Modular Hydropower Engineering and Pilot Scale Manufacturing
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Emrgy has developed, prototyped and tested a modular hydropower system for renewable energy generation. ORNL worked with Emrgy to demonstrate the use of additive manufacturing in the production of the hydrofoils and spokes for the hydrokinetic system. Specifically, during Phase 1 of this effort, ORNL printed and finished machined patterns for both the hydrofoils and spokes that were subsequently used in a sand casting manufacturing process. Emrgy utilized the sand castings for a pilot installation in Denver, CO, where the parts represented an 80% cost savings from the previous prototype build that was manufactured using subtractive manufacturing. In addition, the castings were completed with ORNL’s newly developed AlCeMg alloy that will be tested for performance improvements including higher corrosion resistance in a water application than the 6160 alloy used previously
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1394361
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2017/450; CRADA/NFE-17-06668
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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