Deployments

February 2, 2010 - First 4 cylinder VIVACE

On February 2, 2010, Vortex Hydro Energy completed the first 4-cylinder VIVACE converter. This VIVACE converter is a small-scale device, intended for testing in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab) at the University of Michigan. Professor Michael Bernitsas directed three PhD students, Jim Chang, Eun Soo Kim, and Hongrae Park, in the design fabrication of a set of prototypes based on the current understanding of multi-cylinder galloping and the limitations of the MRELab.

The model behaves like a 4-cylinder reciprocating engine where water is all at once: the fuel, crankshaft, camshaft. Flow speed is 1.3m/sec = 2.6 knots and amplitude of each cylinder is about 3 diameters (total stroke of 6 diameters).