Rotatable Turret Hull Robot Turbine Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hull robots often experience reduced turbine efficiency when turbine intakes are not aligned with the flow direction of water past the hull, and maneuvering around obstacles requires adaptive alignment for optimal cleaning and inspection operations.
Innovation Solution
A hull robot design featuring a rotatable turret-mounted drive subsystem and an adjustment system, controlled by sensors and a controller, to maintain turbine intakes aligned with water flow, ensuring optimal operation and efficient energy harvesting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the drive track is mounted on a rotatable turret, then the turbine alignment with water flow is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drive track is mounted on a rotatable turret that can dynamically adjust its orientation to maintain optimal alignment between the turbine intakes and water flow direction. The turret rotation mechanism allows the system to adapt to varying flow conditions, ensuring maximum turbine efficiency regardless of the robot's travel direction or flow angle variations along the hull.
2Loss of energy
If the turbine subsystem position is adjusted continuously, then the energy harvesting efficiency is improved, but the use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system continuously monitors turbine output and water flow conditions, then adjusts the turret rotation to maximize energy harvesting. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures that the energy invested in turret rotation is always less than the energy gained from optimized turbine operation, maintaining net positive energy efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters by adjusting the turret rotation angle based on real-time flow conditions. By dynamically optimizing the alignment angle between turbine intakes and water flow, the system maximizes the kinetic energy conversion efficiency while minimizing the energy required for adjustment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the robot maneuvers around obstacles, then the adaptability is improved, but the turbine alignment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable turret provides dynamic repositioning capability that decouples the robot's navigation movements from turbine alignment. When the robot maneuvers around obstacles or changes direction, the turret can independently rotate to maintain optimal turbine-to-flow alignment, ensuring that adaptability in navigation does not compromise energy harvesting efficiency.
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 maximizes turbine output and enables efficient cleaning and inspection by continuously orienting turbines into the water flow, regardless of the robot's direction, ensuring optimal power generation and extended autonomous operation.
Implementation Method 1
a turbine subsystem actuatable by fluid moving past the hull
Implementation Method 2
The adjustment subsystem may further include a motor for rotating the turret
Implementation Method 3
a generator drivable by the turbine subsystem
Data Source
AI summary
A hull robot includes a turbine subsystem actuatable by fluid moving past the hull, a drive subsystem for maneuvering the robot about the hull, and an adjustment subsystem for either the turbine subsystem or the drive subsystem. A controller is configured to operate the adjustment subsystem to adjust the position of the turret subsystem relative to the drive subsystem until fluid flowing past the hull results in an optimal flow of fluid with respect to the turbine subsystem.