Power plants – Pressure fluid source and motor – Utilizing natural energy or having a geographic feature
Patent
1992-10-22
1995-01-03
Look, Edward K.
Power plants
Pressure fluid source and motor
Utilizing natural energy or having a geographic feature
290 42, 290 52, F16D 3102, H02K 718
Patent
active
053774850
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to hydro-electric power systems, and in particular concerns a conversion system for converting the energy, especially but not exclusively head energy in liquids to a more readily usable form, for example electrical energy. The invention has particular utility for low water head applications such as on rivers, and possibly tidal sites. By low head as used in this specification is meant water head from 1 m to 10 m, the systems being adapted to produce power capacities in the range 100 kw to 10 mw. Although the system of the invention has particular and best application to these low water head applications, it is not suggested that the inventive system could not be used with higher or lower head capacities, and it can be used for converting kinetic energy in liquids.
When one considers the conventional installations which are utilised for the production of electrical power, one immediately identifies (a) power stations which use a fossil fuel, and (b) hydro-electric installations utilising heads of water to drive water turbines. The system of the present invention is best compared with the hydro-electric power stations in that the head or kinetic energy in water or the like is converted into energy in a readily useable form, but the system of the present invention can be compared with both of the abovementioned conventional systems in providing for the production of electrical power at a lower unit cost than the hydro-electric power stations and fossil fuel fired power stations.
Low head hydro-electric power was in fact used extensively from the end of the last century, and the flow of many European rivers was controlled by weirs or barrages to provide the necessary water head. The majority of the river structures remain but are unused as power sources, because of the poor economics involved in converting the water heads of such structures into electrical energy using conventional water turbines. This is due to the fact that it is expensive to convert low head energy by means of large diameter, slow speed water turbines. These redundant structures are now creating more interest in that the cost of electricity generation has escalated sharply in recent times.
For example, for developing countries, conventional hydro-electric power appears to be the most economically attractive way for providing the country'electrical power, but in many cases the huge capital costs and absence of an adequate electrical distribution system, leads to the result that the adoption of conventional hydro-electric power stations is not possible. A large number of schemes operating on a small head however provide an alternative and more economical source of electrical power.
In the United Kingdom, recent legislation has enabled private organisations to generate and sell electricity to the Central Electricity Generating Board and frequently it will be attractive to such organisations because of the proximity to a suitable water site, to deploy a low head energy conversion system for producing electrical power from the available water head. In the United Kingdom, there are many suitable sites, such as old mill sites which could be used for the generation of small power outputs suitable for supplying the national grid or the needs of the owner of the site, and perhaps a number of surrounding users.
It is believed that the potential for low head hydro-electric power is likely to be considerable in the not too distant future.
There have previously been proposed at least two systems for the conversion of low head water energy to another form suitable for providing electrical energy, and the first scheme is set out in British Patent Application 2096706A, which discloses a water engine comprising a plurality of vanes arranged as a barrage. The water by its head and/or kinetic energy acting on one side of the barrage causes a reaction on the vanes moving the vanes in the direction of the barrage until an extreme position is reached when the vanes change inclination and the water reaction causes the vanes to move in the op
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Hydro Energy Associates Limited
Look Edward K.
Nguyen Hoang
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