KR20240001027A - Small-scale hydroelectric power generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

It relates to a small hydro power generation system, which includes a drainage unit that drains discharged water from a geothermal heating facility into the ground through a pressure tank through a discharge pipe, a power generation unit that generates power using the discharged water discharged from the pressure tank, and the geothermal heating facility and drainage. It includes a control unit that controls the operation of the unit and the power generation unit, wherein the power generation unit includes a housing having a space therein, an axial flow runner and a generator accommodated in the inner space of the housing, and a generator installed outside the axial flow runner to allow discharge water to flow. It includes a guide vane that guides, and the control unit provides a configuration to control the opening amount of the guide vane based on the flow rate of the discharged water, so that power produced by small hydroelectric power generation using discharged water from a geothermal heating facility is provided. The amount of power produced by the power generation unit can be controlled by supplying it to the demand source and controlling the flow rate of the discharged water.

Description

SMALL-SCALE HYDROELECTRIC POWER GENERATION SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to small hydro power generation, and more specifically, to a small hydro power generation system that produces electricity using water discharged from geothermal heating facilities.

As the transition to low-carbon power generation facilities is actively progressing around the world as an activity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Climate Change Agreement, the proportion of new and renewable energy is expected to increase significantly.

Recently, as changes in the global energy market due to COVID-19 become a reality, the energy transition to clean fuels is emerging. However, compared to fossil fuel power generation as well as new and renewable power generation such as solar power and wind power, hydropower (small hydro power) power generation has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions, so increased utilization is expected.

Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 below disclose the configuration of a small hydro power generation device according to the prior art.

Patent Document 1 includes a rotor equipped with a plurality of blades and a magnetic material, a stator that converts the induced electromotive force generated by the rotation of the rotor into electrical energy, and a cylindrical tube in which two or more materials are distributed or alternately formed, between the rotor and the stator. A pipe-integrated small hydro generator including a main support pipe installed in and a volleyball power generation system using the same are described.

Patent Document 2 includes a flow pipe passing in the up and down direction, an impeller installed in the inner space of the flow pipe, a power generation device including a generator connected to the impeller and generating power, and a power generation device installed to extend in a spiral trajectory along the inner peripheral surface of the flow pipe in the inner space. A water-hydroelectric power generation device installed in a drain pipe containing a flow guide member is described.

However, according to the above-mentioned patent documents, there was a problem in that it was difficult to apply in an environment where the pipe drop was not large.

Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1465584 (announced on November 27, 2014) Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1992780 (announced on September 30, 2019)

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems described above and to provide a small hydro power generation system that can generate power using water discharged after being used as a heat source in a geothermal heating facility.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a small hydro power generation system that can ensure smooth power production in an environment where the drop in the discharge pipe is not large.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the small hydro power generation system according to the present invention uses a drainage unit that drains discharge water discharged from a geothermal heating facility into the ground through a pressure tank through a discharge pipe, and discharge water discharged from the pressure tank. It includes a power generation unit that generates power and a control unit that controls the operation of the geothermal heating equipment, drainage unit, and power generation unit, wherein the power generation unit includes a housing with a space therein, an axial flow runner and a generator accommodated in the inner space of the housing, and It includes a guide vane installed outside the axial flow runner to guide the flow of discharged water, and the control unit controls the opening amount of the guide vane based on the flow rate of the discharged water.

As described above, according to the small hydro power generation system according to the present invention, the effect of being able to supply power produced by small hydro power generation to the consumer using discharged water from a geothermal heating facility can be obtained.

According to the present invention, the effect is obtained that the discharge water flow rate of the geothermal heating facility changes due to seasonal factors, etc., or the amount of power produced by the power generation unit can be adjusted by adjusting the flow rate of the discharge water according to the load status of the consumer, that is, the amount of power required. .

In addition, according to the present invention, some of the power generated by the power generation unit can be stored in the battery and used as driving power for each device, and the bypass pipe can be opened to stop power generation and maintain and repair the power generation unit. obtained.

In addition, according to the present invention, based on the temperature, vibration, and flow rate detection signals installed in the power generation unit, the occurrence of abnormalities in the generator, such as the rotor, stator, and axial flow runner, is diagnosed, and the manager is alerted according to the diagnosis results. The effect of being able to do so is achieved.

Through this, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce failures of the entire small hydro power generation system, including the power generation unit, and to use it as information to predict lifespan.

1 is a configuration diagram of a small hydro power generation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a configuration diagram showing the main parts of the small hydro power generation system shown in Figure 1;
Figures 3 and 4 are detailed configuration diagrams of the power generation unit shown in Figure 1, respectively.

Hereinafter, a small hydro power generation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a small hydro power generation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a configuration diagram showing main parts of the small hydro power generation system shown in Figure 1, and Figures 3 and 4 are respectively shown in Figure 1. This is a detailed configuration diagram of the power generation unit.

Hereinafter, terms indicating directions such as 'left', 'right', 'front', 'rear', 'up' and 'down' are defined as indicating each direction based on the state shown in each drawing. do.

The small hydro power generation system 10 according to the present invention is configured to connect with the geothermal heating facility 20, as shown in FIG. 1.

The geothermal heating facility 20 is composed of a circulation system that utilizes groundwater in the ground as a heat source and then discharges it back into the ground.

That is, the geothermal heating facility 20 includes a water unit 22 that stores water used as a heat source for geothermal power generation and drives the pump 24 to supply the stored water onto the water intake pipe 21, and the water intake pipe 21 ) and may include a heating unit 23 that is connected to the downstream side and provides heating through a heat exchanger and a heater.

The water may be water that exists in various ways in various terrains or locations, such as river water, lakes, and seawater, in addition to groundwater that has constant temperature throughout the four seasons.

Therefore, the small hydro power generation system 10 according to the present invention generates small hydro power using water discharged back to the ground from the geothermal heating facility 20.

Here, the water discharged into the ground from the geothermal heating facility 20 has a structural drop, and the small hydro power generation system 10 according to the present invention can generate small hydro power using the drop of the water discharged into the ground.

In detail, the small hydro power generation system 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention uses water discharged from the geothermal heating facility 20 (hereinafter referred to as 'discharge water'), as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A drainage unit 30 that drains water into the ground through the pressure tank 60 through the discharge pipe 31, a power generation unit 40 that generates electricity using discharge water discharged from the pressure tank 60, and a geothermal heating facility 20, It includes a control unit 50 that controls the operation of the drainage unit 30 and the power generation unit 40.

In addition, the small hydro power generation system 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention converts the power produced by the dump load 51 and the power generation unit 40, which consumes the initial power produced during the initial operation of the power generation unit 40. It may further include a battery 53 that charges some of the power produced by the inverter 52 and the power generation unit 40 that supplies it to the consumer.

The dump load 51 is provided as a load that consumes the initial power when the power generation unit 40 is initially driven, and functions to prevent damage to the generator 43 due to a rapid increase in the rotation speed of the generator 43.

This dump load 51 may be provided as an electronic resistor that is connected to or disconnected from the power generation unit according to a control signal from the control unit 50. Therefore, the dump load 51 operates only during the initial operation of the power generation unit 40, and the operation may be stopped when the rotation speed of the generator 43 stabilizes. Of course, the dump load 51 may operate to receive and consume power produced by the generator 43 even when the power generation unit 40 is terminated.

The consumer may be a power transmission facility of Korea Electric Power Corporation or a power receiving facility such as a building or house that receives and uses power produced by the small hydro power generation system 10.

A transformer 54 may be installed between the inverter 53 and the demand source to convert the voltage of the power transmitted to the demand source.

The battery 53 can charge a portion of the power produced by the generator 43 and supply the charged power to each device provided in the geothermal heating facility 20 and the small hydro power generation system 20.

Meanwhile, the discharge pipe 31 of the drainage unit 30 is connected to the downstream side of the geothermal heating facility 20, and the discharged water sent from the geothermal heating facility 20 through the heat exchanger is stored in the storage tank through the discharge pipe 31. and can be used for small hydro power generation by the power generation unit 40.

The flow rate of discharged water delivered from the drainage unit 30 to the power generation unit 40 is constant by the operation of the guide vane 44 provided in the power generation unit 40, which will be explained below, when the power generation unit 40 is driven. can be maintained.

Here, the gap for power generation may not be large between the geothermal heating facility 20 and the power generation unit 40.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the generator 43 of the power generation unit 40 can be provided as a low-speed generator for low falls that can provide efficient power generation performance even at low falls.

The present applicant has patent registration numbers 10-1293537 (announced on August 6, 2013), 10-1131813 (announced on March 30, 2012), and 10-0956767 (announced on May 12, 2010). The technology for low-speed generators and small hydro power plants using them was disclosed and a patent was applied for and registered.

Accordingly, it should be noted that in this embodiment, the power generation unit 40 is configured to effectively generate power even at low altitudes by applying the low-speed generator technology described above.

The power generation unit 40 has a structure that concentrically accommodates the axial flow runner 42 and the generator 43 on the housing 41.

This power generation unit 40 may be connected to an extrusion pipe 33 that discharges the discharge water stored in the pressure tank 60 into the ground. That is, the power generation unit 40 may be installed inside the pressure tank 60, or may be installed in various locations, such as a part of the pressure tank 60 connected to the extrusion pipe 33 and the top of the extrusion pipe 33. .

Therefore, the power generation unit 40 can generate power using the pressure of the discharged water discharged from the pressure tank 60 and the drop according to the height between the top and bottom of the extrusion pipe 3.

That is, as a large amount of discharged water is stored inside the pressure tank 60, the discharged water discharged from the pressure tank 60 is discharged by the pressure of the discharged water stored inside the pressure tank 60.

And the extrusion pipe 34 connects the pressure tank 60 with the ground to a depth at which the discharged water is to be discharged into the ground, and functions to discharge the discharged water into the ground. Therefore, the top and bottom of the extrusion pipe 34 have a very large height difference.

Here, the lower end of the extrusion pipe 34 may be formed with a larger inner diameter than the inner diameters of the upper end and the middle portion to increase the discharge speed of the discharged water discharged through the extrusion pipe 34. For this reason, as the pressure of the discharged water discharged through the lower end of the extrusion pipe 34 decreases, the discharge speed of the discharged water passing through the extrusion pipe 34 increases.

Therefore, the present invention can improve the power generation efficiency of the power generation unit by increasing the discharge rate of the discharged water discharged through the extrusion pipe by using the pressure of the discharged water discharged from the pressure tank and the height difference between the top and bottom of the extrusion pipe.

In detail, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the power generation unit 40 includes a housing 41 with a space therein, an axial flow runner 42 accommodated in the inner space of the housing 41, and a generator. (43) and a guide vane (44) installed on the outside of the axial flow runner (42) to guide the flow of discharged water.

An inlet through which discharged water stored in the pressure tank 60 flows may be provided at the top of the housing 41, and an outlet connected to the top of the extrusion pipe 33 may be provided at the bottom of the housing 41.

The axial flow runner 42 may be disposed on the downstream side of the housing 41, and the generator 43 may be disposed on the upstream side of the housing 31. The axial flow runner 42 and the generator 43 are arranged concentrically and can be directly connected as one piece without a separate reducer.

And on the downstream side of the housing 41, a guide vane 44 may be installed to oppose the axial flow runner 42 and guide the water flow. The guide vane 44 can be operated by a control signal from the control unit 50 to adjust the space in which the discharged water moves inside the housing 41.

The generator 43 can be arranged vertically to increase output. For example, the generator 43 may be provided as an Axial Flux Permanent Magnet (AFPM) type generator, a Radial Flux Permanent Magnet (RFPM) type generator, or a combined AFPM/RFPM type generator. In any case, the generator 35 may consider various design factors to reduce cogging torque. The design factors may include the winding method of the stator, magnet properties of the rotor, number of poles/slots, material, etc.

This generator 43 can be tightly fixed inside the housing 41 by a support 45 equipped with a plurality of drainage holes. Therefore, the wiring connected to the winding of the stator provided inside the generator 43 is also guided to the terminal 46 provided on one side of the generator 43 through the support 45.

In FIG. 3 , the drain unit 30 may further include a bypass pipe 32 on the discharge pipe 31 that bypasses the power generation unit 40 .

One end, that is, the upper end, of the bypass pipe 32 is connected to the upper end of the discharge pipe 31 or housing 41 connected to the upper part of the power generation unit 40, and the other end, that is, the lower end, of the bypass pipe 32 is connected to the power generation unit 40. ) can be connected to the extrusion pipe 34 connected to the lower part of the.

At least one opening/closing valve 33 may be installed in the bypass pipe 32 to open and close the pipe. The opening/closing valve 33 may be provided as a remotely controlled electronic valve or may be provided as a manual valve.

In this way, the drainage unit 30 can control the output of the power generation unit 40 or perform inspection or repair work using the bypass pipe 32 and the on-off valve 33.

The power generation unit 40 can accommodate a submersible/permanent magnet type generator 43 in a waterproof structure.

That is, the generator 43 of the power generation unit 40 is operated while immersed in a water stream discharged through the housing 41, and thus requires a waterproof structure. It is desirable that the waterproof structure has at least an IP68 rating.

The generator 43 reduces heat generation by excluding the gearbox, and because it operates underwater, a separate cooling member can also be eliminated.

This generator 35 is a water turbine-integrated and permanent magnet type synchronous generator, which includes core press work and lamination welding in mass production, shaft rotor core press press fitting and mount welding, coil winding and wiring, impregnation and insulating varnish, housing shrink fit, and permanent magnetization. It can be completed through processes such as magnet magnetization and assembly, balancing, bearing insertion, rotor housing assembly, and wiring.

Referring back to FIG. 1 , the control unit 50 may control the operation of the geothermal heating facility 20, the drainage unit 30, and the power generation unit 40 according to a preset control algorithm.

The control unit 50 may be configured based on a microprocessor, memory, and microcomputer circuit equipped with an input/output interface.

The control algorithm of the control unit 50 is stored in the memory in the form of programs and data, and can be executed and updated by the microprocessor.

Power generated by the power generation unit 40 may be provided directly or indirectly to the load through the output regulator 46.

For example, the control unit 50 controls the output regulator 46 in response to the discharge water flow rate of the geothermal heating facility 10 and monitors the operating state of the power generation member 30 through a plurality of sensors. .

1 and 2, the control unit 50 may receive detection signals output from the temperature detector 55, the vibration detector 56, and the flow velocity detector 57.

The temperature detector 55 and the vibration detector 56 can detect the internal temperature of the housing 41 and the vibration of the housing 41, respectively. Of course, the location where the temperature detector 56 and the vibration detector 57 are installed and the detection target can be changed in various ways.

The flow rate detector 57 can detect the flow rate of discharged water moving through each discharge pipe 31.

And the control unit 50 may generate a control signal to control the operation of the heating unit 23, the pump 24, and the output regulator 46 based on the detection signals of each detector.

Meanwhile, in order to increase the power generation efficiency and stability of the generator 43, it is desirable that the flow rate of the discharged water discharged through the discharge pipe 31 be constant.

Here, since the discharge pipe 31 has a constant diameter, the flow rate of discharged water can increase or decrease depending on the flow rate.

Therefore, the control unit 50 opens and closes the guide vane 44 according to the flow rate detected by the flow rate detector 57 to keep the flow rate of the discharge water supplied to the axial flow runner 42 through the inside of the housing 41 constant. can do.

For example, if the flow rate detected by the flow rate detector 57 is lower than the preset set flow rate, the control unit 50 opens the guide vane 44 according to the detected flow rate to increase the space in which the discharged water moves. You can control it.

And, if the flow rate detected by the flow rate detector 57 is higher than the set flow rate, the control unit 50 can control the guide vane 44 to close according to the detected flow rate to reduce the space through which the discharged water moves.

In addition, the control unit 50 may control the opening and closing operation of the guide vane 44 according to the amount of power required by the consumer receiving the power generated by the power generation unit 40.

For example, when the amount of power required by the consumer increases, the control unit 50 can control to increase the amount of power produced by the generator 43 by opening and operating the guide vane 44 to increase the flow rate and flow rate of the discharged water. there is.

And when the amount of power required by the consumer decreases, the control unit 50 closes the guide vane 44 to reduce the flow rate and flow rate of the discharged water, thereby controlling the amount of power produced by the generator 43 to be reduced.

Here, the guide vane 44 may be provided inside the housing 41 to be capable of opening and closing by driving force transmitted from a separate drive module, for example, a drive motor (not shown).

For example, the guide vane 44 is provided with a plurality of vanes whose upper ends are axially coupled to the inner surface of the housing 41, and the opening amount of each vane can be adjusted by rotating around the axially coupled upper end.

In addition, the control unit 50 may control the opening amount to be adjusted to a plurality of stages or linearly adjusted according to the flow rate detected during the opening and closing operation of the guide vane 44.

In this way, the present invention can supply electricity produced by small hydro power generation to consumers using discharged water from geothermal heating facilities.

In addition, the present invention can adjust the amount of power produced by the power generation unit by adjusting the discharge water flow rate of the geothermal heating facility due to seasonal factors, etc., or by adjusting the discharge water flow rate according to the load status of the consumer, that is, the required amount of power.

In addition, the present invention can store some of the power generated by the power generation unit in a battery and use it as a driving power source for each device, and open the bypass pipe to stop power generation and maintain and repair the power generation unit.

In addition, the present invention diagnoses whether an abnormality occurs in a generator, such as a rotor, stator, or axial flow runner, based on temperature, vibration, and flow rate detection signals installed in the power generation unit, and alerts the manager according to the diagnosis results. .

Through this, the present invention can reduce failures of the entire small hydro power generation system, including the power generation unit, and can be used as information to predict lifespan.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been described in detail according to the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and, of course, can be changed in various ways without departing from the gist of the invention.

The present invention is applied to a small hydro power generation system technology that generates small hydro power using discharge water discharged into the ground from a geothermal heating facility.

10: Small hydro power system
20: geothermal heating equipment 21: water intake pipe
22: water unit 23: heating unit
24: pump
30: Drainage unit
31: discharge pipe 32: bypass pipe
33: opening/closing valve 34: extrusion pipe
40: Power generation unit
41: Housing 42: Axial flow runner
43: generator 44: guide vane
45: support 46: terminal
50: control unit
51: Dump rod 52: Inverter
53: Battery 54: Transformer
55: temperature detector 56: vibration detector
57: Flow velocity detector
60: pressure tank

Claims (4)

A drainage unit that drains discharged water from geothermal heating equipment through a discharge pipe into a pressure tank and into the ground.
A power generation unit that generates electricity using discharged water discharged from the pressure tank, and
It includes a control unit that controls the operation of the geothermal heating equipment, drainage unit, and power generation unit,
The power generation unit includes a housing with a space inside,
An axial flow runner and a generator accommodated in the inner space of the housing, and
It includes a guide vane installed on the outside of the axial flow runner to guide the flow of discharged water,
The small hydro power generation system, wherein the control unit controls the opening amount of the guide vane based on the flow rate of the discharged water. According to paragraph 1,
A dump load that consumes the initial power produced during the initial operation of the power generation unit,
An inverter that converts the power produced by the power generation unit and supplies it to the consumer, and
It further includes a battery that charges a portion of the power produced by the power generation unit,
The dump load is provided with an electronic resistance that consumes the initial power due to an increase in rotation speed during the initial operation of the power generation unit,
The control unit is a small hydro power generation system, characterized in that, when the operation of the power generation unit ends, the operation of the dump load is controlled to consume the power produced during the power generation. According to claim 1 or 2,
The generator is installed inside a pressure tank that stores discharged water discharged through the discharge pipe,
A small hydro power generation system, characterized in that power generation is generated using the pressure of discharged water discharged from the pressure tank into the ground through an extrusion pipe and the drop between the generator and the bottom of the extrusion pipe. According to paragraph 3,
A small hydro power generation system, characterized in that the lower end of the extrusion pipe is expanded to have an inner diameter larger than the inner diameter of the upper end and the central portion of the extrusion pipe to increase the discharge pressure of the discharged water.

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