DD202325A5 - DEVICE FOR GENERATING ELECTRICAL ENERGY BY USING AND CONTROLLING THE POTENTIAL ENERGY OF THE SEAWATER - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for generating electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the energy of the seawater, comprising a lower floating platform (1) and a main deck (5), which are interconnected by carriers (2) and (3), wherein at the center of the device between the lower platform (1) and the main deck (5) is a vertical axis (14) impeller (16) through which the kinetic energy of the impeller (16) to a means for converting kinetic energy into electrical Energy is transferred, which is located on the main deck (5). The carriers (2) have differently curved side walls (11). They divide the device into several sectors and concentrate the movement of the water in the direction of the impeller (16). At the entrance to the room in which the impeller (16) is located, gates (20) are provided, with which the access and exit of the water is controlled.

Description

Device for generating electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the potential energy of the

seawater

Field of application of the invention

The application of the invention is in the field of generating electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the energy of the seawater.

Characteristic of the known technical solutions

The conversion of the kinetic energy of a rotating impeller or rotor by means of a generator into electrical energy is known. However, when the impeller or the rotor is to be rotated by the sea water, there are a number of difficulties when the generation of electric energy on a larger scale is intended. In that case, large-scale systems are required in order to be able to detect a sufficient amount of moving water and thus of energy. In particular, as a result of the uneven strength of the movements of the seawater, installations of large dimensions have considerable problems with the stability of the arrangements. In heavy seas, there is also the risk that large-scale plants are destroyed if they do not have sufficient stability.

The exploitation of electricity by exploiting the energy of the seawater is currently restricted, for the reasons stated above, to installations in which the

"11FEE 1982 * 989777

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potential energy of the water raised by the tide is used in the reverse flow! However, such tidal power plants are limited to a few places on the sea coasts, where there is a sufficient difference in the height of the water between low tide and high tide.

Object of the invention

The aim of the invention is to geviinnen electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the kinetic energy of the seawater.

Explanation of the essence of the invention

The invention has for its object to provide a device for generating electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the energy of the seawater, which can be executed in a stable design as a large-scale system and in which the currents and movements of the sea water regardless of low tide and high tide can be exploited to generate energy, regardless of the lease from which the movements or currents of the sea water come from. The desired device should also have sufficient stability to be able to withstand severe swell n \ ,., This task is solved by the invention.

The subject of the invention is therefore an apparatus for generating electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the energy of the seawater, characterized by a lower floating platform and a main deck interconnected by beams and one in the center of the device between the lower platform and

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the main deck arranged impeller having a vertical axis, by which the kinetic energy of the impeller is transmitted to a means for converting kinetic energy into electrical energy.

The device for converting kinetic energy into electrical energy consists of a transmission, a device for automatically controlling the rotational speed and generators for generating the electrical energy.

The carriers are hollow bodies whose lateral walls diverge from the outside in the direction of the center of the plant, are curved differently in the horizontal direction and reunite in front of the space in which the impeller is located, forming the space.

The inflowing water into the device will have a 'narrowing cross-section' passing through the top of the lower platform and the underside of the main deck, which are funnel-shaped upwards and downwards towards the center, respectively is limited by the different vertical curved ^s eitenwände of two opposed sources and hardly concentrated in the opening of the entrance in the one in which the impeller is located.

The curvature of the vertical walls of the carriers is designed such that the water is conducted and concentrated on the concave surfaces of the vanes of the impeller.

There are four supports, which divide the gate direction into four sectors.

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The opening between the lower platform and the main deck and the two opposite vertical sides TS and θ η of two beams at the entrance to the space in which the impeller is located, is closable,

Bas closing takes place with the help of sliding gates, which are moved mechanically or hydraulically.

The sliding doors disappear when opened in slots, which are provided in the carriers.

The impeller consists of only in one direction curved, collapsible wings, which are connected by horizontal plates with the axis.

The generators are appropriately switched alternator alternator-r.

The device of the invention enables the generation of electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the energy of the seawater in an economical manner, since the device achieves regulation and concentration of the movements of the water in the direction of the impeller. As a result of the concentration, the water in the device of the invention reaches the impeller at a speed significantly higher than that in the environment. By the gates provided at the entrances to the space of the impeller, the access of the water can be controlled as needed. A particularly important feature of the invention is finally that the water is directed and concentrated by the construction of the device, in particular the "curvature of the Seitemjände the wearer in the direction of the concave surfaces of the blades of the impeller

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becomes. Finally, the impeller itself by its construction is an essential feature of the invention, since it has for connecting the wings with each other and with the axis large-sized horizontal plates, which act as flywheels at the same time.

As a result of its stable construction, the device of the invention allows a relatively large dimension design and thus the recovery of a significant amount of electrical energy by utilizing a large amount of energy of the moving seawater. The friction losses of the device of the invention are kept as low as possible by the intended design of the impeller, so that a high efficiency of the conversion of the kinetic energy of the impeller into electrical energy can be achieved. '·

embodiment

A. Embodiment of the device of the invention for generating electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the energy of the seawater is shown in the accompanying figures. Show it:

Fig. 1: a side view;

2 shows a vertical cross section through the device along the line A-A of Fig. 3 »

Fig. 3ϊ a horizontal cross section through the device in the amount of the line B-B of Fig. 2j

4 shows a horizontal cross section through the device in the height of the line C-C of Fig. 2nd

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The apparatus of the invention for generating electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the movement of the seawater is preferably placed in locations which are geographically known for the prevalence of relatively strong movements or currents of the sea, for example in the vicinity of promontories and coastal promontories sufficient depth and suitable distance from the coast. ' The reason for the latter requirement is that the length of the undersea cables, which conduct the recovered electrical energy to the transformers located on the mainland, should be kept as short as possible.

The device of the invention consists of a floating body made of metal, which offers maximum safety. It will be explained below with reference to a preferred embodiment in which the lower floating platform has a quadrangular surface and there are four floating main beams which divide the device into four sectors. However, the invention is not limited to this embodiment, but other polygonal shapes of the device with a corresponding number of carriers and sectors are also possible and subject of the invention.

The nose parts of the girders emanate from each corner of the floating platform and are oriented radially towards the center of the plant. In the middle of each side of the floating platform are four more floating beams that form part of the overall structure. They have less horizontal surface than those that divide many sectors. They are perpendicular to the relevant side of the lower platform.

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On the upper linden the supports are connected to the main deck, which is also a quadrangular one. Surface has. Among other functions, the main deck connects and expands the entire structure of the floating girders. On this main deck is the main level of the machinery including the generators for generating the electrical energy. Its surface is circular, and its roof is formed by a dome, which is designed to resist as little resistance as possible, and at the same time reinforces the stiffening of the whole floating structure in a circular sense.

The main plane of the machinery is surrounded in its entire outer periphery by a wide deck, which is part of the structure of the entire structure and has the function of a quay for any type of maritime vehicles, for example, have to transport any machinery of the plant.

Between the lower floating platform and the main deck is located within a room with four gates for opening or closing for the entry and exit of the moving water, an impeller. The upper surface of the lower floating platform and the lower surface of the main deck have a shape inclined with respect to the sea level, converging upward and downward toward the center of the device. As a result, together with the various curved sidewalls of the floating girders dividing the plant into four sectors, they regulate and concentrate the movements of the seawater towards the space in which the impeller is located.

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The division of the device of the invention into four zones located between the lower floating platform and the main deck allows for a fixed mounting of the floating electric power station as it absorbs the currents or movements of the sea water, regardless of the direction in which they come. The device of the invention is anchored in the place where it is located, with four large blocks of cement, previously made hollow on the mainland, in order to bring them floating to their destination and finish there with the corresponding stuffing Seabed lowered after the appropriate anchoring rings and signaling devices were installed.

To control the amount and energy of the moving seawater four sliding gates are provided in the apparatus of the invention, which has been mechanically or hydraulically operated. One is located in each sector at the entrance of the tree j in which the impeller or the rotor is located. Thus, for example, when the waves or the ocean currents strike the northern sector, the entrance of the water can be regulated by its gate according to its speed or strength. The gates of the sectors directed to the east and west remain in it Case closed. The gate of the southern sector is kept open to the extent required to reach very / approximately a constant revolution. Reach number of the impeller, which is located in said tree and represents the core of the drive of the device of the invention for generating electrical energy.

Of particular importance within the apparatus of the

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Accordingly, the design of the floating body with the following main elements:

a) the lower floating platform, the top of which rises from the outside in the direction of the center of the device;

b) the main deck, the underside of which runs downwards from the outside in the direction of the center of the installation;

c) the main beams, which are arranged and connected between the lower floating platform and the main deck perpendicular to them and which extend radially from the corners of the lower floating platform. from the main deck, towards the center of the facility;

d) the vertical-axis and horizontal-arc curved blades or vanes disposed in the center of the device between the lower floating platform and the main body in a tree partially bounded by the walls of the main beams;

e) the different curvature of the side walls of the main carriers, which provide for the regulation and concentration of the moving water in the direction of the concave surfaces of the blades of the impeller;

(f) the gates provided at the entrances to the compartment where the impeller is located and which, by their opening or closing, allow control of the inlet of the water to the impeller, during

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to disappear into slits provided in the main girders.

The design of the floating body of the device according to the invention as explained above makes it possible to take up a large amount of seawater due to the riding openings of the sectors on its outside, the movement of which is greatly accelerated by the rapid decrease in the cross section of its flow path in a swell that appears relatively weak in the vicinity of the plant, the utilization of a large amount of kinetic energy and its conversion into electrical energy in an economical manner allows.

The impeller in the center of the device of the invention consists of separable elements, its wings or blades are curved in the horizontal direction. Their number is not particularly limited. However, impellers with a larger number of vanes, for example at least 10, are preferred. An embodiment with 12 vanes is particularly preferred. The wings are connected to their central axis and horizontally stiffened by plates of steel, which at the same time have the function of flywheels and give the impeller a higher inertia. Also, the number of these stiffening ¹ plates is not, especially limited. An embodiment of the invention has, for example, four such plates. At its lower edge, the wings are held on bearing strips, which serve to guide the impeller during its rotation. They are connected to the structure in such a way that the friction of the impeller on these rails is as low as possible, while at the same time achieving great safety in guiding and stability ν) ird.

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To transmit the kinetic energy of the impeller serves its central axis. This is supported at its lower end in a bearing, which is located in the lower floating platform. With its upper end, the axle pierces the main deck. Also in this area bearings are provided for the friction-reducing rotation of the axle. The axle ends in a central gearbox on the machine deck of the device. From this, the movement is transmitted via horizontal axes to means for automatically controlling the speed of the impeller and / or the downstream generators for generating electrical energy in order to achieve optimum operating conditions with regard to the given strength of the occupancy of the seawater. If these generators are DC generators, they can be followed by electro-mechanically or electronically powered alternators, the DC / AC converters (DC motors with AC generator connected downstream) or inverters. The energy generated is routed via undersea cables to a transformer park located on the mainland

The device of the invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the Ausführungsfoi'm shown in the drawing.

Fig. 1 shows schematically a side view of the device of the invention with a view of the opening of one of four sectors. 1 designates the lower floating platform forming the bottom of the device. On it are the main beams 2, two of which side walls 11 can be seen. Denoted at 3 is one of the additional supports located in the middle of each side of the lower floating platform and the top of the lower platform

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1 to connect to the underside of the main deck 5 «They serve to stabilize the entire system. 4- designates the reinforcements of the main deck 5, which inter alia serve to "connect and brace the entire structure of the beams 2 and 3." This structural design achieves the stability of the rig Part of the device is the platform on which the machinery for generating electricity is located, and the main deck 5 also serves as a berth.

On the main deck 5 is a dome-shaped structure 6, which receives the machinery. 7 indicates the underside of the lower floating platform or keel of the float. Between the supports 2 and 3 and the surfaces of the lower platform 1 and the main deck 5 inclined in the direction of the center of the device are reinforcements 8 of triangular cross-section which hold the structure together.

In Fig. 1, the light and ventilation openings of the dome-shaped structure 6 are designated 32. 33 represents the outer surface of the dome-shaped structure 6. A railing running around the main deck is designated 34. The entire device is anchored by steel chains 35 to concrete blocks 36 and 37, which in turn are fastened to the seabed 38 are. 39 denotes the sea surface.

With 40 in Fig. 1, the edges between the floating beams 2 and the lower floating platform 1 and the main deck 5 are designated, while 4-6 stands for the underside of the main deck 5.

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On the dome-shaped structure 6 is a mast 45 which carries a platform 44 on which there are a device 41 for measuring the wind speed, a beacon 42 and a message antenna 43.

Fig. 2 shows schematically a vertical cross-section through the device of the invention in the diagonal direction along the line A-A of Fig. 3. In this figure, the impeller 16 can be seen with its vertical axis 14 *. This is made of steel and is stored in a bearing 15 made of special steel in the lower floating platform 1. Above the impeller 16, it penetrates the main deck 5. "In this area bearings 21 are provided.

The vanes or blades of the impeller 16 are curved in the horizontal direction. They consist of removable parts made of special steel. which are connected to the axis 14 via steel plates 17, which are arranged in a horizontal plane. These plates 17 for anchoring the wings of the impeller 16 are made of special steel, they hold the wings with each other and with the axis in anchorage and serve as flywheels and elements of the strength of the impeller 16th

12 designates a part of the vertical walls of the supports 2. Denoted at 20 are the sliding gates located in the slots 19. The arrangement of these elements will be explained in more detail in connection with FIG.

Within the dome-shaped structure 6, the inputs are designated in Fig. 2 with 3I and its support ribs with 29, there is the designated 22 to 26 machinery, which is explained in more detail in connection with FIG.

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Fig. 3 shows schematically a horizontal cross-section through the device of the invention at the level of the line B-B of Fig. 2. In this figure, the carriers 2 and 3 can be seen in cross-section. The entry of the water into the device is indicated by the arrows 9 "the exit by the arrows 10. Due to the curved vertical side walls 11 of the carrier 2, a concentration and control of the water takes place in the direction of the tree 13, in which the impeller 16 is located. The tree 13 is bounded in part by the areas 12 of the vertical surfaces of the beams 2 and partly by the sliding gates 20. In Fig. 3, the upper and lower sliding doors are open while the left and right are closed. This corresponds to the specified flow of water. When opening the sliding gates 20, which can be effected by mechanical or hydraulic means, they are moved on rails and disappear in slots 19 within the carrier second

Fig. 4 shows schematically a horizontal cross-section through the device of the invention at the level of the line CC of Fig. 2. In this figure the circular plan 30 of the dome-shaped structure 6 with its entrances ¹ 31 and the supporting ribs 29 can be seen. This dome-shaped structure is located on the hatch deck 5, which is from the!; Röeling; 34 is surrounded. In the dome-shaped structure 6, the machine part of the installation is located on a platform 27, which is insulated from the rest of the main deck 5 in order to be able to absorb vibrations.

Central part of the machinery is a central gear 22, the movement ^ q _x . vertical axis 14 of the impeller 16 receives. From there comes the kinetic energy

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via a horizontal axis 26 to means 23 for the automatic control of the rotational speed and then to generators 24 for the generation of electrical energy. With 25 W _e chselstromerzeuger and connection box for the cable are called, which dissipate the electrical energy and pass over to a üntermeereskabel ^ ransformatorstation, which is on firm ground.

In a specific embodiment, the device for generating electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the energy of the army water has the form shown in the figures. The lower floating platform and the main deck have square shape. The device is divided into four sectors by four columns. Opening of each sector has on its outside a width of about 150 m and a height of about 16 m. This area, open to the entrance of the water, narrows towards the center of the complex, so that the opening at the point where the gate is located now amounts to 12 × 12 m. In this way, a considerable increase in the speed of the moving water is achieved.

The impeller in the center of the device has a diameter of 21 m and a height of 8 m. It consists of demountable elements and has 12 wings and 4 horizontal bracing plates.

Claims (3)

Apparatus for generating electrical energy by utilizing and controlling the energy of the seawater, characterized by a lower floating platform (1) and a main deck (5) interconnected by beams (2) and (3), and one in the center of the Device arranged between the lower platform (1) and the main deck (5) impeller (16) having a vertical axis (14 ·), by which transmit the kinetic energy of the impeller (16) to a means for converting kinetic energy into electrical energy becomes. Device according to item 1, characterized in that the device for converting kinetic energy into electrical energy consists of a gearbox (22), a device (23) for automatically controlling the rotational speed and generators (24) for generating the electrical energy. Device according to items 1 and 2, characterized in that the supports (2) are hollow bodies whose lateral walls (11) diverge from the outside toward the center of the installation, being differently curved in the horizontal direction and in front of the space , in which the impeller (16) is located, reunite, forming the space (13). Device according to point 1 to 3 »characterized in that the water flowing into the device finds a path with narrowing cross-section through 416 5 7 '-17- 21.12.1981 59 947/17 the top of the lower platform (1) and the underside of the main deck (5), which face towards the center in a funnel-shaped upward direction, extend downwards through the differently curved vertical side panels (11) of two opposite girders (2) is limited and concentrated in the opening of the entrance into the tree (13) in which the impeller (16) is located, Device according to point 1 to 4, characterized in that the curvature of the vertical walls (11) of the supports (2) is such that the water is directed and concentrated on the concave surfaces of the wings of the impeller (16) 6, device according to point 1 to 5 », characterized in that four supports (2) are provided, which divide the device into four sectors. 7. The device according to item 1 to 6, characterized in that the opening between the lower platform (1) and the main deck (5) and the zuex opposite vertical Seitemsände (11) of z-net carriers (2) at the entrance to the Kaum (13), in which the impeller (16) is closed. 8, device according to point 7, characterized in that the closure by means of sliding gates (20) takes place, which are moved mechanically or hydraulically. 9. The device according to item 8, characterized in that the sliding doors (20) when opening in slots (19) disappear, which are provided in the carriers (2). 234165 7 -18- 21.12.1981 59W / 17 10 »device according to item 1 to 9», characterized in that the impeller (16) consists of only in one gauge wig curved, separable wings, which are connected via horizontal plates (17) with the axis (14 ·). 11. The device according to item 2 to 10, characterized in that the generators (24) alternator (25) are connected downstream. - For this 3 ^s eiten drawings -