A structure utilizing wave energy to purify water. The structure includes a base placed on the sea bed of a body of a breakwater placed on the base along its front edge, and a bank placed on the base along its rear edge to form a surf zone between the bank and the breaker works. The breakwater has a height relative to the base for breaking the incoming waves, and the bank has a height relative to the base sufficient to stop the advance of the broken waves.
This is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/052,163, filed on May 20, 1987, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 06/527,514, filed May 4, 1984, now abandoned.
An apparatus is disclosed for a turbine for generating electrical power from water or air flow comprising at least one rotor disk having a plurality of hydrofoil blades, a guide vanes, a cylindrical housing, and a generator means. A rim generator comprising a magnet race rotor rim and fixed stator coils in the housing is used. The apparatus is fitted with a screen to stop the ingress of debris and marine life, and a skirt augmenter device to reduce the Betz effect. The apparatus is preferably for sub-sea deployment and driven by tidal currents, but may be powered by river current or wave driven air or by wind. The apparatus may be deployed on at least one telescoping pole, tethered to the sea-bed and kept buoyant by buoyant concrete in the housing, inserted in a dam, under a barge or in a tidal power array.
A circuit breaker contact arm (56) contains a straight elongate through-slot (112) that runs generally lengthwise of the contact arm and is closed at both lengthwise ends. Adjacent each slot, a respective side wall (106, 108) of a cross bar (58) contains a bent slot (114) having a knee (116). A respective cylindrical blow-open pin (118) passes through all three of these slots. A small helical coiled spring (120) occupies the contact arm through-slot and is compressed between the blow-open pin and the end of the contact arm slot that is proximate a cross bar/contact arm hinge pin (110). The spring is laterally confined by the adjacent side walls of the cross bar so as to remain in the contact arm slot about which the contact arm swings. The spring acts between the blow-open pin and the contact arm to bias the blow-open pin in a direction away from the cross bar/contact arm hinge axis. When the blow-open pin is below the knees of the bent slots and the contact arm is closed, completing an interruptable circuit through the circuit breaker, the spring exerts force beneficial to good contact of the contact arm contact (54) with a fixed contact (52). By disposing the spring in the contact arm slot, space is used more efficiently.
