The Unusual
Up in the Air: How Flying Turbines Will Change Wind Power
One of wind power's grand challenges is that the breeze doesn't blow all the time—especially close to ground level. But high in the atmosphere the wind blows strong and steady, and startup companies backed by big-bucks investors (Google included) are building flying wind turbines to target this untapped wind power gold mine. But can flying turbines truly become a major energy source?
Read more: Flying Turbine Technology - Future of Wind Power - Popular Mechanics
The future of wind energy could involve huge blades spanning half a kilometre that generate compressed air – which is then piped into giant, underwater balloons. That is the dream of Seamus Garvey, a mechanical engineer at the University of Nottingham in the UK, who envisages using the pressurized air to inflate the underwater balloons, nestling about 500 m below the surface of the sea. Electricity could then be generated by releasing the air to drive a set of turbines.
An important advantage of this arrangement, according to Garvey, is that several days’ worth of energy could be stored in the balloons while the wind is blowing – and then released when there is no wind. Garvey has just formed a university spin-out company called NIMROD Energy to commercialize the technology – dubbed Integrated Compressed Air Renewable Energy Systems (ICARES) – which he was been working on since 2006.
Source: PhysicsWorld.com
Today the major task is to create the most efficient off-shore wind turbine. The manufactures around the globe experiment with two technologies trying either to prolong the blades in order to gain more wind flows or simplify transmission which decreases the need in costly off-shore repair works.
GE innovation that will come to life only in 2012 combines both approaches. GE created light blades that are 176 foot long - which is appr 40% longer than average size - with a more efficient aerodynamic form. The blades join with transmission that was stripped off many details (incl. gear) that bent on breaking and cause energy losses. Jaw drive changes gears and simple magnets are used instead of electric ones which allows not to use brushes, coils and "outlet" energy at every launch. The blades are currently being tested in Netherlands and transmission in Norway. Combination of all these parts shall create a turbine that gets 25% more wind energy than typical ones that's why it would more often operate in full capacity (4
MW) and produced energy will be sufficient to supply 1000 houses.
Generator: 90-tonns generator has appr. 20-feet magnet ring that generates electricity by turning around. Big diameter allows producing more energy at low speed (8-20 rotations per minute), therefore gear box to increase the speed up to 1000 rotations per minute (as in MW-
generators) is not required any longer. "Say "No!" to gear box and you don't need to change oil any longer" - says GE engineer Garry Merser.
Electrical diagram: Converters stabilize the generated current's frequency. Transformers increase voltage from 690 up to > 22000 volts so the current can easily overcome big distances.
The blades' installation pitch controller: to increase an overall performance, the pitch controller can turn each blade at any corner - from a degree fraction to several degrees per second. Besides, this controller can "hide" blades from heavy wind to avoid overloads and equipment damage.
Blades: Easy strong carbon fiber replaces fiberglass in the major parts of the blade. Therefore blades become easier and stronger. Flat form instead of conic increases blades efficiency.
Prepare to be blown away: the latest addition to London’s skyline is a striking modern skyscraper that is heralded as the world’s first building with wind turbines built in!Nicknamed “The Razor”, the 148 meter-tall Strata tower is topped with a trio of turbines t
hat will produce enough power to meet 8% of its energy needs.
Measuring in at 42 stories tall, the Strata tower has enough height to eclipse the buildings surrounding it, allowing it to take full advantage of the area’s 35mph wind speeds. The tower is also designed to utilize the Venturi effect created by nearby structures to force wind through the turbines at accelerated rates, generating an expected 50MWh of electricity annually.
Source: www.inhabitat.com
Sergio Ohashi and Juan Manuel Pantano from Marcos Madia have designed the Eolic, a wind-powered foldable generator.
The main idea of the project is to create an easily foldable power generator to be used in the construction at places where there is no electric service. The generator can also be used to replace the electric service in small housing. All the equipment can be stored together in one package in order to provide an easy operation. It is made of the ultra light materials like aluminium and carbon fibre.
Source: www.cubeme.com
