FR2809139A1 - Hydroelectric hydraulic installation in which operation can be in generator or aerator mode, includes turbine, generator, compressor and distributor - Google Patents

Abstract

The installation (10) includes a turbine (15), an electric generator (20) and an air compressor (22). The generator is driven by the turbine and supplies electrical energy. The compressor can be coupled to the turbine so as to inject air for aeration of a water course. The compressor includes a air output connected to a retractable distributor (25) whose vertical dimension sensibly corresponds to the water course height. The distributor is placed downstream of the installation. The distributor includes at least a hollow tube in fluid communication with a series of hollow parallel arms having various diameter openings. The installation (10) is situated up stream of a water reservoir (12) and in which the installation is crossed by a sheet of water sensibly corresponding to the retained water height .

Description

 The present invention relates to a hydraulic installation on a watercourse for the production of electricity, associated with a system for enriching the water rate. water in dissolved oxygen.

major problem of many streams is their oxygenation. In fact, during periods of low water, especially in the summer, the flow of certain rivers, mainly large rivers flowing slowly in the plains, decreases considerably and these rivers become depleted in oxygen. This depletion of oxygen is due, on the one hand, to the decrease in the turbulence of the watercourse and, on the other hand, to the rise in the temperature of the water, which diminishes the capacity of the water. water to dissolve oxygen. In order for the flora and fauna of the watercourse to survive, it is necessary to enrich the water with artificial oxygen.

Thus, air injections are sometimes made at the surface of the streams. These superficial injections are easy to perform, but they are not very effective. Pure oxygen injections were also made at the bottom of the streams. However, such injections require an important infrastructure. In addition, they need external sources of energy and oxygen, high operating costs.

In addition, the development of hydroelectric facilities in areas where a watercourse has an acceptable elevation can not improve the oxygenation of the watercourse that results from disturbances due to natural falls. Thus, there are many hydroelectric development projects of rivers that are abandoned because they can not contribute to the oxygenation of water. Predicting artificial oxygenation of water then represents additional costs, making the project economically unsustainable.

Figure 1 shows, in section, a reservoir of water on a watercourse. The water flows in the direction of arrow A. Upstream of a dam 1 resting on the bottom 6 of the watercourse, is formed a reservoir of water 2. The superficial part 3 of the stream crosses the dam and empties downstream by a waterfall 4. Then the stream flows normally or joins a reservoir 2 'of another dam the.

The superficial part of the water reservoir is in principle well oxygenated. Indeed, it flows less slowly than the deeper layers 5 of the bottom of the reservoir and has a large contact surface with oxygen in the ambient air. In addition, crossing the dam, she undergoes a brewing Phenana which contributes to its oxygenation.

By cons, the part 5 of the bottom of the reservoir is poorly oxygenated. Indeed, many factors oppose its good oxygenation. First, it is a confined volume that has a long transit time. Also, the temperature is lower, making the water more dense, which reinforces its tendency to stagnate. The organic matter can accumulate there and the rate of oxygen can reach values incompatible with administrative norms or the survival of the animal or vegetable species of the watercourse.

If a hydroelectric installation (not shown) is placed at the level of the dam 1, it usually uses a catch draining the deep waters of the reservoir naturally poor in dissolved oxygen, which can not contribute to improving the oxygen level of the water.

 turbines with an atmospheric air intake and blades pierced with holes are known for oxygenating water. These turbines are arranged in pipes downstream of dams and are rotated by the flow of water. In operation, there is a depression on the downstream side of the blades which has the effect of drawing atmospheric air via the air intake and reject it through the blade holes. Such turbines, described for example in French Patent 2707974, are not associated with hydroelectric installations. In addition, they have limited effectiveness.

 An object of the present invention is to provide a hydraulic installation capable of providing electrical energy and allowing the aeration of the water of a stream in a simple, effective and inexpensive way.

To achieve this object as well as others, the present invention provides a hydraulic installation that can operate in generator mode and / or aerator mode comprising a turbine, an electric generator capable of being driven by the turbine and to provide energy electric, and an air compressor can be coupled to the turbine to inject a flow of air to aerate the water of a stream.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the pressure vessel comprises an air outlet connected to a distributor.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the dispenser is retractable.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the distributor has a vertical dimension corresponding substantially to the height of the stream.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the distributor is disposed upstream of the installation. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the dispenser comprises at least one hollow tube in fluid communication with a series of parallel hollow arms having openings.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the openings are not all of the same diameter.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the installation is located downstream of a water reservoir, and the installation is intended to be traversed by a water slice substantially corresponding to the height of the reservoir.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in detail in the following description of particular embodiments given as a non-limiting example in relation to the attached figures, of which FIG. in section, a reservoir of water on a watercourse; Figure 2A illustrates a sectional sectional view of an installation according to the present invention; FIG. 2B illustrates a sectional top view of the installation of FIG. 2A, taken along line BB of FIG. 2A; and Figure 3 illustrates, in perspective, an element of the installation according to the present invention.

 Figure 2A shows a sectional sectional view of an installation according to the present invention. In FIG. 2A, a watercourse flows in the direction of arrow A. The water of the watercourse is passed through an installation 10 according to the present invention, fed by a feed duct 11. duct 11, there is a water reservoir 12 which keeps the water at a high level. At the inlet of the supply duct, there is a protective grid 30, serving firstly to retain the debris transported by the watercourse which could damage the installation 10 and secondly to prevent the destruction of the fauna of the watercourse, especially fish, by the installation. The conduit 11 opens downstream on a suction pipe 13, allowing the continuation of the flow of water. It should be noted that, preferably, as indicated in FIG. 2A, the supply duct 11 has a vertical dimension substantially corresponding to at least the height of the water slice in the retainer 12. Thus, the installation 10 is traversed by all the water volume of the reservoir, and not only by a slice of surface water.

The installation 10 comprises a turbine 15 with a blade drive wheel 16 coupled to a turbine shaft 17. The turbine shaft 17 passes through a seal the wall 18 of a well 19 which opens to the air free. In its flow, the water passes around the well 19 and rotates the drive wheel 16 and the turbine shaft 17. A series of guide vanes 14 allows the possible adjustment of the flow. In the well 19, there is an electric power generator 20 and an air compressor 22. The generator 20 comprises a rotor 20a, here directly mounted on the turbine shaft 17. The generator 20 also comprises a stator 20b suitable for provide electrical energy when the rotor is driven. The compressor 22 may be coupled to the turbine shaft 17 by a coupling means 21. The coupling means 21 may simply consist of a belt mounted on pulleys, but it may be any suitable means, such as a clutch or a chain on gables. The air compressor 22 receives air via an air intake 23. The compressor 22 has an outlet connected to a distribution tube 24, itself connected to a distributor 25, for blowing air air under pressure in the water. It will be noted that the distributor 25 occupies substantially the entire height of the stream and descends practically to the bottom of the bed thereof.

FIG. 2B illustrates a top view in section, taken along line BB of FIG. 2A, of the installation 10. FIG. 2B corresponds to FIG. 2A and with the same references denote the same elements. FIG. 2B shows the driving wheel 16, the turbine shaft 17, the generator 20 and the compressor 22. FIG. 2B shows the shape of the well 19 rounded upstream and tapered downstream. in order to limit the turbulence of the water in the crossing of the installation 10. It will be noted, however, that the presence of the well 19 is only intended to allow the installation of the generator and the compressor in the middle of the duct 11, but that the positions of the generator and the compressor can be any without departing from the scope of the present invention.

At the outlet of the exchanger 22, the tube 24 splits into two substantially horizontal tubes 24 'which each join an element 25' of the distributor 25, better described in relation to FIG. 3. Each distributor element 25 'can take two positions, an extended position 25A and a retracted position 25B. In position 25A, the distributor members 25 'are perpendicular to the flow of water. In position 25B, they are parallel to the side edges of the conduit 11 and offer virtually no resistance to the passage of water. In FIG. 2B, the elements 25 'are represented in position 25B.

Figure 3 shows, in perspective, an example of a distributor element 25 '. The dispenser member 25 'comprises a hollow tube 40 and a series of parallel arms 42, perpendicular to the tube 40 and connected thereto. Each arm 42 is in the form of a hollow tube in fluid conT = ication with the tube 40. Each tube 42 also has a large number of small openings 44.

The installation 10 has two main modes of operation. In generator mode, the flow of water passing through the duct 11 and directed by the blades 14 drives the drive wheel 16 of the turbine 15, which rotates the turbine shaft 17. The turbine shaft 17 drives the rotor 20a of the electrical generator 20. In this operating mode, the stator 20b of the generator 20 is coupled to an electrical network, for example the national power grid, or to any load, and the generator 20 produces electricity.

 In aerator mode, the coupling means 21 couples the turbine shaft 17 to the air compressor 22. The compressor 22 is then driven by the rotation of the turbine. Note that, if the speed of rotation of the turbine is not appropriate to that required by the compressor, the speed of the turbine can be adjusted either by the guide vanes 14, in this case mobile, or by any other device. flow control, for example valves placed upstream or downstream of the installation 10. The compressor 22 receives air through the air intake 23, and releases air under pressure into the dispenser 25 through the tubes 24 and 24 '.

Note that in the aerator mode, the distributor members 25 'occupy the positions 25A, so as to have a maximum contact area with the water flow. In generator mode, the distributor 25 will preferably be retracted and the elements 25 'will take positions 25B, in order to oppose at least the passage of water.

In aerator mode, pressurized air produced by the compressor 22 is injected into the distributor elements 25 'through the tubes 24'. The air passes through the tube 40, the arms 42, and is injected into the water via the openings 44. As the openings 44 are numerous and they are present substantially over the entire section of the supply duct, since the distributor elements 25 'are in position 25A, the oxygenation of the water is maximum.

The advantages of the present invention are numerous. First, the installation of the present invention takes advantage of its dual functionality. Indeed, the inventor has found that the periods during which the water needed artificial oxygenation were restricted in time. These periods correspond mainly to the low water periods, which, at least for the French lowland rivers, corresponds to the summer period. In these times, at least in a country Like France, electric energy is cheap. As a result, the inventor has devised a bifunctional installation. In the non-summer period, where electrical energy is expensive and oxygenation of the water is satisfactory, the installation of the present invention operates as an electricity generator, that is to say as a hydroelectric installation, and provides substantial gains. In summer, on the other hand, or more generally when it is necessary to oxygenate the stream, the installation of the invention operates as an aerator, with a small loss of earnings. Indeed, during these periods, the selling price of the electrical energy that the installation 10 would produce is low. Moreover, the amount of electrical energy that the installation 10 could produce in summer is small, following the low flow rate of the stream in summer. The aeration of the watercourse is thus obtained with a minimal additional investment compared to the general cost of the installation and with acceptable operating costs.

It will be noted that the operation of the installation of the invention is not limited to operation purely as an aerator or purely as a generator. It is possible, for example in intermediate periods requiring low oxygenation, to control the installation in mixed mode, generator and aerator, so that the mechanical energy provided by the drive wheel 16 is partially converted into electrical energy and used partially the aeration of the watercourse.

 Another advantage of the present invention relates to the quality and efficiency of the oxygenation obtained with the plant according to the present invention.

Indeed, the installation 10 comprises a compressor. This compressor has, in pure air mode, all the energy provided by the difference in altitude between the water bodies located upstream and downstream of the installation. The compressor can therefore compress large amounts of air and provide a flow of air under pressure to the watercourse. Note that for this purpose, the air intake 23 will be properly sized and a silencer can be incorporated in the compressor to avoid noise.

 As the compressor produces pressurized air, this strong air pressure can be injected anywhere in the watercourse, and especially in areas where the water also has a strong pressure, as in the bottom of containment, classically poorly oxygenated. This is achieved by the installation of the present invention through several factors. supply duct going at least to the bottom of the stream bed and distributor 25 extending, in the deployed position, substantially over the entire section of the supply duct. It will be noted that the injection in the bottom of the reservoir is very advantageous. Indeed, the solubility of oxygen in water increases when the water pressure increases and when the temperature of the water decreases, which corresponds precisely to the conditions of the bottom of the reservoir. Therefore, an injection of air at the bottom of the reservoir is where oxygen is most soluble, resulting in a high efficiency of the installation.

It should be noted in this regard that, to take into account the variation in water pressure, the openings 44 of the arms 42 of the dispenser may be of different size depending on the depth at which they are located, to allow optimal solubility of the water. oxygen in the water.

 Another advantage of the installation 10 lies in the fact that the air injector (the distributor 25) is situated upstream with respect to the drive wheel 16. In fact, thus, the air bubbles will accompany the water throughout the crossing of the facility 10 and their time of contact with water will be important, which increases the ability of oxygen to dissolve. Another advantage of the injection upstream is that, upstream, the section of the supply duct is larger than downstream. As a result, the speed of the water is slower and this also allows a longer contact time between the air bubbles and the water, resulting in a greater solubility efficiency. These two advantages are not found in the pierced blade aerator mentioned above, where the injection is made downstream of the injection system.

The use of a dispenser 25 with numerous small openings 44 is also advantageous as it increases the contact area between the bubbles and the water. Note also that the fact that the dispenser 25 is retractable also has advantages. Indeed, in the retracted position, it is protected from detritus through the protective grid 30 which could accumulate on the arms 42. Moreover, the retracted dispenser is not very visible in the natural environment, which presents an additional advantage for the installation of the present invention.

Of course, the present invention is susceptible of various variations and modifications which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Thus, another form of dispenser is possible. Also, the dispenser may be fixed or removable.

It has been described a turbine with a paddle wheel. Of course, this is an example only and any means that can be operated by a flow of water is within the scope of the present invention.

Also, the rotor 20a of the generator 20 has been described as being fastened integrally to the turbine shaft 17. However, it is possible to use a generator coupled by any coupling means to the turbine shaft 17, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Also, it has been described a watercourse equipped with a single installation 10. Of course, if the stream is important, several facilities according to the present invention may be provided.

Claims (8)

<U> CLAIMS </ U> A hydraulic system (10) operable in a generator mode and / or in an aerator mode comprising a turbine (15), an electric generator (20) drivable by the turbine and supplying electrical energy, and a air compressor (22) that can be coupled to the turbine to inject a flow of air to aerate the water of a stream. 2. Installation according to claim 1, wherein the compressor comprises an air outlet connected to a distributor (25). 3. Installation according to claim 2, wherein the dispenser (25) is retractable. 4. Installation according to claim 2, wherein the distributor (25) has a vertical dimension substantially corresponding to the height of the stream. 5. Installation according to claim 2, wherein the distributor (25) is disposed upstream of the installation. 6. Installation according to claim 2, wherein the distributor (25) comprises at least one hollow tube (40) in fluid communication with a series of parallel hollow arms (42) having openings (44). 7. Installation according to claim 6, wherein the openings (44) are not all of the same diameter. 8. Installation according to claim 1, wherein the installation is located downstream of a water reservoir (2), and wherein the installation is intended to be traversed by a slice of water corresponding substantially to the height. of the restraint.