Download pdf - Wind Turbine Without Blades

5/20/2015 NewWindTurbineGeneratesElectricityWithoutRotatingBlades|IFLScience

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/newbladelesswindturbinelooksasparagus 1/10

TECHNOLOGY

New Wind Turbine Generates Electricity WithoutRotating BladesMay18,2015|byCarolineReid

photocredit:BladelesswindturbinebyVortex

Thisnewwindturbinewobbleselegantlyinthewind,generatingelectricitywithoutrotatingblades.Itlookslikeasparagus,saysDavidSuriol,oneofthefounders.

ASpanishcompanycalledVortexBladelesshasproducedawindturbinethattakesadvantageofthevorticesproducedwhenwindmovesaroundanobstacle.

Ifyouputanyobjectinthepathofthewind,itwillcreateanundulatingvortexbehindthebarrier.Thisisaproblemthathasplaguedengineersforyears:bridgeshavefallenduetowindeddies.

VortexBladelessengineershavedesignedtheirturbinetotakeadvantageofthisvortex.Thethin,coneshapedturbineismadeofcarbonfiberandfiberglasswiththemotoratthebottominsteadofthetop(liketraditionalturbines)toimprovesturdiness.Thedesignensuresthatthewind'svortexspinssynchronouslyalongtheentirecone.Theswirlshavetoworktogethertoachievegoodperformance,Villarrealexplains.Thereisalsoaringofmagnetsatthebaseoftheconethatgivetherotationsaboostregardlessofwindspeed.

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TherearemanyadvantagestothenewVortexdesign:Itischeapertomanufacturethancurrentpinwheelturbines.Maintenancepricesarealsolowerbecausethereisnofrictionfrommechanicallymovingparts(e.g.,thebladesonatraditionalturbine),whichreducestheneedforoilingandboltreplacement.Itiscompletelysilentandbirdscanflyaroundthemsafely(thoughithasyettobeannouncedwhethertheturbineisnestproof.)

Newwindtechnology,however,alwaysreceivessomeskepticism:Mostwindharvestingtechnologiesonlyworkatafractionoftheirmostefficientoutput.Windturbinesneedsmooth,laminarairflowthekindyouonlyreallyfindatabout100meters(328feet)abovetheground.Thewindthatweknowandlovetohateisturbulent,messyandgenerallynogoodforwindturbines.Vortexclaimsthattheirwindturbinecanadapttoanywindspeedwiththeassistanceofthemagnetsinitscorehowever,thedetailsonhowthisactuallyworksarefrustratinglyhardtocomeby.

TheVortexdevicehasbeencomputationallymodeled,testedinawindtunnel,andthereareprototypesoutintheopen,butdetailsontestscarriedoutbythecompanyorindependentlabsarecurrentlyscant.Itisalsonotthefirstwindturbinetotakeadvantageofoscillatorytechnology.Researchersinthe'80sfoundthattheswirlingoscillationsweretoorandomforreliablepowergeneration,andthespeedofoscillationsputalotofstressonthestructureandcausedittobreakdownunexpectedly.

Theideahasn'tbeenterriblysuccessfulinthepast,soitwillbeinterestingtoseehowVortexBladelesstacklesthesechallenges.WhilethisinventionmightnotrevolutionizeEarth'srenewablepowersourcesjustyet,it'sstillexcitingtoseewhatdesignersarecreating.

Readthisnext:AntarcticIceShelfSetToCollapseWithinACentury

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tags bladeless,windturbine,vortex

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67Comments IFLScience Login1

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Pepijn 17hoursago"Thereisalsoaringofmagnetsatthebaseoftheconethatgivetherotationsaboostregardlessofwindspeed."thisisringingalarmbellsforme.Soundslike

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boostregardlessofwindspeed."thisisringingalarmbellsforme.Soundslikepseudoscience.Couldyouelaborateonthis?Isthereactuallyagoodreasonforthesemagnets,forinstancereducingfrictionorsomethinglikethat?

9

TomaszSzewczyk 18hoursagoItscalledVOrtexSheddingMrOnlinedegreefakeroInigineeero

1

DavidEbert adayagoDidyouknowthatanysecondhandelectricmotorturnedbackwardsisagenerator?Youcansetupyourowngenerationsystemwithsecondhandgearusinganykineticenergysource.Trydiggingamillraceonthatstreambyyourhouse,makeapaddletoharnessthewindinthattalltreeinyouryard,putageneratoronanexercisebiketorunaTV...useyourimagination.Iknowaguywhofiguredoutanelectricbikeforhimself,thatuseslittleelectricmotorstochargethebatterywhenhe'sgoingdownhillorpedaling.Heneverhastoseparatelychargethebattery,andalwayshasextrapowerwhenhegetstired.Hestartedoutbyusingtwooldfashionedheadlightgenerators,butfoundsomesmallmotorsthatworkedbetter.Thisisfunstuff.

6

backprop 18hoursago>DavidEbertWell,notjust'any'motor.AtypicalA/Cmotorwon't,forexample.So,don'tjustgooutandspinanyoldmotorandhopeelectricitycomesout!

2

GuyC 19hoursago>DavidEbertSoundsgreat.NowIjustneedtodivertawatercoursetorunnearenoughtowhereIlive...:D

2

1337 20hoursago>DavidEbertAskhimtoshareonaDIYtutorialwebsiteplease.

2

richardstarr adayagoI'veseenthistypeofthingbefore.Itwillbeniceifitactuallyismoreefficientthistime.Efficiencymeaningpowergatheredusingthesameacreageontheground.Idon'tcareifyouuse5oftheminthespaceofonetraditionaldevice,especiallyifthemaintenancecostsreallyarethatlow.

2

GordBestwick adayagoI'llbecuriousastotheefficiencyvscostvstraditionalwindmills.Ithinkthesewillonlytakeoffiftheyoffersomekindofefficiency.

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mohawk16 adayagoWhenachieved,commerciallyviablenuclearfusionwillsolvetheworld'senergy&pollutionproblems.

3

CedrikS.Charette adayagofindawaytocaptureLightningEnergyinabattery,thenthiswillbeuseless^_^

theonewhowilldothiswillbethenextBillGateslol1

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Grebysama adayago>CedrikS.CharetteActuallythere's...Justthatalightingistooshorttochargealampforhalfahour...

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iksnilol 20hoursago>GrebysamaEh,lightninghasmuchmoreenergythanthat.

2

WHL adayago>CedrikS.CharetteKeyword:inabattery.

lordofdarkness adayago>WHLwhywouldyouwantabatterythatpowersalampforhalfanhour?

DesmondKenpachiKnowles adayago

>lordofdarkness

Areyoutellingmethatyouthinkalightningstormonlyhasonelightningstrike?Thinkmultiplestrikestofillthebatteryorseveralbatteriesperstorm.

Stacey 20hoursago>DesmondKenpachiKnowlesYoustillhavetofindawaytocatchallthoselightningbolts.Withhowrandomandirregularlightningcanbe,eveninareaswithtallbuildingswithlightningrods,it'sjustreallyhardtocatchthem.

EventheEmpireStateBuildingonlygetshitabout25timeseachyear.

Theproblemisthatit'dbehugelyexpensivetohaveanareaoflightningcapturingdevices,andyouwouldhavetocoverhugeamountsofarea.

It'djustbeanenormousinvestmentwithverylowreturn.2

lordofdarkness 21hoursago

>DesmondKenpachiKnowles

Soundsveryinefficient,andwasteful.Ihopeyourbatteriesarerechargeable.Ifoneboltisequaltohalfanhour,awholestormisn'tgoingtomakeadifference.Bettertoharnessthepowerofkid'slaughtfromthatMonstermovie.

2

ErlendshamarEriksen 20hoursago

>lordofdarkness

Oneboltisvastlysuperiortothat,butharnessingthefullenergyofitwillbeverydifficult,that'sall.Butagain,thebatterythingisaproblem.Ifyoufindadifferentwaytostoretheenergy,however,wemaybesingingadifferenttune.Ifyoufindakineticneareternitymachineanduselightningtopowerit,itcanstorevastamountsofenergywithonlyasmallenergyloss.Wehavehadmultiplesuchmachinesmadeinthepast,somerunningforyears,buttheywerealllowenergy,whichobviouslymakesiteasiertokeepup...Ifwecouldproperlyharnessthepoweroflightning,we'dhaveahugepowersourcerighttherehowever,it'shorribly

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difficult,andweneedbrilliantinnovationstodothat,notjustrethinksofcurrentideasandprinciples.

wl adayagoHow'sthataturbinewhenit'sobviouslyabaseballbat?

8

PsychoJedi adayagoIfwecanhavejustonerenewablesourceofenergythatalsodoesn'tkillwildlife,thatwouldbeawesome.

PeterCollings 20hoursago>PsychoJediDomesticcatskillseveralhundredmillionbirdsperyearintheUSalone,tensofmillionsarekilledflyingintobuildings.Comparedtothat,therelativelyminisculenumberofbirdskilledinturbinestrikesisutterlyirrelevant.

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ErlendshamarEriksen 19hoursago>PeterCollingsTheproblemlieswiththekindsofbirdsthatdon'tdietocatsandflyingintobuildings,andareataratherlowpopulationalready.Speciallyinotherwisewildareaswheredomesticcatsandbuildingsdon'texist,windmillsareadangerousfactor,when1windmillaloneiscapableofkilling10%ofthelocalpopulation,ifyourluckisbad.

1

RachelTerry adayago>PsychoJediGeothermal..

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PsychoJedi adayago>RachelTerryThisoneishardtosay,sofarallitdoesisincreasetheriskofearthquakes,butsayifsomeoneweretogetthebrightideaofsettingoneupinMontanatofeedoffthemassiveamountofenergyflowingfromthesupervolcanobeneathYellowstone,theycouldeitherpowertheentirecontinent,orblowuphalfthecountry.Formytake,I'dsaythejuryisout.

Rye adayago>PsychoJediSolarPower?

2

PsychoJedi adayago>RyeSolarPowerbarbecuesbirdsintheair,sorrytosay:(

JohannesBecker adayago>PsychoJediThatstatementishighlymisleading.RegularPVpanelsdonosuchthing.Whatyouarereferringtoareparabolicthermalbasedinstallationsintendedforlargescaleprojectsmaybeyoucouldemploysomekindof"scarecrow"method(annoyingsoundfrequencies,optical,...)tomakebirdsavoidthearea.It'snotageneralproblemofsolar,justofoneveryspecifictechnologywithinsolar.

6

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DesmondKenpachiKnowles adayago>PsychoJediEveryonehassolarpanelsontheirroofs.NotGiantsolarthermalpowerplantswhichdoindeedkillbirds.

2

Dave adayago>PsychoJedihttp://www.worldcrunch.com/tec...

PretenderNX01 adayago>PsychoJediLargepanelsaren'ttheonlywaytogetsolarpower.Therewasakid,AidanDwyer,whocreateda"tree"usingsmallpanelssetinaparticularpatterncalledtheFibonaccisequence.

Nofryingwildlifesincethearesmallandatalldifferentanglesandnoneedtoturntheonegiantpanelyouhavesotheydon'tloseenergy.Infacttheyaremoreefficientoverall.

1

PsychoJedi adayago>PretenderNX01Coolbeans,isitthesametreethatalsoactsasawaterpurifierandwifihotspot?Ivaguelyrememberreadinganarticleaboutthatafewmonthsback.

DarrinWoodard adayago>PsychoJediICYMITheyhavesolarpowerforhomesthatdoesn'tfrybirds.Stopwaitingforsomebodyelsetosolveyourproblems.Visityourlocalhardwarestoreandstartproducinginsteadofbeingaleech.

2

PsychoJedi adayago>DarrinWoodardThanks,Dad.

2

DarrinWoodard adayago>PsychoJediAhhthatmomentwhenyourproblemsaresolved,butyourimmatureattitudeonlyvocalizescriticism.Youarewhatwecallacurmudgeon.Dad

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PsychoJedi adayago>DarrinWoodardCurmudgeon,huh?IdobelieveyoujustleveleduptoaGrandpa.

5

JohnGreen adayago>PsychoJediDependswhattypeofsolaryou'retalkingabout.Traditional,standalonesolarpanelsdon'tfrybirds,butthesolararraysthatdirectlighttoacentralpointtosuperheatwater,ofcourse,caneasilygenerateenoughheattokillbirds

PsychoJedi adayago>JohnGreenIt'sanissuewe'llprobablysolveeventually,wejustneed

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It'sanissuewe'llprobablysolveeventually,wejustneedmoreefficientsolarpanelsthatcollectalltheenergythathitsthem,insteadofreflectingmostofitbackatourfeatheryfriends.Thatorputallsolarpanelsinspaceandbeamtheenergybacktoearthviamicrowaves.

EnioMoura adayago>PsychoJediYouknow,onlylargesolarpowerplantscankillbirds,becausetheyusefocusedmirrors,notsolarpanels.Solarpanelsaremoreofapersonalusethingandtheycan'tkillbirdsanymorethanthesunitselfcan.

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PsychoJedi adayago>EnioMouraGotcha,butistherereallyaneedtonitpick?WereyouatallconfusedaboutwhatIwasgettingat?

EnioMoura adayago>PsychoJediYes,youwastalkingaboutsolarpanelsandtalkingabouthowmuchtheyreflectsunlight,tothepointofkillingbirds.Teeechnicallytheydoreflectsunlight,butthat'slesssunlightthatmadeit'swaytotheminthefirstplace.

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PsychoJedi adayago>EnioMouraIsaidSolarPowerkillsbirds,Iusedthewordsolarpanelsinanotherpostinreferencetoaneedtobetterthetechnology,I'lljustusethephraseSolarCellsfromnowon,wouldthatmakeyouhappy?

EnioMoura adayago>PsychoJediSolarpowerwasgoodandspotonhahaBytheway,microwavebeamedpoweriskindofadeadlyweapontoo,sothere'sthat.

PsychoJedi adayago>EnioMouraYeah,it'slikelytocomewithitsownsetofissues,we'rescrewedprettymucheverywayweturn,here'shopingsomeonefiguresoutcoldfusion.

JustinCCorcoran 18hoursago>PsychoJediforcoldfusiontoreachnewhorizonsweneedtobeabletoformulateextremelyefficientcompositematerialsofroomtempsuperconductors.

MrJC22173 adayago>PsychoJediTheyarecalledphotovoltaiccells,andgenerateelectricityfromlightimpact,alsotherearemagnifyingones.

BartyLobethal adayago>PsychoJediBullshit.

PsychoJedi adayago>BartyLobethal

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PsychoJedi adayago>BartyLobethalGoogleit,you'llgetover2millionresults.

GuilhermeAntonini adayago>PsychoJediDidyouactuallyopentheresults?SBSPIsjustaconceptyet,duetocost.

http://www.spaceenergy.com/SBS...

JustinAnderson adayago>BartyLobethalSadlyitstrue,whencaliforniaopeneduptheirgiantsolarfarm150birdsdiedfrombeingscorchedalive

DanielSchealler adayago>RyeSolarPowerneedsbatteries.Batteriesarenottheenvironment'sfriend,regardlessofwhatElonMuskhastosayonthematter.

Whatweneedisanearzerofootprint,fullyrecyclablebattery,withenvironmentallyresponsibledisposalbuiltintothepurchaseprice,thatcanstoreenoughchargeviaSolarPowertopowerahome.

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