RU2499910C1 - Flow-through power generator and submerged power plant on stationary platform - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: power engineering.

SUBSTANCE: flow-through power generator of horizontal type comprises a stator and a rotor placed on a single axis with a turbine driven by water flow forces. The rotor is made as hollow. The inner cavity of the rotor is formed as a Laval nozzle. Turbine blades are fixed inside the cavity and are directed towards the axis of rotation, being arranged along the inner surface of the rotor following helical lines. The submerged power plant on the stationary platform comprises a group of power generators installed towards the water flow on stationary supports. Supports for installation of power generators have location beds equipped with receiving cones and are arranged at the distance that is multiple to the length of the power generator section. Power generators are installed at the different depth from the water surface.

EFFECT: development of a simple and reliable power generator and a submerged power plant with easy maintenance.

8 cl, 3 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of electric power, namely, to constructions of plants for converting the energy of the flow of water into electrical energy.

The growing demand for electricity to meet domestic needs and technological needs is well known. From the end of the 20th century, safe and environmentally friendly methods for its preparation are preferred. This explains all the new attempts to offer acceptable methods of generating electricity for various fields of its application.

A self-contained free-flow microhydroelectric power station is known, comprising a ground unit including an electrical distribution device, a control system and a controlled ballast load, a fixedly mounted water-immersed module including an electric generator located below the water level in a sealed enclosure and connected to the ground unit by a waterproof electric cable placed in a diffuser with a horizontal turbine turbine with a hydraulic turbine rotation connected through located in the gondola and made in the form of a multiplier charger a gear transmission with an electric generator shaft, a conical lattice located at the inlet of the diffuser in front of the turbine, the electric generator located downstream of the multiplier in a common nacelle equipped with a device for pumping water from its lower part, the conical lattice is made of flat elements, at least some of which are rotatable relative to the longitudinal axes and are provided with a drive for this (RF patent No. 2324068, IPC F03B 17/06, 2008 publication).

The proposed solution is structurally complex, designed for remote small farms that are not profitable to connect to a common network.

A known generator operating on the sea current, comprising a cylindrical casing with inlet and outlet nozzles, two electric generators installed in parallel with each other with a cylindrical housing and an external rotor mounted outside the housing, and a hydrodynamic drive made in the form of blades radially mounted on the outer surface of the external rotors both electric generators, while the electric generators are made of birotative and equipped with an internal rotor located inside the housing, while the internal and external second rotors interconnected by a gearbox, which cavity is filled with a lubricating fluid, providing the opposite rotation of the rotors, and the blades are flat (RF patent №2368799, IPC F03B 13/12, 7/00 F03B, publication 2009 YG).

Also known is a hydrogenerator operating on the sea current, containing a hydrodynamic drive and an electric generator made birobative and including a housing, an external and internal rotor, the last of which is located inside the housing, and the hydrodynamic drive is made in the form of vanes radially mounted on the outer surface of the outer rotor and placed in the casing having an inlet and outlet nozzles, while the housing and the casing are made cylindrical, the external rotor is located outside the housing, and the rotors are interconnected by means of the gearbox, including the driven gear connected to the external rotor, the intermediate gears and the driving gear connected to the internal rotor, and providing the opposite rotation of the rotors (RF patent No. 2382231, IPC F03B 3/04, F03B 13/10, F03B 17/06, 2010 publication).

Well-known designs of hydrogenerators are efficient, they allow to obtain an increased frequency, which facilitates the transportation of electricity. However, the use of the gearbox led to a complication of the design, and, as a result, to a complication of maintenance and a decrease in its reliability. An attempt to increase the unit power of the machine entails a significant increase in linear dimensions, which requires additional costs to keep it in one place when perpendicular to the flow, and the presence of a large number of air voids inside the casing can create problems with cooling of the rotors and field winding. All this allows us to talk about the low suitability of known structures for generating electricity on an industrial scale.

Also known is a machine for generating electricity through the movement of water, containing a plurality of power generating units electrically connected to each other and arranged in a modular design, the power generating units being interchangeable with the possibility of replacement without interrupting the process of generating machine power and receiving kinetic energy from moving water and it transformations due to the movement of the turbine available in each power generating unit (RF patent No. 2368798, IPC F03B 13/10, 2008 publication).

There is also known a system for generating electricity through the movement of water, containing many turbines, the impellers of which contain a magnetic polymer or magnets made of rare earth metals, are surrounded by electrically conductive windings housed in a housing around the impellers, and are rotated by the movement of water, generating electricity moreover, the turbines are arranged in a modular design and are electrically interconnected (ibid.).

The proposed machine design is workable, uses high-performance technological processes for casting parts from thermoplastics in the energy sector, and the use of magnetopolymers or rare-earth metals reduces the weight of the machine, its susceptibility to corrosion and the total cost. However, the use of a system of such machines for generating electricity on a large scale in the waters of powerful ocean currents is impractical due to the small unit power of one unit.

Known hydroelectric power station containing an open switchgear, synchronous horizontal capsule hydraulic turbine generators placed in an intense stream of water, while the base platform, vertical racks, guides, a lifting mechanism and a technological platform are introduced into the hydroelectric power station, and these synchronous generators are combined, at least in two vertical areal honeycomb-capsule systems and suspended in pairs and movably above and / or below the water surface using the hoisting device mechanism to the guide rails, the lower ends of these guide racks are mounted on a base platform installed on the bottom of the intense water stream, areal honeycomb-capsule systems of synchronous generators are mounted movably in the rails connected to the bottom by anchor-cable mounts, and above the water surface an open switchgear is installed on the rails (RF patent No. 2342486, IPC EV02/00, F03B 13/10, 2008 publication)

The disadvantages of the known design include the location of the generators perpendicular to the flow, since it is known that the flow velocity is variable in depth and the closer to the surface, the greater it is. The use of capsular generators of complex design complicates their installation, operation and repair, requires water cooling of the stator and rotor windings, which overheat during operation due to the presence of a large number of air voids.

The objective of the invention is to create a simple and reliable horizontal type electric generator designed to operate in an underwater power plant.

Another objective of the invention is the creation of an easy-to-maintain underwater power plant on a stationary platform equipped with the proposed horizontal type electric generators, and ensuring the conditions for reliable operation of such a power plant by increasing the stability of the stationary platform.

The problem in terms of flow-through electric generator is solved by the fact that the horizontal flow-through electric generator includes a stator and a rotor located on the same axis as the turbine, driven by the forces of the water flow. The rotor is hollow, while the inner cavity of the rotor is formed in the form of a Laval nozzle, and turbine blades are fixed inside the cavity, directed to the axis of rotation and located on the inner surface of the rotor along helical lines.

In order to reduce operating temperatures, the stator and rotor windings are insulated, for example, with fluoroplastic, sealed with a tube of heat-shrinkable material, the current leads are filled with glass-ceramic, and the remaining voids are filled with material that is a magnetic core in its physical properties, for example, a magnetopolymer, so that the stator and rotor are monoliths, and the gap between the rotor and stator is increased without reducing the adhesion of their magnetic fields.

In order to eliminate the axial displacement of the rotor relative to the stator, a thrust bearing is placed between them.

In order to increase the generated power, it can be increased by sections connected using flanges that perform a technological function when installing an electric generator under water.

In order to preserve the environment, it is equipped with a protective grid under voltage to prevent the entry of living organisms into the flow part of the generator.

The problem in part of the underwater power plant is solved by the fact that the underwater power plant on a stationary platform includes a group of proposed flow-through electric generators installed towards the water flow on stationary poles, while the poles for installing electric generators have lodgements equipped with receiving cones and are located at a distance multiple of the length of the generator section, and the electric generators themselves are installed at different depths from the water surface.

In order to increase the stability of the platform, each of its supports consists of a pipe screwed into the bottom with its screw part and a bottom anchor support made in the form of a rigid container with air evacuated from it, connected to each other by means of centering cones increasing the adhesion of the support to the ground by mating elements, and the bottom support-anchor is connected by stretched metal cables to the technological platform.

The subsea power station also includes a technological platform with a berth and technological and switching equipment located on it, connected by cables to generators and with equipment onshore to transfer the generated capacities and obtain standard energy for technological and domestic needs, as well as a residential area for personnel and a helipad .

The proposed technical solution is presented in the drawings, where Fig. 1 shows an underwater power plant, a top view; figure 2 is a section AA in figure 1; figure 3 shows the installation diagram of the bottom and screw supports; figure 4 is a section bB in figure 1; figure 5 is a section bb in figure 4; in Fig.6 - node I in Fig.5.

The proposed generator consists of three sections (see figure 4) - receiving 1, middle 2 and exhaust 3. There may be several middle sections. Each of the sections contains a stator 4 with a winding and a rotor 5 with its own winding. The sections are connected by means of bolted joints of the stop flanges 6 using the mechanical seal.

The rotor 5 is structurally integrated with the turbine, for which it is made hollow. Turbine blades 7 are installed in the cavity of the rotor, converting the rectilinear motion of the water flow into the rotational motion of the rotor. To increase the effect of flow on as many blades as possible, they are arranged along several helical lines, and the bases 8, with which the blades are attached to the rotor turbine body, have a variable height and form a profile of the internal flow channel like a Laval nozzle with a confuser in the receiving section 1 and a diffuser in section 3.

The free rotation of the rotor 5 in the fixed stator 4 is ensured by double-row radial rolling bearings 9 located in the end sections 1 and 3. To unload the bearings 9 and prevent the axial displacement of the rotor relative to the stator under pressure of the water flow in section 1, a thrust bearing 10 is placed. For loading balls of bearings in the stators of sections 1, 3, technological windows (not shown) are provided, which are welded after the bearings are “stuffed”.

The presence of air volumes in the stator and rotor leads to an increase in the temperature of their windings, to reduce which in machines operating in atmospheric conditions, air or water cooling is used. In order to exclude such air volumes of the stator windings of the proposed generator, they are made of coil type 11 (Fig. 5) or wave rods with thermosetting or glass-ceramic insulation, and the turns of the rotor windings 12 are made of flat busbar copper wound around a rib insulated, for example, with fluoroplastic and additionally, a sealing heat shrink tube. The remaining voids are filled with material, which is a magnetic circuit in its physical properties, for example, magnetopolymer 13 (figure 5), while ensuring the continuity of the stator and rotor magnetic circuits. In this case, the stator and rotor are monoliths capable of functioning in a dynamic water stream.

Current collectors 14 (Fig. 4) are placed on the stators of sections 1-3 and are isolated, for example, by glass ceramics. In section 2, a sealed armored cable 15, also sealed with glass ceramics, departs from the current collector 14.

To prevent damage to the environment and the ingress of foreign objects into the flow channel with turbine blades, at the end of section 1, a protective grid 16 is installed (Fig. 4), isolated from the stator by insulator 17. A small voltage can be applied to the grid to repel the inhabitants of the water area, which is installed electric generator. Eye bolts 18 (figure 4) are designed to move the generator. For the same purposes, the use of metal towels 19 is allowed.

To create a torque with a relatively small flow force at a low speed, the length of the turbine blade (the shoulder of the force application) should be significant, which leads to an increase in the overall dimensions of the electric machine. The materials from which the bodies of the stator 4, rotor 5 and blades 7 are made are selected stainless, and the rotor and blades are selected as light as possible, for example, as titanium alloys. The forced small increase in the gap "δ" between the stator and the rotor (Fig.6) is compensated by the magnetic conductivity of salt water, greater than that of the air gap.

The generator is placed in the water stream motionless. To do this, the electric generator is laid on at least two stationary supports 20 (Figs. 4, 5), installed at a distance multiple of the length of the middle section and equipped with special lodges 21, which are rigid truss structures. Flanges 6 do not allow the generator to move in the direction of its axis. The lodges of each pair of supports are made at the depth of the generator, for example, at 3 different levels, as shown in figure 2.

The upper part of each support 20, fixed at the bottom, is made in the form of guides expanding upwards and rigidly fixed in the technological platform 22 (figure 2).

The technological platform for a power plant, for example, for 18 power generators, is shown in plan in FIG. 1. It is a stationary frame structure of trusses with provided windows for lowering / raising electric generators using, for example, a crane beam 23 (Fig.2, 3). When the descent of the generator with a cable 15 of the removal of electricity (figure 4), the guide rails will center its position on the lodgements. In addition to lifting equipment (crane-beam 23), the technological platform is equipped with a berth 24 (Fig. 1), and a switching equipment cabinet 25 is placed on it for receiving electric power from electric generators and transmitting it through cables laid in the pipe along the bottom (not shown), to equipment installed on the shore, as well as a living room 26 for personnel and a helipad 27. To reduce lateral wind loads on the technological platform, aerodynamic visors are strengthened along its perimeter 28.

With significant linear dimensions of the technological platform, its stability is very important. In the proposed technical solution, the stability of the platform is provided in two ways: by strengthening the fastening of each support in the bottom of the water area and byte extensions between the bottom support-anchors and the technological platform. Tension guy cables 29 (FIGS. 2, 3) are rigidly fixed to the frame of the technological platform in such a way that with lateral pressure on it from any direction, a sufficient number of guy cables work under tension, counteracting the platform’s displacement. To better fix each support in the bottom, the support pipe has not only a screw part 30 (Fig. 2), which is screwed into the ground, but also a conical part 31 (Fig. 2, 3), with which the bottom support-anchor 32 is pressed against the bottom (figure 2, 3). The anchor support is a rigid closed container from which air is pumped out. When immersed, the support-anchor itself will be under enormous external pressure and will be pressed to the bottom. Depending on the ratio of the pressure force on the support-anchor and the force of compression of the support-anchor 32 to the bottom of the cone 31, when the support-pipe is screwed into the bottom, the conical conjugation of the support-anchor and the pipe support may have the opposite direction of the taper. The variant depicted in figure 2 relates to the case when the soil is dense and the compressive forces when screwing the support pipe are greater than the pressure forces on the support armature. On the anchor support, the ends of guy ropes 29 are rigidly fixed. The cables are tensioned and locked in tension when the support is installed and the platform is mounted. Thus, a tensile structure of increased stability of the platform-support system is formed, both the supports of the platform itself and the supports carrying electric generators.

The proposed technical solution allows you to use the minimum number of power generators, install them as easy as possible and remove them for repair or replacement, do not require maintenance in the working position, do not harm the environment with your work, that is, provides the so-called "green" power generation technology .

The proposed technical solution can be used for mounting platforms for gas and oil production on the sea shelf.

The proposed solution can be implemented, for example, as part of an international Russian-Japanese project in the Kuroshio water area, whose width is 170 km, depth - 700 meters, and the required flow speed - from 4 miles per hour. The project may include the construction of an underwater power plant with a total capacity of 4.5 GW. This will require, for example, only 18 electric generators, and the generated energy will be enough to cover all the needs of a metropolis with a population of 16 million people. The expected payback period of such a project is 5 years with a service life of at least 100 years with periodic repair or replacement of individual power generators.

Claims (8)

1. A horizontal flow type electric generator comprising a stator and a rotor located on the same axis as a turbine driven by the forces of a water stream, characterized in that the rotor is hollow, while the inner cavity of the rotor is formed in the form of a Laval nozzle, and blades are fixed inside the cavity turbines directed to the axis of rotation and located on the inner surface of the rotor along helical lines. 2. The flowing electric generator according to claim 1, characterized in that the stator and rotor windings are insulated, for example, with fluoroplastic, sealed with a tube of heat-shrinkable material, the conductors are filled with glass ceramics, and the remaining voids are filled with material that is a magnetic circuit in its physical properties, such as a magnetopolymer, that the stator and rotor are monoliths, and the gap between the rotor and stator is increased without reducing the adhesion of their magnetic fields. 3. The flowing electric generator according to claim 1, characterized in that, in order to eliminate the axial displacement of the rotor relative to the stator, a thrust bearing is placed between them. 4. The flowing electric generator according to claim 1, characterized in that it consists of sections connected to each other by means of flanges. 5. Flowing electric generator according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is equipped with a protective grid that is under voltage. 6. Underwater power plant on a stationary platform, including a group of electric generators made according to any one of claims 1-5, and installed towards the water flow on stationary poles, characterized in that the poles for installing electric generators have lodges equipped with receiving cones, and are located at a distance multiple lengths of the electric generator section, and the electric generators themselves are installed at different depths from the water surface. 7. An underwater power plant on a stationary platform according to claim 6, characterized in that each of its supports consists of a pipe screwed into the bottom with its screw part and a bottom anchor support made in the form of a rigid container with air evacuated from it, connected to each other another with the help of centering cones increasing the adhesion of the support to the ground on the mating elements, and the bottom support-anchor is connected by stretched metal cables to the technological platform. 8. An underwater power plant on a stationary platform according to claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the power plant contains a technological platform with a berth and technological and switching equipment located on it, connected by cables to generators and with equipment onshore for transmitting generated capacities and generating energy for technological and domestic needs, as well as residential premises for personnel and a helipad.

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