Poncelet water wheel
Rueda hidráulica de Poncelet
- Date
- 1823-1826 · confidence medium
- Place
- Metz, Moselle, France
- Credited to
- Jean-Victor Poncelet
- People
- 👤 Jean-Victor Poncelet1788–1867
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
An undershot wheel with curved blades that guides the water without impact, with an efficiency of about 60% against 25% for a flat-bladed wheel. It was designed for low-head streams.
Poncelet presented the idea in 1823 and published it in 1825-1827; he was a pioneer of calculating mechanical work in machines.
What it led to
- modernisation of mills and factories on low heads
- application of rational mechanics to turbine design
- a step towards the water turbine