GC: n
CT: Wavegen, a unit of Voith Hydro, produces a shoreline wave energy conversion unit called Limpet. The technology used is called an oscillating water column. Ocean waves move air in and out of chambers in a breakwater. This compressed air drives Wavegen’s turbine, known as the Wells turbine, to generate electricity. The 18.5-kW modules are meant for use in breakwaters, coastal defenses, land reclamation schemes, and harbor walls. The technology has been connected to Scotland’s power grid since 2000.
In 2006, Wavegen teamed up with Npower Renewables to plan a wave power plant for the Lewis Island in Scotland. The 4-MW Siadar Wave Energy Project earned the approval of the Scottish government in January 2009.
S: REW – http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/03/wave-and-tidal-power-development-status (last access: 12 December 2014)
N: 1. Wells (proper name): From Alan Arthur Wells (1924 – 2005), British engineer.
turbine (n): 1838, from French turbine (19c.), from Latin turbinem (nominative turbo) “spinning top, eddy, whirlwind, that which whirls,” related to turba “turmoil, crowd” (see turbid). Originally applied to a wheel spinning on a vertical axis driven by falling water. Turbo in reference to gas turbine engines is attested from 1904.
2. Alan Wells was probably best known for his seminal contributions to studies of brittle fracture and fracture mechanics conducted during his period at the British Welding Research Association (BWRA) from 1951 to 1964. He was Professor of Structural Science at Queen’s University Belfast from 1964 to 1977, when he returned to the Welding Institute (as the BWRA had then become) as Director General until his retirement in 1988. In his later years, he worked on wave energy devices and was responsible for the development of the innovative ‘Wells’ turbine, a device that continues to rotate in the same direction under oscillatory air flows.
3. The Wells turbine is a bidirectional air turbine which operates efficiently over a restricted range of air flow. The optimization of its efficiency requires control of rotational velocity in order to maintain the ratio between airflow and tip speed within the high efficiency range.
4. With society’s rising concern about the environment, several alternatives to obtain electricity using natural means without harm have been studied As tidal movement is a natural cyclical movement, it becomes a source of renewable energy, which has been widely utilized for power generation over the years. Turbines with Wells-type rotors are turbines with self-rectifying characteristics and with fixed blade geometry. The main characteristic of this type of rotor is to allow flow in both directions. For this reason, these turbines are used for energy extraction in oscillating water column (OWC) wave power plants to convert pneumatic energy into mechanical energy of rotation. An example of the use of the Wells turbine widely cited is the Pico’s eave power plant on the archipelago of the Azores in Portugal. This research aims to study the viability of using this type of turbine operating with water in tidal power plants.
S: 1. RSBM – http://rsbm.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/53/365.abstract (last access: 13 December 2014); OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=turbine&searchmode=none (last access: 12 December 2014). 2. RSBM – http://rsbm.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/53/365.abstract (last access: 12 December 2014). 3. IEEE – http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=6544582 (last access: 12 December 2014). 4. http://www.cerpch.unifei.edu.br/arquivos/artigos/hidro-hydro-60-pag-19a21.pdf (last access: 13 December 2014).
SYN:
S:
