Patent Application
20220090575
The present invention relates to the field of water turbines, in particular floating river turbines, but not exclusively.
Known water turbines generally comprise turbines the axis of which is horizontal and parallel to the flow of water that drives the water turbine. These water turbines have a deep draft and have low efficiency compared with their size. They must therefore be used in sufficiently deep water. Furthermore, the electricity generator is immersed, and disposed in the axis of the turbine, which makes it difficult to maintain it. In addition, the generator that can be driven by such a turbine is generally of low power, typically 40 kVA.
The aim of the invention is to propose a water turbine that can be used in shallow water, and having improved efficiency compared with the known water turbines of the prior art.
To achieve its aim, the invention proposes a water turbine comprising:
Advantageously, the water turbine comprises means for vertically adapting the position of said water turbine to the level of the water on which it is installed, these means preferably comprising two floats disposed on either side of the chain.
It may also comprise a platform disposed above the chain. The platform may furthermore form a catamaran with the floats. The at least one generator is advantageously attached to the platform.
The water turbine preferably comprises four generators and four transmissions, each of the transmissions being disposed at a respective end of each of the axles, each transmission driving a respective generator. Each transmission may be a belt transmission.
Several embodiments of the invention will be described below, by way of non-limitative examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The floats 2 are longitudinally elongate in form, parallel to each other, on either side of the chain 3. The platform 7 is attached to the floats 2, above the chain 3, by means of uprights 8. The uprights 8 extend upwards from the floats 2. The water turbine is thus in the form of a catamaran.
As particularly illustrated in
The axles are carried by the floats, in the vicinity of the water line 11. The chain 3 is mounted on the axles so that the buckets can have the following closed travel:
moving horizontally from rear to front, above the water line;
tilting downwards about the front axis X9A;
moving horizontally from front to rear, below the water line; and
tilting upwards about the rear axis X9R.
Transmissions 12 are mounted between the axles 9 and the electricity generators 6. In the example illustrated the transmissions are belt transmissions. There are four transmissions, one at each end of each of the axles. Each transmission is designed to transmit the rotation movement of an axle to a respective generator 6.
Each transmission comprises a primary pulley 13, mounted so as to be secured in rotation with the corresponding axle, a secondary pulley 14, mounted so as to be secured in rotation with an input shaft 15 of the corresponding generator, and a belt 16, mounted in engagement with the two pulleys. The generators 6 are attached to the platform 7.
The buckets 4 are identical to each other. They have an oblong opening 20, elongate horizontally between two horizontal rectilinear edges 21. The buckets are concave and disposed so that they are open towards the front during movement from front to rear, below the water line. Preferably, each bucket is directly articulated with the two adjacent buckets, so that they are secured to each other. Thus two adjacent buckets are articulated about a horizontal transverse shaft, this shaft being carried by each of the two buckets.
Each float 2 has, at the front, a beveled part 22, so that the parts of the floats approach each other when traveling through them from front to rear.
The water turbine is designed to be disposed with the current, in a flow of water F, for example down a river or a canal or in a sea current. It is disposed so that the front thereof is directed towards the upstream of the flow and the rear towards the downstream of the flow. The beveled part 22 of the floats makes it possible to concentrate part of the flow F in the direction of the buckets.
In the example illustrated in
This structure 33 comprises two vertical uprights 34 and linkages 38. Each linkage 38 connects a respective upright 34 with the float 2 closest to this upright. One end of the linkage is articulated with the upright; an opposite end is articulated with the float. Each upright 34 is mounted so as to slide vertically in a respective embankment 37.
Thus the sliding of the uprights sliding in the embankment makes it possible to absorb a variation in the level N of the water over a large amplitude and/or a long period, for example over a day or more. The articulated linkages make it possible to absorb more rapid variations, for example a swell. They also make it possible to react quickly to a passage of a person on the platform 7.
In the example illustrated, the length L1 of the water turbine is approximately 6 to 8 meters, the width thereof is approximately 3 to 5 meters, and the draft approximately 50 centimeters. Each generator is a 150 kVA generator, so that in the example illustrated the water turbine has a production capacity of 600 kVA.
Naturally the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments that have just been described but, on the contrary, the invention is defined by the following claims.
It will be clear in fact to a person skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the embodiments described above, in the light of the teaching that has just been disclosed.
Thus a water turbine can be attached to a mooring buoy, in particular in a tidal zone, so that it can change orientation according to the direction of the flow to which it is subjected.
Also, there may be a different number of generators. For example, it is possible to have a single high-power generator. It is also possible to have eight of them, two per transmission, with lower power, which are less expensive, and can more easily be replaced without lastingly affecting the production of electricity.
In particular in the case of a canal with a substantially constant flow rate and level, a water turbine according to the invention may not comprise floats and bear directly on only one or on both embankments of the canal.
The floats, like the linkages and the uprights, constitute means for vertically adapting the position of the water turbine to the level of the watercourse on which it is installed.
A water turbine according to the invention is particularly advantageous. This is because:
it does not require any civil engineering, and therefore has a low environmental and social impact;
the commissioning and decommissioning costs and times are small;
the draft is small;
maintenance is simplified, since no electrical part (cable, generator, etc.) is immersed or in direct contact with the water;
the axles make it possible to drive a plurality of generators, optimally four generators, as previously described;
the proximity to the banks allows easier service of an urban network;
it can easily be installed in an area remote from a network, for example for a building site, a country fete or in a remote area with no electrical installation.
Such a water turbine makes it possible to exploit the electrical potential of watercourses that are little or not exploited.
Furthermore, the use of a bucket chain mounted on two horizontal axes makes it possible to drive four electricity generators with higher power (typically 150 kVA) than current technology that uses a single immersed generator of low capacity (typically 40 kVA).
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901273 | Feb 2019 | FR | national |
This application is the U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/FR2020/050126 filed Jan. 28, 2020 which designated the U.S. and claims priority to FR Patent Application No. 1901273 filed Feb. 8, 2019, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/FR2020/050126 | 1/28/2020 | WO | 00 |
