WO2015145185A2 - Hopper water turbine - Google Patents

Hopper water turbine Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2015145185A2
WO2015145185A2 PCT/GR2015/000008 GR2015000008W WO2015145185A2 WO 2015145185 A2 WO2015145185 A2 WO 2015145185A2 GR 2015000008 W GR2015000008 W GR 2015000008W WO 2015145185 A2 WO2015145185 A2 WO 2015145185A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
hopper
water turbine
rotor
water
annular stator
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GR2015/000008
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2015145185A3 (en
WO2015145185A4 (en
Inventor
Konstantinos THEOCHARIS
Original Assignee
Theocharis Konstantinos
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Theocharis Konstantinos filed Critical Theocharis Konstantinos
Publication of WO2015145185A2 publication Critical patent/WO2015145185A2/en
Publication of WO2015145185A3 publication Critical patent/WO2015145185A3/en
Publication of WO2015145185A4 publication Critical patent/WO2015145185A4/en

Links

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
    • F03B—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS
    • F03B3/00—Machines or engines of reaction type; Parts or details peculiar thereto
    • F03B3/04—Machines or engines of reaction type; Parts or details peculiar thereto with substantially axial flow throughout rotors, e.g. propeller turbines
    • 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
    • F03B5/00—Machines or engines characterised by non-bladed rotors, e.g. serrated, using friction
    • 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
    • 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
    • F03B3/00—Machines or engines of reaction type; Parts or details peculiar thereto
    • 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
    • F05B2240/10—Stators
    • F05B2240/13—Stators to collect or cause flow towards or away from turbines
    • F05B2240/132—Stators to collect or cause flow towards or away from turbines creating a vortex or tornado effect
    • 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
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B10/00—Integration of renewable energy sources in buildings
    • Y02B10/50—Hydropower in dwellings
    • 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
    • Y02E10/20—Hydro energy

Definitions

  • the invention concerns a water turbine that is used for electricity production.
  • the water turbines are rotating engines which convert the water potential energy to kinetic energy at the shaft, which is then transformed to electric power by using electric power generators.
  • Pelton and Turgo water turbines are established as impulse water turbines while Francis the Kaplan are the most common reaction water turbines. All the above types of water turbines need the construction of a dam which has environmental impact. Lately, water turbines types of mildly impact come back to the forefront, mainly for the exploitation of very low heads, such as the Archimedes screw or the gravitational vortex of Zotloterer, which have low performance as water turbines but at the same time have minimal impact to the environment.
  • the present invention refers to a hopper water turbine, which is practically a new category of water turbines, operating with the aid of water friction forces, without using blades and having high performance. No any similar document has been detected in the international literature.
  • the closest known device is the gravitational vortex of Zotlorerer that is published as W02004061295, but it uses a rotating blades-impeller into a water vortex and has only a similar set-up with the present device.
  • the Barker Mill of 19 th century or the Segner wheel of 18 th century that in our days are being used in gardening sprinkles have a similar setup, but their function is based on the centrifugal power and reaction effect of the outflow water
  • the present invention aims to create a new type of high performance water turbine which takes advantage even of the minimum heads that exist along a river and thanks to its extremely simple construction, is affordable for anyone who is interested in producing electric power with zero effect on the environment.
  • this is achieved by means of the hopper water turbine, which due to the extremely simple construction and configuration, forces the water to whirl and exercise tangential tension forces due to friction on the internal walls of a conical cylinder.
  • This extremely simple construction also allows the utilization of the Coriolis whirl phenomenon, which the fluids exhibit in both the north and south hemisphere, because it can flow in the interior of the water turbine according to the Coriolis direction. If the conditions demand adjustment of torque to the shaft this can be done regulating the outlet angular momentum of the water at the bottom of the hopper. Furthermore the increase of the torque can be achieved with appropriate suitable threads on the interior wall of the hopper. All the torques that are developed in the hopper water turbine are added and the conversion of the water potential energy to kinetic energy take place mainly progressively in the interior of the rotor, thus securing the smooth energy transfer and rotation of the rotor.
  • the invention is presented below with the aid of an example concerning a hopper water turbine supported on a vertical rotating axis and the water in the interior in a rotating state.
  • the cross section of the hopper water turbine which consists from two main parts: the annular stator and the hopper rotor, is presented in Figure 1.
  • the annular stator(l) is fixed oh a metal frame (1.3) which is mounted on the ground, and accepts the water through a feeding pipeline (1.1) from a dam or a river.
  • the annular stator (1) is fixed at the top of the hopper rotor (2) where it has its largest diameter and feeds the water in the interior of the hopper rotor (2) through the injection holes (1.2) that have appropriate inclination and angle of attack on the rotor walls for every different application.
  • the injection holes (1.2) always inject in the direction of the Coriolis phenomenon.
  • the suspension bearings (1.4) of the hopper rotor (2) are placed in axial, concentric way and are parts of the metallic frame (1.3).
  • the hopper rotor (2) is firmly connected to the central axis of rotation (2.1), which runs along the centerline of the hopper rotor (2) and transfers the rotational torque to an electric generator placed at the top.
  • the two edges of the axis (2.1) are fitted on two mounts (1.4) with the appropriate suspension bearings.
  • the hopper rotor (2) at its upper end is connected to the central rotation axis (2.1) with at least one pair of anti-vibration blades (2.3) in order to ensure the balancing of the whole rotating system.
  • the hopper rotor (2) is connected with bolts or any other suitable way, in order to secure its firm behavior as a single body with the axis and to allow the smooth outflow of the water.
  • the bottom part (2.2) in this particular case is formed in two levels and has a central outflow hole (3) from which the water flows out, having transferred its energy to the rotor. Finally, the water goes to an outflow bowl (1.5) and returns to the riverbed. Except from the central outflow hole (3) and the outflow holes (2.4) at the bottom, if additional torque is needed due to local conditions or and particularities of the specific site where the hopper water turbine is placed, then additional holes can be opened in a periphery of the rotor (2.5). In this particular example co-exist all three types of the above mentioned holes, but the water turbine can operate only with one type of holes, depending mainly on the available water head and volume flow rate. Additionally, due to these local characteristics there appropriate spiral threads (2.6) can be made on the interior wall or simple blades (2.7) of torque mounted on the bottom and the walls of the rotor.
  • the hopper rotor (2) can be horizontal or fixed at a specific angle, and also the rotor's hopper (2) can take different shape, but the main characteristic is that almost all the energy exchange of the available potential and kinetic energy of the water take place in the inner walls of the hopper rotor, considering also the Coriolis phenomenon, and ensuring that the best performance and maximum efficiency of this new type water turbine is attained.
  • the hopper water turbine combines both impulse and reaction turbine principles, and can be considered as a new turbine type. Also, the entire energy transfer procedure is carried out at atmospheric pressure. The changes in water hydrostatic pressure, velocity and temperature take place mainly in the interior of the hopper rotor (2).

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Hydraulic Turbines (AREA)
  • Other Liquid Machine Or Engine Such As Wave Power Use (AREA)

Abstract

The hopper water turbine is a new type of water turbine showing high performance for electric power production. It is extremely simple to be built and operated, with extremely low cost construction and installation cost, almost zero maintenance needs and negligible civil works. Basically, it is a cylinder which rotates by the friction torque of the flowing water and does not demand special blades except auxiliary ones to prevent vibrations or for torque strengthening in special conditions. This enables the water turbine to be handy and efficient even for house scale utilization. The hopper water turbine is composed by an annular stator (1) which injects the water in the interior of the hopper rotor (2) in the direction of the Coriolis phenomenon; the water swirls and drifts the hopper rotor in a rotating motion. The water outflows through the central evacuation hole (3) at the bottom and returns to the riverbed, allowing the fishes to run down the river. Additionally, the hopper water turbine is beneficial to the quality of water enriching it with oxygen.

Description

HOPPER WATER TURBINE
The invention concerns a water turbine that is used for electricity production.
The water turbines are rotating engines which convert the water potential energy to kinetic energy at the shaft, which is then transformed to electric power by using electric power generators. There are several water turbine types, which vary depending on the operation principle and the geometric design. They are divided in two main categories: a) the impulse or partial attack or free flow turbines, and b) the reaction or total attack or forced flow turbines.
Pelton and Turgo water turbines are established as impulse water turbines while Francis the Kaplan are the most common reaction water turbines. All the above types of water turbines need the construction of a dam which has environmental impact. Lately, water turbines types of mildly impact come back to the forefront, mainly for the exploitation of very low heads, such as the Archimedes screw or the gravitational vortex of Zotloterer, which have low performance as water turbines but at the same time have minimal impact to the environment.
The present invention refers to a hopper water turbine, which is practically a new category of water turbines, operating with the aid of water friction forces, without using blades and having high performance. No any similar document has been detected in the international literature. The closest known device is the gravitational vortex of Zotlorerer that is published as W02004061295, but it uses a rotating blades-impeller into a water vortex and has only a similar set-up with the present device. Also, the Barker Mill of 19th century or the Segner wheel of 18th century that in our days are being used in gardening sprinkles have a similar setup, but their function is based on the centrifugal power and reaction effect of the outflow water
Today, all the existing types of water turbines use an impeller with blades or a helix that need special construction in order to achieve the maximum performance in every conditions and not show malfunction (e.g. cavitation phenomena) during the years. Besides, the investment programs and demands to realize such a project are quite high. The present invention aims to create a new type of high performance water turbine which takes advantage even of the minimum heads that exist along a river and thanks to its extremely simple construction, is affordable for anyone who is interested in producing electric power with zero effect on the environment.
According to the present invention, this is achieved by means of the hopper water turbine, which due to the extremely simple construction and configuration, forces the water to whirl and exercise tangential tension forces due to friction on the internal walls of a conical cylinder.
As the water descents from the top to the bottom of the hopper, in a twisted movement, it transmits its input kinetic energy and angular momentum to the hopper wall, due to friction forces and the developed boundary layer, and the rotation of the hopper is then used to operate an electric power generator.
This extremely simple construction also allows the utilization of the Coriolis whirl phenomenon, which the fluids exhibit in both the north and south hemisphere, because it can flow in the interior of the water turbine according to the Coriolis direction. If the conditions demand adjustment of torque to the shaft this can be done regulating the outlet angular momentum of the water at the bottom of the hopper. Furthermore the increase of the torque can be achieved with appropriate suitable threads on the interior wall of the hopper. All the torques that are developed in the hopper water turbine are added and the conversion of the water potential energy to kinetic energy take place mainly progressively in the interior of the rotor, thus securing the smooth energy transfer and rotation of the rotor.
The invention is presented below with the aid of an example concerning a hopper water turbine supported on a vertical rotating axis and the water in the interior in a rotating state. The cross section of the hopper water turbine, which consists from two main parts: the annular stator and the hopper rotor, is presented in Figure 1. The annular stator(l) is fixed oh a metal frame (1.3) which is mounted on the ground, and accepts the water through a feeding pipeline (1.1) from a dam or a river. The annular stator (1) is fixed at the top of the hopper rotor (2) where it has its largest diameter and feeds the water in the interior of the hopper rotor (2) through the injection holes (1.2) that have appropriate inclination and angle of attack on the rotor walls for every different application. The injection holes (1.2) always inject in the direction of the Coriolis phenomenon. At the bottom of the metallic frame (1.3) there is an outflow bowl (1.5) through which the water is led back to the riverbed. The suspension bearings (1.4) of the hopper rotor (2) are placed in axial, concentric way and are parts of the metallic frame (1.3).
The hopper rotor (2) is firmly connected to the central axis of rotation (2.1), which runs along the centerline of the hopper rotor (2) and transfers the rotational torque to an electric generator placed at the top. The two edges of the axis (2.1) are fitted on two mounts (1.4) with the appropriate suspension bearings. The hopper rotor (2) at its upper end is connected to the central rotation axis (2.1) with at least one pair of anti-vibration blades (2.3) in order to ensure the balancing of the whole rotating system. At the bottom end, the hopper rotor (2) is connected with bolts or any other suitable way, in order to secure its firm behavior as a single body with the axis and to allow the smooth outflow of the water. The bottom part (2.2) in this particular case is formed in two levels and has a central outflow hole (3) from which the water flows out, having transferred its energy to the rotor. Finally, the water goes to an outflow bowl (1.5) and returns to the riverbed. Except from the central outflow hole (3) and the outflow holes (2.4) at the bottom, if additional torque is needed due to local conditions or and particularities of the specific site where the hopper water turbine is placed, then additional holes can be opened in a periphery of the rotor (2.5). In this particular example co-exist all three types of the above mentioned holes, but the water turbine can operate only with one type of holes, depending mainly on the available water head and volume flow rate. Additionally, due to these local characteristics there appropriate spiral threads (2.6) can be made on the interior wall or simple blades (2.7) of torque mounted on the bottom and the walls of the rotor.
The above is just an example of the way the hopper water turbine works, for example the hopper rotor (2) can be horizontal or fixed at a specific angle, and also the rotor's hopper (2) can take different shape, but the main characteristic is that almost all the energy exchange of the available potential and kinetic energy of the water take place in the inner walls of the hopper rotor, considering also the Coriolis phenomenon, and ensuring that the best performance and maximum efficiency of this new type water turbine is attained.
Having the above characteristics, the hopper water turbine combines both impulse and reaction turbine principles, and can be considered as a new turbine type. Also, the entire energy transfer procedure is carried out at atmospheric pressure. The changes in water hydrostatic pressure, velocity and temperature take place mainly in the interior of the hopper rotor (2).

Claims

1. A hopper water turbine which constitutes of a metallic frame (1.3), an annular stator (1) and a hopper rotor (2) placed in axial pattern. The annular stator (1) is fixed on the metallic frame (1.3)_ and has at least one pair of injection holes (1.2) fixed in the interior of the hopper rotor (2). The hopper rotor (2) is open at the top end in order to fit in the annular stator (1) and at the bottom (2.2) it has a central outflow hole (3) and is shaped in such manner to have at least one pair of outflow holes (2.4). The hopper rotor (2) is coupled to the central axis of rotation (2.1) in the interior part, which is fixed firmly to the bottom (2.2). Furthermore the hopper is firmly connected to the water injection system, through at least one pair of anti-vibration blades (2.3). The central rotation axis (2.1 ) is supported by a metallic frame (1.3) through two suspension bearings (1.4).
2. According to claim 1, the hopper water turbine is characterized by the hopper rotor (2) that has different perimeters of its interior wall.
3. According to claims 1 and 2, the hopper water turbine is characterized by at least two centrifuge holes (2.5) on the interior wall of the hopper rotor (2) and in contact with the bottom (2.2).
4. The hopper water turbine, according to claims 1 and 3, is characterized by appropriate spiral threads (2.6) on the interior wall of the hopper rotor (2).
5. The hopper water turbine, according to claims 1 and 4, is characterized by at least one pair of simple blades (2.7) in contact with the bottom (2.2) and the wall of the hopper rotor (2).
6. According to claim 1, the hopper water turbine is characterized by the injection holes
(1.2) have a given direction and small impact angle against the interior wall of the hopper rotor (2) which is the same with the direction of Coriolis phenomenon, depending on the latitude of the hopper water turbine installation.
7. The hopper water turbine, according to claim 1, has the annular stator (1) placed in a different center compared to the rotation center of the hopper rotor's (2) mass.
8. According to claim 1, the hopper water turbine has the following characteristic: all the forces are developed linearly on the interior wall of the hopper rotor (2) under atmospheric pressure conditions.
PCT/GR2015/000008 2014-02-21 2015-02-20 Hopper water turbine WO2015145185A2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GR20140100090 2014-02-21
GR20140100090A GR20140100090A (en) 2014-02-21 2014-02-21 Funnel-like hydro-turbine

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2015145185A2 true WO2015145185A2 (en) 2015-10-01
WO2015145185A3 WO2015145185A3 (en) 2015-11-26
WO2015145185A4 WO2015145185A4 (en) 2016-02-04

Family

ID=54007929

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GR2015/000008 WO2015145185A2 (en) 2014-02-21 2015-02-20 Hopper water turbine

Country Status (2)

Country Link
GR (1) GR20140100090A (en)
WO (1) WO2015145185A2 (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2019086714A1 (en) * 2017-11-06 2019-05-09 Suadicani Robert Continuous flow machine for providing electrical energy

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GR1009116B (en) * 2016-05-11 2017-09-14 Ευθαλια Γεωργιου Καλαμπαλικη-Τσιτσιγιαννη Hydro-turbine

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2004061295A2 (en) 2003-01-03 2004-07-22 Zotloeterer Franz Hydroelectric power plant

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US509644A (en) * 1893-11-28 bardsley
US3877835A (en) * 1973-07-13 1975-04-15 Fred M Siptrott High and low pressure hydro turbine
US4382746A (en) * 1981-05-20 1983-05-10 Philip Retz Vortex turbine apparatus
US7824149B2 (en) * 2005-11-23 2010-11-02 Momentum Technologies Corporation Turbine

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2004061295A2 (en) 2003-01-03 2004-07-22 Zotloeterer Franz Hydroelectric power plant

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2019086714A1 (en) * 2017-11-06 2019-05-09 Suadicani Robert Continuous flow machine for providing electrical energy

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2015145185A3 (en) 2015-11-26
WO2015145185A4 (en) 2016-02-04
GR20140100090A (en) 2015-09-29

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