Wind- and hydroelectric generators condition which extract wind or stream kinetic energy.

Hundreds of companies have on design and produce wind- and hydroelectric stations of different types with rotating working parts (turbine installations, blades, etc.). But these renewable energy resources don’t have great sales.

There are many reasons for that:

1. Disadvantages caused by using stationary aero-hydrodynamics:

1. Low efficiency of wind or stream kinetic energy extraction (10-40%);
2. Wind power and hydroelectric generators start working only at relatively high speed of wind or stream;
3. Screw blade tip speed is very high what leads to flow-around stall and development of cavitation in the water, and flow-around stall and ultrasonic speed at the blade tips in the air.

2. Constructive disadvantages:

1. Modern types of wind power generators are not able to extract power more than 10 mW;
2. Rotating blade can have maximum possible coefficient of using wind (stream) kinetic energy at the actual attack angle of the blade only for particular wind speed (water flow). At higher or lower speed wind energy efficiency abruptly declines. Besides, the angle of optimal attack must be specially selected according to the amplitude wave of blade (it is realized partially with the help of special blade configuration). As the result wind kinetic energy efficiency decreases and we obtain low utilization of wind and stream energy;
3. Even at optimum attack angle of every element of the blade extraction of energy of approach stream diminishes while approaching the center of the screw. In case the central part of the screw is inefficient in extracting stream energy;
4. Centrifugal forces will displace the approach stream to the edges of the screw decreasing stream energy efficiency;
5. Blade turn-over rate is very low. It`s need gears of reduce for increase turn-over required for electric generator. It leads to more complication and weighting, appreciation and reduction of construction reliability;
6. Special vehicles are needed to turn blade to feathered position at wind high speed. It leads to complication and appreciation of construction, reduction reliability of this;
7. Special vehicles are needed for screw downwind orientation. It all leads to complication and appreciation of construction, reduction of its reliability;
8. Gross labor intensity and production cost of a screw blade;
9. In connection with broad range of speeds, pressure and velocity volume changing of air and water flow many wind power and hydroelectric generators and pumps unit size are produced;

3. Exploitation disadvantages:

1. Considerable dimensions;
2. Wind power generator create low-frequency acoustic field, on a frequency higher than the blade passing frequency (blade frequency), that adversely effect men and animals;
3. Hydroelectric generators wrapping soon water plants and nets on their blades and as the result are destroyed. Rotating blades are very dangerous for men and animals.

 

In case we don’t remove these disadvantages and don’t raise the level of research and development activities these renewable energy resources won’t solve world energy problems upon a large scale!

 

   In view of coming global energy crisis developing of wind power and hydroelectric generators are being continued worldwide. For the most part these research works are aimed at creation of different tricky mechanical vehicles. Many inventors and constructors having an illusion that it’s possible to raise efficiency of vehicles and reduce prices due to these tricky vehicles. But it doesn’t happen in spite of huge time consumptions and financial expenses. It’s time to realize that these traditional wind power and hydroelectric generators have almost reached their frontier and for substantial improvement of their characteristics it’s essential to reconsider common concepts used in engineering.

Until now the following common concepts are used:

1. Water flow and wind kinetic energy is usually extracted using physical processes of classical stationary aero-hydrodynamics;
2. Only kinetic energy of wind and water flow is used from the environment (heat energy, atmosphere and water`s pillar pressure energy and other are not used as additional or principal kinds of energy).

 Substantial improvement of characteristics of wind power and hydroelectric stations, their simplification and cheapening will be possible if we start developing them using new concepts:

1. Using physical processes of oscillative aero-hydrodynamics;
2. Using heat energy, atmosphere and water`s pillar pressure energy and other as additional or principal kinds of energy (see other pages of the website).

 Physical processes of oscillative aero-hydrodynamics can be:

1. Oscillative motion of working element (wing, ram and other) across the flow put in motion by means of aerodynamic lift.
2. Oscillative motion of actuating element streamwise put in motion by means of aerodynamic drag forces or speed instability of approaching streams.
 

On the present page wind-hydrogenerators with oscillating wings are being considered. Wind-hydrogenerators with oscillating cylindrical body and elastic slat are considered on the page…

 

Wind- and hydroelectric generators with oscillating wings have following advantages:

Wind power and hydroelectric generators with oscillating wings have the following advantages:
The whole wing surface is involved in extracting energy from the flow evenly (right part of fig. 1). In contrast, the screw surface is involved unevenly (left part of fig.1). That’s why flow energy efficiency with the help of oscillating wing is higher than that of the common screw (fig.2).

Fig.1

Fig.2. Distribution of flow energy extraction along the blade of rotating screw and along the surface of oscillating wing.

• • Absence of high speeds at the wing tips;
  • Installation of hydroelectric stations is raftless. It can greatly cheapen and gear up development of these power stations;
  • Angle attack can be easily set in optimal mode. Due to that high coefficient of efficiency is maintained at the any rate flow.
  • Easily controlled and consistent with microprocessor system control. It’s easy to accomplish optimal control.
  • Water flow or wind orientation construction is simpler.
  • Easy compliance of wing oscillation with pumps and technology of oscillative type.
  • Height dimensions are smaller; easily complied with horizontal terrain of the ground and river bottom.
  • Noise absents on the blade frequency.
  • High reliability.
  • Simplicity and low price of the construction. Reducing gear is not needed when using hydraulic system and pneumatics.
  • Possibility of producing in form like block and package this unit.
  

Wind power and hydroelectric generators with oscillating wings. Analogs.

 Wind power and hydroelectric generators don’t have many of these disadvantages extracting water flow and wind kinetic energy with the help of wing oscillations. Attempts to create such renewable energy resources were made before, but aero-hydrodynamic knowledge while wing oscillations was poor and the level of engineering development was low. But now situation starts to change abruptly. More and more companies start developing Wind power and hydroelectric generators extracting water flow and wind kinetic energy with the help of oscillating actuating elements (wings, slats, rams, wires and other).

 

Econologica is the initiative of Dr. Simon Farthing, an applied mathematician and certified mechanical engineer in Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. http://www.econologica.org/index.html

 

Flutter-vanes: Arnold-Cooper System –Bench Test, DG

For the first time English company called ‘The Engineering Business Ltd’ ( http://www.engb.com/ ) created hydrogenerator (Stringray project) extracting energy of underflow with help of oscillating wing. In 2002 a hydroelectric station with oscillating wing at 150 kW was launched underwater and has been successfully operating for a year. The Engineering Business Ltd achievements have great success! These things became the source of wind power and hydroelectric of new type generators! These things are highly perspective!

BioPower Systems Pty. Ltd. is a renewable energy systems company. We are currently developing ocean power conversion technologies intended for commercial-scale installations. For more information please contact: BioPower Systems Pty. Ltd. http://www.biopowersystems.com/

Gene Kelley, above, shows off his WindWing, which he and fellow W2 Energy partners believe can replace current propeller-driven wind turbines. According to Kelley, the WindWing can produce much more energy at a fraction of the cost. Photo by Karen Quincy Loberg W2 Energy Development Corp. Website :http://w2energycorp.com/home

 

 

Conclusion. 1. Now appear wind power and hydroelectric generators extracting wind and water flow energy with the help of oscillating wings. 2. These generators have low energy selection ratio, complex structure and high price. The reasons of that are the following: - The development of these generators is conducted on the basis of using quasi-stationary oscillative aero-hydromechanics (during oscillation stationary aero-hydromechanics is used). The theory of nonlinear aero-hydrodynamics is just being conceived. Many scientists and engineers either don’t know about existence of nonlinear oscillative aero-hydrodynamical effect or disregard it. - The development of the generator construction is conducted using computation method of stationary mechanics. It is a great mistake. Such constructions will be complex, expensive, unreliable and will have heavy losses of energy and much harmful vibrations. These constructions have to be developed as a whole oscillating system. - Special experimental, calculation and engineering techniques are needed for these generators. There are not much techniques and experience of that kind. 3. Wind power and hydroelectric generators with oscillating wings can be very effective and cheap. But we have to involve our know-how for that (to eliminate disadvantages mentioned in point 2). 4. The companies developing wind power and hydroelectric generators with oscillating wings should be in scientific cooperation.

 

                             Our research and development works.

The use of oscillating wings produced by the companies mentioned above can be sufficiently extended. Our high technology is based on operation of wind power and hydroelectric generators in the field of nonlinear aero-hydrodynamical modes and construction of vehicle as a whole oscillative system (KNOW-HOW).

  Advantages of using nonlinear oscillative aero-hydrodynamical modes:

1. Lift coefficient increases. Wing water-flow stall occurs at much larger attach angles; as the result, flow energy extraction increases and generator will start operating at lower flow speed.

Fig.1

2. Implementation of more effective wing oscillation laws. Energy extraction simultaneously with the help of lift and frictional forces affecting the wing.

Fig.2

3. Reduction of hydrodynamical and aero-dynamical drag with the help of water -flow elements and oscillations.
4. Usage of added elasticity (elasticity caused by vortex structure of fluid body near oscillating wing). It will lead to volume increase of fluid medium participating in aero-hydrodynamical interaction with oscillating wing and, as the result, increasing of effective hydraulic square and coefficient of flow energy extraction.
5. Due to vortex structure near oscillating wing effective hydraulic square can be increased several times (see fig. 3-5).
 

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

It will lead to increase of energy extraction at the same wing oscillation amplitude.
Simultaneously power load per unit of effective hydraulic square will be reduced what leads to increase of energy efficiency of approaching flow. In result of using the effects mentioned in points 4-5 it’s possible to extract much more energy than a common wind-hydrogenerator can. It will lead to reduction of incremental setting and electric energy production cost.
 

Construction of vehicle as a whole oscillative system will give the following advantages:

1. It will lead to increase of flow energy extraction and cheapening of construction;

2. Using of added elasticity instead of (or additionally) elastic member of the wing construction. It will lead to simplification and cheapening of the construction.

3. Using of special distribution of elastic and weight wing characteristics for conformance of external power supply with input characteristics of transmitting matching element. Due to these elements extraction of flow kinetic energy increases.

4. Usage of special transmitting matching elements for conformance of flow dynamic and kinematic characteristics with loading (power user). It will lead to matching of energy transmission from energy resource to generator (otherwise, energy will turn back to the flow). Also with the help of these elements complex wing space trajectory is created which extracts energy not only with the help of lift force but friction force also.

5. Application of adaptive microprocessor control system will lead to ultimate output. 6. Implementation of physical effects for extracting additional kinetic energy from latent heat energy and water’s pillar potential energy or atmosphere pressure:

1. Rodionov B.N., Sorokodum E.D. Vortex energy// Construction material, equipment and technologies of XX Century. - 2001, 3(26). с.28,29.

2. Sorokodoum E. Vortex heat-generators // New Energy Technologies. Issue # 2(5), March-Aprel 2002, p.17-18.).

See our website: http://www.vortexosc.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=70

    Considering our results and offers, wind power and hydroelectric stations with oscillating wings will have much better aero-hydrodynamic and power characteristics compared to traditional ones (see fig.6).

 

Fig.6 Different types of wind generators with rotating operating elements (from the book written by Lavrus)

  

On fig.7. Values of wing energy efficiency for different wind generators with rotating operating elements are given (digital notations on fig.7 correspond to those on fig.6)

 

Fig.7. Wind energy efficiency of different wind generators.

  

    On fig.7. Also approximate values of wind energy efficiency for wind generators with oscillating working elements are given. So it follows that the most powerful wind generators can be developed if to switch from quasi-stationary to nonlinear oscillation mode.
Wind-hydrogenerators with oscillating working elements can reduce several times setting cost and electric energy expenses. It’s possible to assimilate production of generators suggested above from 0.1 kW to 100mW. They can be used to extract energy of wind, minor and large river flows, tidal and other sea currents.
We know how to develop wind, flow and wave energy converters basing on use of nonlinear oscillative aero-hydrodynamics and oscillative mechanics.
 

Our proposals

We have great theoretical, experimental and practical experience in developing and production of working models of oscillation technology.
We can develop and produce first working models of different purpose wind-hydrogenerators.

       We know how:

1. to increase efficiency of wind and water flow energy extraction basing on nonlinear oscillative aero-dynamics.
2. to increase efficiency of extraction, transmission and matching of mechanical energy with generator with the help of special principles and elements. In addition the vehicle construction will be simpler, cheaper and more reliable.
3. to increase efficiency of kinetic energy extraction in a wide range of wind and flow speed, particularly on low speeds (with the help of adaptive optimal control system).
4. to produce high-power wind generators (with working elements from hundreds of meters to kilometer in length).