If the peripheral velocity of the water wheel is too great, water is thrown out of the buckets before reaching the bottom of the fall. In practice, the circumferential velocity of water wheels of the kind now described is from 41⁄2 to 10 ft. per second, about 6 ft. being the usual velocity of good iron wheels not of very small size. In order that the water may enter the buckets easily, it must have a greater velocity than the wheel. Usually the velocity of the water at the point where it enters the wheel is from 9 to 12 ft. per second, and to produce this it must enter the wheel at a point 16 to 27 in. below the head-water level. Hence the diameter of an overshot wheel may be
D = H − 11⁄3 to H − 21⁄4 ft.
Overshot and high breast wheels work badly in backwater, and hence if the tail-water level varies, it is better to reduce the diameter of the wheel so that its greatest immersion in flood is not more than 1 ft. The depth d of the shrouds is about 10 to 16 in. The number of buckets may be about
N = πD / d.
Let v be the peripheral velocity of the wheel. Then the capacity of that portion of the wheel which passes the sluice in one second is
Q1 = vb (Dd − d2) / D
= v b d nearly,
b being the breadth of the wheel between the shrouds. If, however, this quantity of water were allowed to pass on to the wheel the buckets would begin to spill their contents almost at the top of the fall. To diminish the loss from spilling, it is not only necessary to give the buckets a suitable form, but to restrict the water supply to one-fourth or one-third of the gross bucket capacity. Let m be the value of this ratio; then, Q being the supply of water per second,
Q = mQ1 = mb dv.
This gives the breadth of the wheel if the water supply is known. The form of the buckets should be determined thus. The outer element of the bucket should be in the direction of motion of the water entering relatively to the wheel, so that the water may enter without splashing or shock. The buckets should retain the water as long as possible, and the width of opening of the buckets should be 2 or 3 in. greater than the thickness of the sheet of water entering.
| Fig. 180. |