No Shortage of Amusing Wind Turbine Ideas

Arizona State architectural student, identified only as Joe, says his idea is to retrofit horizontal steel structures that currently hold freeway signs with two horizontal-axis wind turbines powered by the turbulence from passing cars. (Joe admits borrowing the turbine design from U.K. based quietrevolution). He figures (without showing figures) that with an average vehicle speed of about 70 mph and an average wind speed of 10 mph, each turbine could annually produce 9,600kWh.

Inventor and consultant Larry Dobson has built a working model of his vertical axis involute spiral drag propulsion wind turbine. He posts a video of it at http://tinyurl.com/larrydobson. He says he has experimented with several designs to find a best one. Dobson says the vertical axis wind turbine is a drag propulsion device with strong lift components that let the rim exceed wind speed, which continually diverts wind mass to work on the sail.  Results from two tests indicate he can increase the low-speed power significantly over a horizontal axis wind turbine, largely because it uses drag from large surface-area vanes instead of just lift propulsion from a thin airfoil-shaped blade.

The Wind Tunnel Footbridge is part modern sculpture, part green technology, and part weird admits Designer Michael Jantzen. He surrounds the bridge with five bladed wheels that spin… like windmills. Each wheel spins in an opposite direction and at varying speeds to make best use of wind direction. Best of all, he says, this entertaining concept bridge could harness the wind that propels it to produce and store energy. Jantzen suggests constructing these at public attractions such as museums and parks, but would like to see them replace skywalks over highways.

::Windpower Engineering::

CAD and data management make turbine designer more efficient

UK-based wind-energy company quietrevolution says it will use PLM software from Dassault Systèmes, Paris, to improve design and manufacturing of its wind energy generators. Having calculated a mathematically correct shape for its aerodynamically-optimized vertical axis rotor blades, quietrevolution uses Dassault’s Catia to design, engineer, and manufacture its turbines. The company says Catia helps them capitalize on the growing demand for wind turbines by providing an efficient design, development, and production platform that lets it make the most of its resources.

“Product development is the heart of our work,” says quietrevolution Design Manager Richard Kingsley. “In the short time we have been using Catia, it has significantly improved our ability to efficiently complete a design-to-manufacture processes of advanced structures. The software lets us digitally design, sign off, investigate tooling feasibility, build products, and communicate 3D designs. It’s used in our supply chain and lets us exchange native files with partners which leads to more efficient production.”

“Using the best practices developed with manufacturers from other industries lets wind-turbine manufacturers avoid costly trial and error in the real world,” says Dassault’s Director Mike Crow. “The software shortens development cycles while manufacturing stronger products with higher energy outputs by combining design, testing, and manufacturability analysis in a single environment.”