VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibration Aquatic Clean Energy): A New Concept in Generation of Clean and Renewable Energy From Fluid Flow

Any device aiming to harness the abundant clean and renewable energy from ocean and other water resources must have high energy density, be unobtrusive, have low maintenance, be robust, meet life cycle cost targets, and have a 10–20year life. The vortex induced vibration aquatic clean energy (VIVACE) converter—invented by Bernitsas and Raghavan, patent pending through the University of Michigan—satisfies those criteria. It converts ocean/river current hydrokinetic energy to a usable form of energy such as electricity using VIV successfully and efficiently for the first time. VIVACE is based on the idea of maximizing rather than spoiling vortex shedding and exploiting rather than suppressing VIV. It introduces…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy
• CE
  California Energy Commission
• LF
  Link Foundation
• EF
  Energy Foundation
• IF
  Invention for Innovation