Venturi Vortex Turbine for Low Wind Startup and Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Horizontal and Vertical Wind Turbines face inefficiencies due to space requirements, bird strikes, ice buildup, and challenges in starting up in low wind speeds, with a need for improved wind harvesting and directional alignment.
Innovation Solution
A cyclonic aeolian vortex turbine design utilizing a cavity shell with intake and exhaust openings that leverage the Venturi, Bernoulli, and Coanda effects to increase wind energy concentration and create a suction effect, combined with a yaw system for directional alignment and a port fan for enhanced air expulsion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional horizontal or vertical wind turbines are used, then wind energy can be harvested, but they require large space and suffer from bird strikes, ice buildup, and blade ejection hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The turbine is divided into modular components: a cyclone generator unit that can be stacked vertically, allowing distributed generation in smaller footprints while maintaining safety by enclosing blades within individual sealed units
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple cyclone generator units are nested or stacked within a vertical tower structure, with each unit containing its own enclosed rotor assembly. This nesting approach consolidates multiple turbines into a compact vertical arrangement, reducing overall space requirements while isolating potential hazards within individual sealed units
2Adaptability or versatility
If vertical wind turbines are used, then they can operate in various wind directions, but they struggle to start up in low wind speed environments
Solution Approach 1:
A portable fan assembly is provided that can be positioned near the turbine to generate preliminary airflow, creating initial rotor rotation and vortex formation. This preliminary action enables the turbine to overcome startup thresholds in low wind conditions, after which normal wind-driven operation takes over
Solution Approach 2:
The portable fan assembly acts as an intermediary device that bridges the gap between insufficient natural wind and the minimum velocity required for turbine startup. The fan provides supplemental airflow during critical startup phases, enabling reliable operation across a broader range of wind conditions
3Productivity
If the cavity shell is designed to point into the wind, then wind harvesting efficiency is improved, but the turbine requires active directional alignment mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The cyclone generator units are designed with asymmetric intake openings and curved interior surfaces that naturally guide incoming wind to generate rotational flow. The units self-align with wind direction through their aerodynamic design, eliminating the need for active yaw mechanisms while maintaining optimal harvesting efficiency
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 wind energy harvesting efficiency, reduces space requirements, and enables operation in low wind speeds by maintaining a stable vortex and lower pressure zone, facilitating rotor rotation and air expulsion.
Implementation Method 1
a constricted section adapted to increase a velocity of air passing through the Venturi tube and cause an expulsion of air out of the Venturi tube
Implementation Method 2
the shell has an intake opening that takes advantage of the Venturi effect, the Bernoulli effect, and the Coanda effect, to concentrate the wind ingested energy into the shell and convert it into a vortex
Implementation Method 3
the first air pressure within the hollow interior is lower than a second air pressure outside of the wind harvesting assembly, resulting in a pressure differential that causes a suction effect of a first portion of air into the open top end
Implementation Method 4
a plurality of vertical wind turbine blades arranged around the Venturi tube, such that the rotation of the plurality of vertical wind turbine blades is caused when a second portion of air is ingested into the wind turbine
Data Source
AI summary
A wind harvesting assembly for a wind turbine, having: a Venturi tube having a hollow interior having a first air pressure; an open top end having a first diameter; an open bottom end having the first diameter; a tube length spanning between the open top end and the open bottom end; and a constricted section located above the bottom end, the constricted section adapted to increase a velocity of air passing through by having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter; a plurality of vertical wind turbine blades arranged around the Venturi tube, an outlet disbursement blade assembly disposed below the bottom open end of the Venturi tube and a port fan positioned coaxially with the Venturi tube.