Wind Energy Power Enhancer System with Air Scoop and Drag Curtain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind turbine designs face issues such as visual impact, high maintenance costs due to poor accessibility, bird collisions, and infrastructure challenges, particularly in areas with varying wind speeds and directions, leading to inefficient energy capture and production.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable air scoop inlet section, a unique air turbine design, and an adjustable outlet section with a drag curtain or exit barrier that re-entrains exhaust air into the prevailing wind, optimizing energy capture and production across varying wind conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If conventional wind turbines are used, then power generation is achieved, but visual impact and aesthetic issues worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the wind turbine structure with an architectural tower or building element, merging the power generation function with a structural/aesthetic form. The turbine is integrated into a tower that can be designed to blend with the environment, reducing visual impact while maintaining power generation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The turbine blades and rotor are nested within a housing or shroud structure that can be designed to match architectural aesthetics. The active turbine components are contained within a larger structural form that serves both functional and aesthetic purposes, hiding the mechanical elements from view.
2Power
If turbines are placed high off the ground to capture better wind, then power generation improves, but maintenance accessibility worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The turbine system is divided into modular segments that can be independently accessed. The rotor and blades are separated from the generator and control systems, allowing maintenance personnel to access different components at different heights. Critical maintenance points are positioned at accessible heights while the turbine operates at optimal wind capture heights.
Solution Approach 2:
A telescopic or extendable maintenance platform is introduced as an intermediary between the ground and the turbine components. This platform can be extended to reach high components for maintenance and then retracted to a safe, accessible position, mediating between the need for high placement and maintenance accessibility.
3Productivity
If turbines operate at high speeds to maximize power output, then energy production improves, but bird collision risks worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The turbine operates in periodic cycles of high-speed power generation and lower-speed bird-deterrent mode. During periods of low bird activity, the turbine operates at maximum speed for optimal energy production. When bird activity is detected or during migration seasons, the turbine reduces speed or changes rotation pattern to discourage bird collisions while maintaining some power generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The turbine blades incorporate visual deterrent features such as reflective strips, contrasting colors, or LED lighting that change appearance with rotation or in response to environmental conditions. These visual changes make the rotating blades more visible to birds, reducing collision risk while allowing the turbine to operate at effective speeds for power generation.
4Ease of manufacture
If fixed geometry wind turbines are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but adaptability to varying wind conditions worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The turbine incorporates adjustable pitch mechanisms that allow the blade angle to be dynamically changed in response to wind speed and direction. The blade pitch can be automated to optimize performance across varying wind conditions, transforming a static structure into an adaptive system that maintains efficiency without requiring complex custom manufacturing for each condition.
Solution Approach 2:
The turbine design allows key parameters such as blade pitch angle, rotor speed, and generator output to be dynamically adjusted based on real-time wind conditions. This parameter variability enables the same physical structure to adapt to different wind speeds and directions, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while achieving versatility through controlled parameter changes rather than physical reconfiguration.
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 system effectively generates power at cost-effective rates, with improved aesthetics and reduced maintenance, capable of operating in urban and windy areas, while maintaining high efficiency and adaptability to different wind speeds and directions.
Implementation Method 1
use the prevailing wind to produce power from the air turbine
Implementation Method 2
air turbine section of unique design
Implementation Method 3
air turbine section of unique design
Implementation Method 4
The air turbine's exhaust flows into the outlet or exit section, which re-entrains the exhaust air into the downstream prevailing wind
Implementation Method 5
adjustable drag curtain or outlet barrier
Data Source
AI summary
An enhanced multi-phased wind power generating system is disclosed that creates power from flow through an air inflow chamber and by second phase air flow that does not pass through the inflow chamber. In one embodiment, a turbine extends at least partially from the air inflow chamber whereby second phase air flow that may be directed, deflected or concentrated prevailing wind, may impinge the air blades to enhance the power generation of the system. In another embodiment, second phase air flow may be deflected by a configuration of air deflectors to create a low pressure over a flow tube to enhance power generation. Air deflectors and/or air scoops are described in any number of configurations to further increase and optimize power generation. In one embodiment an impingement chamber is attached to the inflow chamber and one or both chambers may comprise protective fencing material.