage
and current generated by the generator. The higher the electrical
power generated in the installation of certain lamp loads, the
higher the efficiency that can be achieved. Fig. 4 shows that the
highest efficiency of about 8.35% is obtained at the installation of
a 140 W lamp load. While the lowest efficiency of about 2.88% is
obtained at the installation of the highest lamp load of 800 W.

4 Conclusions
The following are the turbine's specifications: The diameter of
Fig. 2. Characteristics of turbine rotation toward the electric load the turbine is 1.1 meters, the width of the turbine is 0.7 meters, the
Fig. 2 shows that the higher the installed lamp load, the lower flow rate is 0.476 m3/s, the water level at the water channel is 0.64
the rotation of the waterwheel produced. In addition, it can be seen meters, the rotational speed of the turbine is 42.39 revolutions per

Disseminating Information on the Research of Mechanical Engineering - Jurnal Polimesin Volume 21, No. 2, April 2023 216
minute, the electric power is 207 watts, the voltage is 276 volts, [11] W. Warjito, D. Adanta, B. Budiarso, S.B.S. Nasution, &
and the capacity is 140 watts. The investigation of a micro- M.A.F. Kurnianto, “The Effect of Blade Height and Inlet
hydroelectric power facility with a waterwheel drive led to the Height in a Straight-Blade Undershot Waterwheel Turbine
following findings: The maximum wheel rotation at 100 W by Computational Method,” CFD Lett., vol. 11, no. 12, pp.
electrical load is 45 rpm, while the minimum wheel rotation at 800 66-73, 2020.
W electrical load is 15.255 rpm. The highest achievable electrical [12] I.L.K. Wong, J.E. Latupeirissa, & H.C.P. Tiwouy, “A
power is 207 watts at a lamp load of 140 watts, while the lowest Laboratory Scale Curve Bladed Undershot Water Wheel
achievable electrical power is 71.4 watts at an 800-watt lamp load; Characteristic as an Irrigation Power,” Int. J. Mech. Eng.,
the highest efficiency is 8.35% at a lamp load of 140 watts, while vol. 9, no. 9, pp. 1048-1054, 2018.
the lowest efficiency is 2.88% at an 800-watt lamp load. The [13] E.Y. Setyawan, S. Djiwo, D.H. Praswanto, P. Suwandono,
waterwheel's characteristics produce the highest system efficiency & P, Siagian, “Design of low flow undershot type water
of 8.35% at 42.39 rpm, which generates 207 Watts of electrical turbine,” J. Appl. Sci. Eng., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 50-55, 2019.
power, and the lowest efficiency of 2.88% at 15.255 rpm [14] Y. Kikuchi, T. Kiwata, S. Watada, & T. Kono,
generates 71.4 Watts of electrical power. “Experimental study on performance of undershot water
wheel in snow drainageway at shiramine district by field
Acknowledgments test,” Adv. Exp. Mech., vol. 3, pp. 104-110, 2018.
The authors gladly recognize research financial support provided [15] C. Promdee, & C. Photong, “Sustainability assessment of
by Penelitian Terapan Ungulan Program Studi scheme P3M hydropower water wheels with downstream migrating fish
Politeknik Negeri Semarang, the Indonesian Ministry of and blade strike modelling,” Sustain. Energy Technol.
Education, Culture, Research, and Technology in 2023. Assess., vol. 43, pp. 100943, 2016.
[16] L. Syofii, D.P. Sari, D. Adanta, M.A.A. Saputra, & Wadirin,
References “Moving Mesh as Transient Approach for Pico Scale
[1] Y.D. Herlambang, S.C. Lee, & H.C. Hsu, “Numerical Undershot Waterwheel, CFD Lett., vol. 14, no. 8, pp. 33-42,
estimation of photovoltaic-electrolyzer system performance 2022.
on the basis of a weather database.” International Journal of [17] G. Todorov, K. Kamberov, & M. Semkov, “Improvement of
Green Energy, vol. 14. no.7, pp. 575-586, 2017. undershot water wheel performance through virtual
[2] Y.D. Herlambang, A. Roihatin, S.C. Lee, & J.C. Shyu, prototyping,” Appl. Math. Eng. and Econ., vol. 2333, pp.
“MEMS-Based Microfluidic Fuel Cell for In Situ Analysis of 110011-1-110011-7, 2021.
the Cell Performance on The Electrode Surface.” Journal of [18] A. Buku, & B. Tangaran, “Planning of Flat Plate Undershot
Physics: Conference Series, IOP Publishing, vol. 1444, no. 1, Waterwheel as Mini Hydro Power Plant and Irrigation Power
pp. -12044, 2020. in Remote Areas,” Int. J. Adv. Eng. Tech., vol. 11, no. 12, no.
[3] Y.D. Herlambang, S.C. Lee, J.C. Shyu, & C.J. Liu, 342-349, 2020.
“Numerical study and modeling of the solar radiation [19] M. Darmawi, I. Bizzy, & R. Sipahutar, R., “Undershot
measurement on tilted surface for the local behavior Floating Waterwheel a Concept of Small Hydropower
database,” Journal of the Chinese Society of Mechanical Energy Development for Rural Areas of Indonesia,” J. Mech.
Engineers, vol. 37, no.5, pp. 441-448, 2016. Eng. Res. Dev., vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 3-9, 2022.
[4] Y.D. Herlambang, & S.C. Lee, “Application of [20] J.A. Hameed, A.T. Saeed, & M.H. Rajab, “Design and Study
Electrochemical Supercapacitor to Photovoltaic System on of Hydroelectric Power Plant by Using Overshot and
Unmanned Flying Machine,” Smart Grid Renew. Energy, Undershot Waterwheelsel, International Journal of Energy
vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 77-87, 2014. optimization,” International Journal of Energy Optimization
[5] Y.D. Herlambang, Supriyo, B. Prasetiyo, A.S. Alfauzi, T. and Engineering, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 39-58, 2019.
Prasetyo, Marliyati, and F. Arifin, “Experimental and [21] Y.D. Herlambang., K. Kurnianingsih, A. Roihatin, F. Arifin,
Simulation Investigation on Savonius Turbine- Influence of “Model experimental of photovoltaic-electrolyzer fuel cells
Inlet-Outlet Ratio Using a Modified Blade Shaped to as a small-scale power. International Conference on
Improve Performance,” Evergreen-Joint Journal of Novel Vocational Education of Mechanical and Automotive
Carbon Resource Sciences & Green Asia Strategy, vol. 9, no. Technology. IOP Publishing, Yogyakarta Indonesia, 5
2, pp. 457-464, 2022. Oktober 2020, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, vol.
[6] D. Adanta, S.A. Arifianto, S.B. Nasution, & Budiarto, 1700, no. 1, pp. 012100, 2020.
“Effect of blade number on undershot waterwheel [22] Y.D. Herlambang, T. Prasetyo, A. Roihatin, Y.M. Safarudin,
performance with variable inlet velocity,” 4th International & F. Arifin, “Hybrid Power Plat of the Photovoltaic-Fuel
Conference on Science and Technology (ICST), Yogyakarta, Cell,” IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering,
Indonesia, 2018. International Conference on Innovation in Science and
[7] E. Quaranta, & G. Muller, “Optimization of undershot water Technology (ICIST 2019), IOP Publishing, vol. 1108, pp.
wheels in very low and variable flow rate applications. J. 012049, 2021.
Hydraul. Res., pp. 845-849, 2019. [23] E. Antar, & M. Elkhoury, “Parametric sizing optimization
[8] I.L.K. Wong, A. Buku, J.E. Latupeirissa, & H.C.P. Tiwouy, process of a casing for a Savonius vertical axis wind
“Performance of undershot waterwheel curved blade of the turbine,” Renew. Energy., vol. 136, pp. 127-138, 2019.
laboratory scale,” Mater. Sci. Forum, vol. 967, pp. 250-255, [24] A.L. Manganhar, A.H. Rajpar, M.R. Luhur, S.R. Samo, &
2019. M. Manganhar, “Performance analysis of a Savonius vertical
[9] F.M. White. Fluid Mechanics. 5th edition, McGraw-Hill, axis wind turbine integrated with wind accelerating and
University of Rhode Island, USA, 2016. guiding rotor house,” Renew. Energy., vol. 136, pp. 512-520,
[10] D.P. Sari, Helmizar, I. Syofii, Darlius, & D. Adanta, “The 2019.
effect of the ratio of wheel tangential velocity and upstream [25] A.S. Saad, L.L. Sharkawy, S. Ookawara, & M. Ahmed,
water velocity on the performance of undershot “Performance enhancement of twisted-bladed Savonius
waterwheels,” J. Adv. Res. Fluid Mech. Therm.Sci., vol. 65, vertical axis wind turbines,” Energy Convers. Manag., vol.
no. 2, pp. 170-177, 2020. 209, no. 112673, pp. 1-19, 2020.

Disseminating Information on the Research of Mechanical Engineering - Jurnal Polimesin Volume 21, No. 2, April 2023 217
[26] R. Alipour, R. Alipour, F. Fardian, S.S.R. Koloor, & M.
Petru, “Performance improvement of a new proposed
Savonius hydrokinetic turbine: a numerical investigation,”
Energy Rep., vol. 6, pp. 3051-3066, 2020.
[27] M.E. Nimvari, H. Fatahian, & E. Fatahian, “Performance
improvement of a Savonius vertical axis wind turbine using a
porous deflector,” Energy Convers. Manag., vol. 220, no.
113062, pp. 1-13, 2020.
[28] S. Sharma, & R.K. Sharma, “Performance improvement of a
Savonius rotor using multiple quarter blades-A CFD
investigation,” Energy Convers. Manag., vol. 127, pp. 43-54,
2016.
[29] M. Zemamou, M. Aggour, & A. Toumi, “Review of
Savonius wind turbine design and performance,” Energy
Procedia., vol. 141, pp. 383-388, 2017.
[30] H. Belmili, R. Cheikh, T. Smail, N. Seddaoui, & R.W. Biara,
“Study, design, and manufacturing of hybrid vertical axis
Savonius wind turbine for urban architecture,” Energy
Procedia., vol. 136, pp. 330-335, 2017.
[31] S.C. Goh, S.R. Boopathy, C. Krishnaswami, & J.U. Schluter,
“Tow testing of Savonius wind turbine above a bluff body
complemented by CFD simulation,” Renew. Energy., vol. 87,
pp. 332-345, 2016.

Disseminating Information on the Research of Mechanical Engineering - Jurnal Polimesin Volume 21, No. 2, April 2023 218