Water Powered Energy

The Ocean Renewable Power Company is using the designs for the Helical Turbine invented by MIE Professor Emeritus Alexander Gorlov to create a giant tidal powered turbine generator in Maine.

Gorlov's Helical Turbine represents an alternative approach to hydroelectric power. The turbine harnesses the kinetic energy of moving water. Instead of relying on dams, Gorlov's invention is a free-standing underwater turbine. It is also virtually disruption-free. As the device generates electricity underwater, it cannot be seen or heard.

Earlier models of free-standing turbines have entered the market, but Gorlov's Helical Turbine offers a more efficient solution due to its vertical structure. Its predecessors featured a horizontal structure. The switch to a vertical design improves the stability of the turbine and increases the energy extracted from the water stream from 20% to 35%.

 

Related Departments:Mechanical & Industrial Engineering