Not Applicable
The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appears relevant:
This related to generating energy from water motion on the surface of the ocean, sea, or lake. In particular it relates to an advanced method and apparatus realized in Advanced High Energy Wave Power Module for converting energy from high energy swells and waves to useful forms of mechanical power.
The contemporary directions of generating clean energy without exhaust gases, which are polluted the atmosphere, are based mainly on converting directly solar energy or solar born wind energy into useful power. Both directions cannot compete economically with modern technology of generating power based on fossil fuel. The main reason of it is the low density, of power generated by solar or wind energy. For example maximum density of power generated by solar energy in a hot desert is around 320 watt per square meter. The modern offshore 5 MW wind turbine with diameter of blades up to 120 meters have the density of generated useful power around 440 watt per square meter of air space.
Density of power depends from density of medium that accumulates solar energy. As know the density of water almost 1000 higher than density of air. It is mean that water in form of swells and waves can accumulate much more solar energy than air in form of wind.
According Techno-Economic Study “The Development of Wave Power”, National Engineering Laboratory, Glasgow, Scotland, 1976 wave power is proportional to square of wave height and period of a wave and could be determinate from formula:
P=ρg
2(H2T)/64π,
where is
ρ—density of water,
g—acceleration due to gravity,
H—significant wave height,
T—period of wave.
As example considers moderate ocean swells, in deep water, a few kilometers off a coastline, with a wave height of 3 meters and a wave period of 8 seconds the power of wave is 36 kW per meter of wave crest length.
Considerable power of wave attracts and impedes simultaneously of new technologies because turbulent forces of wave could damage or even destroy of the devices that convert energy of wave to useful power. But right direction of solving issues of transforming energy of high energy wave to useful power could bring society to new opportunity produce clean energy with efficiency comparable to modern power plant working on hydrocarbon fuels.
The largest numbers of prior art apparatus which have attempted to harness energy from the moved surface of the ocean have involved using devices which float and operate on the surface of the ocean to generate a mechanical or electrical power. These devices as Stephen Salter's Duck (“Salter's duck”, New Scientist (IPC Magazines) 128, (1737-42): 26, 1990), Pelamis Wave Energy Converter (“Pelamis Offshore Wave Energy in Portugal”, Alternative Energy, 2006, 10, 08) and Wave Dragon (“Europe at the forefront in research on solar, wave and geothermal energies”, Press release IP/04/350, European Commission, 2004, 03, 16) are operated with waves of moderate energy. In case of high energy waves the operation of the apparatus on a surface of ocean is restricted dying possible damaging or even destroying of apparatus by turbulent forces. Knowing another class of devices converting energy of waves into useful power, which based on a point absorber by the float that transfer energy of wave to transforming mechanism, which is submerged to prevent it from destroying by turbulent forces. These mechanisms could classifaid on two types, namely electrical generators, and hydraulic or pneumatic converters, particularly upstanding hydraulic cylinders that pumping water under pressure or pneumatic cameras in which air compressed by a variable height of passed waves.
Most advanced Power Buoy PB 150 developed by Ocean Power Technology is point absorber with diameter of the float around 10 meters connected to vertical submerged mechanism with height around 35 meters operated with wave between 1.5 meters and 7 meters height and generated maximum peack-rated of 150 kW electrical power. Such height of mechanismus was determinated by direct driving from float to generator. Both U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,956 A to John I. Berg (1983) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,953,328 B2 (2005) to Welch, Jr. have shown the method and apparatus to utilize the energy of waves on the base wave pump apparatus using upstanding cylinders with the piston connected directly to the moving float or buoyancy block.
Converting wave energy into useful energy using submersible hydraulic cylinders, pistons or housing cylinder that are driven by the float are practically possible only for waves of moderate height with a moderate energy level because it is impractical to have submerged cylinders with the stroke 3 or more meters.
Disadvantages of the submersible hydraulic cylinders for wave energy converting are following:
For high energy capacity waves with height up to seven meters and more using of hydraulic cylinders is more impractical because the cost of such devices and their reliability will not compete with modern methods of energy generation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,440 A to Meyerand (1986) has shown a method and apparatus for converting wave energy into useful energy using submersible low-pressure compressible chambers. Variable compression in chambers due to change in hydrostatic pressure of the water column above the compressible chambers during the passage of the waves.
Disadvantages of the low pressure compressible chambers for wave energy converting are following:
The above identified problems are solved by the method and apparatus of Advanced High Energy Wave Power Module and plurality of Advanced High Energy Wave Power Modules disposed according to mode of passing high energy swells and waves and submerged in a surrounding body of water to a depth at which the water is under a selected pressure.
In a first embodiment of an Advanced High Energy Wave Power Module provides a method of converting power of high energy swells and waves into useful power in the form of the high pressurized flow of working fluid to the consumer of mechanical power. This method comprises:
Generated power could be used also as balance of output power of the wind farm, when velocity of wind decreased, but swells and waves still passing through the area of wind farm.
In a second embodiment of an Advanced High Energy Wave Power Module provides an apparatus to convert power of high energy swells and waves into useful power in the form of the high pressurized flow of working fluid to the consumer of mechanical power. The apparatus comprises:
a float jointed to the upper end of an outer power flexible link,
an outer power flexible link with the variable length directed by guide roller to a pulley-converter with the circumference of equal to or more than the design height of a wave, and jointed by the lower end to a pulley-converter mounted rigidly on a common with driving pulleys rotated shaft, which is mounted rigidly through the brackets on an immovable platform,
the immovable platform connected to on a supporting structure submerged in a surrounding body of water to a depth at which water is under selected pressure,
the movable platform, which has the selected upward and downward stroke relative to said immovable platform, such that the selected upward and downward stroke is less than the design height of a wave in times equal to the ratio of the diameter of the pulley-converter to the diameter of the driving pulley,
compressible chambers with variable volumes and spring-loaded compression of bodies upstanding in parallel and jointed by their upper bases to the immovable platform and their lower bases to the movable platform,
at least two driving pulleys with the circumference of equal to or more than the selected stroke of the movable platform, which is mounted rigidly on the common rotated shaft with the pulley-converter,
at least two inner driving flexible links with variable length jointed by the each upper end to each driving pulley correspondently and jointed by the each lower end to the movable platform,
the cavities of the compressible chambers with variable volumes filled with working fluid connected through the pressure openings in the upper bases, pressure conduits to the inlet of at least one pressure check valve and through the suction openings in the upper bases, suction conduits connected to the outlet of at least one suction check valve,
at least one pressure check valve, which outlet is connected hydraulically through the pressure piping to the consumer of useful power in the form of the discharged flow of the high pressurized working fluid, when the pressure check valve is opened and the suction check valve is closed and disconnected hydraulically the cavities to a source of the working fluid under action of an increased pressure inside of the cavities under action by the driving force, when the float moving upward under action of passing swells and waves,
at least one suction valve, which inlet is connected hydraulically to the one of the sources of the working fluid wherein the working fluid is sucked into the cavities under action of a difference pressures of said source of a working fluid and a pressure inside the cavities, when the suction check valve is opened and connected hydraulically a source of the working fluid to the cavities, and the pressure check valve is closed and disconnected hydraulically to the consumer of useful power under action of a lowered pressure inside the cavities, when the float moving downward under action of own weight,
jointed to the supporting structure plurality of Advanced High Energy Wave. Power Modules, which each of them are connected through the suction check valves to source of working fluid, and through the pressure check valves to the pressure piping, which is connected to the consumer of useful energy in the form of summarized flow of the high pressurized working fluid.
As the result of improvements Advanced High Energy Wave Power Module and plurality of them disposed in surrounding body of water to a depth at which the water is under the selected pressure and with configuration of layout according to the selected model of swells and waves have following advantage:
Generating power in an efficient way from sources of renewable energy is important as traditional energy sources are depleting and there is increasing thermal and chemical pollution of the environment.
The Advanced High Energy Wave Power Module is relates to the method and apparatus for converting renewable energy of high energy swells and waves to useful mechanical power in form of high pressurized flow of working fluid to the consumer, which could be hydraulic turbine-generator, hydraulic turbine-compressor, reservoir of peak power plant, or desalinated station.
Generated power could be used also as balance of output power of the wind farm, when velocity of wind decreased, but swells and waves still passing through the area of wind farm.
The Advanced High Energy Wave Power Modules could be connected with the consumer 29 of mechanical power in form of high pressurized flow of fluid with to options:
When the Modules are connected in the open loop the outlet 27 of consumer 29 is disconnected to the suction pipe 24, such that the water from consumer 29 discharged back to the source of water 44. The suction of the water from the source of water 44 to the compressible chambers 13 will be run through the suction pipe 24 and the opened suction check valve 23 under action of the difference pressures in the source of water 44 on the selected deep and in the cavities 43 of compressible chambers 13.
When the Modules are connected in the closed loop the outlet 27 of consumer 29 is connected to the suction pipe 24, such that the working fluid from consumer 29 is discharged back to the compressible chambers 13 through the suction pipe 24 and the opened suction check valve 23 under action of the difference pressures in the source of water 44 on the selected deep and in the cavities 43 of compressible chambers 13.
In case of the closed loop the impact on the environment will be minimized, because the working fluid remains inside of the closed loop and only transferring energy from high energy swells and waves to the consumer 29 in form of high pressurized flow of the working fluid through the pressure piping 26.
The Advanced High Energy Wave Power Module has the submerged immovable platform 17 and the submerged movable platform 11.
There are two options:
Extraction of the portion of useful energy from energy of the passing waves and swells when the float 21 is moving upward comprises:
Moving the float 30 downward will activate the process of suction working fluid to the cavities 43 of the compressible chambers 13 from suction piping 24 connected from one side to discharge piping 27 of the consumer 29, or to working fluid source, and from another side to the suction check valve 23 connected to the suction piping 41, suction conduits 20 and suction openings 19 of the cavities 43.
The suction of working fluid to the cavities 43 comprises:
Plurality of the Advanced High Energy Power Modules connected to the consumer 29 will supply the high pressurized flow of working fluid in industrial scale the consumer 29 during passage of waves and swells.
It is obvious that the present invention is not restricted to the embodiments presented above. The present invention can be modified within the basic idea to include summarizing additional ideas for using extracted energy from waves and swells as a mechanical energy, or as source of accumulated energy in different kind of medium as some fluids, or water, or air under pressure.
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/460,252, filed Dec. 29, 2010 by the present inventors.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61460252 | Dec 2010 | US |