FR2530297A1 - Device generating power by the rotation of a propeller under the effect of a movement of air - Google Patents

Abstract

Device generating power by the rotation of a propeller 1 under the effect of a movement of air caused by wind and/or heat. The device is characterised by the combination of: - a propeller 1 with vertical axis; - a Venturi tube 3 coaxial with the propeller 1 and arranged around the latter; - a hollow open column, supporting the above-mentioned assembly, the said column comprising, on its periphery, radial vertical deflectors 5, between which are arranged horizontal deflectors 6 inclined as louvres; - heat generators on the sides and at the base of the column 4. Application to the generation of power.

Description

Technical area
The present invention relates to a device
Energy producer by rotation of a propeller under the effect of a displacement of air caused by wind and / or heat.

Problem
The invention is in the context of research for energy sources other than conventional energy sources. It concerns, in particular, the capture of wind energy and solar energy with, occasionally, the recovery of calortric energy generally rejected in the atmosphere for various reasons such as the too low temperature of the gases or the lack of habit or the lm-
Possibility of waste incineration.

State of the prior art and drawbacks
Wind turbines have been designed for a very long time.

However, modern wind turbines, having to drive an electric generator with a certain power5vse are all met with failure due to the great lrrdgula rity of the wind and the difficulty of controlling the device
In strong winds. Indeed, we have endeavored, until now, to use large diameter propellers whose circumferential speed of the different elements crott quickly with the diameter so that we arrive at speeds
Prohibitive at the blade tip. For propellers with a horizontal axis, you must always provide an orientation system according to the wind direction.

 In all cases, one cannot practice the guying of the whole, to resist the wind of storm, because the shrouds would obstruct the rotor.

 On the other hand, when the wind is weak or when it drops completely the device is no longer usable.

However, during these periods, it is frequent that the sun shines and that one could use another apparatus
To recover this energy instead of wind energy. It would therefore be necessary to pay the cost of this second apparatus.

Hot air from domestic or industrial installations is generally exhausted in pure
Loss in the atmosphere. Higher temperature hot air
It is also very poorly used from industrial devices such as motors or compressors or any refrigerant. It is one of the aims of the present invention to be able to recover this energy.

 The invention also aims to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks and to provide a versatile tonctloning device as long as possible as well under 1, effect of the wind as under the effect of the sun.

Statement of invention
the device of the invention is characterized
Mainly by the combination - of a propeller with a vertical axis, - of a venturi coaxial with the propeller and arranged around it, - of a hollow perforated column, supporting the above assembly
above designated, said column comprising, at its periphery,
vertical, radial deflectors between which are
arranged inclined horizontal deflectors as
louvres,
heat generators on cAtds and at the base
of the column.

One can use the mechanical energy of the propeller directly, for example, to actuate a pump, but it is usual and preferable to actuate an electric current generator either with direct current, or an alternator. In the latter case, direct current can also be obtained via a rectifier in order to practice I, batten electrolysis which has the advantage of dissociating the latter in its two elements, oxygen and hydrogen, and
To be able to store these ga and in particular the latter which is particularly combustible.

At the exit of the venturi we can get the decom
Pressure by increasing the section; it is also obtained by a crown of gills with section increasing upwards, for example formed by elongated triangles with the base at the top.

 In the case of a cylindrical column with circular section, the horizontal deflectors are frustoconical.

 However, it is also possible to provide a polygonal column and in this case the horizontal deflectors are rectilinear.

 To improve the functioning of the device thanks to solar energy, the face of the deflectors exposed to the sun is made to absorb the radiation and their opposite face is made to radiate as little as possible and, for this purpose, for example, the faces exposed to the sun are dull black while the others are bright and clear.

The column can be placed above devices
Producers of hot or lukewarm gases to improve the draft inside to accelerate the speed of the air current which attacks the propeller. One can admit, through a pipe or chimney, combustion gases, ventilation of premises.

It can be the product of the cooling of a generator and the exhaust gases of the corresponding heat engine, for example.

 One can also provide, under the column, a hearth where combustion is maintained, in particular of waste.

To facilitate the combustion of these, it is possible to use the oxygen obtained at the outlet of the electrolyser.

To warm the base of the column, you can also use an exchanger at the connected air intake,
By a heat transfer fluid with another exchanger located
Right after the propeller, that is to say above it.

 The hot air behind the propeller is thus by improving the efficiency of the propeller by reducing the volume of air above it, reducing turbulence and heating in the exchanger at the intake. The air at the base of the exchanger can also be heated after cooling the electrolyser.

f3olution to the problem, advantages and industrial result
The device of the invention has the advantage of being static, that is to say, it does not need to be oriented in the wind. Therefore it can be suitably guyed and the column or tower can have a great height to offer the largest possible surface to the wind and collect the maximum volume thereof.

 With the wind, this is collected by the vertical deflectors and directed upwards by the horizontal deflectors which produce a rising speed of the wind, inside the column, much higher than the speed of the outside wind. It is therefore possible to use a propeller of smaller diameter offering better efficiency and which can be connected directly, without multiplier, to a generator rotating at the appropriate speed. It must be remembered that the power available on a wind turbine is proportional to the area swept by the propeller, to the square of the diameter of the propeller and to the cube of the wind speed.

 In a very specific example, if the opening between two extreme vertical deflectors is 1.50 m and the height of the tower is 6 m, the active surface offered to the wind is 9 m2. With a conventional wind turbine it would take a propeller of 3.20 m in diameter to capture the same energy while the diameter of the tower does not exceed 1 m. It should also be noted that if there is a loss of efficiency in the deflection of the wind on the horizontal deflectors, the large diameter propeller generates additional friction; on the other hand, the deflection of the air on the deflectors results in overheating expanding the air thus giving it an additional thrust on the propeller with vertical axis.

 Another advantage of the invention is that the height of the tower can be increased drastically without any inconvenience by keeping the same propeller; it should be remembered that with a conventional wind turbine, the extension of the blades cannot be envisaged without loss of output and without danger of rupture by vibrations at high speed.

 An important advantage of the present invention is that the air pressure is exerted almost uniformly over the entire surface of the tower exposed to the wind. On the contrary, in a conventional wind turbine, the effort stexes only at the top of the propeller support tower which is subjected to very high stresses which force it to be reinforced all the more since it is impossible to use wire.

Another advantage of the invention appears,
when using dark metal deflectors and mat outside, and that we collect a solar radiation which heats said deflectors reflecting the heating to the admitted air whose temperature increases inside the column, which increases its volume and its rate of climb when it acts on the propeller blades.

If a metal that conducts heat well is used for aluminum deflectors, for example, painted in matt black, this material has a heating power for an enclosure almost identical to that of a glass plate causing a greenhouse effect. Indeed, a glass plate sends outside, by reflection, part of the radiation.

 The wind and the sun bringing capricious energies, generally at different times and sometimes together, the apparatus of the invention has a cost of use (or production) greater than a simple wind turbine or a simple solar collector. Compared to the conventional solar collector, it should be noted that the tower is vertical and that its omni-directional exposure allows its operation from sunrise and until sunset. It should also be noted that, compared to a conventional heat transfer fluid sensor where the heat is transported in heat-insulated pipes and storage in a water balloon or a gravel bed, it is simplified here since the transport is done electrically, in cables.

 The third source of energy capable of operating the device of the invention is the heat caused by the recovery of any hot or lukewarm gases or by the combustion of hardly combustible waste or garbage under the column and which can be burned more easily by admitting oxygen produced by the electrolysis of the batten and which is produced on site. In this case, the entire column or tower becomes the chimney of the hearth without simultaneously interfering with its operation using the wind and the sun.

 It should be noted that the admission of oxygen causes a strong combustion even in the presence of wet materials which is favorable to the initiation of a reaction causing the formation of gas with lattice which is itself combustible.

 When the apparatus comprises an electrolyser, in the event of total absence of wind, sun and external fuels, one can use cheap current, in particular night current directly in this electrolyser and obtain hydrogen and oxygen on the cheap.

Indeed, at night we cannot count on solar energy and we meet calm nights, without wind.

 The applications of the apparatus of the invention can be envisaged in the form of small units which produce hydrogen capable of supplying domestic heating by combustion of the hydrogen stored in a sealed tank and used for cooking, heating domestic hot water and premises.

 We note that the device occupies a small area on the ground and that its appearance is no more annoying than a chimney. It can be combined with roofs that capture solar energy.

 One can also provide superimposed columns with several captive propellers attacking -distinct generators or a common generator when the propellers are united by a single shaft.

It is also possible to provide for the use of the apparatus of the invention on light pleasure vessels by tower masts which will allow batteries to be recharged and possibly to provide propulsion.
This device is also advantageous for climate control and for many uses where electricity is used. In particular, protection against oxidation of metallic assemblies by direct current can be provided by connecting all the metallic mass to the cathode so that oxygen cannot react to form oxides.

This results in significant savings in paint and maintenance.

The invention will be better understood with the aid of the following description which gives some non-limiting examples of practical embodiment and which are illustrated
by attached drawings.

Brief description of the figures
Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of the entire apparatus, the column has a
Hexagonal horizontal section.

 Figure 2 is a horizontal section through another column of circular section.

 FIG. 3 is a horizontal section of a column with a hexagonal section like that of FIG. 1.

 FIG. 4 is a vertical section of the assembly of an apparatus according to the invention.

Description of some embodiments
The energy producing device combines a propeller (1) with a vertical axis which passes through an alternator (2) (it can also be a direct current generator) said propeller being arranged at the base of a venturi (3) surmounting a column (4) hollow, openwork which supports the venturi ()) and the propeller (1). Said column (4) has at its periphery, vertical radial deflectors (5) between which are disposed inclined horizontal deflectors (6) in the manner of louvers; in Figures l and 3, there are shown horizontal deflectors (6)
Plans so that we have the hexagonal column section (4) (Figure 3). In Figure 2 there are shown horizontal deflectors (6) frustoconical so that the section of the column (4) is circular.

The alternator (2) and its bearings which also serve to support the axis of the propeller (l) are maintained
By supports (8) to be connected to the upper walls of the column (4).

The alternator (2) is connected by a double line (9) to a rectifier (10) which by two lines (11) and (12), supplies respectively the cathode (13) and the anode (14) of a electrolyser (15). Hydrogen is collected
Through the tube (16) in the tank (17) while the oxygen is collected by the tube (18) in the tank (19).

A tube (20) connects the oxygen tank (19) to the base of the column (4), under the grid (21).

 The shape of the venturi (3) is here simplified and does not have the usual appearance of a hyperbolold of revolution.

In fact, in a venturi, there is first a convergent entry then a divergent exit. The convergent is here simulated by the increase in air flow which
Produced as one rises in column (4). Indeed, the wind coming horizontally is deflected according to the arrows (22) to concentrate vertically according to the arrows (23): there is an effect of compression and dtacedleration of air similar to what happens in the convergent of the venturi. For simplification measures, a venturi (3) of cylindrical section is realistic and the decompression and reduction of air speed, according to the arrows (24) are obtained by the vents (25) which have an elongated triangular shape. following an isosceles triangle with the vertex below. The section of these gills believes in going upwards.

 We understand, with what has been described so far, the operation of the device under the effect of the horizontal wind which is deflected upwards and rotates the propeller (1).

We will now explain the operation of the device under the effect of an increasing updraft of air caused by heat either from solar or
residual heat, or heat obtained by combustion.

To use solar heat, the faces of the deflectors (5) and (6) exposed to the sun are made up in matt black color. This constitution is materialized in Figure (3) by small oblique hatching on the surface of the deflectors (5). In this figure, the orientation of the column (4) has also been represented by the letters (N) and (S) (North, South) the surface of the deflectors (6) adjacent to the treated surfaces of the deflectors (5) is also treated in the same way, (the notation NS is valid for the northern hemisphere, in the southern hemisphere, it would be necessary lnverserb
On the other hand, the other surfaces are clear and shiny
To minimize radiation, we understand that this arrangement causes heating of the corresponding surfaces and that the heat stored by the mass of the deflectors (5) and (6) is returned to the air which comes to lick them All the surfaces exposed to $ serves, in the South and West are thus capable of causing the air to heat up from sunrise to sunset.

Another way to heat the air column inside the column (4) is to simply provide a hearth on the grate (21) where any waste or any fuel is brought to burn. Combustion is improved by the admission of oxygen supplied by the tube (20). The air which is introduced under the grid (21) arrives according to the arrows (26) and heats up in a first exchanger (27) which is connected to a second exchanger (28) located Just above the propeller (1 ) and which lines the inside of the venturi (3) around the entire periphery thereof. The connection between the two exchangers (27) and (28) is carried out by pipes (29) and (30) transporting a heat transfer fluid which is accelerated by the pump (31). We therefore recover heat at the upper part of the column (4), above the propeller (1), to restore it to the base of the column (4). This results in a slight lowering of
Pressure downstream of the propeller which improves its efficiency. The air introduced according to the arrows (26) which has passed through the exchanger (27) is further heated by cooling the electrolyser (15) placed in a passage (32).

 It is also possible to admit into column (4) air coming from an air conditioning device or from a generator, for example, including the exhaust gases thereof whose unburnt substances are subjected to action of oxygen and / or hydrogen by complete combustion. All these gases are channeled through a chimney t and brought along the arrow (34). Column (4) was made with a diameter of 1 m maximum, which shows the small footprint on the ground of the whole.

 The fact of being able to provide at least three sources capable of accelerating the vertical air flow makes it possible to accelerate the depreciation of the apparatus and to reduce the energy storage capacities (volume of the tanks 17 and 19).

 A regulation device can be added if necessary in the event of a hurricane; this device can be constituted by a possibility of raising the propeller (1) along the sliding axis so that the air flow passing through it decreases since it is partially escaped by the louvers (25).

 Columns are shown with 6 vertical deflectors (5), but it is obvious that this number can vary without departing from the scope of the invention.

We will not insist here on the interest of
Production of hydrogen by electrolysis to store the energy of a wind turbine since this problem is already known.

However, it should be remembered that hydrogen burns with a very hot flame of the order of 2,500, which allows it to be used for uses requiring a very high temperature (cooking) or moderately high (space heating).

We will not insist either on all the possibilities of using hydrogen which are very wide and advantageous.

To improve the yield we can still
Provide thermally insulated deflectors for the faces constantly exposed to shade. It is also possible to provide thermal insulation between the vertical deflectors (5) and the horizontal deflectors (6).

 We can also plan to coat the deflectors in a transparent sheath causing a greenhouse effect.

It should be noted that it is possible to obtain operating regulation of the propeller (l) by a hydrogen burner located at the foot of the tower. The combustion of hydrogen heats the indoor air which, by taking a
Greater volume acquires greater upward speed. The adjustment of the burner is done according to the speed of rotation of the propeller and it can be extinguished when the wind speed and / or the intensity of the solar rays is sufficient to cause a rising air current according to the arrows ( 23) ensuring the speed of rotation appropriate to the propeller (i).

Claims (9)

 1. device producing energy by rotation of a propeller (1) under the effect of a displacement of air caused by wind and / or heat, c a r a c t é r i s é By the combination - of a propeller (l) with vertical axis, - of a venturi (3) coaxial with the propeller (l) and arranged around it, - of a hollow column aDayed, supporting the whole below  above designated, said column comprising, at its periphery,  vertical deflectors, (5) radial between which are disposed horizontal deflectors (6) Inclined like louvers, - heat generators (15, 21, 27) on the sides and at the base of the column (4) .  2. Device as defined in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the propeller (1) drives an electric generator (2) which can supply a water electrolyzer (15) via a generator and possibly a rectifier.  3. Device, as defined in claim 1, c a r a c t é r i s ed by the fact that the decompression in the venturi is caused by a crown of gills (25) with increasing section upwards.  4. Device, as defined in claim 1, c a r a c té r i ed by the fact that the horizontal deflectors (6) are frustoconical and that the section of the column (4) is circular  5. Device, as defined in claim 1, c a r a c té r i ed by the fact that the horizontal deflectors (6) are rectilinear planes and that the section of the column (4) is plygonal.  6. Device as defined in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the face of the deflectors (6) capable of being exposed to the sun is made to absorb the radiation while their opposite face is made to radiate the least Possible and, for this purpose, for example, the faces exposed to the sun are matt black while the others are  bright and clear.  7. Device, as defined in claim 1, which is due to the fact that the lower part of the column is designed to receive hot gases.  8. Device as defined in claim 7, c a r a c t é r i ed by the fact that the lower part of the column comprises a hearth (21) where the combustion of combustible products is produced.  9. Device as defined in claim 7, c a r a c t é r i s ed in that the air admitted to the lower part of the column is heated in a first air-liquid exchanger (27) connected by a circuit  (29, 30) with pump (31) at a second exchanger (28) Located just above the propeller (1), said air still heating around the electrolyser (15).