JP2014062470A - Ocean current power generating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An ocean current power generation device is provided which has a longer life and improved reliability.
An ocean current power generation device has a rotating shaft that transmits a rotational driving force of a rotating blade, and a second sliding surface that slides on a first sliding surface that is a side surface of the rotating shaft, A guide bearing that supports a radial load acting in the radial direction of the rotating shaft, a thrust collar that is attached to the rotating shaft and has a rotating plate, and slides on a third sliding surface that is the main surface of the rotating plate A thrust bearing having a fourth sliding surface and supporting a thrust load acting in the axial direction of the rotating shaft, wherein the constituent materials of the first and third sliding surfaces are ferrous materials, Stainless steel, Ti, Ti alloy, Co, or Co alloy, and the constituent materials of the second and fourth sliding surfaces are smaller than the first fibrous member and the first fibrous member. A resin material filled with a second fibrous member.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an ocean current power generation apparatus.

While the output of wind power generation, solar power generation, etc. is likely to fluctuate, the output of ocean current power generation can be expected to be relatively constant and predictable. For this reason, development of ocean current power generation equipment is progressing. For example, a valve-type power generator in which a driving force transmission mechanism and a generator are built in a valve is disclosed.
The ocean current power generator is installed in the sea or on the ocean floor where the flow rate of tide is high, and it is desired that the drive transmission mechanism has a long life, high reliability, and maintenance-free in order to realize a stable power supply.

JP 2007-16786 A JP 2007-170298 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an ocean current power generation device with a long life and improved reliability.

  The ocean current power generation device according to the embodiment is a ocean current power generation device disposed in seawater, and includes a rotary blade that is rotated by the ocean current, a rotary shaft that transmits a rotational driving force of the rotary blade, and a transmission that is transmitted by the rotary shaft. And a generator that generates electric power by the rotational driving force, and a second sliding surface that slides against the first sliding surface that is the side surface of the rotating shaft, and acts in the radial direction of the rotating shaft. A guide bearing for supporting a radial load, a thrust collar attached to the rotating shaft and having a rotating plate, and a fourth sliding member that slides on a third sliding surface that is a main surface of the rotating plate. A thrust bearing that has a moving surface and supports a thrust load acting in the axial direction of the rotary shaft, and the constituent materials of the first and third sliding surfaces are iron-based material, stainless steel, Ti , Ti alloy, Co, or Co alloy, and the second and fourth slides. The material of the surfaces, the first fibrous member, and smaller dimensions than the first fibrous member, the second fibrous member is a resin material filled with.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to extend the life and improve the reliability of an ocean current power generation device.

It is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the ocean current electric power generating apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the rotating shaft and guide bearing which concern on 1st Embodiment. It is the side view and front view of a thrust collar and a rotary plate which concern on 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the thrust collar and rotary plate which concern on 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the ocean current electric power generating apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the rotating shaft and guide bearing which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is the side view and front view of a thrust collar and a rotating plate which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the thrust collar and rotary plate which concern on 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an ocean current power generation device 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the rotating shaft 12 and the guide bearing 14. FIG. 3 is a side view and a front view of the thrust collar 15 and the rotating plate 16. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the thrust collar 15 and the rotating plate 16.

  The ocean current power generation device 10 is disposed in seawater (including the seabed) and generates power by ocean current. As shown in FIG. 1, the ocean current power generation apparatus 10 includes a rotating blade 11, a rotating shaft 12, a generator 13, a guide bearing 14 (14a, 14b), a thrust collar 15 (15a, 15b), and a rotating plate 16 (16a, 16b). ), A thrust bearing 17 (17a, 17b), a valve 18, and a seal 19 (19a, 19b).

The rotating blade 11 rotates in response to the ocean current.
The rotating shaft 12 is a substantially cylindrical member that connects the rotating blade 11 and the generator 13 and transmits the rotational driving force of the rotating blade 11 to the generator 13. The rotating shaft 12 has a sliding surface (sliding surface) A <b> 1 that slides with respect to the guide bearing 14. The sliding surface A <b> 1 is a part of the side surface of the rotating shaft 12 corresponding to the guide bearing 14.

  The rotary shaft 12 can be divided into a rotary shaft 12a outside the valve and a rotary shaft 12b inside the valve. The rotary shafts 12a and 12b can be connected by a joint. Moreover, you may form the rotating shafts 12a and 12b integrally. The rotary shaft 12a outside the valve can use corrosion-resistant stainless steel. The rotary shaft 12b in the valve and the later-described rotary plate 16 can use carbon steel in consideration of cost.

  The generator 13 generates power by the rotational driving force transmitted by the rotary shaft 12.

  The guide bearing 14 is disposed around the rotation shaft 12b and supports a radial load acting in the radial direction of the rotation shaft 12b. As shown in FIG. 2, the guide bearing 14 can be divided into a base portion 141 and a sliding portion (bearing pad) 142. The base 141 can be made of an iron-based material (for example, carbon steel). The sliding part 142 can be comprised from the resin material which filled the 1st, 2nd fibrous member from which a dimension differs. Details of this will be described later. The sliding part 142 has a sliding surface (sliding surface) A2 that slides with respect to the rotating shaft 12b.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the thrust collar 15 is a cylindrical member attached to the rotary shaft 12b. The rotating shaft 12b is inserted and fixed to the inner periphery of the thrust collar 15. The thrust collar 15 has a rotating plate 16 at its end.

  The rotating plate 16 is provided on the end face of the thrust collar 15 and abuts on and slides on the thrust bearing 17. The rotating plate 16 has a substantially disc shape as a whole, and is generally divided into a plurality of fan shapes. Here, although the rotating plate 16 is divided into four, the number can be changed suitably. The rotating plate 16 is made of, for example, an iron-based material (for example, carbon steel) and has a sliding surface (sliding surface) A3 that slides with respect to the guide bearing 14. The sliding surface A3 is a part of the main surface of the rotating plate 16.

  The thrust bearing 17 abuts and slides on the rotating plate 16 and supports a thrust load acting in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 12b. As shown in FIG. 4, the thrust bearing 17 can be divided into a base portion 171 and a sliding portion (bearing pad) 172. The base 171 can be made of an iron-based material (for example, carbon steel) in the same manner as the base 141. Similar to the sliding portion 142, the sliding portion 172 can be made of a resin material filled with first and second fibrous members having different dimensions. The sliding portion 172 has a sliding surface (sliding surface) A4 that slides with respect to the rotating plate 16.

  The valve 18 is a kind of container (casing), and includes a generator 13, a thrust collar 15 (15a, 15b), a rotating plate 16 (16a, 16b), and a thrust bearing 17 (17a, 17b). The valve 18 is filled with gas (air, inert gas, etc.). The generator 13, the thrust collar 15 (15a, 15b), the rotating plate 16 (16a, 16b), and the thrust bearing 17 (17a, 17b) Contact with seawater is prevented (protection of generators and other control systems, prevention of corrosion by seawater).

  The seal 19 hermetically seals between the rotary shaft 12 and the valve 18 so that the rotary shaft 12 can rotate, and prevents the inflow of seawater from the rotary shaft 12 into the valve 18.

  The sliding surfaces A1 and A3 of the rotating shaft 12b and the rotating plate 16 that are in contact with the guide bearing 14 and the thrust bearing 17 are made of an iron-based material. In this embodiment, since the guide bearings 14 (14a, 14b) and the thrust bearings 17 (17a, 17b) are disposed in the valve 18, the sliding surface A1 of the rotating shaft 12b and the sliding surface of the rotating plate 16 are used. A3 is in direct contact with seawater and is prevented from corroding. For this reason, it becomes possible to make the constituent materials of the sliding surfaces A1 and A3 iron-based materials (for example, carbon steel), which is economical (reduction of manufacturing cost).

  As described above, the sliding portions 142 and 172 (sliding surfaces A2 and A4) of the guide bearing 14 and the thrust bearing 17 are made of resin materials filled with the first and second fibrous members having different dimensions. The The first fibrous member is longer than the second fibrous member.

  As described above, the sliding surface A1 of the rotating shaft 12b and the sliding surface A3 of the rotating plate 16 are made of an iron-based material (for example, carbon steel). In contrast, the sliding portion 142 (sliding surface A2) of the guide bearing 14 and the sliding portion 172 (sliding surface A4) of the thrust bearing 17 have a low friction coefficient, high wear resistance, high seizure resistance, and sliding. Consists of a resin material that is less aggressive to the moving material. For this reason, the various bearings and the various rotating shafts and rotating plates of the sliding counterpart slide smoothly and are not damaged by wear or seizure, and the maintenance period and life of the ocean current power generation device 10 can be extended.

  Here, a tetrafluoroethylene resin can be selected to ensure a low friction coefficient and high seizure resistance for the resin material that is a constituent material of the sliding portions 142 and 172. However, wear resistance is insufficient with tetrafluoroethylene resin (single). Therefore, the wear resistance can be improved by filling the tetrafluoroethylene resin with ceramic fibers that are hard and have excellent wear resistance. As the ceramic fibers, there can be used long fibers such as glass fibers, alumina fibers, silica / alumina fibers, zirconia fibers, and carbon fibers having a diameter of several μm to several tens μm, and short fibers having an aspect ratio of several tens to several hundreds.

  However, if these ceramic fibers are filled in tetrafluoroethylene resin, the coefficient of friction of tetrafluoroethylene resin increases, and the aggressiveness to the sliding counterpart becomes extremely high. For example, when 20% by weight of glass fiber is filled in tetrafluoroethylene resin, the wear amount of the sliding partner of carbon steel increases several thousand times in water compared with tetrafluoroethylene resin not filled with glass fiber. .

  In addition, when ceramic fibers having a relatively large diameter of several μm to several tens of μm are filled, when wear progresses, the fibers are exposed and dropped from the sliding surface, causing slippage in the sliding direction. As a result, the scratching action of the ceramic fiber causes sliding flaws on the sliding counterparts of the tetrafluoroethylene resin and carbon steel, increasing the amount of wear and causing seizure. This is because the tetrafluoroethylene resin (single) between the ceramic fibers is soft, does not have sufficient strength, and is easily scratched.

  Increasing the amount of ceramic fiber filling can reduce the distance between the fibers, suppress the occurrence of long sliding flaws, and improve wear resistance. On the other hand, the coefficient of friction increases. Further, the tetrafluoroethylene resin surrounds the ceramic fiber and cannot be sufficiently held, and the ceramic fiber is likely to fall off. Therefore, the ceramic fiber filling amount must be limited.

On the other hand, a fine ceramic whisker with a diameter of several 0.05 μm to 1 μm and an aspect ratio of up to 100 can secure a sufficiently small distance between whiskers even with a small addition amount, and a deep sliding flaw occurs due to whisker dropping or slipping. Absent. However, in order to ensure wear resistance, it is necessary to fill several tens of weight percent.
Here, since the whisker is a fine fiber, it easily aggregates, and when added in a large amount, the whisker does not sufficiently disperse and an aggregate of whiskers is formed. As a result, the agglomerates having no holding force fall off, the filling effect cannot be exhibited, and the wear resistance may be significantly reduced.

  In consideration of the above phenomenon, at least one selected from the group consisting of carbon fiber and ceramic whiskers (potassium titanate, aluminum borate, zinc oxide, silicon carbide) as a base material of a tetrafluoroethylene resin having a low friction coefficient Type) was added. Carbon fiber has wear resistance and self-lubricating properties, and is less offensive to the sliding partner. A tetrafluoroethylene resin, which is placed between carbon fibers and is soft and does not have sufficient strength, is reinforced with ceramic whiskers. By optimizing the diameter, aspect ratio, filling amount and filling ratio of these fibers and whiskers, a composition range having a high coefficient of friction, high wear resistance, high seizure resistance, and low aggressiveness to the sliding material is obtained. I found it.

  Carbon and ceramics can be used as the first and second fibrous members, and tetrafluoroethylene resin can be used as the resin material. That is, for the first and second fibrous members, carbon, ceramic or the like having better wear resistance than a resin material (for example, tetrafluoroethylene resin) can be used.

  The ceramic whisker can contain at least one selected from the group consisting of potassium titanate, aluminum borate, zinc oxide, and silicon carbide.

  As described above, the wear resistance of the resin material filled with the first and second fibrous members can be improved by making the dimensions of the first and second fibrous members different. In general, since the size of the carbon fiber is larger than the size of the ceramic whisker, a combination of carbon fiber and ceramic whisker can be used as the first and second fibrous members.

  The size and aspect ratio (diameter / length ratio) of carbon fiber and ceramic whisker should not be limited, but from the viewpoint of the effect of improving material properties and manufacturability, carbon fiber has a diameter of 1 to 50 μm and an aspect ratio of 5 In a ceramic whisker, a diameter of 0.05 to 1 μm and an aspect ratio of 5 to 100 are desirable.

  Content ratio of filler (first and second fibrous members (carbon fiber and ceramic whisker)) (ratio of total weight of carbon fiber and ceramic whisker to total weight of resin material, carbon fiber and ceramic whisker) is 5 It is preferable to set it as -50 mass%. If the content is less than 5% by mass, the effect is small, and if it exceeds 50% by mass, it is difficult to obtain further effects and the production is difficult.

  The volume ratio of carbon fiber to ceramic whisker is preferably in the range of 2: 1 to 10: 1. Within this volume ratio, the friction coefficient and the wear resistance are well balanced. Outside this range, it is difficult to obtain an effect, and manufacturing is difficult.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the ocean current power generation device 10a according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the rotating shaft 12 and the guide bearing 14. FIG. 7 is a side view and a front view of the thrust collar 15 and the rotating plate 16. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the thrust collar 15 and the rotating plate 16.

  The ocean current power generation device 10a includes a rotating blade 11, a rotating shaft 12 (12a, 12b), a generator 13, a guide bearing 14 (14a, 14b), a thrust collar 15 (15a, 15b), a rotating plate 16 (16a, 16b), It has a thrust bearing 17 (17a, 17b), valves 18a, 18b, and a seal 19 (19a, 19b). Here, it is assumed that there are no members (covers 21a, 21b, etc.) indicated by broken lines.

  In the present embodiment, the valve 18a is not sealed by the seal 19 and seawater flows in. On the other hand, the valve 18b is cut off from seawater by a seal 19 and hermetically sealed.

  The guide bearing 14a, the thrust collar 15a, the rotating plate 16a, and the thrust bearing 17a are disposed outside the valves 18a and 18b and come into contact with seawater. That is, the rotating plate 16a and the thrust bearing 17a rotate using seawater as a lubricant (seawater lubrication).

The thrust collar 15b, the rotating plate 16b, and the thrust bearing 17b are disposed in the valve 18a and come into contact with seawater. That is, the rotating plate 16b and the thrust bearing 17b also rotate using seawater as a lubricant (seawater lubrication).
The guide bearing 14b is disposed in the valve 18b and does not contact seawater.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the portion of the rotating shaft 12b corresponding to the guide bearing 14a is defined as a base 121 and a sliding portion 122, and the sliding portion 122 (sliding surface A1) of the rotating shaft 12b that contacts seawater. Can be made of a corrosion-resistant metal. That is, the sliding part 122 is made of a corrosion-resistant metal (for example, stainless steel, Ti, Ti alloy, Co, Co alloy). By doing in this way, lifetime improvement of the sliding part 122 of the rotating shaft 12b which contacts seawater can be achieved. The base 121 can use a metal-based material (for example, carbon steel).

  Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rotating plate 16 (16a, 16b) is a base 161 and a sliding portion 162, and the sliding portion 162 (sliding surface A3) of the rotating plate 16 exposed to seawater. Can be made of a corrosion-resistant metal. That is, the sliding part 162 is made of a corrosion-resistant metal (for example, stainless steel, Ti, Ti alloy, Co, Co alloy). By doing in this way, lifetime improvement of the sliding part 162 of the rotating plate 16 exposed to seawater can be achieved.

  The entire rotating shaft 12 and rotating plate 16 may be made of a corrosion-resistant metal (for example, stainless steel, Ti, Ti alloy, Co, Co alloy).

  Further, the base portion 141 of the guide bearing 14a and the base portion 171 of the thrust bearings 17a and 17b are also made of a corrosion-resistant metal (for example, stainless steel, Ti, Ti alloy, Co, Co alloy), and a long life can be achieved.

  On the other hand, since the part of the rotating shaft 12b corresponding to the guide bearing 14b is not exposed to seawater, the sliding part 122 made of a corrosion-resistant metal is not particularly required. In other words, the part of the rotary shaft 12b corresponding to the guide bearing 14b may have a sliding surface A1 made of an iron-based material (for example, carbon steel).

(Modification)
A modification of the second embodiment will be described.
As indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 5, seawater for lubrication can be supplied to the sliding surfaces A4 and A2 of the thrust bearing 17b and the guide bearing 14b. That is, the thrust bearing 17b and the guide bearing 14b are respectively covered with the covers 21a and 21b, and seawater is supplied and discharged by the water supply portions 22a and 22b and the drainage portions 23a and 23b. In this case, since the part of the rotating shaft 12 corresponding to the guide bearing 14b is also exposed to seawater, it is preferable to provide the sliding part 122 made of a corrosion-resistant metal.

  In this way, at least the sliding surface A1 of the rotating shaft 12b that slides with the guide bearing 14 and at least the sliding surface A3 of the rotating plate 16 that slides with the thrust bearing 17 can be made of a corrosion-resistant metal. As a result, it is possible to improve the corrosion resistance in seawater, maintain a smooth sliding state, and realize a long-term maintenance-free and stable power supply.

  The sliding portion 162 can be configured by forming a corrosion-resistant metal layer on the base portion 161. For example, the sliding portion 162 can be formed by mechanical coupling such as fitting or bolting, thermal spraying, or overlaying.

  As described above, in the ocean current power generation device according to the above embodiment, the sliding portions 142 and 172 (sliding surfaces A2 and A4) of the guide bearing 14 and the thrust bearing 17 have the first and second fibrous shapes having different dimensions. It is comprised from the resin material with which the member was filled. Further, the sliding surfaces of the rotating shaft 12b and the rotating plate 16 are appropriately made of a corrosion-resistant metal. As a result, the rotary shaft 12 can be smoothly slid relative to the guide bearing 14 and the thrust bearing 17 for a long period of time without maintenance. That is, by reducing the bearing loss, the power generation efficiency is improved and the operation cost can be reduced.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

10, 10a Current generator 11 Rotary blade 12 (12a, 12b) Rotating shaft 121 Base 122 Sliding part 13 Generator 14 (14a14a) Guide bearing 141 Base 142 Sliding part 15 (15a, 15b) Thrust collar 16 (16a, 16b) Rotating plate 161 Base 162 Sliding part 17 (17a, 17b) Thrust bearing 171 Base 172 Sliding part 18 (18a, 18b) Valve 19 Seal 21a, 21b Cover 22a, 22b Water supply part 23a, 23b Drain part

Claims (10)

An ocean current power generator installed in sea water,
Rotating blades rotating by ocean currents;
A rotating shaft for transmitting the rotational driving force of the rotary blade;
A generator for generating electric power by a rotational driving force transmitted by the rotary shaft;
A guide bearing that has a second sliding surface that slides against a first sliding surface that is a side surface of the rotating shaft, and that supports a radial load acting in a radial direction of the rotating shaft;
A thrust collar attached to the rotating shaft and having a rotating plate;
A thrust bearing that has a fourth sliding surface that slides against a third sliding surface that is the main surface of the rotating plate and supports a thrust load acting in the axial direction of the rotating shaft. And
The constituent material of the first and third sliding surfaces is iron-based material, stainless steel, Ti, Ti alloy, Co, or Co alloy,
The constituent material of the second and fourth sliding surfaces is a resin material filled with a first fibrous member and a second fibrous member having a dimension smaller than that of the first fibrous member. ,
Ocean current power generation equipment. The first fibrous member has a diameter of 1 μm to 50 μm and an aspect ratio of 5 to 100,
2. The ocean current power generation device according to claim 1, wherein the second fibrous member has a diameter of 0.05 μm to 1 μm and an aspect ratio of 5 to 100. 3. The first fibrous member is carbon fiber;
The second fibrous member is a ceramic whisker;
The resin material is tetrafluoroethylene resin;
The ocean current power generation device according to claim 1 or 2. The ocean current power generation device according to claim 3, wherein the ceramic whisker contains at least one selected from the group consisting of potassium titanate, aluminum borate, zinc oxide, and silicon carbide. The ratio of the total weight of the first and second fibrous members to the total weight of the resin material and the first and second fibrous members is 5% by mass or more and 50% by mass or less. The ocean current power generation device according to any one of the above. 6. The ocean current power generation device according to claim 1, wherein a volume ratio of the first fibrous member to the second fibrous member is 2: 1 or more and 10: 1 or less. The ocean current power generator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a valve that seals a part of the rotating shaft, the guide bearing, and the thrust bearing to prevent contact with seawater. The ocean current power generation device according to claim 7, further comprising a water supply system that supplies seawater to the guide bearing and the thrust bearing. The rotating shaft has a cylindrical first base portion made of an iron-based material and a side surface of the first base portion, and has the first sliding surface, and is made of stainless steel, Ti, Ti alloy, Co, or A first sliding portion made of a Co alloy,
The rotating plate covers a disk-shaped second base portion made of an iron-based material, a main surface of the second base portion, has the third sliding surface, and is made of stainless steel, Ti, Ti alloy, Co Or a second sliding portion made of a Co alloy,
The ocean current power generation device according to claim 8. The guide bearing has a third base portion made of iron-based material, stainless steel, Ti, Ti alloy, Co, or Co alloy, and a third sliding portion having the second sliding surface,
The thrust bearing includes a fourth base portion made of iron-based material, stainless steel, Ti, Ti alloy, Co, or Co alloy, and a fourth sliding portion having the fourth sliding surface.
The ocean current power generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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