Shrouded turbine assembly

A flowing water turbine assembly, comprising:

• a support structure;
• first and second bearings carried by said support structure;
• a shaft having a front and rear ends rotatably received in said first and second bearings, respectively;
• an annular blade shroud coaxially disposed around said shaft in a sealing relationship with the support structure, said shroud being rotatable with respect to the support structure and having an interior surface and an exterior surface;
• a plurality of blades coupled to said shaft, said plurality of blades extending radially from said center shaft so as to engage said annular blade shroud;
• and
• a brake mechanism including a first brake component mounted on said exterior surface of said blade shroud and a second brake component mounted to said support structure, said first and second brake components being mechanically engageable to control turbine rotation speed.

A flowing water turbine assembly configured to power a rotational energy conversion apparatus located above a water surface, comprising:

• a support structure configured to extend from above the water surface to below the water surface;
• a turbine rotatably mounted on said structure for positioning entirely below the water surface while said turbine is operating, said turbine comprising:
• an annular blade shroud having an interior surface and an exterior surface;
• a shaft coaxial with said blade shroud;
• and
• a plurality of blades coupled to said shaft, said plurality of blades extending radially from said center shaft so as to engage said blade shroud at said interior surface;
• a drive assembly component disposed on said exterior surface of the blade shroud and operatively engageable with said rotational energy conversion apparatus;
• and
• a lifting mechanism operable to move said turbine between a position entirely below the water surface and a position at least partially above the water surface.