Prime-mover dynamo plants – Turbogenerators
Patent
1987-02-03
1988-05-24
Shoop, Jr., William M.
Prime-mover dynamo plants
Turbogenerators
290 54, F03B 100
Patent
active
047468084
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to portable hydroelectric generating set comprising a hydraulic turbine of the Pelton type with several jets arranged for connection to a source of water under pressure, an electric generator and a device for controlling the power delivered by the generator.
To provide an electric power supply in case of failure of the mains supply or in locations remote from the public mains supply, for example to supply electric power to an isolated chalet, hydroelectric generator sets have been designed which constitute small power stations fed with a water supply under pressure coming from a stream or caught from a spring. With respect to conventional internal combustion sets, the utilization of a hydraulic turbine provides evident advantagees with regard to the running time, which may be extremely long, to operational reliability, to safety and to noise. On the other hand, it necessitates a water supply installation which can not be realized except in a few locations and which is always very expensive. This solution thus leads to the use of sets which have quite high power to cover the needs of at least one household, that is to say several kilowatts, and which are not utilizable as portable sets.
Patent application GB-A No. 2 138 510 describes a set of this type provided with several control valves arranged in parallel and each controlling the waterflow of a respective injector. A regulator detects the frequency variations of the electric current produced and it controls the power of the set accordingly by successively opening or closing the valves. From the constructive point of view, this device is relatively heavy and complex, hence expensive, subject to failure and difficult to transport. From the control point of view, the maintenance of a constant frequency, thus also of a constant speed of rotation of the Pelton wheel, implies a hydraulic pressure situated in restricted limits in order that the speed of the jets may remain compatible with the speed of the wheel. This known generator set can thus not be utilized as a mobile apparatus which may be branched to any supply of water under pressure.
The present invention has the object of providing a portable electric generating set of this type mentioned in the preamble, which is in the form of an assembly of low weight and small volume, capable of being connected to the water supply mains, which is available practically permanently simple manner permitting low construction costs, safe automatic control and a great ease of utilization and maintenance.
To this end, a generator set according to the present invention is characterized in that the turbine comprises a distribution chamber of annular form, disposed coaxially with the wheel and connected to an inlet conduit provided with a valve for controlling the water flow, actuated by the control device and a set of injectors consisting of a single tubular part fitted into a respective opening of the wall of this chamber facing the wheel.
According to a preferred embodiment, each injector is formed of a rectilinear tube comprising a holding flange at its rear end. This tube is preferably cylindrical and is provided with an axial conduit comprising two successive sections of different diameters, namely an inlet section and an ejection section, the ejection section having the form of a cylinder whose diameter is substantially smaller than the diameter or the diameters of the inlet section. To avoid dispersion of the jet, the ejection section has a length at least equal to twice its diameter.
The walls of the annular distribution chamber are preferably formed of two elements which together constitute the body of the turbine.
Thanks to these arangements, the body, the injectors and the turbine wheel may be advantageously made of molded synthetic material.
In a set according to the invention, the generator is advantageously of the low-voltage a.c. type, coupled with a rectifier for delivering an output current of low, substantially continuous voltage. The electric generator is preferably of the
REFERENCES:
patent: 1327953 (1920-01-01), Hamilton
patent: 4246753 (1981-01-01), Redmond
patent: 4276482 (1981-06-01), Crockett
patent: 4293777 (1981-10-01), Gammell
patent: 4512201 (1985-04-01), Konrad
patent: 4595841 (1986-06-01), Yaguchi
Duncanson Jr. W. E.
Shoop Jr. William M.
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