Energy Conveyor Belt - A Detailed Analysis of a New Type of Hydrokinetic Device

Renewable energy technologies can help us combat climate change and hydrokinetic energy conversion systems could play a major role. The simplicity of hydrokinetic devices helps us to exploit renewable sources, especially in remote locations, which is not possible with conventional methods. A new type of hydrokinetic device called the Energy Conveyor Belt was designed, which works on the concept of conveyor belt technology. Numerical simulations are performed on the design of the Energy Conveyor Belt with Ansys FLUENT to optimize its performance. Some of the optimized models produced a maximum power slightly above 1 kW. The numerical results are then compared to the experimental results of other hydrokinetic turbines. The compactness and flexibility of the design give the Energy Conveyor Belt an advantage over other hydrokinetic devices in regions with fluctuating water levels. Further research has to be undertaken into cascading systems to increase the overall power generated by the system.