Wavegen: compression wave power plant and air turbine

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Christophe
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Wavegen: compression wave power plant and air turbine




by Christophe » 06/08/09, 16:54

Seen on TV 2 weeks ago in X: enius: http://www.arte.tv/fr/X-enius/2373156.html

A wave power plant on the bank that uses the variations in height / pressure of the water to compress air and power an "air" turbine. This turbine is a bit special because it turns in the same direction whatever the direction of the wind. This is the main trick of this project I think!

It is very ingenious and, I think, much more reliable and less expensive per kW, than most of the other projects (completely utopian "sea serpent" ...) of wave energy recovery.

Main advantages: no moving parts "in the water", generator in place on dry land (therefore low connection costs and easy maintenance), no sensitivity to storms ...

disadvantages: surely a little noisy nearby and look "bunker" ...

Apparently, the demonstrator had better results than expected and a real factory of several MW is under construction.

I'll try to find info.

I think it was this show: The force of the sea - a source of electricity? http://plus7.arte.tv/fr/1697660,CmC=2767512.html

But the link is HS ...
Last edited by Christophe the 11 / 08 / 09, 23: 49, 2 edited once.
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by Alain G » 06/08/09, 18:07

Hello Christophe!

Here is a link from the manufacturer of this system:

http://www.wavegen.com/index.html

4 web cams from different angles:

http://www.wavegen.com/webcam2.htm
:D
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by Christophe » 07/08/09, 13:53

Ah great, yes that was it! Thanks for looking!

Here is the "concept": http://www.wavegen.com/about_wave_energ ... istles.htm
http://www.wavegen.com/about_wave_energ ... s_demo.htm

I have not yet understood the trick of the "one-way" turbine ...
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by Capt_Maloche » 07/08/09, 16:55

Here's a rich idea

Who does not pollute
Who doesn't really make a sound
Which does not require raw material (apart from its construction)
Easy to maintain

For the turbine system, I suppose that the air flow always goes in the same direction, but that it is a set of valves which allows the conversion (like a diode bridge :D ) unless it is a reversible variable pitch turbine, may be simpler
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by Christophe » 07/08/09, 17:39

Yes, that sounds great to me!

Well, from what I saw on the video, the air flow changes direction "in" the turbine ... so yes it may be a "reversible" timing turbine controlled by a detecting system the meaning of "wind"?

It must be explained on their site ... and even more surely in their patents ...

Not found a patent (not yet published?) However I found this: http://www.wavegen.com/EWTEC%202007%20PAPERS/tom.pdf

Read from

2. Impeller Specification


I have not read in detail yet but apparently it is a valve system with inversion of callage ...
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by Alain G » 07/08/09, 18:30

In my opinion, these electronic pressure sensors are commonly used on ventilation controls to balance the intake and exhaust pressure in new buildings. It would be located in the wave chamber.

In depression It controls the blades with variable pitch such as on an airplane.
According to the pressure or the depression directs the blades in one direction or the other in addition to optimizing the angle according to the force acting on the blades.

I use these small sensors on vacuum packers, it is very easy to graft an electronic card to convert into bits and program a PLC to manage a servo motor for controlling the blades, we can also use a 10 volt anological input directly on the PLC, this sensor is a variable potentiometer, it is a question of applying a voltage and adjusting the pressure point "0", to draw the orientation curve according to the voltage received.
:D
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by elephant » 07/08/09, 18:37

Why keep it simple when you can make it expensive and complicated?

Wouldn't it be easier to have flaps switched by a valve? Because your thing is almost as easy to do as a helicopter rotor.

This is what is said on the website of the company Wavegen:

A one-way flap valve is a better solution because it has fewer moving parts (only the flap valve hinge, as opposed to multiple gears or turbine blade hinges), can use the standard turbine design without requiring new manufacturing equipment (£££! ), and is totally removed from the power train for ease of repair or replacement.
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by Alain G » 07/08/09, 19:06

Elephant

It may seem complicated for someone who is not initiated to this kind of system, but believe me it is very simple to achieve.

In addition it avoids dead spots characterized by the inertia of air flows, in addition to the delays due to a longer air mass in ducts, we know that air behaves like an elastic band and the longer the path the longer the delay in behavior.

This only makes sense if you use both directions of the flow, however you can use the flow in one direction using traps and use the inertia of the air to stabilize the generator rotation speed, recharge pressure inside the wave chamber would be done more quickly by letting in the air when the wave withdraws and making an accumulation in a second chamber which would act as a condenser by accumulating a certain buffer pressure.

Everything is possible!

One thing is for sure, it is surely less expensive as a project than a wind turbine. :D
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by elephant » 07/08/09, 20:58

Yes, but the fields are private, the coasts are public ...
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by Alain G » 07/08/09, 22:45

elephant wrote:Yes, but the fields are private, the coasts are public ...


What do you mean?
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