A modular, electricity generating apparatus comprises an elongate, central member comprising a first end and a second end; at least one foil disposed about the central member in fluid interacting relation thereto; the solar foil comprising an outer surface having photovoltaic properties; the first end and the second end dimensioned and configured to be connected to a connecting node; and, the elongate central member at least partially formed of an electrically conductive material and configured to conduct electricity from at least one of the connecting nodes to the other of the connecting nodes.

The invention relates to a device (1) for inspecting a cavitation damage or a crack of a runner (7) of a hydro turbine, comprising a remote operated vehicle (20) or an autonomous underwater vehicle, comprising at least one camera and/or scanner, and means (24) for processing images from said camera and/or scanner to generate at least one 3D view and/or IR thermal view of at least a part of a surface, or of a subsurface, of said runner comprising said cavitation damage or crack, said device further comprising means to reconstruct a 3D view by photogrammetry and/or means for locally heating, for example by induction or by a laser or by a heated water jet, said at least one part of a surface of said runner comprising said cavitation or crack.

A floating electrical power generator having a three-dimensional (3D) flow passageway configured for increasing the water flow on the paddle wheel to increase the power output.

A blade (104) for a rotor of a wind turbine is provided. The blade (104) comprises: a truss-like three-dimensional structure having strut members (108; 110; 112) forming the truss-like structure, wherein a plurality of the strut members (108; 110; 112) in the truss-like structure have an airfoil-shaped cross-section.

Increased energy harvesting is realized using a nonlinear buoy geometry for reactive power generation. By exploiting the nonlinear dynamic coupling between the buoy geometry and the potential wideband frequency spectrum of incoming waves in the controller/buoy design, increased power can be captured in comparison to conventional wave energy converter designs. In particular, the reactive power and energy storage system requirements are inherently embedded in the nonlinear buoy geometry, therefore requiring only simple rate-feedback control.

Horizontal-axis turbine for a wind generator, the turbine comprising a hub and two opposed blades, the turbine being characterized in that:

said hub is adapted to be directly or indirectly connected to a supporting pole (P) of the wind generator, and comprises a rotary part (M2), to which said two blades are connected;
said two blades are elongate in a longitudinal direction operationally orthogonal to the central axis of rotation (A) of the turbine,
each one of said two blades comprises a wing (A1, A2) and a deflector (D1, D2) fixedly connected to said rotary part (M2), the wing and the deflector having a head and a tail, the deflector tail being proximal to the wing head,
the deflector is positioned ahead of the respective wing with respect to the direction of rotation of the turbine, so as to deflect the air flow towards the wing,
the tail of each deflector is spaced apart from the head of the respective wing, so as to define a gap (L1, L2) between the deflector and the wing,
the wing and the deflector of each one of said two blades are connected at their outermost ends by a connection element (F).

A construction system for mechanical metamaterials based on discrete assembly of a finite set of modular, mass-produced parts. A modular construction scheme enables a range of mechanical metamaterial properties to be achieved, including rigid, compliant, auxetic and chiral, all of which are assembled with a consistent process across part types, thereby expanding the functionality and accessibility of this approach. The incremental nature of discrete assembly enables mechanical metamaterials to be produced efficiently and at low cost, beyond the scale of the 3D printer. Additionally, a lattice structure constructed of two or more rigid, compliant, auxetic and chiral part types enable the creation of heterogenous macroscopic metamaterial structures.

A floating electrical power generator having a three-dimensional (3D) flow passageway configured for increasing the water flow on the paddle wheel to increase the power output.

A floating electrical power generator having a three-dimensional (3D) flow passageway configured for increasing the water flow on the paddle wheel to increase the power output.

Increased energy harvesting is realized using a nonlinear buoy geometry for reactive power generation. By exploiting the nonlinear dynamic coupling between the buoy geometry and the potential wideband frequency spectrum of incoming waves in the controller/buoy design, increased power can be captured in comparison to conventional wave energy converter designs. In particular, the reactive power and energy storage system requirements are inherently embedded in the nonlinear buoy geometry, therefore requiring only simple rate-feedback control.