Low-head Water Turbine with Adjustable Gate Shell
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional water turbine machines are not suitable for direct installation in rivers or canals under low-head and high-flow conditions due to high construction costs, inefficiency, and the need for extensive civil structures, and existing solutions fail to maintain stable operation and efficiency across varying stream discharges.
Innovation Solution
A low-head and high-flow water turbine machine with a simplified structure, featuring a water-guiding base, a cylindrical gate shell, and a driving mechanism for adjusting the gate shell's opening degree to control stream flow, ensuring stable operation and high efficiency by maintaining a high upstream water level and optimizing the conversion of potential energy into kinetic energy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If conventional penstock water turbine machine is adapted for low-head high-flow condition, then the water turbine can generate power, but the dimension will be quite large and construction cost will be very expansive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a adjustable gate shell mechanism that can dynamically change the flow passage area to match varying stream discharge conditions. This dynamic adjustment allows the turbine to maintain optimal performance across different flow conditions without requiring excessive dimensional capacity, thereby reducing the overall turbine size while preserving power generation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the flow passage by adjusting the gate shell position to control the effective flow area. This parameter adjustment enables the same turbine structure to handle variable flow rates efficiently, eliminating the need for oversized dimensions that would be required for peak flow conditions alone.
2Power
If conventional penstock water turbine machine is adapted for low-head high-flow condition, then power can be generated, but the civil structure of dam facility, water-guiding penstock, and plant facility are necessary such that the cost of construction will be increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for complex civil structures such as dams, penstocks, and dedicated plant facilities by designing a turbine that can be directly installed in the river or canal. The water-guiding base integrates the flow guidance function directly into the turbine structure, removing the requirement for separate civil infrastructure while maintaining power generation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The water-guiding base serves multiple functions: it guides water flow, supports the turbine, and can be directly installed in natural waterways without requiring separate dam or penstock structures. This multi-functional design consolidates what would traditionally require separate civil infrastructure components into a single integrated unit.
3Quantity of substance
If water turbine machine is customized to enlarge the dimension to satisfy high flow requirement, then the flow capacity increases, but the cost is expansive and not affordable
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than manufacturing a permanently oversized turbine to handle peak flow conditions, the patent uses a dynamic gate shell mechanism that can adjust the flow passage area in real-time. This allows a smaller, more cost-effective turbine to handle variable flow rates by opening the gates wider when flow is high and narrower when flow is low, eliminating the need for expensive oversized custom manufacturing.
4Productivity
If existing water turbine machines are used under low-head high-flow condition, then some can operate, but the operation efficiency is low, e.g., 0.1 ̃0.4
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable gate shell enables the turbine to dynamically optimize its operating conditions by matching the flow passage area to the actual stream discharge. This dynamic adaptation maintains the turbine within its optimal efficiency range across varying flow conditions, significantly improving operation efficiency from the 0.1-0.4 range of conventional machines to 0.4-0.6.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes the flow passage geometric parameters by adjusting the gate shell position to match the operating conditions. This parameter optimization ensures that the turbine operates at peak efficiency for each flow condition, maximizing power generation output while minimizing energy losses.
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 solution allows for efficient power generation with a simplified structure, easy installation, and stable operation across different stream discharges, reducing construction costs and improving adaptability to varying flow conditions, making it economically viable for installation in rivers and canals.
Implementation Method 1
the water stream directly passes through the blades of turbine, i.e. water stream flowing into the turbine at a small angle in the tangential direction from a lateral side of the water turbine
Implementation Method 2
water turbine machine that is utilized to convert potential energy of water stream into kinetic energy and then the kinetic energy is converted into mechanical energy
Implementation Method 3
the secondary impact force on the turbine will be generated while the water stream flows out of the turbine
Data Source
AI summary
A low-head and high flow water turbine machine comprises a water-guiding base having a top plate, a bottom plate, an accommodating space defined therein, an inlet and an outlet respectively arranged at upstream side and downstream side, and a first and a second lateral plates respectively having a first and a second water-guiding walls that are respectively extending inward toward circumference of the accommodating space, a water turbine arranged in the accommodating space and having multiple blades, and a cylindrical-shaped gate shell passing through the top plate and slidably coupled to circumference of water turbine around upstream side wherein an opening degree is adjusted through sliding the gate shell for adjusting cross-sectional area of stream thereby controlling stream discharge entering to the water turbine, switching off rotation of the water turbine, and adjusting water level at high water level state at upstream side according to the stream discharge requirement.