Perfected hydraulic machine preferably for minimum height waterfalls

Abstract: This machine consists of an impeller formed by a right prism with a minimum weight/volume ratio and which has an irregular hexagonal section, three sides of which are bigger than the other three, and with said hexagon's vertexes belonging to a single circumference. The second body of said machine is formed by an open cylindrical chamber, concentric to the impeller, with an angle of approximately 83 degrees. Its basic characteristic is its high performance in obtaining energy produced by minimum height waterfalls.

Description: The present invention refers to a hydraulic machine having the features of the preamble of claim 1. Such a hydraulic machine is known from US-A-1 740 595. Generally, in order to transform and use hydraulic energy with an acceptable yield, the known system must use waterfall heights of over 2 meters, as under 2 meters the performance drops to levels that make the use of these bodies of water uneconomical. The known hydraulic machines are generally classified as action and reaction turbines. Of the former, we find the so-called "PELTON" turbines with an ideal field of application between 20 and 300 meters high waterfalls. In the second group, and in first place we find the so-called "FRANCIS" turbines with an application range of between 4 and 200 meters, while -in second place- we find those called "KAPLAN", with a vertical or horizontal axle with an application range of between 2 and 20 meters for the waterfall height. Finally, we mention the so-called double impulse or cross-flow turbines whose application range varies between 2 and 200 meters of waterfall height. From the present hydraulic machines mentioned, it is clear that no hydraulic machine exists for waterfall heights of less than 2 meters that offers a normally acceptable performance and which would make use of any of these machines economical. The Applicant's own Invention, Spanish Patent number 8703324 should be mentioned, which refers to a hydraulic machine consisting of an impeller housed in an open cylindrical chamber, formed by a right prism that has a minimum weight/volume ratio and whose right section is an equilateral triangle with curved sides. In view of the above discussed prior art, it is the object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic machine of simple construction and improved yield. This object is solved by a hydraulic machine having the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims. According to the present invention, a hydraulic machine is obtained which amply surpasses Patent 8703324, thus obtaining a much higher yield, in addition to having achieved a more simple impeller design, as this patent is based on straight planes while in Patent 8703324 this had to be carried out by means of curved profiles which were difficult to produce and any variation in the profile's shape greatly influenced the machine's final yield. This Invention's hydraulic machine consists of a first body, or impeller formed by a right prism whose weight/volume ratio is minimum and it forms an irregular hexagonal section with three sides being larger than the other three and this hexagon's vertexes form a sole circumference. The hydraulic machine's second body consists of an open cylindrical chamber, concentric to the impeller and covering an angle of approximately 83 degrees, which is clearly inferior to the 120 degrees required in Invention Patent 8703324. The impeller's vertexes are in charge of closing the chamber, and the impeller's edges -when passing the closure section during its cycle-divides the machine's upward water section and downward water section; thus achieving that the pressures originating in the areas -and which are of different intensities- depending on the level of water reached in each one, act efficiently on the impeller's submerged surfaces. Based on its form of operation, this machine -as well as the machine covered by Patent 8703324- could be classified as a positive displacement volumetric machine because with each revolution the impeller displaces a constant volume of water from the upper water area to the lower water area. Thanks to these characteristics and knowing the machine's revolutions per minute and the available waterfall capacity, the impeller's length can be adjusted to adapt itself to this condition. In order to give a detailed description of the invention, we refer to the attached drawing, which has been represented in the preferred manner of realization, as an example but without any limitations whatsoever. Figure 1, which is the only drawing, represents a sectional drawing of the Invented Machine, showing the impeller's right section -1- consisting of a minimum-density right prism, transversally semi-submerged in the water flow's stream with its axle -2- being parallel to the waterfall plane. This prism's right section is an irregular hexagon that has two unequal sides, a larger side -3- and the other side -4-alternating, with each and every one of the vertexes -5- of said hexagon belonging to a single cirumference whose center is axle -2-. This impeller -1- is placed inside a cylindrical chamber -6-concentric to the impeller, thus obtaining contact between the impeller -1- and the chamber or by means of the impeller's vertexes -5- or in other words by the edges of the impeller's prismatic body. This cylindrical chamber -6- covers an inside angle of approximately 83 degrees, coinciding with the angle covered by any one of the three larger sides, whose exact angle is 82º31'57,65'' degrees thus obtaining a regular operation while the angle covered inside the smaller sides is 37º28'2,35'' degrees. The magnitude of the hexagon's larger sides is 1,31912 times the circumference's radius, where it is inscribed, while the smaller side has a value of 0,642338 times the circumference's radius where the hexagon is inscribed. The Invented Hydraulic Machine is completed with a body or housing where the impeller is housed, which is not represented in this figure, as it is not necessary to explain the invention. The density of the impeller -1- should be as low as possible, as one of the forces that will act on same -and which will have a definite influence on the impeller's movement- will be the upward force imposed on same. Due to the volume displaced by Archimedes' principle, this force will be equal to the volume of displaced liquid. Therefore, the lower the impeller's density, the greater this force's influence will be on its final yield. On each side of the impeller we have the two water masses -7- and -8- with -9- being the difference in level between both masses and which constitutes the waterfall being used in the installation. The main advantage of this turbine, as it is described, is its total adaptability to any waterfall condition, such as flow, height, etc. and it requires a minimum infrastructure for its installation. By using this turbine, a suitable performance is obtained for water flows which have not been used up to now due to this technique's being uneconomical and because no devices existed for using this energy with a minimum acceptable performance. This machines can be used for continental water sources as well as for taking advantage of sea water and only certain technical changes are required merely to adapt the machine to the desired application. Due to its construction, the yields are maintained when the water flow direction is inverted, therefore its operation is directly reversible.

Claims: A hydraulic machine for operating in cooperation with a minimum height waterfall comprising: a polygonal shape impeller (1) having vertexes (5) equi-distant from an axis of rotation of the impeller (1), and an axle (2) attached to the impeller (1) at said axis of rotation for enabling the impeller (1) to rotate about said axis in response to the minimum height waterfall, characterized in that the impeller is an irregular hexagonal shape impeller (1) having six sides (3, 4), three of said sides (3) being equal in length and longer than the remaining three of said sides (4) which are equal in length so as to define three short sides (4) and three long sides (3), wherein said long sides (3) alternate with said short sides (4) to define the hexagonal shape of the impeller (1) and have six vertexes (5), each of which being formed where a corresponding one of said long sides (3) intersects a corresponding one of said short sides (4). The hydraulic machine of claim 1, characterized by a housing (6) having an inner cylindrical surface concentric to said axis of rotation and having a radius substantially equal to the distance of each vertex (5) of the impeller (1) from said axis of rotation, wherein said inner surface is approximately 83 degrees in arc length and is proximate to each vertex (5) of the impeller (1) to form a seal between each vertex (5) and said inner surface. The hydraulic machine of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each of the long sides (3) and the distance to each vertex (5) define a central angle of 82 degrees, 31 minutes and 57.65 seconds and each one of the short sides (4) and the distance to each vertex (5) define a central angle of 37 degrees, 28 minutes and 2.35 seconds. The hydraulic machine of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each one of the long sides (3) has a length equal to 1.31912 times the distance from said axis of rotation to each vertex (5) and each one of the short sides has a length equal to 0.642338 times the distance from the axis of rotation to each vertex (5).

Inventors: DURIO SILONIZ D ENCARNACION, GONZALES ENTERRIA D JOSE JAVIE, DURIO SILONIZ, D. ENCARNACION, GONZALES ENTERRIA, D. JOSE JAVIER
Applicants: DURIO SILONIZ D ENCARNACION, GONZALES ENTERRIA D JOSE JAVIE, DURIO SILONIZ, D. ENCARNACION, GONZALES ENTERRIA, D. JOSE JAVIER
Application year: 1990
Main classification: F03B7
IPC codes: F03B7