Closed Loop Wind Turbine Airfoils for Lift and Tower Mass Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wind turbines, particularly large horizontal axis wind turbines, face limitations in maximizing power capture due to their design, which restricts their efficiency in varying wind conditions and blade spacing, leading to suboptimal energy conversion from wind kinetic energy.
Innovation Solution
A multiple blade wind turbine design featuring closed loop tracks with rotatable airfoils, where multiple airfoils are spaced closely to maximize lift and power generation, utilizing a transmission system connected to an electric generator, allowing for adjustable orientation and spacing to optimize energy capture across different wind speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple airfoils are spaced closely together to maximize lift and power capture, then power density and efficiency are improved, but blade interference and flow disruption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The airfoils are made fully rotatable with respect to the closed loop tracks, allowing dynamic adjustment of airfoil orientation and spacing. This enables the system to optimize lift generation while minimizing interference effects by adapting to varying wind conditions and maintaining optimal spacing between airfoils.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotor is divided into multiple independent airfoils spaced along closed loop tracks, with each airfoil able to rotate independently. This segmentation allows each airfoil to operate optimally while reducing mutual interference compared to a solid blade design.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a massive support tower is used to hold the rotor structure, then structural stability is improved, but manufacturing costs and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor design with closed loop tracks and rotatable airfoils creates a more balanced and dynamically stable structure that distributes loads more evenly, reducing the need for an oversized support tower and associated manufacturing costs.
3Device complexity
If fixed-speed operation is used to simplify control, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to varying wind conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs variable-speed operation with airfoils that can rotate independently on closed loop tracks, enabling adaptation to varying wind conditions. The transmission system connects the tracks to the generator, allowing speed modulation to optimize power capture across different wind speeds while maintaining manageable control complexity through mechanical coupling.
4Productivity
If variable-speed operation with adjustable airfoil spacing is implemented, then energy capture efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The closed loop tracks merge multiple functions: supporting airfoils, enabling rotation, and providing a mechanical connection to the transmission system. This integration reduces the need for separate control mechanisms for each airfoil, managing complexity while enabling variable-speed operation and adjustable spacing for optimized energy capture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design enhances power density and efficiency by increasing lift force through close airfoil spacing, allowing for higher linear speeds of the rotor, thereby increasing power production and reducing structural costs by minimizing the need for a massive support tower.
Implementation Method 1
multiple airfoils are spaced closely to maximize lift and power generation
Implementation Method 2
A transmission is connected to one of the tracks. The track drives the transmission and an electric generator is connected to said transmission for generating electricity.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a multiple blade wind turbine (MBWT). The MBWT includes: at least one rotor comprising two closed loop tracks positioned parallel or equidistant to one another and a plurality of airfoils interspaced within the tracks. The plurality of airfoils are connected at each end to one of said tracks and are fully rotatable with respect to said closed loop tracks. A transmission is connected to one of the tracks. The track drives the transmission and an electric generator is connected to said transmission for generating electricity. The rotors are oriented vertically or horizontally with respect to a vertical support structure that is used to support the rotors. The MBWT's design allows the electric generator(s) and transmission system to be housed relatively close to ground level. This configuration reduces the mass of the central support tower and reduces the construction and ongoing maintenance costs.