Person-Portable Micro-Hydropower System

Limited fuel availability and high fuel transport costs in off-grid regions prohibit the utility and practicality of petroleum-fuel based generators for electricity production. At the same time, flowing water resources are typically available that can be leveraged to implement micro-hydropower systems in these regions. Currently, there is a need for the development of a complete small, inexpensive low-maintenance hydropower solution that optimizes transportability, enables rapid deployment, minimizes cost, and maximizes power generation in a wide range of flow environments. Trex Enterprises Corporation proposes to design and develop a compact, micro-hydropower system capable of extracting available hydrokinetic flow energy and converting this energy into usable power. The Trex micro-hydropower design is based on a modified, Gorlov turbine that can be harvests energy perpendicular to the flow direction. The non-ducted turbine design enables energy capture over variable free flow environments, including utility even in low-velocity and ultra low-head environments. A contactless high-torque transmission system enables actuation of the permanent magnet alternator by the rotor across a sealed interface, and so completely seals onboard electronics from the operating environment. The transmission system also corrects for shaft misalignment and inhibits transmission of vibration to the power take off system.