US958578A - Hydro-electric power plant. - Google Patents

Description

I'. W. BALLARD. H YDRO-ELETRIG POWER PLANT;

APPLIUATIN PILED JUNE 16, 1909.

' Patented May 17, 1910.

` 2 suma-sum' 1.

A ?Vit/games,

J T .i

P. w. BALLARD. HYDBO-ELECTRIC POWER PLANT.

APPLIOATION I'ILED JUNE 16, 1909. j A

Patented May 17, 1910.

2 SHEBTB-SEEET 2.'

. b NN minimumi: w. BALLnnoF oLEvELANnHnIGHTs, oHrof mmm-amorale rowni rLANr;

Speciflcation of Letters ratent. Patented May 1'7, 1910. Application mea .Tune 16, .1909. Serial No, 5o2,46.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that` I, FREDERICK W. BAL- LARD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cleveland Heights,' county of 5 Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hydro- Electric Power Plants, of which the following is a specification, the princi le of the invention being herein explaine and the best mode in which I have contem lated applying that principle so as` to istingush it from ot ier inventions. In thedevelopment of power from 'a fiuctuating water su ply of relativel as for example, om a river' or ike stream having a gradualfall and' limited storage Capacity, it often becomes necessary to furnish additional power during low water eriodsin the summer time, or times of rought, as also in times of flood when the hydraulic installation utilized in develop- .ingsuch power is apt tobe drowned out, that is the availablehead is very much reduced by the hacking' u of water in the tail-race.- i In' the prevai ing additional power is generally urnished by a. steam auxiliary plant which is objectionable both' because of the* cost of operation and the large initial expenditure-involved' in installing such steam plant and maintaining thesame n operative condition.

By` the present invention Ipropose to obviate the difliculties heretofore encountered in furnishin such additional ower to hydraulic insta lations of the kind in question, by utilizing any excess of the supply of -water at the plant to raise water to a relatively high head and then employing the water thus raised as an auxiliary source of power when such main supply s deficient.

To the accomplishment of this object, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described' and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawings and -the following descriptionset forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention,'such disclosed means constitutin' however, but one of various mechanical orms in WhlCll the' princip'le of the invention may be used.

` In said annexed drawings-Figure 1 represents topographically a' power development system embodying my several improvements; Fig. 2 is a sectional View, more` or' less dagrammatic in character, reprelow head,-

ractice, such sentin one approved form of hydraulic installaton embodyng such invention, for use in connection with such s stern; and Fig. 3

similarly represents an aternative form of installation. i

Referring first of all to Fig. l, the river A there 'appearin is of the general class previously referre to, wherein a fluctuatin water supply of relatively low head 'is avail able for power development purposes. By means of a dam a or the like, such relatively low head is utilized in a hyd-raulic insta-llation located' at a'. Located on a mountain or high hill in the vcinity of such hydraulic insta lationis a storage reservoir A', the effective head of which is considerably greater than that of the waterin the' river at a. My method of developin power then, consists as has been indicate n substantially absorbing the supply normally available at a in the generation of ower, utilzing any excess of such supp y to raise water to such storage reservoir A and then employing the water thus raised as an auxiliary source of powerwhen the supply at a is deficient. r

In the plant illustra-ted in Fig 2, both hydraulic installations, viz. the one operat- .ing at the lower head ofthe river, and the one Operating at the higher head of the stor- 8-5 age reservoir, are housed together. A turhine wheel B of the usual type will ordinarly be employed in the first installation, while a Pelton or other impulse wheel' operating at high 'pressurewill be used in connection with the supply from the storage reservoir. As shown in said figure ofreference, I mount a pum B' of centrifuga-l' type in alinement with the shaft b of the turbine, so that by means of a suitable clutch b', said pump may be connected or disconnected as desired. A main (1 leading from said pump to the storage reservoir A', serves equally to conduct the water delivered by the pump -when in operation, and to return such water for -use in connection with the impulse wheel B that operates at the higher head of the storage reservoir. Such impulse wheel is Conveniently mountedin i alinement with, the' generator w-hich is adapted to be driven from the turbine through intermediate belting 0, clutches 0' 0 being .provided between the generator and said turbine and impulse wheel respectively,

whereby the generator may be driven by 1 10 5 can be left conneetedand both sources of jnot be located sufficiently near to the hy- Voir, because of the long and expensive water* e mans that would be required, and the fro- `respectively Operating at the different heads either or both or" said wheels. The centrifugal pump B'=for raising thewater to the higher elevation: of the storage reservor may likewise be placed in alinement with the generator if desiredas shown in dotted Outline to the right in the figure under consideration. Said pump whatever its .loca tion is designed tobe opera'ted whenever the full output of the plant is not required. Certain of the generating units, 'of which one is represented by the generator C just described, are thenshut down, and the corresponding pump connected to be operated from' the turbine., Conversely, in' times 0flow water, drought, oriin times of flood, when the Capacity of the hydraulic installation Operating at low head, is not sufficient to meet the demands' for power, the clutch connecting the impulse wheel with the generator will be' closed, the turbine being at the same time disconnected, 'Water from the main a leading to the storage reservoir is now suppliedto such impulse wheel and the generator operated by means of the power which has been stored in such reservoir. ln case some power is still available from the turbine wheel, the latter, of course,

power simultaneously utiliz ed. It will be understood, of course, that it is I frequently desirable in plants of this' sort, to have available an auXiliary power supply' for short periods of time during-the day when the demand for power might be greater. than the Capacity ofthe power plant, in order to meet wha-t'is known `as the peak load When' this is the case, the storage reservoir may be drawn upon equally as well as in the instances just discussed.

In the modified form of plant illustrated in Fig. 3, I show the adaptation of 'my invention to a location where a reservoircandraulic installation Operating at low head to render feasblethedirect pumping of the* water from such installation into the resertional loss encountered in forcing the water through such distance. cumstances, it is contemplated that `it will be more economical to transfer the eXcess power, that the firstinstallation is capable of developing at times, in the form f electricity to the second installation, and there utilizing such current to pump water to the storage elevation from some local source of supply. Accordingly the two installations are here shown as separately housed, and may possibly be located a number of miles apart. The 'low pressure installation con: ssts, as before, of a' turbine wheel B connected to drivea generator O, the leads 0 from the latter being connected both with here employed by itself, or,

- Under these cirr Motor-(1 when connected with leads 0 is -ranged to operate a pump B corresponding With pump B' of Fig. l, to raise water through a main a to an adjacently located storage reservoir (not shown). From such reservoir the water,"thus raised is in turn adapted to be withdrawn through the same main a and supplied to an impulse wheel B connected to drive a second generator C which' latter can be connected in the same circuit 0 as the generator C of 'the first' in-' stallation and the motor C of said second installation, when 'the latter is employed in utilizing the excess power from the first installation.` The mode of operation with such modified arrangement of plant will obviously be substantially the same as that previously described in connection with the first form of plant. In utilizing the stored power in the' reservoir as an auxiliary, 'the impulse wheel in the second installation is provided With water under the high head of such' reservoir. [Under these circumstances, the

switch ci* to the motor is opened and that e to the generator- 0 closed. Current is accordingly transnitted back through the electric circuit, this generator being run, in other words, in arallelwith the generator in the first installation to supply power to the electric circuit for the' power distribution system. l As before, either installation may be if desh-ed, both may. be used simultaneously, as the exigencies of thewater' su ply at the first installation ma demand; 'urthermore such second insta lation is obviously 'available in case the generators in the first installation are entirely shut down, due to accident or other cause than mere failure of the water supply.

` Other modes of a plying the principle oi my invention may e em loyed'instead of the one explained, change e'ing made as regardsthe mechanism herein disclosed, pro- Vded the means stated byany of the fol1owing claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

l therefore particularly point out and di tinctlyiclaim as my invent1on:- i

1: A power plant comprising a hydraulic installation oerable at a relatively low head, a secon hydraulic installation operable at a relatively high head, and means for utilizing excess power developed at the first installation to raise water to such relatively high 'head for use in said second installation.

2. A power plant comprising an electric generator, a hydraulicinstallation operable at a relatively lowhead and adapted to drive said generator, a second hydraulicvinstallation operable at a relatively high head and likewise adapted 'to drive said generator, and

3; The combination with power absorhing" means, of a lant for supplying powe thereto comprsng a hydraniic installation operable ata relatively low head, a second -hydraulic installation operable at a .relativel g high'head, each of said installations being adapted to actuate said power absorbing means, and means adapted to be operated by said first installation to raise water to such relatively high head for use in said second installation.

4. The combination with an electric-supply system, of a powe: plant for supplying current thereto, com -rsng current generating means, ah drau ic installation operable at a relatively ow head, a second hydraulic installation Opel-able at a relatvely high head, each of said nstallations being adapted to actuate said current-generating means,

and means adapted to be operated by said first. installation to raise water to such relatively high head for use in said second'installation.

5. The combination with an electric-supply system, of a power plant for supplying current thereto, comprisng an electric generator, a hydraulic installation operable at a relatively' low head and adapted to be eoupied to said generator, a second hydraulic installation operable at a` relatively high head. and likewise adapted to be coupled to the same generator, and means adapted to be operated by said first installation to raise Water to such relatively highhead foiuse in said second installation.

Signed by me this lthday of June, 190&

FRE'DERICK W. BALLARD.

Attested by- ANNA L. GILL, JNO. F. OBERLIN.

Images