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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Turbines by Jeffrey

For those of you checking in for the first time; De and I are working on an unmanned instrument that will collect tidal energy data, current measuring device (CMD). Based on our data we will determine if tidal energy is a viable alternative and renewable source of electricity.

In this blog I'm going to share some water turbines that are designed to harness tidal current. Each of these units are designed to meet the topography and the logistical needs to be effective and efficient.

Let's look at some designs that are currently in use:

Pelamis
The Pelamis design converts wave energy into electricity through the use of hydraulic rams.

Tidal Turbine


The Tidal Turbine is designed to work in deep river channels and pivots with the current.









Horizontal Seafloor Turbine
The next three types use a helical blade design. The blade is multi-directional by design and from my research requires the least current flow to be effective.



River Turbine





 








Axial Flow Turbine

There are a variety of designs that I have not researched yet. Here are the names of a few of them: tidal kite, reciprocating hydrofoil, clustered hydrocoil, and an Archimedes screw. Stay tuned!!


                                                                                                                  



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6 comments:

  1. Deb 'n PaulOctober 30, 2013 at 9:32 AM

    Jeff--do you think that any of these models could be a contender for the NASA project? I know we don't know the depth of the channel. Also--seems I'm going to have to apply for a Federal/State permit to do this :-/

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    1. UnknownOctober 30, 2013 at 12:02 PM

      Hello Dr Woodall:
      From all the designs I've been looking at; I'm sure that one of them will. Matching the turbine to the flow rate is #1. Some of these models can generate electricity at 10 rpm.

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  2. UnknownOctober 30, 2013 at 4:33 PM

    This is a similar question to Dr. Woodall and you have slightly answered my question. Jeff, in your personal opinion and from any statistics you have un covered. Which desgin provides the best in generating electricity of the Horizontal turine and Axial flow turbine. What i see that you have is really good findings. I could see myself building some of those one day :)

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    1. UnknownOctober 30, 2013 at 8:14 PM

      Both these models are still in design stages. The axiom is designed to work in low flow conditions and generates electricity at 10 rpm's. I have looked at similar designs to the horizontal; still searching for hard data.

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  3. UnknownOctober 30, 2013 at 5:14 PM

    Where are these different designs currently being used?

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    1. UnknownOctober 30, 2013 at 8:50 PM

      Pelamis is currently being used off the coast of Portugal and Northern Scotland. Tidal turbines can be found at the bottom of the East River and off the coast of Scotland. The river turbine was designed for the Amazon River. I am not sure if it is up and running however. There are other types of turbines being used in the UK. I will attempt to talk about them in the next blog.

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