SBIR Phase I: River Electrical Energy Devices

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将调查利用变形结构来收集河流动能以产生电力的情况，该结构旨在展示水弹性驰骋。大多数水电收割机需要筑坝才能产生水头，而存在的例外情况只在深、行为良好的水流中才能产生效益。浅水和/或湍急的河流代表着一种未开发的自然资源。拟议的获取这一资源的方法结合了三种以前研究得很好但相互脱节的现象：(I)被描述为驰骋的动态流固相互作用，(Ii)源于智能材料社区的形状变形概念，以及(Iii)机械到电能的转换。虽然大多数关于驰骋的研究都是为了最小化不需要的和潜在的破坏性结构振荡，但这个项目将调用控制曲面的形状变形来优化驰骋。这一阶段计划的目标是建造一种装置，演示流水动能到电能的转换，并确定1千瓦收割机的技术和商业可行性，大约尺寸为1x1x0.5米。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力源于其利用未开发的可再生能源和服务不足的市场的目标。资源地图显示，风能和太阳能的最佳地点通常人口稀少，因此必须调用复杂和有损失的传输战略，将收获的资源输送到大部分人口。虽然提高长距离电能传输效率的举措正在进行中，但要增加美国获得可再生能源的机会，一个更好的战略是识别与消费者配置在一起的可再生资源。人们总是住在离水很近的地方；同样，流水必然代表着可收获的能源。在存在显著河源(势能)的地方，目前的现成技术可以用来发电。然而，根据美国的资源评估，目前没有在低水头和/或湍急的河流和溪流(估计为14GW)中收集可用的动能的技术基础。因此，水电选址，包括与许多人口中心相邻的地点，是充分利用这种可再生资源的重大障碍。该项目专门针对湍流和/或浅水河流流动，因此将极大地扩大水能选址选择，使社会在经济和环境方面受益。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the harvesting of kinetic river energy to produce electricity using a morphing structure designed to exhibit hydroelastic gallop. Most hydroelectric harvesters require damming a river to create head, while the exceptions that exist are only productive in deep, well-behaved flows. River sites that are shallow and/or turbulent represent an untapped natural resource. The proposed approach to accessing this resource combines three well-studied but previously disconnected phenomena: (i) the dynamic, fluid-solid interaction described as gallop, (ii) shape morphing concepts derived from the smart materials community, and (iii) mechanical-to-electrical energy transduction. While most research into gallop has been aimed at minimizing undesired and potentially destructive structural oscillations, this project will invoke shape morphing of a control surface to optimize gallop. The goal of this Phase I program is to build a device that demonstrates conversion of kinetic energy of flowing water to electrical energy, and to establish the technical and commercial feasibility for 1 kilowatt harvesters with approximate dimensions of 1x1x0.5 meters. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project stems from its goal of harnessing an untapped renewable energy source, and an underserved market. Resource maps reveal that the best locations for wind and solar energy are generally sparsely populated, and thus complex and lossy transmission strategies must be invoked to deliver the harvested resource to much of the population. While initiatives to improve the efficiency of long-distance electrical energy transmission are underway, a superior strategy to increasing US access to renewable energy is identification of renewable resources that are collocated with the consumer. People have always lived near water by necessity; similarly, flowing water necessarily represents harvestable energy. Where significant river head (potential energy) exists, current off-the-shelf technology can be used to generate power. However, per a US resource assessment, there is currently no technology base for harvesting the kinetic energy available in low head and/or turbulent rivers and streams (estimated to be 14 GW). Thus, hydropower siting, including sites adjacent to many population centers, is a significant barrier to fully utilizing this renewable resource. This project specifically targets turbulent and/or shallow river flows and would therefore dramatically expand hydroenergy siting options, benefitting society economically and environmentally.