WO2010055278A2 - Complexe de barrage sûr pour extraire, stocker et convertir des énergies renouvelables - Google Patents

Complexe de barrage sûr pour extraire, stocker et convertir des énergies renouvelables Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2010055278A2
WO2010055278A2 PCT/GB2009/002561 GB2009002561W WO2010055278A2 WO 2010055278 A2 WO2010055278 A2 WO 2010055278A2 GB 2009002561 W GB2009002561 W GB 2009002561W WO 2010055278 A2 WO2010055278 A2 WO 2010055278A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
silos
silo
water
wind
tide
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2009/002561
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2010055278A3 (fr
Inventor
John Schetrumpf
Original Assignee
John Schetrumpf
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Publication date
Priority claimed from GB0820746A external-priority patent/GB0820746D0/en
Application filed by John Schetrumpf filed Critical John Schetrumpf
Priority to EP09752886A priority Critical patent/EP2440774A2/fr
Priority to AU2009315457A priority patent/AU2009315457A1/en
Publication of WO2010055278A2 publication Critical patent/WO2010055278A2/fr
Publication of WO2010055278A3 publication Critical patent/WO2010055278A3/fr

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03D—WIND MOTORS
    • F03D9/00—Adaptations of wind motors for special use; Combinations of wind motors with apparatus driven thereby; Wind motors specially adapted for installation in particular locations
    • F03D9/10—Combinations of wind motors with apparatus storing energy
    • F03D9/13—Combinations of wind motors with apparatus storing energy storing gravitational potential energy
    • F03D9/14—Combinations of wind motors with apparatus storing energy storing gravitational potential energy using liquids
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03B—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS
    • F03B13/00—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates
    • F03B13/12—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03B—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS
    • F03B13/00—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates
    • F03B13/06—Stations or aggregates of water-storage type, e.g. comprising a turbine and a pump
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03B—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS
    • F03B13/00—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates
    • F03B13/12—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy
    • F03B13/14—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using wave energy
    • F03B13/22—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using wave energy using the flow of water resulting from wave movements to drive a motor or turbine
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03B—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS
    • F03B13/00—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates
    • F03B13/12—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy
    • F03B13/26—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using tide energy
    • F03B13/264—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using tide energy using the horizontal flow of water resulting from tide movement
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03D—WIND MOTORS
    • F03D13/00—Assembly, mounting or commissioning of wind motors; Arrangements specially adapted for transporting wind motor components
    • F03D13/20—Arrangements for mounting or supporting wind motors; Masts or towers for wind motors
    • F03D13/25—Arrangements for mounting or supporting wind motors; Masts or towers for wind motors specially adapted for offshore installation
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F03D—WIND MOTORS
    • F03D9/00—Adaptations of wind motors for special use; Combinations of wind motors with apparatus driven thereby; Wind motors specially adapted for installation in particular locations
    • F03D9/008—Adaptations of wind motors for special use; Combinations of wind motors with apparatus driven thereby; Wind motors specially adapted for installation in particular locations the wind motor being combined with water energy converters, e.g. a water turbine
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
    • F05B—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO WIND, SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS, TO MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS COVERED BY SUBCLASSES F03B, F03D AND F03G
    • F05B2240/00—Components
    • F05B2240/40—Use of a multiplicity of similar components
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
    • F05B—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO WIND, SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS, TO MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS COVERED BY SUBCLASSES F03B, F03D AND F03G
    • F05B2240/00—Components
    • F05B2240/90—Mounting on supporting structures or systems
    • F05B2240/93—Mounting on supporting structures or systems on a structure floating on a liquid surface
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
    • F05B—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO WIND, SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS, TO MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS COVERED BY SUBCLASSES F03B, F03D AND F03G
    • F05B2260/00—Function
    • F05B2260/40—Transmission of power
    • F05B2260/406—Transmission of power through hydraulic systems
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/30—Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/70—Wind energy
    • Y02E10/72—Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/70—Wind energy
    • Y02E10/727—Offshore wind turbines
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02E60/16—Mechanical energy storage, e.g. flywheels or pressurised fluids
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E70/00—Other energy conversion or management systems reducing GHG emissions
    • Y02E70/30—Systems combining energy storage with energy generation of non-fossil origin

Definitions

  • the present invention provides a safe and easily bui ⁇ t dam as the back bone of a system for the extraction of renewable energies and safe storage of them as a water head and its controlled release to produce hydro-electricity,
  • a fundamental encompassemeni of the island's fabrication relates to the manner that its formation is from cylinders or silos (1) that provide the immense strength for safe and multiple containeris ⁇ tion of a water head, (2) that allows its footprint to be so shaped as to take very specific advantage of the prevailing-wind, wave and tidal elements in which it stands (3) that it allows variance in the height of the silos, and rhe potential cover they offer when capped, to be contoured to offer a step effect for wind turhines placed thereon and the advantages of anabatic wind to drive them and ⁇ iat allows the drainage of rain, waterfront them. (4) that it provides containerization of that fresh or potable rainwater so drained fi"om the immense sky facing surface that the island offers as a whole. (5) that the cylinders are preferably equal in diameter so geometrically there is the design potential to have support by vertical ahuttment all round any one cylinder's circumference.
  • All these pumps fill the silos with water to produce a head of water. Conversion of the head of water so attained to electrical energy is through a preferably central and single hydro-electric generating plant.
  • Inherent in the invention's design is that in the preferred embodiment, there is the housing of, or the provision of the potential to house, this plant within the dam complex.
  • the dam complex can be built on any site offering a source of wind and water but relates preferably to those sites at sea or at coastal sites where the benefits of energy from sea-surge (wave and tide) may be added to that of wind and where access to and disposal of water for the hydro-electric system is massive or unlimited.
  • the silos and their attendant mechanisms are, as a collection at sea, of such proportions as to create an island or 'atolV. Though the invention essentially (preferably) embraces the use of many silos at any one site as stated, it encompasses the use of a small number where this is sufficient to be useful and efficient.
  • the invention essentially is one to be used off-shore, in the sea or in the ocean.
  • Tidal power is predictable but its ever-changing status, both in time and force, results in energy being produced at times which, similarly, will not consistently coincide with local or national grid needs.
  • the present invention totally addresses these relevancies and solves the problems, as one of its features, of providing such storage.
  • dams store water which can be released at will to best serve energy requirements as they are needed.
  • dams are sub-served by land based natural sources of water, which, in the present climate of global warming, are dwindling and may continue to do so.
  • Such dams cause from their construction a considerable intrusion into natural habitat, both locally, and downstream and upstream especially, with the intrinsic and necessary flooding often displacing whole established towns and villages and the peoples, industry and civilization that goes with them.
  • Their construction is always of a design inherently and catastrophically vulnerable to earthquakes, war and terrorism. Their initial cost in money, displacement of people and geographic change is daunting.
  • the present common manner in which energy is retrieved from the wind is through a two or three bladed 'wind turbines' connected to an electricity generator as a compact and self-contained unit, and these are sited on vertical stanchions which can swivel so as to best catch the wind. They are, by world wide and thus common usage erroneously known as 'wind turbines 1 when they are, in fact, wind turbine generators. Clarification is important at this point in this background discussion.
  • a wind turbine is strictly speaking a rotor attached to a shaft that rotates by virtue of wind passing over the surfaces of its rotor's foils. The rotation of that shaft can be used to perform work of any kind for e.g. windmill uses wind to turn roller which crush grain.
  • the use of the 'pure wind turbine' is to denote just that and to differentiate between the two as it is pure wind turbines, suspended on a stanchion or frame, that the present invention encompasses.
  • wind turbine generators also suffer from the fact that they will not start in very light wind and that in severe winds they have to be slowed or governed to prevent damage to their mechanisms and thus in both situations failing to make use of much of the available wind. Because the invention provides a very high and specifically slanted 'platform' winds forces will be stronger with accellerated updrafts so rotor start will be easier. When the wind conditions are severe the absence of a generator mechanism means there are no complex mechanisms to protect. Revised wind technology will almost certainly ensue and result in smaller rotor sizes with an increased density of their presence. The placement of the pure wind turbines on a slope means that they 'cover' each other less, again allowing an increased density of their presence.
  • the present invention provides for the construction of large water silos in the particular manner determined by the invention as follows, where the energies are being harnessed preferably at sea or in a coastal site to avoid the aforementioned disadvantages, land sites are not precluded, as wind alone may be used there to pump water from a neighbouring source to fill the silos and subsequently produce hydroelectric power.
  • the present invention resolves the problems of the aforementioned conventional land and sea based wind farms and land based dams by providing vertical water storage silos, of a specific structure, which support a multitude of devices capable of harvesting the energy from wind wave and tide, converting and storing it as a head of water and thence into hydro-electricity.
  • the upper end of the silo is capped and thus simultaneously offers of itself the potential to be a platform for solar power and the collection of fresh water in 'reservoir' proportions, (especially when there is a large number of silos) by virtue of presenting a massive sky facing surface area.
  • the dam is formed by a multiplicity of vertical cylinders, preferably constructed of pre-fabricated concrete segments, adjacent to, touching, connected but preferably not irreversibly fused to each other, and appropriately interconnected by adjustable valves or 'gates' near their bases so that their contents can be directed at will to flow freely across to each other or otherwise to a special dedicated silo (fig. 3a) which is not for storing water but which is dedicated to housing, in its base, a common or central generator or generators and, above this, the equipment for monitoring them and their maintenance and service.
  • a special dedicated silo (fig. 3a) which is not for storing water but which is dedicated to housing, in its base, a common or central generator or generators and, above this, the equipment for monitoring them and their maintenance and service.
  • a central generating silo (fig. 3,a) in which are the hydro-electric generators, and the central monitoring, central control and electricity distribution machinery. The flow of water into and out of the generator is shown by arrows.
  • the marginal fresh water storage and wave/tide pump silos (fig.3,c) which are located around the margins of the structure so they can best capture the effect of wave and tide and also the fresh water that drains to the periphery from the surfaces of the tops of the other silos - part of the tide/wave pump can be seen through the scalloped area in the base.
  • All three types of silos have a cylindrical body which is capped at its top and has a containing bottom.
  • each silo is capped and on this cap are positioned pure wind turbines
  • the invention does not preclude other situations for placement of the water pump (fig. 16) .
  • Wind turbines typically incorporate a generator for converting the wind energy to electricity and are independent units.
  • the units are necessarily expensive and their very disposition on high individual towers and as electrical devices, exposes them particularly to the elements especially salt, if at sea, and makes their servicing necessarily frequent, difficult and expensive.
  • Water pump technology as developed through the mining and, especially, the off-shore oil industry, is well established and comparatively cheaper and is more tried and reliable in the hostile sea air and sea water environment as such than wind turbine generator technology.
  • the central generating unit being housed and properly protected as in a standard power station facility, such as exists in hydro-electric power stations, will mean monitoring, maintenance and repair is covered, convenient and can accommodate and allow a standby or back-up generator to be used as needs demand.
  • Incorporate in the present invention is hydro-electric generating equipment designed to be sited preferably, though not exclusively at sea (or in a coastal position) in and as an integral part of the silo complex at the base of a dedicated silo(s) (fig.3a,16).
  • This generating equipment may be housed a distance from the silos as may be advantageous when they are situated in a coastal or terrestrial position. It does not preclude the invention being use on land as the advantages of safety, due to its specific structure, and of wind capture, as mentioned above, will function in that situation also.
  • the invention provides that a water head generated in the manner described above but just off-shore might be more conveniently delivered via a pipeline to an electricity generating facility on land. It is implicit that this storage system can also be connected to accommodate the pumped water from mechanisms, wind or other wise which are not 'in house', so to speak, but which lie in the surrounding sea or even on nearby land.
  • the upper end of the silos will be covered with flat caps or plates, preferably steel reinforced concrete, which will be arranged to be confluent with or slightly overlapping each other so as to produce an essentially continuous flat or flattish surface which is pitched in some degree so that it, or any overlapping that may be a part of its apposition to an adjacent cap, allows a run-off which slopes gently to the edge of the silo complex (fig.7a).
  • This continuous surface will provide:
  • the bottom of all the silos are to be scalloped near to or as they join the sea floor foundations so as to allow free ingress and egress of water (fig.8) for the water pumps (figs.5,6), wave-tide (figs 3c,7) and overflow mechanisms (fig. 14) at that level.
  • the silos at the periphery of the silo complex such scalloping will be significantly greater i.e. up to or near the sea surface to allow free ingress and egress of wave and tidal sea flow over the mechanisms designed for the capture of the energy from that flow (fig. 7 b). It is important to appreciate that the silos at the periphery are by their very position able to form a dual task i.e.
  • these silos at the periphery being used to collect rain water will have, in their bases, the machinery mentioned above for extracting energy from wave and tide and the product of that energy capture, pumped water (fig. 10 (i)), will be diverted to silos which are more central and dedicated to storing the water head needed for producing hydro-electric power.
  • the invention provides for the diversion of any overflow from the silos that occurs from continued action of the water pumps, when the silos are full, to the central generating silo(s). Such overflow thus may continue to contribute to the grid as required. Equalisation of the levels in the silos occurs through the connections between them at their bases, and when overflow occurs through connection at their tops. What overflow is not diverted for either of these two purposes can be shed through an overflow piped into the sea (fig. 14 (i*v))
  • the mechanism for converting wave and tidal energy into a head of water is a single one, conforming well to the silo in which it will lie, and is as follows: the principle of using a common mechanism is demonstrated in fig. 9 where flotation (b) produces lift and descent and the foils or cusps (a) capture horizontal flow and cause rotation a large cylindrical drum has, at its centre a hollow, axially orientated sleeve which accommodates a shaft embedded centrally in the centre of the sea bed attachment of the silo below and in the floor of the silo above, and acts as a sliding bearing for that shaft in such a way that the drum is able to ascend and descend as well as rotate over a fixed spot (figs.9, 3c,7b,10).
  • turbine blades On the periphery of the parallel sides of the drum are turbine blades which are shaped and directed so as to gain maximum purchase on the flow of the tide and the horizontal component of the wave motion as they surge past.
  • the vertical component of any wave will cause the drum to rise and descend on its central shaft as it is specifically directed in its transit through the base of the silo (fig. 15) .
  • the rise and fall action of the drum actuates a plunge or piston type water pump (fig. 10(Ui).) and the rotary action of the drum actuates the same pistons through the presence of cam lifts on the top surface of the drum (fig. 10(U)). Both deliver water from that site under pressure to a nearby silo.
  • Scale of the invention This is preferably to encompass a multitude of silos to form a silo complex where the contained water capacity will be millions of cubic metres, as might be found in the Hoover or Aswan dams down to a few silos or even a single silo.
  • the height of such silos will be in the hundreds of metres or fractions thereof and the area of such complexes will be numbers of square kilometres or fractions thereof.
  • the complexes are massive their general profile, allowing for the slopes and fall-off from the central silos to the periphery for the reasons discussed above, will be like an island (figs. 4a, 6) but especially so allowing that these storage complexes have the potential to be connected by pipework to accommodate the pumped water from tens or hundreds of wind, wave and tide mechanisms outside the complex in the surrounding sea or on nearby land.
  • the sea floor is likely to be available and free and, especially in the case of shallow areas, useless as shipping lanes or un-navigable for ordinary shipping purposes, ideal, as building in shallow waters is more economical than in deep ones.
  • the site chosen for good wind will be naturally complemented by good wave power, allowing that appropriate water depth and sea bed conditions exist.
  • the effect of the construction will be to create what is effectively a land mass with the attendant advantages of wind patterns which have been shown to have over those of bare flat sea areas. This includes the effect of anabatic winds ascending over the purpose built slope that the invention describes.
  • the whole mechanism is preferably away from land and obviates the disadvantages, as outlined above, that dams on land and wind turbines farms which are land based, incur.
  • wind is harvested by pure turbines that drive water pumps and not generators. This obviates the confines that different wind speeds imposes on the blade design of typical wind turbine generators. Also pumps are a fraction of the cost of the generating component of the latter.
  • the tide and wave energy is preferably harvested by a number of single units or machines which collect energy from both sources to drive water pumps and not generators.
  • the silos at the periphery of the complex conveniently house, in their bases at sea l ⁇ vel, the machinery for this purpose.
  • Centralised generating and power monitoring equipment will mean better control of the out-put from its multitude of energy harvesting machineries and will mean less cost in cabling its combined and massive electricity production to shore than that needed to link and similarly get to shore the out-put from a conventional wind turbine farm at sea where its individual wind turbine generators stand alone and separate.
  • the housing of the central generating plant in a dedicated silo will offer good weather protection for the electrical and electronic nature of that plant.
  • the disposition of the pure wind turbines in relation to each other can be a closer one on the slopes of the atoll as the slant can stagger their height so they do not directly blanket the wind from each other.
  • this invention will, in action, have a zero CO2 footprint with the advantage of no radiation concerns as occur with nuclear power which though carbon free is not clean power.
  • Nuclear generating plant has a life-span of 25 years while that of hydro-electric plant has been known to be running for almost three times that span and may be indefinite.
  • Nuclear generating plant can be used for no other purpose than generating energy and has to be compulsorally decommissioned at the end of its effective life, a process that can take over two decades, while the present invention would never need a complicated or time consuming decommissioning, and may, in its empty and retired situation, offer the genesis of an island with the potential attendant on any such land mass and where its cellular construction might indeed have the potential for a massive storage and for industrial and accommodation scenarios where isolation is important
  • the invention produces no nuclear waste with its attendent problems of collection, disposal and recyling and a certain vulnerability of all that to accidental and criminal spill.
  • renewable energy resources to drive this invention are free, and except for tidal power, are likely to increase in frequency and strength as global warming continues, because such warming results in less stable atmospheric conditions with more wind and wave production.
  • the design of the invention inherently incorporates cellular water storage features so that a catastrophic release of water such as might occur in the event of earthquake or from an act of terrorism, is obviated.
  • a multitude of interconnected, preferably round, (or essentially round for e.g. hexagonal section) vertical silos, both shown cross in section in Fig. 11. a-b,) which can be independently isolated in terms of their stored contents, and which may, for instance, be 50-100 metres wide x 1 kilometre high, constitute the substance of the structure and are located around a central generating plant, itself contained inside a silo, preferably of the same dimensions, and which is fed water from the surrounding silos, to produce electricity by regulating the appropriate release of water from them through remotely controlled valves.
  • silos The concept of building the structure as silos means that they need only be relatively thin walled as compared to a conventional dam. Because of their inherent or fundemental verticallity it also means they can stand, each relatively independent in its own right as compared to the massive bulwarking and the thickness needed, and land encompassment for physical purchase, as occurs with the single containment of conventional dams. That thinner walls can be used is due to the inherent strength imparted by the curved cylindrical section and also the lower volume of each indivual silo's contents. However independent the silos are, they are arranged to butt against each other thus, while not necessarily sustaining each other, they have the potential to brace each others' position being connected at the top, as in figs.
  • the number, height and diameter of the silos will determine its contents and, as mentioned, preferably such silos will be round in section or essentially round as might occur from being hexagonal as in Figs. 1 la,b.
  • This is for strength and also, in the case of a round sections, silos like that will pack easily together for strength and may do so in a configuration such that, if they are of equal diameter, they can circumferentially surround, in whole numbers, a central silo of the same diameter and which contains at its base the hydro-electric generating machinery.
  • Geometrically further silos can be placed concentrically around these conveniently in whole numbers eventually forming a freestanding and circular 'atoll'.
  • it is a preferable feature of the silos that they are of a single diameter.
  • the invention embraces silos other than those of round cross section, round section is the most desirable because apart from being the strongest, it allows greatest flexability of cross section or foot print for the construction as a whole. Also it provides a very convenient, useful and strongly encompassed tri-stellate space along the entire length of the silos forming it, for monitoring, inspection, servicing and repair and a portal for routing pipe work, or rods connnecting the wind turbines on top with the water pumps at the bases of the silos, (figs. 1 l(b),(c)
  • the silos as they are distanced from the centre of the structure, that is as they are located more to its periphery , will, after having provided the greater mass of the dam, be reduced in height in a preferably concentric manner, or a manner dictated by the known prevailing wind(s), so as to create a downward slope that runs towards the perimeter at the waters edge.
  • the tops of all the silos will be covered in a continuous layer of concrete lids that are flat or near flat over the highest silos but start to fall off in such a way as to form a curved smooth or slightly stepped slope over the rows of the shorter and more peripheral ones near or at the surrounding water's edge (fig. 7a) .
  • curve of this slope is related to what is known to be ideal for the production of anabatic winds which will be thus be accelerated and sweep up and over the dam advantageously to energise the wind pumps which cover the confluent lids on the tops of the silos (fig. 4 a).
  • the invention is designed to be built at sea or at or on the coast thereby obviating the objections outlined above (in background discussion) relating to conventional dams and its design incorporates the wind, wave and tidal energy capture mechanisms as these are integral with it and so that the objections to land based wind turbines will not prevail.
  • the structure will increase by way of rising sea levels and thus not be afflicted by reduced land based sources needed for conventional hydro-electric dams, which, according to similarly reliable predictions, will be due to planet warming causing decreasing fixation of air moisture as rain, snow and ice on mountains.
  • the invention can be built in relatively shallow water in the safe knowledge the world's polar ice caps are melting and that this may deepen, and importantly, in water not necessarily presently used or likely to be used for or deemed suitable for navigation of shipping.
  • building is less costly in shallow water
  • the invention incorporates the means and machinery by which wind, wave and tide -are harvested to fill the silos and it is to the substance and fabric that the silos provide, that the machinery for the energy collection is fixed.
  • the devices for the initial capturing of the wind energy will be wind turbines and these are preferably fixed on the Hd at the periphery of the silos where they will preferably lie directly above the spaces between the silos.
  • this tri-stellate space (figs, lie, 12) is bound by a triad of curved silo rims which offers a very sound support for the bases of the wind turbines.
  • silo can have up to six abutting silos, and therefore six tri-stellate spaces, there m ample choice of positions on which to site the base of each silo.
  • the wind turbines are connected through their shafts either directly XO a. crank and reciprocating rods or through a gearbox and rotating rods which pass down the intersilq space to the base of the silos to join piston/plunge or rotating type pumps (fig. 5). These now pump sea water from around and beneath the base of the silo into the silo.
  • the intersilo space can also be used to service the silo and pump machinery.
  • the access of water to the bottom of the inter-silo space from the surrounding sea is through scalloping of the silo bases (fig. 8).
  • the silos are sited on the sea -bed. They are preferably of a segmental structure throughout their entirety so the items can be fabricated on land, thence shipped by air or sea and fitted together on site.
  • the invention preferably provides for such segments to be removable from the silo from its inside so that the need for replacement, repair or servicing can be facilitated, after isolation from its neighbours and drainage, without the need for interference with the silo(s) immediately adjacent nor with the continuing function of electricity production from the silos and generating machinery as a whole.
  • Figs. 13 a 3 b,c,d,e depict the general strategy for such segmentation as just described - a - this shows an example of how the longitudinal seal (which may be made of a firm rubber) is aided in its seating between the segments by virtue of water pressure in the silo and how, in the adjacent silo (lower), when the seals are removed, a segment can be rotated inwards, for examination, repair in situ or removal, without onto which it abuts.
  • e - shows the placement of the transverse seal (ii) and the detail of the cross section of the segments' transverse joint which allows internal removal of the segments. Seating of that seal is similarly aided by the outward pressure of water in the silo.
  • the bases of the silos are semi-columnar stmetures and are continuous with the silo above providing support for it and are scalloped so as to allow the free ingress of water to the inter-silo pump mechanisms. These too are segmented in construction in the manner of the silo described above - however this is not shown figuratively.
  • the scalloping of the columnar structure of the silo bases not only allows ingress of water to feed the wind pumps but also allows the tidal flow and wave action of water around the atoll to flow through the whole base structure of the. atoll (fig. 8).
  • a pump mechanism that is activated both by tidal flow and wave action and these are -situated preferably in the bases of those silos on the perimeter of the atoll.
  • this pump mechanism consists of round floating drums not only able to ascend and descend vertically but also to freely rotate on a vertical axle fixed and concentric with and under the silo, and which stabilises and fixes those drums against lateral motion.
  • the rise -and fall of the drum with the wave action actuates water pump(s) which will fill the silos with sea water besides the wind driven pumps.
  • the invention also provides that Lhese drums are fitted at their periphery with cusps or curved blades appropriately orientated to capture the energy from the ⁇ ow of tidal water directed to them and thus causing the drums to rotate. This rotary action thence actuates water pump(s) which also fills the silos.
  • the silos that these two pump mechanisms fill are the general silos discussed earlier (figs- 3b), The exits for sea water from these pumps are seen in fig. 10, (i).
  • the silos housing tliose pumps are the peripheral ones, and are for containing fresh water as apart of the fresh water reservoir system as discussed previously.
  • Overflow from the silos when they are full is resolved through an overflow conduit directing surplus to the central generating unit whence it can contribute directly to the grid.
  • the overflow in one can be accommodated in any of the others by adjusting the valves at their interconnections and any overflow after that will simply return from them to the sea via the central generating unit in the usual way or the overflow can be dumped directly into it (%14).
  • an array of concrete walls sited on the seabed and ⁇ adiating from the atoll's periphery may need to he provided and will be arranged to lie so as to direct the best of the known tidal and prevailing wave forces into the scalloped bases of the peripheral silos and thence on and into the drum pump mechanisms (fig. 15).
  • the confluent tops of the silos will provide a surface on which solar power panels may be placed to capture solar energy which will be added ⁇ o, and may be utilised in the manner of, that from the central generating unit, ie directed to the national grid.
  • the invention provides that the confluent tops are so joined or connected and channelled so that rain water is directed for collection in the silos at the periphery of the atoll and which are dedicated to or specifically for storage of fresh water and for outsourcing this as necessary.
  • the use of solar panels as described need not preclude or interfere with their surfaces being a part of the catchment area for rain collection.
  • the preferred shape of the strucure is, in footprint, circular (figs. 1,4) with a high central generating silo surrounded with concentric circles of feeding silos and sloping down and outwards to the waters edge, which being circular, encompasses all the directions of wind, wave and tide that can occur as infig. 1, the invention embraces the concept that the shape must subserve the prevailing local knowledge of the wind, tide and wave conditions.
  • a circular footprint it could be crescentie or arrowhead in shape (fig. 2) or even linear, with the central generating silo placed most conveniently amongst its feeding silos so as to be drained into quickly from them.
  • the ⁇ atolT as with the potential of any island and added here only by way envisaging the completed structure, will be provided with landing facilities and access for operating and maintenance staff, with appropriate quarters for such staff. Specifically, however, it is envisaged that such quarters might indeed be above the machinery in the central generating silo.
  • the invention envisages provision for the landing of supplies * service engineers and sightseeing visitors, and appropriate walkways for the safety of all.
  • Atoll can accommodate the water pumped from wind, wave and tide mechanisms outside itself in the surrounding sea or on nearby land.
  • Figure 6,(Hi) shows this, where the mechanisms are wind turbines and the pipe connections are preferably lying on the sea bed.
  • outlying turbines supplying the island complex can be viewed as in figure 1.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Sustainable Development (AREA)
  • Sustainable Energy (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Oceanography (AREA)
  • Other Liquid Machine Or Engine Such As Wave Power Use (AREA)
  • Wind Motors (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne une structure conceptuellement unique mais intégrée et à aspects multiples, concrétisée en pratique sous la forme d’un barrage multifonction de très grandes dimensions construit à partir de, et compartimenté intérieurement par, des silos compactés communicants et susceptible d’être isolés pour des raisons de construction, de sûreté et d’économie. La structure selon l’invention est de préférence située sur le fond marin et s’élève haut au-dessus du niveau de la mer afin de capturer des énergies éolienne, houlomotrice, marémotrice et solaire, de convertir et de stocker ces énergies sous la forme d’une hauteur d’eau. Elle comporte la fonctionnalité de convertir ladite hauteur d’eau en hydro-électricité de manière maîtrisée afin de subvenir au mieux aux besoins d’un réseau national de distribution. La texture des silos accueille la machinerie nécessaire à cet effet. L’installation de stockage est capable de recevoir de l’eau pompée en provenance de n’importe quelles autres machineries en dehors de ses limites. La couverture prévue des silos leur permet d’être profilés spécialement de manière à optimiser l’écoulement du vent sur les éoliennes pures installées sur et au-dessus de celle-ci. Des silos dédiés à la périphérie de la structure offrent un espace permettant de loger un mécanisme particulier où des fûts de flottabilité, munis sur leurs bords de coupelles de turbine, peuvent à la fois tourner et coulisser vers le haut et le bas sur des axes verticaux fixes afin de capturer l’énergie des marées et des vagues. Les couvercles jointifs ou chevauchants des silos offrent une immense surface orientée vers le ciel pour l’énergie solaire et le recueil d’eau de pluie dans des silos situés à la périphérie du complexe. Les silos, grâce à leur nombre et à leurs dimensions considérables, leur caractère jointif et leur couverture conjointe, présentent l’aspect et sont en pratique des îles, dont la superficie peut se compter en kilomètres carrés et la hauteur atteindre quelque trois cent mètres. Une telle hauteur assure aux éoliennes installées dessus de meilleures conditions de vent ou un cisaillement de vent accru par rapport au niveau de la mer.
PCT/GB2009/002561 2008-11-13 2009-10-28 Complexe de barrage sûr pour extraire, stocker et convertir des énergies renouvelables WO2010055278A2 (fr)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP09752886A EP2440774A2 (fr) 2009-04-20 2009-10-28 Complexe de barrage sûr pour extraire, stocker et convertir des énergies renouvelables
AU2009315457A AU2009315457A1 (en) 2009-04-20 2009-10-28 A safe dam complex to extract store and convert renewable energies

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

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GB0820746.6 2008-11-13
GB0820746A GB0820746D0 (en) 2008-11-13 2008-11-13 A combined energy production and storage system
GB0906713.3A GB2465241B (en) 2008-11-13 2009-04-20 A combined energy production and energy storage system
GB0906713.3 2009-04-20

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WO2010055278A3 WO2010055278A3 (fr) 2011-03-31

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Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US10550826B2 (en) 2017-07-20 2020-02-04 General Electric Company External platform assembly for wind turbine repairs
US10570888B2 (en) 2017-04-27 2020-02-25 General Electric Company Working platform within a nacelle of a wind turbine

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
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WO2014053874A1 (fr) * 2012-10-01 2014-04-10 Jose Alapont Tatay Système de stockage d'énergie potentielle
ES2532652B1 (es) * 2013-09-28 2016-01-22 Manuel LÓPEZ LÓPEZ Sistema de generación de energía undimotriz integrado en un cajón

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US3746875A (en) * 1972-08-04 1973-07-17 J Donatelli Electrical power plant driven by ocean waves and tides
GB2068469A (en) * 1980-01-31 1981-08-12 Sendra Zurita H Electrical power station driven by wave energy
US20040031265A1 (en) * 2000-05-12 2004-02-19 Doleh Z K Apparatus for storage of potential energy
DE10144594A1 (de) * 2001-09-11 2003-06-12 Volker Doerr Ebbe-Flut-Wasserkraftwerk
WO2006029633A1 (fr) * 2004-09-17 2006-03-23 Elsam A/S Pompe, centrale electrique, eolienne et procede de production d'energie electrique a partir de l'energie du vent
WO2007009192A1 (fr) * 2005-07-22 2007-01-25 Stephen John Hastings Système de génération d'énergie
US20070057518A1 (en) * 2005-09-14 2007-03-15 Jwo-Hwu Yi Reservoirs in the air and reservoirs on the water

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US10570888B2 (en) 2017-04-27 2020-02-25 General Electric Company Working platform within a nacelle of a wind turbine
US10550826B2 (en) 2017-07-20 2020-02-04 General Electric Company External platform assembly for wind turbine repairs

Also Published As

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GB2465241A (en) 2010-05-19
WO2010055278A3 (fr) 2011-03-31
GB2465241B (en) 2011-12-21
GB0906713D0 (en) 2009-06-03

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