Author(s): W. M. J. Batten; G. U. Muller
Linked Author(s): William Batten
Keywords: Free Stream Energy Converter; Boat Mill
Abstract: The design of ‘classic' floating or boat mills in the 18th and 19th Century typically separated the design of the floating structure from the waterwheel. These waterwheels were of undershot design with low efficiencies. Today there is a desire to extract energy from all renewable energy resources and consequently technologies for extracting kinetic energy from river and tidal currents is being developed. Most of these technologies are based on wind turbine designs which require water depths greater than 20m to be viable. The current tested concept combines the use of a waterwheel with the floating body to both to accelerate the flow and produce a head difference. This is achieved by using a duct type forms and separators. To date experiments have shown efficiencies of up to 90% based on the wheel width. The design has a shallow draft, the results demonstrate the applicability for both large rivers and sheltered tidal sites and the concept is expected to be appropriate for remote areas with limited electrical grid connections
Year: 2011