WO2017068516A1

WO2017068516A1 - Small hydroelectric power plant with horizontal axis of rotation of impeller

Info

Publication number: WO2017068516A1
Application number: PCT/IB2016/056294
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vladimír MÜLLER
Original assignee: Müller Vladimír
Priority date: 2015-10-19
Filing date: 2016-10-19
Publication date: 2017-04-27

Abstract

Impeller (2) is placed in a cage (1) with self-supporting frame; the cage (1) has two side walls and a lower frame construction designed to be placed on the bottom of the water flow. The cage (1) can have at least one anchoring element (4) to anchor the cage (1) to the ground. The cage (1) can have outer shapes and dimension of the standardized cargo container, preferably in the dimension series from 1 Dx to 1AAA. The impeller (2) is floating and its size is smaller than half of the load displacement of its total volume; thanks to this the impeller (2) follows the actual state of the water level. The impeller (2) is rotationally placed on the shaft running through its inside, where the electric power generator is hung. This generator is connected to the rotation of the impeller (2). The impeller is placed on two swing arms (3); the arms (3) are led inside alongside side walls of the cage (1); alternatively, the impeller (2) is stably placed and the upper inlet trough (7) is directed towards it from above.

Description

Small hydroelectric power plant with horizontal axis of rotation of impeller

Field of technology

The technical solution concerns a hydroelectric power plant which can be quickly mounted in the water flow without the need to build a dam. The impeller of the hydroelectric power plant has basically a horizontal axis of rotation and it is placed in a construction which is easily portable. Small hydroelectric power plant is used for flexible mounting in various water flows (or streams) and even for temporary mounting, for humanitarian purposes, and so on.

Prior state of the art

Francis, Pelton or Kaplan turbine is used in order to use the energy of large water flows. There are two types of impellers or turbines of small hydroelectric plants, which are designed for small or variable flows with small slope. Often, the Banki turbine is used for small hydroelectric power plants, which has simple construction which compensates for lower efficiency.

Most hydroelectric power plants require adjustments of the water flows: production of dams and large environmental interventions, which is accompanied by complicated official assessment and approval process, and high investment costs. This problem is partially solved by the technical solution according to publication SK UV 50026-2009 which discloses the floating impeller placed on the lead arms. Such arrangement simplifies the mounting to the water flow; the hollow impeller is adjusted to the particular water level by floating.

Solution according to DE202007013855U1 is known, where the working impeller with the horizontal axis of rotation is placed on two floating pontoons, which requires sufficiently wide water flow with the minimal water level ensured, so that pontoons lift the impeller without the risk of damaging it when it hits the bottom. If the basis which carries the impeller is floating, there is always a risk that the whole device drifts away in case of large increase in the flow.

Solution according to DE4313509 requires the production of the solid construction basis, where the impeller with the horizontal axis of rotation is freely placed. There also exists a solution according to US4104536A1 with impeller which is attached by ropes to the bank (or shore) and which has a fixed height which is set by the legs. This solution, however, requires a constant manual adjustment of the optimal height of submersion. If the impellers are floating, they can be placed in the water flow by means of the ropes, which is a case of publications US4872805 and FR2521223; this, however, requires stably high water level and sufficiently wide water flow; otherwise the impeller will be damaged.

Such solution is desired and not known, which would allow flexible use of the energy of the water flow with variable or previously unknown flow, which would operate in broad performance spectrum, and which would not require the construction of dams. The solution should be environmentally friendly and it should not threaten or hamper the aquatic fauna.

Essence of the invention

Abovementioned deficiencies are significantly remedied by a small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of rotation of the impeller, which is rotationally placed on the shaft which runs continuously through the inside of the impeller, whereby the electric power generator is placed (or hung) on the shaft inside the impeller, whereby the power generator is connected with the rotation of the impeller according to this technical solution which essence lies in the fact that the impeller is placed in the cage with the self-supporting frame, whereby the cage has two side walls and a lower frame construction which is designed to be placed at the bottom of the water flow. The cage has at least one element to anchor the cage to the ground.

The adjective„small" related to the term ..hydroelectric power plant" does not limit the solution to particular energy performance. This adjective is used with regard to the established phrase which is commonly used in the particular field of technology.

The term impeller in this document denotes a rotating element which transfers the energy of the water to the rotational movement transferred to the electric power generator; it can be called a turbine, a water wheel, a water mill, and so on.

The fact that the axis of rotation in this text is defined as horizontal means that the axis of rotation of impeller is at least approximately horizontal, but it can deviate from the ideal horizontal position pursuant to the irregularities of mounting of the cage at the bottom of the water flow.

The essence of the proposed technical solution lies in the use of a cage with impeller inside. It is preferable if the cage is formed by the traverses distributed in the edges of the cube or rectangle. This helps to achieve a compact outer shape of the device. Side walls and the bottom of the cage can have - but need not to have - a solid filling. The fronts of the cage will be usually without filling; they will be delimited only by traverses on the edges of the front, or they will be delimited by venting draw rods. The water can flow in or out through the fronts without great obstacles. The side walls with the filling can be used to direction the flow of the water through the cage with the impeller. If the side walls are without filling, they will usually have diagonal reinforcements. The lower frame construction can have skids which allow pulling or pushing the cage into desired position during mounting or demounting.

In order to achieve excellent transportation qualities of the device, the cage will in the preferable arrangement have outer dimensions and shape which correspond to the transportation ISO of the cargo containers (or shipping containers, or intermodal freight containers) in the dimension series from 1 DX to 1AAA. In such case the cage has connecting elements according to particular ISO norm; thanks to this, the whole device can simply be transported by the container carriers on the road or rail or by airplane. The outer container shape of the cage allows simple stacking and storage of small hydroelectric power plants, for example in the standby warehouse.

Standardized connection elements designed for connection with the carrier of the containers during transport can be used as a connecting element to anchor the cage to the ground of the water flow, too; it will be, however, preferable if the cage has its own connecting elements which can be used from the top side of the cage. Such connecting elements can be produced by vertically-led pipes in the corners of the cage. Ground screws are inserted to these pipes from above and the screws are drilled and screwed into the ground. The pipes of the connecting elements can reach upward, towards the upper edge of the cage. Thanks to this, the sufficiently long- waisted ground screws can drill into the ground from the above, dry environment.

In a preferable arrangement, the cage will have width which is smaller than 3,0 m, especially preferably smaller than 2,5 m, which allows for simple road transportation of the cage. From the point of view of the construction costs it is preferable if the cage is produced by the welded carriers of the cargo container without the inserted fillings - that is, without the bottom, roof, side walls and fronts. The steel construction of the cage is protected against corrosion in the same way the cargo container is. The synergetic effect of the proposed technical solution lies in the fact that large scale production of cargo containers has lowered their production costs and at the same time (taking the possibility of the sea shipping into account) the cargo containers are we 11 -protected against corrosion, which is necessary when the cage is to be inserted to the water flow. It is also possible to use used cargo container - with passed expiration date of the certification - as a cage; such container can no longer be used to transfer goods, but its mechanical features are still sufficient.

The advantage of the proposed technical solution is its simple mounting and demounting. Small hydroelectric power plant is carried as a container to the water flow, where it is placed directly onto the spot from the container carrier, or it is placed at the edge of the water flow, whereby it is placed into the water flow by means of a crane. It suffices if there is a short section in the water flow with the sufficiently straight bottom; alternatively, the bottom is adjusted manually or mechanically. Pursuant to the size and the desired performance, the cage can be mounted by the mechanical arm directly from the truck. After the cage is placed into the spot, it is connected to the ground through the connecting element. The ground screws can have a long waist, which will allow them to drill from above, from the level of the upper edge of the cage. Long-waisted ground screws can be on the upper end equipped with openings through which the anchoring rope - or multiple anchoring ropes - is inserted. On the shore the anchoring ropes can be connected to ground screws or to the trunks, depending on the local situation. Weights or weight vessels can be used to grip the anchoring rope; the weight vessels can be filled by water or sand. In cases of common water flows the position of the metal cage is stable even without further protection or locking, which is necessary only in case of sudden floods and so on. In cases of expected increase in the water level, the small hydroelectric power plant according to this invention can be quickly demounted and moved to the shore of the water flow.

One or more small hydroelectric power plants according to this solution can be placed to the water flow pursuant to its size, width, yield and camber. The cages can be placed side by side throughout the water flow or behind each other in the cascade in the direction of the water flow. When need arises - for example when the water sport event takes place on the river - the small hydroelectric power plant can be moved to the shore. It is this flexibility which increases the usability of small water flows, since many potential conflicts with the use of the water flow can be solved by the short-term removal of the cage from the profile of the water flow. This also decreases the worries of the persons who have to officially permit the operation of the small hydroelectric power plant.

Easy manipulation and mounting allows creating temporary hydroelectric power plant without the interference in the landscape. The hydroelectric power plant can be later simply removed from the water flow and transferred elsewhere, or it can be stored - even by means of stacking - in the same way as cargo containers.

One simple realization of the small hydroelectric power plant is characterized by the fact that the impeller is placed on two swing arms. The arms are led from inside alongside the side walls of the cage. The impeller is hollow and it includes a machine room inside it. The impeller is floating, which means that its displacement volume and weight together with the machine room and the weight of the half of the arms are set in such a way that the water lifts the impeller. The impeller, led by arms and lifted by water, follows the actual water level at the given place. It is also submersed in the water, whereby the submersion level is in principle always the same, pursuant to the initial setting of the load displacement and the overall weight. This solution can be used in water flows with sufficient water level at the given placed of the water flow; the camber in this realization is not very important.

The length of the arms and their allowed angular deviation defines the scope of the acceptable heights of a water level. The arms can have a lower stop which prevents the impeller from impacting on the bottom in case of low water level. This stop is also helpful during the transport, where the position of the impeller should be locked.

The performance of the device can be increased if the water flow is directed. A solution has proved to be very effective, where the lower water rectifier is placed below the impeller, whereby the rectifier runs as a float platform from the front part of the cage towards the impeller, whereby the lower water rectifier is in the front part of the cage tiltably placed and it is connected with the arms next to the impeller, whereby the impeller is placed on the arms. When the height position of the impeller changes, the position of the lower water rectifier changes too, and there is a similar and stable gap between the lower rectifier and lower part of the impeller. A draw rod can be used on each side of the cage to harness the arms with the flow platform of the lower rectifier.

In the second type of the realization the impeller can be placed in such a way that its shaft is solidly gripped in the side walls of the cage and the position of the impeller during its rotation is stable relative to the cage and relative to the outside environment, too, and the water is led to the impeller from above. In such case the small hydroelectric power plant works as equal-pressure turbine in the same way as Banki turbine. In the proposed solution, contrary to Banki turbine, the machine room is placed in the hollow inside of the impeller, that is, the electric power generator with the gear is placed inside the impeller in the same way as in the first type of realization. This achieves the spatially economic construction which does not require a dry machine room in the separate space. In cases of typical Banki turbines, such machine rooms are usually designed as buildings above the water level, which is costly and time consuming solution.

The vanes of the impeller capture the flowing water; the water runs lower and rotates the impeller and then it flows out through the lower part of the cage - mainly through empty back side of the cage. Rectifiers of the water flow can be placed in the cage; mainly the rectifiers will have a form of the upper inlet trough and the circumferential rectifier. Small hydroelectric power plant with the upper inflow is suitable mainly for small water flows with sufficient camber in the mountain environment, where it is only necessary to dig the basis by the machinery and thereby produce a step in the bottom of the water flow, where the cage is subsequently mounted. The water flow is directed to the upper inlet trough and the small hydroelectric power plant is then capable of operation. If need arises, the pipes are used for direction of the water to the upper inlet trough. The height of the position of the impeller inside the cage can be adjustable. The shaft of the impeller is then slidably placed on the vertical line in the side walls of the cage. Adjustment of the height adapts the device to the particular conditions of the water flow, mainly to the achieved camber.

In the second type of the realization the impeller is in the fixed height without the need to follow the particular water level of the water flow, and the impeller does not have to be construed as floating, even though - for the reasons of unity - the same floating impeller as in the case of first realization can be used, too. Even in case of the fixed mounting with the upper inflow of the water it is preferable, though, if the impeller is produced as hollow, closed body, which on its inside protects waterproofly the power generator and related devices.

The technical solution can have an arrangement which combines the features of both previous realizations. The impeller can be floating and mounted on arms whose position can be locked in the stable height. Then the upper inlet trough is attached to the cage and the power plant can operate in the same way as in the second type of the realization with the water flowing in from above. After the arms are released the impeller can work as floating impeller. This makes the construction highly variable.

An information module can be part of the small hydroelectric power plant, which involves at least one sensor - for example a water level sensor or GPS position sensor. The gathered data can be sent by the information module to the central in the preset configuration. It can warn before rapidly rising water level, or movement of the cage - which may indicate an effort at theft.

Small hydroelectric power plant can be colorful and predominantly green and brown, so it coincides with the environment. Exception should be the strong marking of the forefront of the cage, so the collision of the boats with the construction of the cage is avoided.

This technical solution brings about a very compact construction of the hydroelectric power plant, which can be quickly mounted in the same way as engine powered electric power generator; it suffices that the small construction of the cage with the impeller is transported to the nearby water flow. Small hydroelectric power plant can be quickly demounted and it leaves no traces of concrete and it does not change the terrain. The placement of the small hydroelectric power plant does not require the production of dams and it does not affect the landscape.

This small hydroelectric power plant can be used for temporary electric power supply, for example when the camp is created near the water flow, or in cases of humanitarian actions, military actions, and so on. Small hydroelectric power plant is an ecological alternative to engine-powered electric power generators. As opposed to solar and wind power plants - which can be portable, too - it brings about more stable performance without fluctuations in the power supply. At the same time, this small hydroelectric power plant can be used for long-term operation; mounting multiple cages next to each other or behind each other in the cascade increases the available performance. Small hydroelectric power plant is ecological also because there are no dams and no adverse effects on the life of fish which are related to construction of dams. Since - as opposed to high-performance turbines with the vertical axis of rotation - the speed of the flow is not increased, there is no danger for the migrating water animals, too. The peripheral speed of the rolling of the impeller does not surpass the speed of the water in a given water flow.

Brief description of drawings

Technical solution is further disclosed by means of figures 1 to 9. Used scale of the depiction and the ratio of sizes of individual elements, the ratio of sides of the cage as well as the shapes of individual elements are only illustrative, or - eventually - they have been adjusted for the purposes of clarity and they cannot be interpreted as limiting the scope of protection. The power generator, the machine room and other elements inside the impeller are not depicted for the purposes of clarity; the can be deposited in the ways known in the prior state of the art.

Figure 1 is a side view of the small hydroelectric power plant with the partially submersed cage in case of low water level. Similar construction is depicted on figure 2 in case of higher water level.

Figure 3 is a front view of the device, from the direction of the water flow.

Figure 4 is a top view of the cage with the impeller, where the cage is anchored by four drill screws and it is held by an anchoring rope.

Figure 5 is a side view of the realization of the small hydroelectric power plant with the inlet trough, which creates a lower water rectifier. Figure 6 depicts this realization in the front view from the direction of the water flow.

Figure 7 is a side view of the small hydroelectric power plant with the upper inflow of the water. Figure 8 is a front view and figure 9 is a top view of the small hydroelectric power plant with the upper inflow of the water.

Examples of realization

Example 1

In this example according to figures 1 to 4 the cage 1 is produced by welding of the steel profiles into the shape of the into the cuboid block with width of 8' 00" = 2438 mm and length of 6 m. The steel profiles run inside the edges of the block; connecting cubes with the openings according to ISO standard for container cargos are welded in the corners. The cage 1 in this example corresponds by its outer shape to ISO container 1 C. Whole cage is hot-dip galvanized. Inside the cage 1 by the side walls there is a pair of arms 3 with the common axis of rotation. At the ends of the arms 3 a hollow shaft is led transversally, whereby the impeller 2 is rotationally mounted on the shaft. In order to prevent the crossing of the arms 3, for example when the wood flows below the impeller 2, the arms 3 are harnessed together by a common shaft in the axis of the tiltable deposition.

The impeller 2 is hollow, closed by two circular fronts. The displacement volume of the impeller 2 is set relative to its weight in such a way that the impeller 2 is submersed in the water in the desired level. Machine room with the electric power generator run by the gear mechanism from the rotation of the impeller 2 is placed inside the impeller 2. Moment reaction and force reaction of the electric power generator is captured by its hinge on the shaft, which transversally runs through the axis of the impeller and which is attached to the arms 3. The arms 3 allow altering the height of the impeller 2. The arms 3 have a lower position stop (or lock), so that the impeller 2 is not damaged during the transport through impact on the floor of the mean of transport, and so that it does not touch the bottom of the water flow during operation, in case the water level is too low.

Small hydroelectric power plant is carried to the water flow by common cargo container carrier. It is placed inside the water flow by means of a crane, whereby the marked up orientation of the cage 1 has to be maintained, with an arrow pointing to the direction of the water flow. After the cage 1_ is posited, the long-waisted ground screws 5 are inserted to the pipes in its corners, and they are screwed into the bottom of the water flow. The pipes are welded in the edges of the cage 1_ and they form the anchoring elements 4. Through the openings in the upper part of the wais of two ground screws 5 and anchoring rope are inserted 6. Its ends are attached to the shore.

Small hydroelectric power plant is then connected with the electric wiring on the shore. The wiring from the electric power generator then runs to the hollow shaft, and then it runs from there through the arm 3 to the waterproof installation box. After the arms 3 and the impeller 2 are released, the small hydroelectric power plant produces an electric energy and supplies it to the attached distribution network, or to connected appliances, respectively.

Example 2

In this example the small hydroelectric power plant according to previous example is supplied by lower water rectifier 8 according to figures 5 and 6. This rectifier 8 is flat and it creates a float platform which is tiltably placed on the lower front part of the cage 1. A lower water rectifier 8 is on the opposite end welded below the impeller 2, whereby it is connected to the arms 3 on the sides by means of draw rods. The lower water rectifier 8 follows the increase or decrease in the height of the impeller 2, pursuant to the actual water level of the water flow. In case of the lowest water level the platform of the lower water rectifier 8 is placed in the bottom; that is, it is placed on the lowest level of the lower edge of the cage 1 and it does not interfere by its transversal profile in the water flow.

The cage has skids on the side, with the ends of the skids bent upward. These skids allow pulling the cage by the reeler into the water flow. In order to place the cage 1_ the common equipment of the truck which has carried the cage 1_ to the place of mounting is sufficient.

A sensor of the angle of the arm 3 and GPS position sensor of the cage 1_ are parts of the device. In case the angle of the arm 3 changes by more than 10° and in case the position of the whole cage 1 changes, this information is sent through GSM communication module to the device' operator, who takes appropriate steps to remedy the situation. Example 3

According to figures 7 to 9 the small hydroelectric power plant has a cage 1 with stably positioned impeller 2. The shaft of the impeller 2 is at the sides of the cage 1 ended by slidable heads, which are slidably led in the vertical flanges.

The cage 1_ is carried as a container to mountain area, for example, where the small hydroelectric power plant should be mounted. Wheels are temporarily mounted on the front side of the cage 1_. The device is pushed by the tractor to the desired position in the water flow; the temporary wheels are demounted and the cage 1_ is anchored to the ground. Before doing so, a step has been dug into the water flow, which has increased the available camber.

An upper inlet trough 7 is attached to the cage 1 in its upper front part, whereby the trough 7 protrudes from the front edge of the cage 1 after the unfolding. The unfolded inlet trough 7 is inserted forward to the water flow. Inside the front part of the cage and around the circumference of the impeller 2 there is a cylindrical rectifier, which prevents the useless outflow of the water from the vanes in the upper positions.

After the water is led to the upper inlet trough 7, the small hydroelectric power plant is ready to produce electric power.

Industrial applicability

Industrial applicability is obvious. According to this solution it is possible to industrially and repeatably produce, mount and use the small hydroelectric power plant with the spatial cage which forms the basis for the impeller. Small hydroelectric power plant can be used as a temporary or permanent source of electric power.

List of related symbols

1 - cage

2- impeller

3- arm

4- anchoring element

5- ground screw

6- anchoring rope

7- upper inlet trough

8- lower water rectifier

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. A small hydroelectric power plant with a horizontal axis of a rotation of an impeller (2) which is rotationally placed on a shaft continuously running through an inside of the impeller (2); whereby an electric power generator is hung on the shaft inside the impeller (2); whereby the electric power generator is connected with the rotation of the impeller (2), is characterized by the fact, that the impeller (2) is placed in a cage (1) with a self-supporting frame; whereby the cage (1 ) has at least two side walls and one lower frame construction designed to be placed on a bottom of a water flow; whereby the cage (1) has at least one anchoring element (4) to anchor the cage (1 ) to a ground.

2. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to the claim l is characterized by the fact, that the cage (1) has traverses which are distributed in edges of a cube or a cuboid.

3. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to the claim 1 or 2 is characterized by the fact, that the cage (1 ) has walls with diagonally led reinforcements and without further filling.

4. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to any of the claims 1 to 3 is characterized by the fact, that a side wall of the cage (1) and/or a bottom of the cage (1 ) has a solid filling.

5. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to any of the claims 1 to 4 is characterized by the fact, that the lower frame construction of the cage (1) has slide skids, preferably ends of the slide skids are bent upward.

6. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to any of the claims 1 to 5 is characterized by the fact, that the cage (1 ) has outer shapes and dimension of a standardized cargo container, preferably from dimension series from 1 Dx to 1 AAA.

7. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to the claim 6 i s characterized by the fact, that the cage (1) has connecting elements to connect it with a carrier of the cargo containers during a transport of the cage (1).

8. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to any of the claims 1 to 7 is characterized by the fact, that the anchoring element (4) is produced by a vertical pipe in a corner of the cage (1 ), whereby the pipe is designed for an insertion of a ground screw (5).

9. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to any of the claims 1 to 8 is characterized by the fact, that it has at least one anchoring rope (6) to anchor the cage (1) against a shore; preferably the anchoring rope (6) is led through openings in the upper corners of the cage (1 ) and/or through openings in waists of the ground screws (5).

10. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to any of the claims 1 to 9 is characterized by the fact, that the impeller (2) is floating, whereby its weight is lower than half of a load displacement of its total volume.

11. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to any of the claims 1 to 10 i s characterized by the fact, that the impeller (2) is placed on two swing arms (3); whereby the arms (3) are led alongside the walls of the cage (1 ) on its inside.

12. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to any of the claims 1 to 11 is characterized by the fact, that it has a lower water rectifier (8) which runs as a float platform from a front part of the cage (1) towards the impeller (2); whereby the lower water rectifier (8) is in the front part of the cage (1 ) placed tiltably and it is connected with the arms (3); whereby the impeller (2) is placed on the arms (3).

13. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to any of the claims 1 to 12 is characterized by the fact, that it has an upper inlet trough (7) for an inflow of water falling from above to vanes of the impeller (2).

14. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to the claim 13 i s characterized by the fact, that a cylindrical circumferential water rectifier is placed in the front part of the cage (1) around a circumference of the impeller (2).

15. The small hydroelectric power plant with the horizontal axis of the rotation of the impeller according to any of the claims 1 to 14 i s characterized by the fact, that it has an information module which is connected with at least one sensor; preferably it is connected with a water level sensor or with a GPS sensor of a position of the cage (1 ).