FREE-FLOW HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT AND METHOD FOR ITS INSTALLATION UNDER THE ICE Russian patent published in 1996 - IPC

FIELD: hydroelectric power engineering. SUBSTANCE: free-flow hydroelectric power plant has power shaft with movable blade in respect to shaft, blade operating mechanism with roller-type holders. Blade has fixed casing covering power shaft and provided with bridges; energy converter is coupled with power shaft through step-up gear; blade and one of bridges are provided with teeth; blade operating mechanism is, essentially, flywheel fixed on power shaft and provided with locks and two pairs of gears placed above and under it and joined together through shafts; roller-type holders are fixed on flywheel; locks are mounted for coming in contact with casing bridges and upper gears; lower gears are engageable with blade teeth. Blade is made as cloth diaphragm pulled up onto frame whose upper band has positive buoyancy and lower one, negative buoyancy; bands are joined together at ends by means of vertical stiffening posts. For installing free-flow hydroelectric power plant under the ice, blade is immersed in stream; before doing so, it is twisted into tube and in flow direction two ice holes are made. Blade is immersed in upstream hole by means of pull rods and upon its untwisting under upstream hole, vertical stiffening post is attached to its end; power shaft is immersed through downstream hole and, while pull rods are released, loose end of blade is inserted into roller-type holders of blade operating mechanism, whereupon second vertical stiffening post is secured on it. EFFECT: reduced cost of energy production, improved pollution control. 3 cl, 8 dwg