2026-09-20T22:17:37Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/704372022-01-13T07:54:36Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
Alexander H. Slocum.
Meredith, James D. C. (James Douglas Charles)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
2012-04-26T18:53:30Z
2012-04-26T18:53:30Z
2012
2012
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70437
785723925
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-96).
The concept for a new form of pumped storage hydro is being developed within the Precision Engineering Research Group at MIT: the Ocean Renewable Energy Storage (ORES) project. Large, hollow concrete spheres are created, fitted with a reversible pump-turbine and deployed to the sea floor. Water is then allowed to flow through the turbine, into the sphere, to produce power and power is stored back in the device by running the turbine backwards as a pump and evacuating the sphere. The first prototype of that concept is presented here. A land-based system was designed, built and tested to demonstrate its ability to store energy and test the viability of the manufacturing methods planned. The device was successfully built and cycled, storing 2Wh of energy. The round-trip efficiency of the device was severely affected by the low efficiency of the scaled down rotating equipment. It was also found that casting a monolithic sphere is preferable to assembling multiple pieces and that the interior of the sphere should be maintained at atmospheric pressure via a vent line.
by James D. C. Meredith.
S.M.
103 p.
eng
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. theses are protected by
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Mechanical Engineering.
Design, construction and testing of an ocean renewable energy storage scaled prototype
Ocean renewable energy storage scaled prototype
Thesis
application/pdf
false
Publication
unknown
unknown
<Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="da4326b7-d3b6-49d2-8d84-ae0ed34bfeac">
<Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type>
<Language>eng</Language>
<Title>Design, construction and testing of an ocean renewable energy storage scaled prototype</Title>
<Subtitle>Ocean renewable energy storage scaled prototype</Subtitle>
<PublishedIn>
<Publication>
</Publication>
</PublishedIn>
<PublicationDate>2012</PublicationDate>
<Authors>
<Author>
<DisplayName>Meredith, James D. C. (James Douglas Charles)</DisplayName>
<Affiliation>
<OrgUnit>
</OrgUnit>
</Affiliation>
</Author>
</Authors>
<Editors>
</Editors>
<Publishers>
<Publisher>
<DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName>
<OrgUnit />
</Publisher>
</Publishers>
<License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License>
<Keyword>Mechanical Engineering.</Keyword>
<Abstract>The concept for a new form of pumped storage hydro is being developed within the Precision Engineering Research Group at MIT: the Ocean Renewable Energy Storage (ORES) project. Large, hollow concrete spheres are created, fitted with a reversible pump-turbine and deployed to the sea floor. Water is then allowed to flow through the turbine, into the sphere, to produce power and power is stored back in the device by running the turbine backwards as a pump and evacuating the sphere. The first prototype of that concept is presented here. A land-based system was designed, built and tested to demonstrate its ability to store energy and test the viability of the manufacturing methods planned. The device was successfully built and cycled, storing 2Wh of energy. The round-trip efficiency of the device was severely affected by the low efficiency of the scaled down rotating equipment. It was also found that casting a monolithic sphere is preferable to assembling multiple pieces and that the interior of the sphere should be maintained at atmospheric pressure via a vent line.</Abstract>
<Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right"
>
</Access>
</Publication>