SBIR Phase II: PAX Rotor Optimization for Flexible Micro-Hydro

SBIR 第二阶段：柔性微水力发电的 PAX 转子优化

• 批准号: 1660247
• 负责人: Jayden Harman
• 金额: $ 74.04万
• 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: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-04-01 至 2019-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1660247&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; PAX; Rotor

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in the effort to bring our biomimetic rotor design to the marine hydrokinetic (MHK) market. MHK energy is a socially and environmentally friendly alternative to hydroelectric power, which harnesses energy from rivers, tides, ocean currents and manmade waterways without the use of a dam. This market is potentially large but still nascent due to high technology costs, concerns over turbine survivability, fish friendliness, and difficulty in permitting deployments. Our rotor's small, flexible configuration is a unique approach that addresses many MHK challenges with the mission of reaching the largest set of individuals underserved by current energy technologies. Our rotor seeks to displace diesel generation and complement intermittent renewable energy sources by providing an affordable, baseload clean energy solution for any individual or community; with the objective of scaling up to larger deployments by leveraging the scalable rotor design. This R&D Project will expand the body of knowledge for the rapidly emerging field of biomimicry by developing a flexible micro-hydro solution that enables energy generation from flowing water by allowing fluids to move over the surfaces of the rotor in their naturally preferred way. This project will transform our promising proprietary rotor design into an optimized MHK turbine to be incorporated as the key component of a flexible micro-hydro system that addresses many of the challenges faced by the MHK market. The rotor is based on biomimicry and was designed using streamlines found in moving bodies of water with a deep profile to maximize the power transfer from low speed flows. The logarithmic design with receding edges results in a turbine that avoids damaging impacts with debris and marine life. The design is stable in variable flow conditions, which allows for a flexible power takeoff configuration with both the generator and power electronics housed above the water for improved affordability. During the project, computational fluid dynamic modeling will be used to simulate design changes and drive performance improvements. The most promising designs will be prototyped and integrated with multiple generator and tether combinations to determine the most efficient flexible power takeoff system. Conversion to power output for 12V battery charging will also be tested and optimized resulting in a complete power conversion chain. The performance of the rotor and system will be characterized by full scale testing locally and with The University of Washington.

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是努力将我们的仿生转子设计带入海洋流体动力学（MHK）市场。MHK能源是水力发电的一种社会和环境友好型替代方案，它利用河流，潮汐，洋流和人造水道的能源，而不使用水坝。这一市场潜力巨大，但由于技术成本高、对涡轮机生存能力的担忧、鱼类友好性以及难以允许部署，因此仍处于初期阶段。我们的转子的小，灵活的配置是一个独特的方法，解决了许多MHK的挑战与达到最大的一组目前的能源技术不足的个人的使命。我们的转子旨在通过为任何个人或社区提供负担得起的基本负载清洁能源解决方案来取代柴油发电并补充间歇性可再生能源;其目标是通过利用可扩展的转子设计来扩展到更大的部署。该研发项目将通过开发一种灵活的微水力解决方案来扩展快速新兴的仿生学领域的知识体系，该解决方案通过允许流体以其自然偏好的方式在转子表面上移动来实现从流动的水发电。该项目将把我们有前途的专有转子设计转化为优化的MHK涡轮机，作为灵活的微型水力系统的关键部件，解决MHK市场面临的许多挑战。转子是基于仿生学，并使用流线的设计，在移动的水体中发现了深剖面，以最大限度地从低速流动的动力传递。具有后退边缘的对数设计使得涡轮机避免了与碎片和海洋生物的破坏性影响。该设计在变流量条件下稳定，允许灵活的动力输出配置，发电机和电力电子设备都安装在水面上，以提高经济性。在项目期间，将使用计算流体动力学建模来模拟设计变更并推动性能改进。最有前途的设计将与多个发电机和系绳组合进行原型和集成，以确定最有效的灵活动力输出系统。转换为12 V电池充电的功率输出也将进行测试和优化，从而形成一个完整的功率转换链。转子和系统的性能将通过当地和华盛顿大学的全尺寸测试来表征。