| dc.description.abstract | To reduce operating costs, the power efficiency of paddle wheel aerator needs to be improved. The purpose of this study was to design a paddle wheel aerator with movable blades to reduce its rotation power requirement and produce the best aeration performance. In this aerator design, paddles were driven to open and close on hinges using cam-rods mechanism, in which the paddles opened while scooping up water, and closed when paddles were above the water surface. The aerator was rotated using an electric motor. Performance tests were carried out on a test pond, on operating depths of 4 and 6 cm, with a combination of rotational speed of 115, 135, and 154 rpm. In the test, the electrical power requirements, and the performance of aeration, i.e.: water covering area, bursts length, and bursts wide were measured. The test results showed that the use of electric power could be reduced about 2-5 watts using the paddle wheel aerator with movable paddles, at operating depth of 4 cm at all rotational speeds tested. But at 6 cm operating depth, the use of the movable paddles type aerator could not reduce the need for electrical power. The resulting aeration performance of of the movable paddles aerator was relatively similar with that of the fixed blade aerator. | en |
