Floating Tower Frame for Ocean Current Turbine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ocean current turbine systems face challenges such as high costs, limited deployment options, maintenance difficulties, and inefficiencies due to structural requirements, which hinder their ability to generate cost-effective, utility-scale electrical power or produce desalinated water effectively.
Innovation Solution
A floating tower frame and ocean current turbine system with sub-surface turbines mounted near the base of floating towers, featuring a horizontal truss structure and streamlined wing, allowing for efficient deployment, omnidirectional power capture, and reduced maintenance costs through modular design and yawing mechanisms to align with current direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If ocean current turbine systems are deployed on the ocean floor, then power generation capability is improved, but deployment cost and structural complexity increase due to requirements for dealing with overturning moments and thrust loads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a floating structure that can dynamically adjust its position and orientation in response to ocean currents and wave actions, rather than being fixed to the ocean floor. The floating tower frame with adjustable positioning allows the turbine to adapt to varying sea conditions, reducing the need for complex structural reinforcements against overturning moments while maintaining power generation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a floating tower frame structure as an intermediary between the turbine and the ocean environment. This intermediate structure absorbs and distributes the forces from ocean currents and waves, protecting the turbine from direct exposure to extreme loads while enabling deployment in locations that would otherwise be unsuitable for fixed-bottom turbines.
2Productivity
If permanent installation on ocean floor is used, then power generation is improved, but maintenance cost and accessibility worsen due to limited windows for servicing operations
Solution Approach 1:
The floating tower frame can be dynamically positioned and repositioned to provide accessible service decks above the water surface during maintenance operations. This dynamic positioning allows maintenance vessels to approach and service the turbine more easily compared to fixed-bottom installations, while the structure can be repositioned back to its power-generation optimal location after maintenance is complete.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the turbine system into modular components mounted on the floating tower frame, allowing individual components to be accessed, serviced, or replaced independently. This segmentation enables maintenance operations to be performed on specific parts without shutting down the entire system, improving both maintenance accessibility and overall productivity.
3Device complexity
If fixed structure orientation is used, then structural simplicity is improved, but adaptability to changing current direction worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The floating tower frame incorporates dynamic positioning capabilities that allow it to adjust its orientation and position in response to changing current directions. This dynamic adaptability is achieved through controlled floating and positioning mechanisms that can reorient the turbine to face the current flow, maintaining optimal power generation conditions without requiring complex fixed-orientation structures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables efficient and scalable power generation with reduced maintenance needs, capable of operating in varying current conditions while minimizing environmental impact and operational costs, allowing for both electrical power and fresh water production.
Implementation Method 1
a center of gravity of the overall current turbine system is located in a bottom third of the plurality of towers near the wing, and a center of buoyancy is located in a top third of the plurality of towers near the truss
Implementation Method 2
The collar is rotated about its tower by a yawing drive for the attached turbine to face the current direction as the flow direction changes
Implementation Method 3
a plurality of turbines, wherein a turbine is located on a respective one of the plurality of towers
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a floating tower frame for an ocean current turbine system comprising multiple rotors, which is designed to generate electrical power or high pressure seawater for reverse osmosis or fresh water production from steady (gyre) or tidal currents. Turbines are mounted near the base of a plurality of floating towers held in parallel between a horizontal truss structure above water and a horizontal wing at the base of the towers, below the surface. The center of gravity of the system is located in the bottom one third of the towers below the water line, while the center of buoyancy is in the top third of the towers below the surface, and the entire structure floats vertically, with respect to the towers.