Paddle wheels lift materials and have been used for thousands of years in various contexts. They require a motor and were historically used for land drainage and construction projects. Middle Eastern inventors developed the sakia and noria, similar devices for water control. While not widely used, paddle wheels can still be useful for reclamation, irrigation, and dredging in remote regions. They may also be maintained as historical curiosities.
A paddle wheel is a device that lifts water, mud, or other materials. The design includes a hub fitted with radiating spokes terminating in carry buckets. Materials are discharged at the apex of the wheel as the buckets spin and can enter a storage bin, trough, or channel, depending on the system design. Paddle wheel designs have been used around the world for thousands of years in a variety of contexts and, historically, were particularly prevalent in Europe and the Middle East.
This equipment requires a motor to drive it. The old paddlewheels were sometimes powered by livestock or workers, before mechanical engines were developed to replace them. While these devices may superficially resemble water wheels, largely because they can be used in lakes and rivers, they are not driven by the water itself and can be used in standing and still water.
A popular historical use for the paddle wheel was in land drainage, particularly in low-lying regions. The wheel could collect water and mud for transfer, allowing people to grow crops and engage in other activities on the dried up land. They have also been used in construction projects such as canals such as dredges. The wheels could be curved and sharpened to allow them to dig into the base of the channel and collect material to clear the bottom, leaving a deep space for the personal watercraft.
In a Persian variant known as a sakia, the device drains from the center of the hub, rather than the top. Such paddle wheels have been installed in various regions of the Middle East for irrigation and water control. Middle Eastern inventors also developed the noria, another water-lifting device that acts as a pump to raise water to a new elevation, and some versions of this device also resemble a paddle wheel. Some extant examples can be seen in the ancient cities of the region, illustrating the engineering technology of past centuries.
While this technology isn’t widely used because it’s been replaced with more efficient alternatives, some paddle shovels still work, and communities occasionally build new ones. The basic design is simple enough that it can be implemented anywhere, even in a region with limited infrastructure, which can make it useful for reclamation, irrigation and dredging of canals in remote regions. Such devices may also be historical and cultural curiosities, and a paddle wheel may be maintained by a community as an example of historic engineering practices.
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