GB2544709A

GB2544709A - Sadiq Ali's flywheel turbine (SAFT) for zero carbon energy generation and air conditioning systems

Info

Publication number: GB2544709A
Application number: GB1421728.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ali Sadiq
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-12-07
Filing date: 2014-12-07
Publication date: 2017-05-31
Anticipated expiration: 2034-12-07
Also published as: GB201421728D0; GB2544709B

Abstract

A turbine comprises a plurality of nozzles located around an inner stator and blades or fins mounted on an outer circular wheel forming a bucket rim that can rotate. The nozzles are preferably arranged in a similar manner to the nozzles of a water sprinkler. The apparatus may comprise a pipe for supplying fluid to the nozzles and the bucket rim may be mounted on the pipe. If a liquid is supplied to the nozzles it may be held inside the rim of the bucket rim due to the rotation, which increases the mass of the bucket rim to result in the storage of energy as the bucket rim acts as a flywheel. Fluids that may be used to operate the turbine include compressed air, hydraulic oil, water and compressed gases in liquid form.

Description

Sadiq All’s Flywheel Turbine (SAFT)

This invention relates to a new design for an expander-turbine that has the ability to utilise compressed air as well as other inert liquids. The turbine can be used for producing torque that may be used for any purpose including but not restricting to generating electricity. If compressed air or compressed gas is used then the byproduct is cold energy. This cold energy can be used for air conditioning or cooling spaces.

Typically this design utilises nozzles placed around the stator like a water sprinkler as shown in figure 1 that do not rotate while discharging the liquid. The continuity in length of the nozzles helps to maximise the energy in the fluid under pressure. Pressure energy is converted to velocity energy due to reducing section of the nozzle with high velocity of fluid at exit.

Depending upon the requirement of torque; the number of nozzles, the size of the nozzles and the length of the nozzles can be designed. The material of the nozzles will also be selected depending upon the requirement and the use or purpose of the turbine. One or more nozzles will form the stator. The stator holds these nozzles from the inlet end (larger section) at the centre of the stator and the reducing end is at the circumference of the circle as shown in the figure 1.

The rotor is a circular wheel with buckets and is known as bucket-rim. The bucket-rim rotates concentric to the stator and it may or may not be mounted on the pressurised fluid feed pipe. When the compressed air or any fluid under pressure is forced through the inlet, the nozzles convert pressure energy to velocity energy. The jet strikes the buckets as shown in the figure 4. The buckets may be flat or convexly converging depending upon the purpose and power requirements.

The bucket-rim is hollow from inside as shown in the figure 1. If liquid is used as a pressurised fluid, then the bucket-rim will hold the liquid inside the hollow rim by containing the liquid while the centrifugal forces will keep it pushing outward and hold the liquid in the hollow rim due to high rotation.

This retention of the liquid will increase the mass of the bucket-rim and will help in storing energy like a flywheel (hence the name of the turbine with respect to attributes associated with the name of the inventor). The size of the bucket-rim and its liquid retention capacity will depend upon the requirements of energy storage. The spokes will hold back the bucket-rim giving the bucket-rim stability.

The torque so produced can be converted to electrical energy or mechanical power depending upon the requirement.

It is possible to use different types of fluids for example, compressed air, hydraulic oil, water, different compressed gases in liquid form that may belong to phase change family. Hence any inert fluid can be used. It is also possible to use high steam and pressurised fluid to achieve high fluid speed at the end of the nozzle.

Claims

1. An apparatus for utilising any pressurised inert fluid for the purpose of producing high speed of that fluid at the termination of the nozzle that will strike at the bucket-rim blades (fins) to move it in the direction of the fluid. This may be in compressed air or gaseous form or in liquid form.

2. If compressed air is used then the cold energy will also be produced that can be used for cooling purposes for cooling machines or spaces for living or any other purpose depending upon the requirement of the project.

3. If liquid is used then the bucket-rim has the ability to store that liquid thus increasing its mass. This will help in converting the bucket-rim into a flywheel by storing rotational energy. In such a case the liquid can be regulated to maintain specific speed for the requirement of a generator of any specific speed requirement system.

4. To reduce the frictional losses, magnetic bearings can be used. This will increase the efficiency of the turbine.

5. If heat of friction is returned to the fluid or any preheating arrangement is done for compressed fluid systems, the efficiency will increase.

6. The system

7. This is further augmented by the fact that non-circular jets have better entrainment properties than the circular ones. Therefore, a rectangular jet was selected. However, any convenient shape can be selected. It is clear that less number of jets will bring more stress at one point j and can cause breakage, j resonance and vibrations as in j the Pelton turbine. Therefore, j for the safety and distribution | of total jet force over more | nozzles, six nozzles were a ; convenient option as a 60° ; traverse completes the circle. This satisfied the requirement of structural safety, manufacturing, calculations and the improved power. Figure 2 displays the setting of nozzles for SAFT. The number of nozzles or the size will depend upon the requirement of the power. Since this design is free of scaling, it can be used in any power requirement or diameters. It can now be realised that progressive development of this expander-turbine is taking shape as the present setting of nozzles is centrally fed and hence will have same fluid pressure at the exit of nozzles and the entire pressure and stresses are equally distributed fluid carrying sections (manifolds in case of Pelton turbine).

8. Additionally, by feeding the nozzles from the centre ensures capitalising on the CA by reduces any chances of leakage. Bucket-rim is a rotating rim with 1 I buckets similar but not exactly like | the ones in the Pelton turbine. In I Pelton turbine the moving part | I (rotor) is in the centre, like spoons jj on a wheel hub and the nozzles are | outside the circumference. The | design is a result of applying | portfolio theory concept of selecting f components and attributes that have ii the ability to give better performance 1 individually; they can perform even better due to cumulative advantages of individual components. In one of the researches that were aimed to investigate performance of environmental friendly hydraulic fluids and material wear and cavitation conditions; it was discovered that bubbles were forming that were causing no problem when the anvil tip was kept at a distance of 20 mm from the sample specimen. Nozzles/Stator Assembly

9. Nozzles/Stator assembly is a stator as in a conventional turbine; however, it is not very similar to conventional stators as shown in figure 1. The similarity is that both have nozzles, but the innovation is that the nozzles in Rotor-Ill are continuous for improved output. Continuous nozzles can give up to 97% efficiencies. Second innovation was inherited from the Rotor-1 with respect to feeding compressed air from the centre to balance the pressure in the both the nozzles. This design gave advantage over the manifold of Pelton turbine. Central feed assured symmetry of the nozzles as shown in figure 2 thus ensuring similar stresses in each nozzle. Similar stresses will help in designing one nozzle and will ensure similar fluid flow in all the nozzles. Like other stators, the stator in this expander-turbine is also static. It consists of nozzles arranged as shown in with fluid inlet and outlets. Nozzles have been discussed in previous chapter as an efficient component inevitable for any turbine or turbine-expander. The better part in this design is that the nozzle is a continuously reducing section and it does not have one part on the stator and other on the rotor like conventional turbines. Figure 1 displays the arrangement of nozzles that originates from the centre giving many advantages. The first advantage is of continuous leak-proof passage for fluid that helps in transforming entire pressure energy to velocity energy without pronounced losses. The only losses that exist are the surface friction that can be reduced through fine polishing and the fluid friction. These two aspects will exist in any turbine and hence a common factor in performance. The next advantage is the fluid path that enters at the central point and follows identical profiles in all the nozzles helping in terminating at same jet speeds for each nozzle. This aspect alone helps in reducing unbalancing of forces; saving the system from hydraulic hammer effect (Karadzic et al. 2009) and undue stresses in the manifold. Complete housing will have identical stress that will help improve structural safety, overall rotational control and system efficiency. Yet another advantage is the reduction in overall size of the housing thereby reducing the cost of the power house. More jets give more advantage. It is worthwhile to mention that the largest Pelton turbines in Switzerland displayed remarkable savings in cost and improved efficiency when more jet option (3 units with 5 jets and 420MW each as compared to 4 units with 4 jets and 315 MW each) was used.

10. This arrangement of jets does not come in the way of buckets and hence every jet acts at near tangent with every bucket. Additionally, rotational speed of jet stays in the circumferential loop dissipating entire velocity energy in the bucket rim. This is unlike the Pelton buckets that throw off the water jet outside the circumferential plane. The maximum achievable efficiency from a jet striking a surface is the one that is square to the direction vector. This is the reason for these buckets to be square to the direction of the jets. The rim is the component that is providing structural stability and a contact point for the transfer of torque to the generator as in figure 3. When stationary, this bucket rim is light in weight as it is hollow like a tyre and is, therefore, easy to move in less time and with less mass flow of fluid. The lightness of flywheel-bucket-rim comes from the fact that for higher energy densities in a flywheel, it is necessary that it is manufactured in lightweight material and be able to rotate at very high speed. When it has gained momentum, the fluid (in case of liquids only) will start to accumulate in the U-shaped rim thereby increasing the mass of the rim. The increase in the mass will be as much as the depth of the rim, any more liquid than the depth of the rim will spill outward due to rotation. Additionally, the high revolution will contain the liquid inside due to centrifugal forces. The mass of the rim would have increased by the depth of the rim. Due to this ability of increasing mass during operation gives Rotor-Ill and added advantage of storing energy and thus sustaining any impromptu loading. Depending upon the demand, the designer of the project will create the dimensions of the bucket rim to facilitate smoothening of loads that may have been planned by the energy provider over the entire energy supply canvas. When in operation, gradual increase in mass of the bucket-rim at the circumference will give smoother start, less power input and the high efficiency to any flywheel. Increased mass will help in conserving energy through inertia by regulating flow rate thus saving the fluid consumption. This type of bucket-rim can give better output in pumped-hydro or similar hydropower projects where water storage and its judicious use is a primary criterion for higher efficiencies. It is very evident that all nozzles, as many as required by the designer in a comfortable setting will ensure that the jets in stator assembly are symmetrical and will yield same jet velocity, temperature, pressure and stresses as shown in figure 4. It is clear after the CFD analysis that this hybrid as addressed many problems that were faced by different turbines giving birth to the first turbine that has the ability of storing energy like a flywheel. Due to its inherent freedom of scaling, this turbine can be used from a minimal size of a dental drill to a largest size that can be manufactures.