CA2546897C - Water turbine for the extraction of energy from water currents - Google Patents
Water turbine for the extraction of energy from water currents Download PDFInfo
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- CA2546897C CA2546897C CA2546897A CA2546897A CA2546897C CA 2546897 C CA2546897 C CA 2546897C CA 2546897 A CA2546897 A CA 2546897A CA 2546897 A CA2546897 A CA 2546897A CA 2546897 C CA2546897 C CA 2546897C
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- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 title claims abstract description 95
- 238000000605 extraction Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 25
- 230000002706 hydrostatic effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 230000000644 propagated effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 238000005381 potential energy Methods 0.000 abstract description 8
- 238000005188 flotation Methods 0.000 abstract description 4
- 238000003306 harvesting Methods 0.000 abstract description 4
- 238000013461 design Methods 0.000 description 11
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 9
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 8
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 7
- ZZUFCTLCJUWOSV-UHFFFAOYSA-N furosemide Chemical compound C1=C(Cl)C(S(=O)(=O)N)=CC(C(O)=O)=C1NCC1=CC=CO1 ZZUFCTLCJUWOSV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 5
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000006378 damage Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000011065 in-situ storage Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000009417 prefabrication Methods 0.000 description 2
- 229910000831 Steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000012141 concentrate Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001066 destructive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000006073 displacement reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000009977 dual effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007613 environmental effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007667 floating Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000013505 freshwater Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 244000005700 microbiome Species 0.000 description 1
- 229920005594 polymer fiber Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 238000011160 research Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000087 stabilizing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000010959 steel Substances 0.000 description 1
- 210000003462 vein Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 239000003643 water by type Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03B—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS
- F03B13/00—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates
- F03B13/12—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy
- F03B13/26—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using tide energy
- F03B13/264—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using tide energy using the horizontal flow of water resulting from tide movement
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03B—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS
- F03B17/00—Other machines or engines
- F03B17/06—Other machines or engines using liquid flow with predominantly kinetic energy conversion, e.g. of swinging-flap type, "run-of-river", "ultra-low head"
- F03B17/062—Other machines or engines using liquid flow with predominantly kinetic energy conversion, e.g. of swinging-flap type, "run-of-river", "ultra-low head" with rotation axis substantially at right angle to flow direction
- F03B17/063—Other machines or engines using liquid flow with predominantly kinetic energy conversion, e.g. of swinging-flap type, "run-of-river", "ultra-low head" with rotation axis substantially at right angle to flow direction the flow engaging parts having no movement relative to the rotor during its rotation
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
- Y02E10/30—Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Oceanography (AREA)
- Other Liquid Machine Or Engine Such As Wave Power Use (AREA)
Abstract
The present Water Turbine allows for small (multi watt), to large scale (multi megawatts) energy extraction from currents, to be available as mechanical energy for conversion into electrical energy, and consists of blades(1), cables (2), shaft (3), and sometimes flotation sections in the blades.
The Water Turbine is designed for renewable energy extraction in the best eco-and bio-friendly way by creating its own hydrostatic pressure gradient across the Water Turbine, for potential energy extraction.
The Water Turbine is a cylindrical structure that is less than 50% submerged into the current and is designed to harvest potential energy, made available by the hydrostatic pressure gradient, induced across the blades, by the blades, that restrictively rotate substantially slower than the current during the extraction of energy from the current.
The Water Turbine is designed for renewable energy extraction in the best eco-and bio-friendly way by creating its own hydrostatic pressure gradient across the Water Turbine, for potential energy extraction.
The Water Turbine is a cylindrical structure that is less than 50% submerged into the current and is designed to harvest potential energy, made available by the hydrostatic pressure gradient, induced across the blades, by the blades, that restrictively rotate substantially slower than the current during the extraction of energy from the current.
Description
DESCRIPTION
Field of the Invention This invention relates to Water Turbines that are distantly related to water wheels for the extraction of energy from currents, to be available for conversion into electrical energy.
The invention further also relates to renewable energy generation in a near 100% eco- and bio-friendly way.
The invention further relates to small to large scale renewable energy generation in a cost effective way.
Background of the Invention The search has forever been going on for a system that could make the dreams of economical large scale renewable energy generation, and specifically eco-friendly energy generation, a reality.
Presently, only energy producing units such as solar and wind seems to be really eco-friendly and worldwide applicable although their energy production per m2 is somewhat low.
Geothermal has its massive eco- and bio-friendly features but its availability with present technology is limited to a few isolated spots around the globe.
Water though, with about a 1000 times advantage over wind at the same speed, seems to be the most logical medium to address in the serious search for renewable energy exploitation.
Currently however, the only significant hydro electric energy contributions come from large hydro electric schemes in dams in rivers, with their accompanying devastating impacts on the environment in terms of:
1. Its destruction of habitat (eco- and bio-systems), in the areas that is flooded and under water, 2. Its displacement of population from the areas, 3. Its destruction of eco-systems along the whole river below the dam, 4. Its production of unacceptable quantities of hothouse gasses such as CO2 as a result of rotting vegetation in the dams, 5. Its total prohibition on movement of all aquatic life that used to migrate up and down the river system, 6. Its destruction of virtually all non microscopic animal life that passes through its turbines.
Massive research has gone into ways to economically harvest marine current energy and wave energy, but up to now their contributions to the energy needs of the world has been marginal.
In comparing current energy with wave energy, the following has been found:
1. There are more potential in current energy than in wave energy, but current marine turbines employed to generate energy from this source has limitations on their blade lengths, their overall efficiencies, and therefore their energy output potential.
2. Numerous of these turbines will have to be positioned over a very large area in order to generate the same amount energy as can be achieved with a few of these Water Turbines in a fraction of the area.
3. These marine turbines can also not very effectively be used for energy extraction from tidal currents whereas; this Water Turbine, known by its trade name as the Water Wall Turbine, is ideally suited for this application.
Solutions offered by this Invention (with and through its application in water currents):
The rationale behind this Water Turbine, known as the Water Wall Turbine, is that it has moved away from the conventional marine turbine approach and design, that concentrates on kinetic energy extraction, is offering through its design, a system that can extract potential energy from currents This approach to extract potential energy from currents offers a unique solution to the conflicting problems encountered with the environment by renewable energy extraction systems such as hydro electrical with dams and barrages, solar, wind, geo-thermal, etc. as listed below:
1. Energy extraction and production potential, their 2. Cost effectiveness, and 3. Negative effects on the environment.
A solution offered by the new technology of this Water Turbine is the introduction and application of cables that perform dualistic roles, such as providing stability and strength enhancement of the superstructure of the water turbine, and thereby making possible the design and construction of massive but relative light water turbines that can create its own very large hydrostatic pressure gradient across its blades to provide potential energy for extraction, and also to transfer and process these forces that can amount to hundreds of tons due to the hydrostatic pressure gradient against the blades, as tensile stresses in the cables, to the shaft.
This patent in its solutions, allows for large forces from the current to be addressed for energy extraction by the large blade areas that now can be designed and be produced through the Water Wall Turbine technology, that makes it possible to design water turbines that can transfer forces of many hundreds of tons per blade to the shaft to convert the extracted energy into mechanical rotation energy.
The permutations of the Water Turbines' length to diameter are endless and are therefore ideal to be applied to various current profiles.
Brief summary of the Invention 1. It is an object of this invention to provide a method for the successful and efficient energy extraction from the renewable energy available in water currents for conversion into electrical energy.
2. It is a further object of this invention to overcome the limitations in energy extraction capacity per turbine as currently being experienced.
3. It is therefore a further object of this invention to increase the efficiency of energy extraction from currents.
4. It is a further object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of current methods and ways to produce large quantities of energy from the renewable energy available in water currents.
5. It is a further object of this Invention to provide a turbine design, where one turbine effectively can replace numerous of the windmill type marine turbines in terms of energy extraction potential per area.
6. It is another object of this invention to provide a way to overcome the destructive negative effect of the fast rotating blades of the current marine turbines on animal life.
Field of the Invention This invention relates to Water Turbines that are distantly related to water wheels for the extraction of energy from currents, to be available for conversion into electrical energy.
The invention further also relates to renewable energy generation in a near 100% eco- and bio-friendly way.
The invention further relates to small to large scale renewable energy generation in a cost effective way.
Background of the Invention The search has forever been going on for a system that could make the dreams of economical large scale renewable energy generation, and specifically eco-friendly energy generation, a reality.
Presently, only energy producing units such as solar and wind seems to be really eco-friendly and worldwide applicable although their energy production per m2 is somewhat low.
Geothermal has its massive eco- and bio-friendly features but its availability with present technology is limited to a few isolated spots around the globe.
Water though, with about a 1000 times advantage over wind at the same speed, seems to be the most logical medium to address in the serious search for renewable energy exploitation.
Currently however, the only significant hydro electric energy contributions come from large hydro electric schemes in dams in rivers, with their accompanying devastating impacts on the environment in terms of:
1. Its destruction of habitat (eco- and bio-systems), in the areas that is flooded and under water, 2. Its displacement of population from the areas, 3. Its destruction of eco-systems along the whole river below the dam, 4. Its production of unacceptable quantities of hothouse gasses such as CO2 as a result of rotting vegetation in the dams, 5. Its total prohibition on movement of all aquatic life that used to migrate up and down the river system, 6. Its destruction of virtually all non microscopic animal life that passes through its turbines.
Massive research has gone into ways to economically harvest marine current energy and wave energy, but up to now their contributions to the energy needs of the world has been marginal.
In comparing current energy with wave energy, the following has been found:
1. There are more potential in current energy than in wave energy, but current marine turbines employed to generate energy from this source has limitations on their blade lengths, their overall efficiencies, and therefore their energy output potential.
2. Numerous of these turbines will have to be positioned over a very large area in order to generate the same amount energy as can be achieved with a few of these Water Turbines in a fraction of the area.
3. These marine turbines can also not very effectively be used for energy extraction from tidal currents whereas; this Water Turbine, known by its trade name as the Water Wall Turbine, is ideally suited for this application.
Solutions offered by this Invention (with and through its application in water currents):
The rationale behind this Water Turbine, known as the Water Wall Turbine, is that it has moved away from the conventional marine turbine approach and design, that concentrates on kinetic energy extraction, is offering through its design, a system that can extract potential energy from currents This approach to extract potential energy from currents offers a unique solution to the conflicting problems encountered with the environment by renewable energy extraction systems such as hydro electrical with dams and barrages, solar, wind, geo-thermal, etc. as listed below:
1. Energy extraction and production potential, their 2. Cost effectiveness, and 3. Negative effects on the environment.
A solution offered by the new technology of this Water Turbine is the introduction and application of cables that perform dualistic roles, such as providing stability and strength enhancement of the superstructure of the water turbine, and thereby making possible the design and construction of massive but relative light water turbines that can create its own very large hydrostatic pressure gradient across its blades to provide potential energy for extraction, and also to transfer and process these forces that can amount to hundreds of tons due to the hydrostatic pressure gradient against the blades, as tensile stresses in the cables, to the shaft.
This patent in its solutions, allows for large forces from the current to be addressed for energy extraction by the large blade areas that now can be designed and be produced through the Water Wall Turbine technology, that makes it possible to design water turbines that can transfer forces of many hundreds of tons per blade to the shaft to convert the extracted energy into mechanical rotation energy.
The permutations of the Water Turbines' length to diameter are endless and are therefore ideal to be applied to various current profiles.
Brief summary of the Invention 1. It is an object of this invention to provide a method for the successful and efficient energy extraction from the renewable energy available in water currents for conversion into electrical energy.
2. It is a further object of this invention to overcome the limitations in energy extraction capacity per turbine as currently being experienced.
3. It is therefore a further object of this invention to increase the efficiency of energy extraction from currents.
4. It is a further object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of current methods and ways to produce large quantities of energy from the renewable energy available in water currents.
5. It is a further object of this Invention to provide a turbine design, where one turbine effectively can replace numerous of the windmill type marine turbines in terms of energy extraction potential per area.
6. It is another object of this invention to provide a way to overcome the destructive negative effect of the fast rotating blades of the current marine turbines on animal life.
7. It is another object of this invention to provide a renewable energy generating method to make redundant the need to build dams for new hydro electric generating systems in rivers.
8. Similarly it is further another object of this invention to provide a renewable energy generating method to make redundant the need to build eco- and bio-unfriendly barrages in estuaries and tidal streams.
9. It is yet another object of this invention to overcome most of the size and weight restraints on the structure by using cables that are under stress, to stabilize the blades and shaft structure integrity.
10. It is yet a further object of this invention to provide an uncomplicated, cost effective, safe and reliable method to transfer the energy extracted from a water current on the blades to the shaft, by means of cables that serves the dual purpose of transferring forces exerted on the blades by the current, to the shaft as well as providing structural stability of the Water Turbine.
11. It is another object of this invention to simplify the manufacturing of the Water Turbine by means of modular pre-fabrication.
12.A further object is the advantage offered by the Water Turbine that most of it can be constructed with low skilled workers.
13. The further solution and object offered with the Water Turbine is that most of the components do not require costly high precision engineering work.
14. It is a further object of this invention is to provide the unique quick and non-invasive construction and installation features to ensure minimal negative environmental impact around the site during construction and commissioning by means of modular pre-fabrication of the Water Turbine off site.
15. It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a method to minimize the negative effect of large road making to provide for the transport of very large units, by prefabricating the modular sections of the Water Turbine off-site, so it can be assembled on site.
16. It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple and cost effective way of transporting the modules to the site by incorporating flotation devices in the modular blade/shaft sections so they can be floated to their destination, to be assembled in situ with minimum eco-damage.
17. It is yet another object of this invention to provide a design that will minimize the negative ecological effect during energy extraction from water currents.
18. It is a further object of this invention to provide a design that will require much less time from conception to commissioning than any of the present comparable energy generation systems.
19. It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a design for construction that will be cost effective.
20. It is another object of this Invention to provide a Water Turbine with practical and easy maintenance facilities.
Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1: This figure shows an end view of a typical design of a Water Turbine indicating cables, blades, and shaft.
Fig. 2: This figure shows a side view of a Water Turbine in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3: This figure shows an isometric view of a Water Turbine, showing the shaft and blades without cabling.
The embodiments of this invention in which exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
With reference to the drawings and, in particular, with reference to Fig. 1 and 2, this Water Turbine construction consists of a shaft 3, with radiating blades 1 around it, and these blades are stabilized by cables 2, and the cables, dualistically, also act as instruments to transfer the force exerted by the current on the blades, to the shaft 3.
Glossary of numbers used in drawings:
1. Blade 2. Cables 3. Shaft 4. New water levels as a result of the energy extraction process 5. Normal water level 6. Differences between water levels across the Water Turbine Detailed Description of the Invention The Water Turbine known by its trade name Water Wall Turbine:
The Water Turbine is a method and design for the extraction of potential, as well as kinetic energy from a water current.
The Water Turbine structure in the main consists of the shaft, blades and cables, and sometimes flotation sections in the blades.
The Water Turbine operates:
1. By means of the submerged blades that restrictively confronts the Current in order to extract energy from the current, 2. By transferring this extracted energy to the shaft by means of cables to rotate the shaft.
The principles on which the Water Turbine functions:
The hydrostatic pressure difference across the blades forces the blades to move, and thus to rotate the Water Turbine.
This hydrostatic pressure gradient represents the potential energy that, as a force, is hydraulically propagated across the submerged blade area.
The Water Turbine utilizes the features of water to convert the current kinetic energy, virtually lossless, into potential energy, and vice versa, therewith allowing the current to build up behind the blades, to be available as potential energy for harvesting.
The use of cables in the Water Turbine design to transfer the forces on, and from the blades to the shaft, enables the construction of relative light Water Turbines that can extract large quantities of energy from water currents.
The way the Water Turbine works:
The Water Turbine consists of a shaft with a number of large blades, joined to the shaft, parallel to and along the length of the shaft 3, and evenly distributed around the shaft, and radiating outwards. (See Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) The shaft is positioned horizontal and perpendicular to the current, with the bottom side of the Water Turbine blades immersed into the current, and with the shaft above the water level. (See Fig. 1) The hydrostatic pressure against the blades, pushes and moves the blades, and adjacent blades are continuously rotated into place, to confront the water current continuous, like walls, as they rotate around a horizontal axis, allowing for the extraction of energy from water currents.
The Water Turbine can operate in shallow to very deep waters, but the optimal performance, under similar current speeds, will be under conditions where the blades can successfully effect a restriction to the flow like a dam wall would, i.e.
distance between floor and lowest path of blade tip should be as small as practical possible to develop the maximum hydrostatic pressure gradient across the Water Turbine by minimizing the current losses around the blades.
As a result of the small relative-speed difference between the blades with cables, and the water, cables are used to provide structural stability to these large Water Turbine Blades without causing unacceptable resistance losses during operation.
The structural stabilizing cables of the Water Turbine are dualistically employed to transfer the force, exerted by hydrostatic pressure gradient on the blades, to the shaft, for rotation.
The construction of the Water Turbine:
A typical Water Turbine will consist of a shaft with a number of longitudinal blades radiating outwards along a length of the shaft, and they are stabilized by means of the dualistic nature of the structural and power transferring cables. (See Fig. 1, Fig. 2) The blades, shaft and cables can be of metal, steel, glass, or polymer fibers, or combinations of it.
Large Water Turbines could have, as part of the blade, a section that serves as floatation device to neutralize most of the weight that would otherwise have to be borne by the bearings.
The manufacturing of the Water Turbine:
The Water Turbine could be pre-manufactured in modules for final assembling in situ.
Each module of a large Water Turbine can, typically consist of one blade and one section of the shaft.
The maintenance of the Water Turbine:
Maintenance in tidal applications can be done during the slack period.
In canals and rivers and in some cases of small ocean applications, the Water Turbine can be lifted to allow free flow of current underneath it during maintenance.
Glossary:
"cable" will refer to any "structure", "medium" or "method" to transfer the current-forces on the blades by means of "tensile stresses" to the shaft.
"current" refers to currents such as fresh water currents or any marine currents.
"bio-" refers to the animal domain and animal life that are mostly larger than micro organisms.
"blade" will have the meaning of "turbine blade" or "turbine vein" referring to that area of the turbine that collects the energy from the current.
"blade area" refers to the vertical submerged area of the blades at the specific point in time.
"blade-length" is the maximum submerged length of the blade that has to be designed for.
"blade width" is the width of the blade measured parallel to the shaft.
"eco-system" maintains its normal definition.
"energy extraction" is the transfer of energy from the current to the Water Turbine shaft.
"flotation" device or section refers to the three dimensional clad and sealed sections of the blades that apart from adding to structural strength will provide floating capabilities to the blade module.
"force" maintains its normal definition.
"harvest" will have the same meaning as extract.
"hydrostatic pressure gradient" refers to the artificially induced water level difference, across the Water Turbine.
"hydro electric turbines" refers to the turbines used in hydro electric schemes in dammed up rivers or barraged water.
"marine turbine" refers to the "windmill type turbines" which are effectively submerged wind generator turbines, and are currently in use for energy extraction from marine currents.
"power" maintains its normal definition.
"The Water Wall Turbine" is the trade name for the described Water Turbine in this patent.
"stabilize" will have the meaning of "to give structural strength", "to give structural stability", and integrity in the engineering context.
"survive" has the meaning of being unhurt or undamaged.
"Water Turbine" is a "cylindrical structure" that is rotated by means of a water current for energy extraction.
"tidal zones" are as per normal definition.
Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1: This figure shows an end view of a typical design of a Water Turbine indicating cables, blades, and shaft.
Fig. 2: This figure shows a side view of a Water Turbine in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3: This figure shows an isometric view of a Water Turbine, showing the shaft and blades without cabling.
The embodiments of this invention in which exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
With reference to the drawings and, in particular, with reference to Fig. 1 and 2, this Water Turbine construction consists of a shaft 3, with radiating blades 1 around it, and these blades are stabilized by cables 2, and the cables, dualistically, also act as instruments to transfer the force exerted by the current on the blades, to the shaft 3.
Glossary of numbers used in drawings:
1. Blade 2. Cables 3. Shaft 4. New water levels as a result of the energy extraction process 5. Normal water level 6. Differences between water levels across the Water Turbine Detailed Description of the Invention The Water Turbine known by its trade name Water Wall Turbine:
The Water Turbine is a method and design for the extraction of potential, as well as kinetic energy from a water current.
The Water Turbine structure in the main consists of the shaft, blades and cables, and sometimes flotation sections in the blades.
The Water Turbine operates:
1. By means of the submerged blades that restrictively confronts the Current in order to extract energy from the current, 2. By transferring this extracted energy to the shaft by means of cables to rotate the shaft.
The principles on which the Water Turbine functions:
The hydrostatic pressure difference across the blades forces the blades to move, and thus to rotate the Water Turbine.
This hydrostatic pressure gradient represents the potential energy that, as a force, is hydraulically propagated across the submerged blade area.
The Water Turbine utilizes the features of water to convert the current kinetic energy, virtually lossless, into potential energy, and vice versa, therewith allowing the current to build up behind the blades, to be available as potential energy for harvesting.
The use of cables in the Water Turbine design to transfer the forces on, and from the blades to the shaft, enables the construction of relative light Water Turbines that can extract large quantities of energy from water currents.
The way the Water Turbine works:
The Water Turbine consists of a shaft with a number of large blades, joined to the shaft, parallel to and along the length of the shaft 3, and evenly distributed around the shaft, and radiating outwards. (See Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) The shaft is positioned horizontal and perpendicular to the current, with the bottom side of the Water Turbine blades immersed into the current, and with the shaft above the water level. (See Fig. 1) The hydrostatic pressure against the blades, pushes and moves the blades, and adjacent blades are continuously rotated into place, to confront the water current continuous, like walls, as they rotate around a horizontal axis, allowing for the extraction of energy from water currents.
The Water Turbine can operate in shallow to very deep waters, but the optimal performance, under similar current speeds, will be under conditions where the blades can successfully effect a restriction to the flow like a dam wall would, i.e.
distance between floor and lowest path of blade tip should be as small as practical possible to develop the maximum hydrostatic pressure gradient across the Water Turbine by minimizing the current losses around the blades.
As a result of the small relative-speed difference between the blades with cables, and the water, cables are used to provide structural stability to these large Water Turbine Blades without causing unacceptable resistance losses during operation.
The structural stabilizing cables of the Water Turbine are dualistically employed to transfer the force, exerted by hydrostatic pressure gradient on the blades, to the shaft, for rotation.
The construction of the Water Turbine:
A typical Water Turbine will consist of a shaft with a number of longitudinal blades radiating outwards along a length of the shaft, and they are stabilized by means of the dualistic nature of the structural and power transferring cables. (See Fig. 1, Fig. 2) The blades, shaft and cables can be of metal, steel, glass, or polymer fibers, or combinations of it.
Large Water Turbines could have, as part of the blade, a section that serves as floatation device to neutralize most of the weight that would otherwise have to be borne by the bearings.
The manufacturing of the Water Turbine:
The Water Turbine could be pre-manufactured in modules for final assembling in situ.
Each module of a large Water Turbine can, typically consist of one blade and one section of the shaft.
The maintenance of the Water Turbine:
Maintenance in tidal applications can be done during the slack period.
In canals and rivers and in some cases of small ocean applications, the Water Turbine can be lifted to allow free flow of current underneath it during maintenance.
Glossary:
"cable" will refer to any "structure", "medium" or "method" to transfer the current-forces on the blades by means of "tensile stresses" to the shaft.
"current" refers to currents such as fresh water currents or any marine currents.
"bio-" refers to the animal domain and animal life that are mostly larger than micro organisms.
"blade" will have the meaning of "turbine blade" or "turbine vein" referring to that area of the turbine that collects the energy from the current.
"blade area" refers to the vertical submerged area of the blades at the specific point in time.
"blade-length" is the maximum submerged length of the blade that has to be designed for.
"blade width" is the width of the blade measured parallel to the shaft.
"eco-system" maintains its normal definition.
"energy extraction" is the transfer of energy from the current to the Water Turbine shaft.
"flotation" device or section refers to the three dimensional clad and sealed sections of the blades that apart from adding to structural strength will provide floating capabilities to the blade module.
"force" maintains its normal definition.
"harvest" will have the same meaning as extract.
"hydrostatic pressure gradient" refers to the artificially induced water level difference, across the Water Turbine.
"hydro electric turbines" refers to the turbines used in hydro electric schemes in dammed up rivers or barraged water.
"marine turbine" refers to the "windmill type turbines" which are effectively submerged wind generator turbines, and are currently in use for energy extraction from marine currents.
"power" maintains its normal definition.
"The Water Wall Turbine" is the trade name for the described Water Turbine in this patent.
"stabilize" will have the meaning of "to give structural strength", "to give structural stability", and integrity in the engineering context.
"survive" has the meaning of being unhurt or undamaged.
"Water Turbine" is a "cylindrical structure" that is rotated by means of a water current for energy extraction.
"tidal zones" are as per normal definition.
Claims (5)
1. A Water Turbine, capable of extracting energy from a water current for conversion into electrical energy, comprising of a shaft, shaft bearings, blades, a first series of cables, each cable is affixed to, and under tension between adjacent blades towards the shaft, and in such a way that the extracted energy from the current by the blades, and forces from the current on the blades, that will now be in the form of tensile stresses in the cables, can be passed on though the other similarly affixed cables, through the consecutive blades to form a semi spiral towards the shaft where the cable nearest to the shaft is always affixed under tension between a blade and the shaft to fulfill its dualistic roles namely, for structural stability and integrity of the Water Turbine blades' position relative to the shaft, and also to serve as power transferring cables for blades that are confronting the current to extract energy from the current, and a second series of cables that are affixed under tension between consecutive blades, in a plane perpendicular to the rotating shaft, in such a way that they describe circular routes around the shaft, also to fulfill dualistic roles namely, for structural stability and integrity of the Water Turbine blades' position relative to the shaft, and also to serve as power transferring cables for blades, and when the blades face the current, and there is energy extraction from the Water Turbine, the Water Turbine will rotate slower than when it is rotating freely in the current when it is not extracting energy from the current, and thereby cause a restriction to the flow of the current, resulting in an increase in hydrostatic pressure gradient to form across the Water Turbine, resulting in a pressure that is hydraulically propagated across the submerged blade areas, and this hydraulic pressure on the blades is transferred, as tensile forces, to the shaft by means of said power transferring cables, causing the Water Turbine to rotate and thereby to serve as a rotational mechanical energy source.
2. The Water Turbine as claimed in claim 1, can be manufactured to size to address and extract mega watts of power as a result of the employment of cables as claimed in claim 1.
3. The Water Turbine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cables can be of any form and material capable of transferring the produced tensile forces to the shaft.
4. The Water Turbine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cables can be of any number, and angling from the blades towards the shaft in order to fulfill the roles of power transferring and provision of structural stability.
5. The Water Turbine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blades can be of any number or form in order to maximize the efficiency of energy extraction by the Water Turbine from the water current.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US11/464,199 US20070122279A1 (en) | 2005-08-18 | 2006-08-13 | Water Wall Turbine |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZA21012005/01445 | 2005-08-18 | ||
| ZA200501445 | 2005-08-18 |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2546897A1 CA2546897A1 (en) | 2007-02-18 |
| CA2546897C true CA2546897C (en) | 2011-07-26 |
Family
ID=37758516
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2546897A Expired - Fee Related CA2546897C (en) | 2005-08-18 | 2006-05-11 | Water turbine for the extraction of energy from water currents |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2546897C (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2007022549A2 (en) |
| ZA (1) | ZA200709738B (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2443697A (en) * | 2006-11-10 | 2008-05-14 | Robert James Siddall | Floating water wheel with buoyant blades |
| AU2020236379B2 (en) | 2019-03-08 | 2023-08-17 | Big Moon Power, Inc. | Systems and methods for hydro-based electric power generation |
Family Cites Families (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US1327745A (en) * | 1914-07-20 | 1920-01-13 | Wilber H Tharp | Current-motor |
| US4270056A (en) * | 1980-02-15 | 1981-05-26 | Wright Oliver D | Undershot current motor |
| ES2049600A2 (en) * | 1991-10-04 | 1994-04-16 | Sanchez Doncel | Energy-generating hydraulic installation |
| JP3038581B2 (en) * | 1998-08-21 | 2000-05-08 | 明司 的場 | Turbine generator |
-
2006
- 2006-05-11 CA CA2546897A patent/CA2546897C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2006-08-18 WO PCT/ZA2006/000102 patent/WO2007022549A2/en active Application Filing
-
2007
- 2007-11-12 ZA ZA200709738A patent/ZA200709738B/en unknown
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2546897A1 (en) | 2007-02-18 |
| ZA200709738B (en) | 2009-08-26 |
| WO2007022549A3 (en) | 2007-09-27 |
| WO2007022549A2 (en) | 2007-02-22 |
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |
Effective date: 20220511 |