Historical technology meets modern research
Researchers from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) are participating in the construction of a water wheel in Steffisburg. The aim of the water wheel is to continue to supply the Mühlebach stream with water and protect the ecosystem from drying out.
Researchers from the Mechanical Systems Engineering department of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in Dübendorf have been involved in the construction of a water pumping wheel in Steffisburg. According to a press release, the construction became necessary after the Zulg was lowered by two meters to protect the village from flooding. The Mühlebach stream, which had supplied Steffisburg’s businesses with water energy for centuries, was in danger of drying up, as was the surrounding ecosystem.
The challenge was to adapt the plant to the requirements near Steffisburg. “With a minimum Zulg outflow of one cubic meter per second, it must feed at least 125 liters of water into the Mühlebach,” Silvain Michel, project manager at Empa, is quoted as saying in the press release, “and even with lower inflows, at least 100 liters per second must still be pumped in order to preserve the biotopes.”
The model for the water pumping system was the pumping wheel developed by Walter Zuppinger in 1849. The water wheel, whose efficiency was scientifically confirmed in extensive tests in 2016, has already been used in the Glattfelden project installed by Empa.
In the current project in Steffisburg, the water wheel was modified again and fitted with a separate drive wheel. In addition to Empa, the EKZ design office in Thun and CFD-Schuck GmbH were involved in the technical implementation.