Using hydro turbine as conversion system


Jung Chul Kim’s patent is an appropriate introduction to the topic as a movable installation.

An anchored cabled hydro turbine can be suitable as a possibly more simple and light mean offshore compared to a raised platform carrying equipment. An option was discussed on Rotating Reel System .

To be efficient the hydro turbine should go fast enough without cavitation concern. Minesto’s turbine (https://minesto.com/) speed is about 8 m/s. Higher speed would be better, for example by using an electric hydrojet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump-jet) as generator.

Imho AWES implementation is more likely offshore than onshore where current ground-based turbines will be difficult to beat.

Emrax from Siemens is a very light motor-generator. The pdf above provides data. As mentioned on the page 21, a motor of 40 kg would have a peak motor power of 125 kW at 1200 rpm, 330 kW at 3200 rpm, and a continuous power of 70 kW and 180 kW, according to the load.

It could perhaps be a very light hydro turbine as a lot power is delivered at a low rpm. But also a use as generator for Flygen, or even yoyo mode, could be aimed.

1 Like

Below is an interesting @JoeFaust design:

For a reasonable speed of the turbine (10-15 m/s) allowing the implementation of a light generator as described above, a fast rigid kite like Ampyx wing would be more suitable. However a flexible kite could be used along the coast, where the length of the submerged cable is not too high.

Do away with submerged cable drag by using a hydrofoil catamaran.
Mount the turbine between the foils facing front to back.
Tether the catamaran from a turret on the deck to a cliff (or a moored floating tower) above the water you drag through.
Control the kite from the deck turret.
It’s a weird mix of sailing arc sweeps with figure 8’s ends.
Gives good long power sweeps and no retraction phase.