Power plants – Motor having a buoyant working member – Working member actuated by the rise and fall of a surface of...
Patent
1981-06-15
1983-05-17
Ostrager, Allen M.
Power plants
Motor having a buoyant working member
Working member actuated by the rise and fall of a surface of...
60499, 60501, 60398, F03B 1312
Patent
active
043834132
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to wave energy apparatus, that is apparatus adapted to convert the energy of waves produced on the surface of the sea or other bodies of water, into a useful form such as electrical energy, hydraulic energy and so forth.
Wave energy apparatus is known, in which the displacement of water causes air or another fluid to flow through a turbine which drives an electrical generator. Since the water displacement is oscillatory in nature, the turbine may advantageously be such that the flow of air in either direction will cause the turbine rotor to rotate in a single direction. The apparatus may be in the form of a floating buoy or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,137 discloses a buoy having a vertically extending open ended passage. Water can enter the passage at the lower end, and oscillation of the water level inside the passage causes air to flow alternately in and out of the upper end of the passage. Adjacent the upper end of the passage is positioned a turbine with a rotor having two sets of blades which respectively operate in opposite directions of air flow, so that the rotor always rotates in the same direction.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,538 there is disclosed an improved form of turbine incorporated in wave energy apparatus. The rotor has a plurality of blades each of which is of aerofoil cross-section and is fixed with its plane of zero lift normal to the axis of the rotor. This causes the rotor to rotate in a single direction, regardless of the direction of air flow. The apparatus is once again in the form of a buoy, having an open bottom so that an oscillating body of water within the buoy causes the air flow.
As is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,137, the movement of a buoy can be resolved into two basic modes: vertical movement caused by the rise and fall, or heave, of the waves, and rocking movement. The vertical movement has been considered the most important source of energy in apparatus in this type, and the apparatus of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,064,137 or 4,221,538 is capable only of absorbing energy in this mode, from the vertical oscillation of a body of water.
It has now been found that the absorption of roll or pitch energy could considerably increase the efficiency of wave energy apparatus of the type described above. Calculations have shown that a buoy for example--which can be considered as a quasi-spherical body--absorbs wave energy efficiently when undergoing orbital motion, that is a combination of vertical and horizontal movement. Horizontal movement is manifested as roll or pitch of the buoy.
In wave energy apparatus as described previously, the water contained by the buoy can be considered as a driving liquid, for pumping air, which can be considered as a working fluid, through the turbine in either direction. Pumping is achieved only by vertical oscillation of the body of driving liquid.
As a result of roll or pitch of the buoy, there will be differential displacement of driving liquid in different parts of the buoy. An object of the invention therefore is to enable the absorption of energy from pitch or roll by utilising such differential displacement as an additional pumping source.
According to the invention there is provided wave energy apparatus comprising a body adapted to float in water, said body being provided with a turbine having a rotor such that a flow of working fluid through the turbine in either axial direction causes the rotor to rotate always in the same direction, and a plurality of conduits for directing working fluid to respective regions of said turbine for axial flow therethrough, each of said conduits being connected to a source of driving liquid at different respective locations in said body, the arrangements being such that the driving liquid urges working fluid along the conduits in response to both vertical and rocking movements of the body.
Considering vertical movement only, the conduits will generally supply working fluid to the turbine in phase as regards flow direction. In response to rocking movement, the flow direction for any given con
REFERENCES:
patent: 3064137 (1962-11-01), Corbett, Jr. et al.
patent: 3925986 (1975-12-01), Barwick
patent: 4098081 (1978-07-01), Woodman
patent: 4221538 (1980-09-01), Wells
patent: 4271668 (1981-06-01), McCormick
patent: 4286347 (1981-09-01), Modisette
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