JPS59131774A - Mooring type multiple direction wave force converting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To pick up wave energy efficiently and permit to moor the device in the area of sea having soft bottom by a method wherein a plurality of air chambers, having different volumes, are arranged into a circular configuration substantially in accordance with the direction of the wave. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of bulkheads are provided between a sheathing body 52 and a buoyancy chamber 51 and a plurality of air chambers 54, having substantially fan-shaped sections, are formed by the bulkheads 53, the buoyancy chamber 51 and the sheathing body 52 while these plural air chambers 54 are arranged in the substantially circular configuration in accordance with the direction of the wave. According to this method, the movements of the waves, coming from every directions, may be converted efficiently into a power in accordance with the conditions of the waves and the device may be moored in the area of sea in which the wave conditions are severe or the bottoms are soft, since the outer figure thereof is like a column and the resistance thereof against the pressure or the stream of the wave is small.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a moored multidirectional wave power conversion device that is installed in a relatively deep sea area or a shallow sea area with poor seabed geology and obtains wave energy and shear force.

As is well known, the energy of ocean waves is greater on the offshore side than on the shore side. In addition, the relationship between water depth and wave energy in relatively deep oceans is larger as it gets closer to the sea surface, and rapidly decreases as the water depth increases, and water molecules hardly move at a depth of half the wavelength. On the other hand, the direction of waves is influenced by the wind blowing on the sea or the water depth line, and the distribution appears to be quite different depending on the location.

Figure 1 shows an example of the yearly distribution of wave directions in shallow waters at a certain point; in this way, actual ocean waves arrive from various directions at any given moment.

It is desirable that a wave power conversion device that utilizes wave energy having the above-mentioned characteristics effectively cope with such conditions.

FIG. 2 shows a conventional floating embankment type wave power conversion device. In this case, the floating embankment body 21 has the openings 2 of the plurality of air chambers 22.
An air turbine 25 is provided in a storage chamber 24 which is moored so that the wave 3 faces the direction of the most frequent waves and communicates with the air chamber 22 .

In the case of such a floating embankment type, even if it is installed in shallow water and oriented in the optimal direction, the wave energy will decrease due to wave directionality without considering the size of each wave energy as shown in Figure 1. is predicted to be around 20%. Furthermore, considering that the wider the directional angle is, the larger the wave is, the loss becomes even greater, making it difficult to extract wave energy efficiently.

Also, if waves are hitting parallel to the front of the device,
Since the energy obtained in each air chamber 22 is superimposed,
When obtaining electricity, smoothing measures must be taken and the capacity of ancillary equipment must also be increased. Furthermore, because the waves do not wrap around, a large amount of wave force acts on them, creating a large mooring force, which poses technical and economical problems.

FIG. 3 shows another conventionally considered wave power conversion device.

31 is a boat-shaped floating body, and a plurality of air chambers 32 are provided inside this floating body 31. This air chamber 32 is communicated with the sea through an opening 33 at the bottom of the floating body 3I, and an air current is generated by waves entering and exiting through the opening 33.

This air flow is supplied to, for example, an air turbine power generator 34 that is in communication with the air chamber 32, and the power generator 34 generates electric power. In addition, the floating body 3
1 is moored by a mooring facility 35 provided at the bow of the ship.

In the wave power conversion device with the above configuration, the floating body 3I can swing around and always faces forward in the direction of the waves.
Since the mooring is done at a single point on the bow side and the width of the floating body 31 is narrow, the floating body 31 has the disadvantage that it moves a lot and captures little energy. Furthermore, when the floating body 31 is used as a power generating boat and cables are laid between it and the land, there are problems such as failures due to bending and sway of the floating body side cables and entanglement of mooring facilities.

FIG. 4 shows an omnidirectional wave power conversion device (Japanese Patent Application No. 141265/1982) filed by the applicant of the present application.

Here, 41 is a cylindrical fixed base, 42 is a heavy object provided inside the fixed base 41, 43 is a protrusion provided at the bottom of the fixed base 4I and fixes the fixed base 4I to the seabed, and 44 is a fixed A plurality of air chambers are provided around the platform 41, 45 is an opening that communicates between the air chamber 44 and the sea, 46 is a storage chamber that communicates between the air chamber 44 and the outside, and 47 is provided inside the storage chamber 46. This is a reciprocating air turbine.

The wave power conversion device having the above configuration is fixed to the shore by the weight of the device itself or by driving an anchor pile into the shore. Although this fixing method is considered desirable, it has problems with stability and economy when installed on soft ground or in relatively deep sea areas.

This invention was made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to further reduce wave pressure and flow resistance, and to make it possible to extract wave energy extremely efficiently in response to wave conditions. In addition, the present invention aims to provide a moored multi-directional wave power conversion device that can utilize relatively high-energy wave power located offshore.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, numeral 5 indicates a buoyancy chamber made of iron, concrete, or the like and having a hollow interior. An exterior body 52 is provided eccentrically to the buoyancy chamber 51, and the buoyancy chamber 51 is covered by this exterior body 62.

A plurality of partition walls 53 are provided between the exterior body 52 and the buoyancy chamber 51 at a predetermined distance.
are formed. This air chamber 54 is located in the direction of the maximum number of waves (
They are arranged in a substantially circular shape in the direction of wave propagation, starting from the one with the longest depth, with the center at the center (indicated by arrow A in FIG. 6).

This air chamber 54 is communicated with the sea through an opening 55 provided at the lower end of the exterior body 52. In addition, when the exterior body 52 and the buoyancy chamber 51 are eccentric in this way, a ballast 73 is provided to maintain the balance of the entire device.Furthermore, this device maintains an optimal draft by balancing buoyancy and heavy liquid. Equilibrium is maintained. Further, this device is moored by mooring facilities 74 provided at four locations on the exterior body 52.

In this mooring, the air chamber 54 having a long depth is set to face the direction of the most frequent waves, and the mooring facility 74 includes, for example, both diametrical ends of the exterior body 52 that coincide with the direction of the most frequent waves, and the exterior body 52 that is perpendicular to this diametric direction. It is provided at both diametrical ends of the body 52.

On the other hand, a partition wall 5 is formed approximately concentrically on the upper surface of the buoyancy chamber 51.
6, 57, and 58 are provided, and an air tank 59 separated from the air chamber 54 is provided on the upper surface of the buoyancy chamber 51. The exterior body 52 located above the partition wall 57 has intake and exhaust holes 60 separated by the partition wall 57 and communicating with the air chamber 54.
and an intake hole 6I communicating with the air tank 59. Further, each of the partition walls 58 has an air chamber 54.
A reciprocating flow turbine 62 is provided correspondingly, and a rotating shaft 63 of this turbine 62 is passed through the partition wall 57 and is connected to the partition wall 5.
The air compressors 64 are connected to air compressors 64 provided in the air compressors 6 and 6, respectively.

The turbine 62 is rotated in a fixed direction by an air flow between the air chamber 54 and the intake/exhaust hole 60 (solid line arrows in the figure) caused by changes in wave motion within the air chamber 54 (dotted line arrows in the figure). This rotational force is transmitted to the air compressor 64 via the rotating shaft 63, and the compressor 64 takes in outside air from the intake hole 61. This outside air is accumulated in the air tank 59 via the check valve 65. A partition wall 66 is provided concentrically in the center of the air tank 59, and a flow rate regulating valve 67 and a nozzle 68 are provided on the partition wall 66 at predetermined intervals. A main air turbine 69 is provided inside this partition wall 67, and this turbine 69 is connected to the buoyancy chamber 51 by a rotating shaft 70.
It is connected to a generator 71 provided in the. Smooth and compressed air in the air tank 59 is supplied to the main air turbine 69 via a flow rate regulating valve 67, and the turbine 69 is driven by this air. Thus, the generator 71 generates electricity, and the air supplied into the partition wall 66 is discharged to the outside through the exhaust hole 72.

According to the above configuration, the plurality of air chambers 54 having different volumes are arranged in a substantially circular shape corresponding to the wave direction. Therefore, waves arriving from all directions can be efficiently converted into power in response to wave conditions.

Additionally, since this conversion device is moored in relatively deep waters,
It has the advantage of being able to utilize large waves of energy.

In general, since the outer shape is cylindrical, wave pressure and flow resistance are small, making mooring easy. Therefore, it can be moored even in sea areas with severe wave conditions or soft seabeds.

Next, other embodiments of the invention will be described. Note that the same parts as in FIGS. 5 and 6 are given the same reference numerals, and only the different parts will be explained.

In FIG. 7, the external shape of the exterior body 52 is a truncated cone shape, and the air flow generated in each air chamber 54 is guided to the air turbine 62 through flow passages 75 and 76 that communicate each air chamber 54 with the outside. , this turbine 62 converts airflow into power. This converted power is supplied to a compressor (not shown) or directly to a generator.

Even with such a configuration, substantially the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

8 and 9 show a configuration in which air chambers 54 and buoyancy chambers 51 are arranged in a ring shape, and buoyancy chambers 51 are formed corresponding to each air chamber 54. FIG. These buoyancy chambers 51 and air chambers 54 have the same shape, and each air chamber 5
4, a reciprocating flow turbine 62 and a generator 81 are provided.

Even with the above configuration, the same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained. Moreover, in the case of this structure, one air chamber 54,
It is possible to divide the wave power conversion device consisting of the buoyancy chamber 51, the reciprocating flow carbine 62, and the generator 81 into one unit, and connect a plurality of them in the mooring area to form a ring-shaped device as shown in the figure. Therefore, it has the advantage of being easy to manufacture and transport.

In each of the above embodiments, the air chambers were arranged in a substantially circular shape.
The shape is not limited to this, but may be an arc shape, an elliptical cylinder shape, or a polygonal cylinder shape.

It goes without saying that other stroke modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

As detailed above, according to the present invention, it is possible to significantly reduce wave pressure and flow resistance, and to extract wave energy extremely efficiently in response to wave conditions. It is possible to provide a moored multi-directional wave power conversion device that can utilize large wave power relatively offshore.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 shows an example of wave direction distribution in shallow waters;
The figure is a partially cutaway side view schematically showing a conventional floating structure type wave power converter, Figure 3 is a side view schematically showing a conventional ship type wave power converter, and Figure 4 is a fixed omnidirectional FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing the configuration of a wave power conversion device. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the multidirectional wave power conversion device according to the present invention.
7 is a side sectional view showing another embodiment of the invention, FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing another embodiment of the invention different from FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of FIG. 8; 5Z... Buoyancy chamber, 52... Exterior body, 54... Air chamber, 55... Opening, 59... Air tank, 62...
Reciprocating flow turbine, 74... mooring facility. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1
Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 7 Figure 9 Figure 8 493- Figure 9

Claims (1)

[Claims] A buoyancy chamber moored to maintain an appropriate draft, a plurality of air chambers arranged in a substantially circular or arc shape around the buoyancy chamber and with their lower ends submerged in the water, and the outer surface of the lower ends of the air chambers. A mooring comprising: an opening for guiding wave force into an air chamber; and a means for converting the airflow generated within the air chamber into power, provided above the buoyancy chamber. Multi-directional wave power conversion device.