Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F03B—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS
  • F03B13/00—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates
  • F03B13/12—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy
  • F03B13/14—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using wave energy
  • F03B13/16—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using wave energy using the relative movement between a wave-operated member, i.e. a "wom" and another member, i.e. a reaction member or "rem"
  • F03B13/20—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using wave energy using the relative movement between a wave-operated member, i.e. a "wom" and another member, i.e. a reaction member or "rem" wherein both members, i.e. wom and rem are movable relative to the sea bed or shore
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
  • Y02E10/30—Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient

Definitions

• the tripod floating central unit with helical water lift captures the vertical energy of the swell on the surface. It is independent of any external reaction force, according to the principle of the isolated system. It floats freely like a cork. However, it is anchored so as not to be moved by wind or sea currents. This anchoring is designed so as not to counteract the oscillations due to the swell. 35
• the construction technique is part of an ordinary shipyard. The architecture, although original, does not present any notorious technical challenge and uses materials and components which have been tried and tested for a long time. The elements of electricity production are limited to a Kaplan, Francis or Banki type turbine, coupled to a generator, possibly with a speed multiplier, a large fleet of which operates on all continents.
• the production of electricity is independent of the wave wave cycle, the turbine being continuously supplied by the potential energy of the water to be turbined stored in the tank.
• the maintenance of the exterior surfaces is comparable to that of the hull of a conventional ship, and that of the interior surfaces to that of land-based power stations, especially since it is possible to use fresh water as an energy fluid.
• the installation is essentially constituted by a floating platform which transforms the movement of the swell into combined and synchronous oscillations as well as by a helical lift which raises the water up to a reservoir from which it will flow without interruption to drive a turbine located below.
• the buoyancy of the platform is ensured by a central hull as well as by three pendulums sufficiently spaced to obtain an oscillation torque at each passage of the waves.
• the horizontal surface of the floating tripod central elevator can be identified like that of a ship: the front by which the swell arrives, the aft, and the two sides starboard and port.
• Two so-called pitch beams are placed at the starboard angles, and the so-called roll beam is located between the two port angles.
• the dimensions of the rectangular platform are proportioned so that when the two pitch pendulums are at the same height overlapping a crest, the roll pendulum is on the crest line and inclines the platform to starboard.
• the two pitch pendulums When the wave has advanced by half its length, the two pitch pendulums will again be at the same height, but overlapping a trough.
• the roll float will be in a hollow and will tilt the platform to port.
• the platform will have returned to its initial position, tilted to starboard.
• the platform rolls from port to starboard, then from starboard to port.
• the combination of the two roll oscillations and continuous pitch and almost synchronized makes describe in space to the vertical axis of the platform an inverted cone.
• the platform is subjected to a tilt in perpetual pivoting around its vertical axis. We can say that it is a tilt and turn angle.
• this combination of oscillations causes the slope line of the inclined platform to describe a sweep of 360 degrees per cycle.
• the body of water is higher and eccentric with respect to this axis, since it consists of multiple siphons stacked on top of each other in the turns of the helical water lift to the level of the tank .
• the installation is tilted to starboard by the swell, the transfer of load from all the siphons to starboard causes an additional deposit. It is the mass lodging.
• a third factor intervenes, that of the centrifugal force of the siphons moving at a significant speed in the helical water lift. It is the kinetic shelter. The cumulation of the initial deposit, the mass deposit and the kinetic deposit, gives the effective inclination, therefore greater than that due to the swell itself.
• FIG. 4 is the perspective of the whole of the tripod floating central unit with a helical water lift.
• Figure 5 is the perspective of the helical water elevator seen from below.
• Figures 6 and 7 show a non-return panel.
• Figure 8 illustrates the port sector of the helical water lift and the hull.
• Figure 9 shows the longitudinal section of the coil and the hull.
• Figure 10 is the cross section of the coil at mid-height.
• Figure 11 shows the cross section of the coil at the last turn.
• FIG. 1 represents a tripod floating central unit with a helical water lift, seen from the rear and on the starboard side, in operation on a swell shown in transparent layer, at the instant of the starboard tilt, to illustrate the appearance of the whole and to locate the layout of the main elements.
• FIG. 1 represents the underside of the platform.
• the deck 1 comprising four angles surrounding the shell 2 in the form of a basin.
• the stabilizers 3, 4, 5 and 6 are fixed at each angle. At the starboard angles, the stabilizers are extended vertically by the pitch beams 7 and 8.
• the port side has in its middle the roll balance 9 forming the triangular layout.
• the three pendulums and the bottom of the hull constitute the lively works ensuring buoyancy.
• the stabilizers and floats can be built in hollow bodies in the materials usually used, (wood, metals, concrete, composites ...) or in full with expanded synthetic materials or in inflatable elements. Their shape may be different from the parallelepiped shape shown.
• the volume of the port balance is equal to that of the two starboard balance to ensure the horizontality of the platform (at rest).
• each of the port stabilizers is greater than that of each of the starboard stabilizers, these being assisted in the stabilization function by the pendulums which extend them.
• a horizontal triangular reinforcement structure 10 joins the three pendulums.
• the two tie rods 11 secure the stabilizers 4 and 5 to the structure 10.
• To starboard three spars 12 connect the structure to deck 1 to form a docking facade for service or maintenance buildings, with a section ladder 13 and mooring bollards.
• a high amplitude of swell is desirable and sought after, the performance of the power station depends on it. However, a sliding or surfing effect could appear in the event of excessive wave camber.
• the tripod floating unit could slide in the direction of the swell when it is tilted backwards and in the opposite direction when the bow is plunging. With these shifts relative to the mass of seawater that is almost immobile horizontally, a rotation of the power plant would be combined, the roll float seeking to be placed at the same height as the pitch float located downstream. To avoid this phenomenon, it is advisable to place three anti-gyration drifts 14 starting from the floats to meet under the center of the hull 2.
• the star arrangement ensures good resistance to pivoting, and in addition the asymmetry of the surfaces of the daggerboards facing the slope, brakes the roll balance more than the downstream pitch balance.
• the fins 14 also constitute a reinforcement and rigidity structure for the whole of the platform by connecting together the most stressed elements: the deck 1, the hull 2, and the pendulums 7, 8 and 9. They are sufficiently solid as a seat when the power plant rests on the ground, during construction for example.
• the exhaust volume 15 is intended to facilitate the exit of water from the turbine.
• Figure 4 are visible three of the four upper stabilizers 16, 17, 18, 19 respectively placed at each angle above the stabilizers 3, 4, 5 and 6 to increase their efficiency.
• the upper deck 20 includes above the elevator 21 a cavity with a hole at its base for recovering rainwater intended to compensate for the losses of water to be turbined by evaporation.
• the turbine room below the reservoir 23 encloses the conventional elements of power plants: drop conduit 24, turbine-generator group 25, as well as the elements not shown such as transformer flow regulators, overflow control 35 and 36
• a partition with movable openings protects everything from bad weather and seawater packets. It may be envisaged to install a second group of turbines there for floating tripod power stations intended for heavy swell sites.
• the staircase 26 can be completed by a hoist or by a winch.
• a tripod structure 27 covers the whole. It is formed by three gallows
• Each station includes a windlass 54 and a fairlead 55.
• the front and rear are anchored by a chain 56 in Y whose two strands have a length at least equal to the distance between the two windlasses concerned. Just shorten one of the strands of each chain to change the orientation by about 45 °. By the same operation with the opposite strand, the same result is obtained in the opposite direction.
• the chains 56 are fixed to a ton of anchoring so as not to subject the center to downward tensions.
• Figure 5 in perspective shows the starboard side, the rear, the bottom of the helical water lift with the turbine room.
• the slightly gray areas symbolize a water outlet, the darker ones an entrance.
• the lines with dots in a chain mean that they are hermetically in contact with the inner wall of the shell. It is by the lower end of the elevator called collecting orifice 29 that the water to be turbined enters the water elevator to form siphons, which will rise from one turn to another, at the rate waves of the swell, until the last turn to reach the reservoir.
• the turns of the water elevator 21 could be produced in a tube of circular section, according to a helix whose pitch corresponds to the diameter of the tube.
• the realization would be very simple and the elevator would work, but with a low production, the volume of the siphons being low.
• a rectangular shape makes it possible to obtain a larger cross-sectional area for a given pitch, the pitch being limited by the average effective heel possible on the operating site.
• the elevator presented is constituted by a parallelepipedic tower with rounded angles of about 8 meters on the side, surrounded by a second cylindrical or oval tower of about 15 meters in diameter, creating the space necessary to place a spiral ramp, a dozen turns, with a section of one meter high varying from 2 to 3.5 m in width. The whole must support several hundred tonnes of load.
• the four fixing plates 30 ensure the seat and the assembly of the helical water elevator with the shell 2.
• the deck seal 32 covers the hull 2.
• the starboard partition wall 31 and the port partition wall (not visible) separate the water to be turbined in two bunkers 44 and 45.
• the filling terminal 33 is designed to introduce the water to be turbinated before start-up, either at the quay or on site using a tanker. Each turn has a vent to prevent an overpressure of air, or a depression, between the siphons slowing down the flow.
• These vents simple bent conduits fixed on the outer wall, are comparable to an anti-ram column. They are grouped into a beam 34. Depending on the type of swell, it might be advisable to install four beams.
• the overflow stop 35 is constituted by a pipe which connects the hold to the outside of the hull, in order to facilitate the evacuation of an excess of water to be turbined before the commissioning of the power plant. It is fitted with a non-return valve to prevent seawater from entering and a manually operated valve accessible from the turbine room or a motorized valve.
• the overflow step 36 is identical: placed lower it allows to evacuate an excessively large amount of rainwater which would unnecessarily weigh down the power station during its operation.
• a water level indicator is part of the instrumentation of the turbine room.
• the ground 37 of the turbine room receives the turbine-generator group.
• the exhaust pipe 38 passes through it.
• a non-return separation panel 39 separates the two bunkers.
• FIG. 6 represents a non-turn winding panel comprising an inclined grid 40 covered by a valve 41 made of a sheet of semi-rigid material, of the vulcanized textile type used as a conveyor belt or any other synthetic material having the same characteristics, multiple weights 42 and the fastening screws 43.
• the view is truncated to reveal the grid without the valve
• Figure 7 corresponds to the section of the non-return panel along AA to show the panel in the Closed position and in the open position.
• the gray area illustrates the flow of water with the valve open. * The hydraulic symbol specifies the function.
• These non-return panels are thus designed to facilitate flow with a minimum pressure drop. Their sealing is ensured by the flexibility of the valve, the weights as well as by the pressure of the water exerted on the valve.
• the non-return valves usually used do not allow large flows, are bulky, have mechanical axes of limited longevity and weigh heavier.
• the anti-retraction panel 39 is constructed using the same technology.
• a non-return panel 52 is essential at the end of the last reservoir turn 23 in order to prevent the counter-flow of part of the contents of the reservoir 23 when it is full. In cases where the swell is frequently irrigated or random (fetch, passage of large buildings nearby, transverse swell, sea currents), the synchronization of the oscillations could be disturbed. It is therefore advisable to place non-return panels in each turn to avoid any descent of the siphons. On sites where the swell is regular and well formed, even of small amplitude, the non-return panels are useless. FIG.
• S Figure 9 is the longitudinal section BB of the elevator and the shell shown in the previous figure.
• the non-return distribution panel 39 retains the water from the front hold 44 at a higher level than that from the rear hold 45, which makes it possible to install the turbine 25 at a lower level to increase the height of fall. At this instant, and as long as the rear pitching has not disappeared, the water escapes from the turbine falls into the rear s ⁇ ufee 45.
• FIG. 10 represents the riser in a horizontal section CC at the level of the turn located above the bridge joint 32.
• the non-return separation panel 39 In the center we see, through the interior of the water riser , the non-return separation panel 39, partially covered by the water in the front hold 44, as well as part of the funnel forming the collection orifice 29.
• the valve of the non-return separation panel 39 is cut to show Grid.
• the siphon is shown in the gray area * 11 is asymmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis of the plant although it is inclined towards the bitter. This is due to the pitch of the elevator propeller. To stop the f ⁇ mctioi ement of the power plant it is enough to stop the rise in water by obstructing one of the lower turns.
• the tripod floating central unit with a helical water lift thus represented for information purposes, which is in no way limitative, is proportioned and dimensioned for a weak swell with an amplitude of 1 meter, a length of 50 meters and a periodicity of
• the specific power is proportional to the step and inversely proportional to the period. It can work in isolation, in a group, connected or not to a public network or not, to supply homes, industries, desalination plants, liquid hydrogen production, on land or at sea.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Other Liquid Machine Or Engine Such As Wave Power Use (AREA)

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• 2003
  • 2003-12-26 FR FR0315473A patent/FR2864586B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2004
  • 2004-12-24 EP EP04817592A patent/EP1700032A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2004-12-24 WO PCT/FR2004/003379 patent/WO2005068832A1/fr not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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