Steerable Wind Turbine Pairs for Wake Interference Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wind turbines face challenges with increasing energy extraction due to the need for longer blades, which leads to costly and difficult-to-assemble structures, wake interference, and operational issues like animal strikes, lightning, and high wind shutdowns, limiting energy output and increasing costs.
Innovation Solution
The configuration of steerable wind turbines in monopole wind tower pairs, oriented to prevailing wind directions, with each turbine independently rotating on its vertical axis to minimize wake interference and maximize energy capture, allowing for closer spacing and reduced structural costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If wind turbine blades are made longer to increase energy extraction, then energy generation capacity is improved, but structural cost and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the wind energy capture function into multiple independent turbines instead of using one extremely large turbine. Each turbine in the array has a more manageable blade length and structural scale, making them easier to manufacture, transport, and assemble while collectively capturing more wind energy through optimized spatial arrangement.
2Productivity
If wind turbine blades are made longer to increase energy extraction, then energy generation capacity is improved, but structural cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of concentrating all energy extraction requirements into one massive turbine with prohibitively expensive structures, the invention segments the function across multiple smaller turbines with more economical structures. The collective energy output matches or exceeds that of a single large turbine while reducing individual structural costs and enabling economies of scale in manufacturing.
3Reliability
If conventional wind turbines are spaced far apart to reduce wake interference, then individual turbine performance is maintained, but total energy extraction per unit area decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the spatial arrangement of turbines in a two-dimensional array configuration with specific spacing ratios. By carefully controlling the distance between adjacent turbines (approximately 5-10 rotor diameters) and arranging them in a grid pattern, the system maintains acceptable wake interference levels while significantly increasing the number of turbines per unit area compared to conventional single-row or sparse configurations.
4Productivity
If wind turbines are made larger to take advantage of economies of scale, then energy extraction capability is improved, but transport and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the large-scale energy extraction function into multiple medium-sized turbines that can be manufactured, transported, and assembled using conventional infrastructure. Each turbine in the array has dimensions suitable for standard transport equipment and assembly cranes, avoiding the need for specialized heavy-lift capabilities required by extremely large single turbines.
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
This configuration enhances energy production per unit area by reducing wake interference, lowering structural costs, and improving operational efficiency by optimizing turbine alignment with wind directions, thus increasing the overall energy yield and reducing maintenance needs.
Implementation Method 1
The amount of energy that can be extracted from the wind is directly proportional to the surface area of the rotor
Implementation Method 2
nacelle 104 and hub 108 rotate (110A) about monopole tower 106 so that blades 102 are perpendicular to wind direction 112A
Data Source
AI summary
Wind turbine farms are presented including: a number of steerable wind turbines each having a turbine diameter, where the number of steerable wind turbines is grouped pairwise into a number of monopole wind tower pairs, where each monopole wind tower pair is placed in a fixed pair placement and oriented in one of a number of fixed pair orientations, where each one of the number of fixed pair orientations corresponds with one of a number of prevailing wind directions, and where the number of monopole wind tower pairs is placed in a number of fixed pair positions.