SBIR Phase I: PAX Rotor Development for Flexible Power Take-Off

SBIR 第一阶段：用于灵活取力器的 PAX 转子开发

• 批准号: 1548324
• 负责人: Jayden Harman
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: PAX Scientific, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1548324&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; PAX; Rotor; Development

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project lies in the development of a flexible micro-hydro energy generation system that can provide clean, reliable and affordable energy for individuals and small communities/cooperatives in remote and developing regions. It promises to have clear performance advantages over competing solutions at Watt and Kilowatt scale while providing the lowest cost of total ownership. This is relevant to the global marine hydrokinetic (MHK) market which applies to energy generation from the world's rivers, tides, ocean currents and even manmade constructions such as irrigation canals and effluent pipes. MHK energy is a socially and environmentally friendly alternative to hydroelectric power as no dam is required to extract energy. This market is potentially lucrative but is still very nascent due to high technology costs, concerns over turbine survivability, fish friendliness, and difficulty in permitting these deployments, especially in the US and Western Europe.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will transform a biomimicry-based design into a stable MHK rotor that can support flexible power take-off configurations. The baseline design was created by reverse-engineering the ultra-efficient, low-turbulence flow geometry of mammalian cardiovascular systems. When applied to a MHK rotor, the resulting geometry allows for the conversion of energy from a longer stretch of flowing water, which can lead to similar power/energy generation to that of traditional MHK rotors but with half the required depth. During the project, the shape will be varied to result in a predictable, stable design with maximum efficiency of output under variable flow conditions. The proposed R&D plan is a primary research effort in identifying the variables that lead to predictable, high performance, MHK rotor design utilizing such methodologies as computational fluid dynamics (CFD), prototyping and water tank testing. In addition, greater understanding of this design will also expand the body of knowledge in the rapidly emerging field of biomimicry.

该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力在于发展灵活的微型水力发电系统，为偏远和发展中地区的个人和小型社区/合作社提供清洁、可靠和负担得起的能源。它承诺在提供最低的总拥有成本的同时，在瓦特和千瓦规模的竞争解决方案中具有明显的性能优势。这与全球海洋水动力（MHK）市场有关，该市场适用于从世界河流、潮汐、洋流甚至人工建筑（如灌溉渠和污水管道）产生的能源。MHK能源是一种社会和环境友好的水力发电替代品，因为不需要大坝来提取能源。这一市场具有潜在的利润空间，但由于技术成本高、对涡轮机生存能力的担忧、对鱼类的友好性以及部署的难度，特别是在美国和西欧，这一市场仍处于起步阶段。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将把基于仿生学的设计转化为稳定的MHK转子，可以支持灵活的功率输出配置。基线设计是通过对哺乳动物心血管系统的超高效、低湍流流动几何结构进行逆向工程而创建的。当应用到一个MHK转子，由此产生的几何形状允许从一个较长的流动的水的能量转换，这可以导致类似的功率/能量产生，传统的MHK转子，但有一半所需的深度。在项目过程中，将改变形状，以实现可预测的、稳定的设计，在可变流量条件下实现最大的输出效率。拟议的研发计划是一项主要的研究工作，旨在确定导致可预测的、高性能的MHK转子设计的变量，利用计算流体动力学（CFD）、原型设计和水箱测试等方法。此外，对这种设计的更深入理解也将扩展快速兴起的仿生学领域的知识体系。