GB2123487A

GB2123487A - Wind-power installation

Info

Publication number: GB2123487A
Application number: GB08313096A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ernst Jackel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-05-13
Filing date: 1983-05-12
Publication date: 1984-02-01
Also published as: SE8302687L; NL8301691A; SE8302687D0; DE3218038A1; DD209878A5; GB2123487B; GB8313096D0

Abstract

The installation comprises a spoked wheel having overlapping blades with bulging leading edge portions pivotally mounted on the spoked and biassed by springs. The wheel is mounted at the top of a tower and can be turned into wind by a tail fin. The tower also supports an electric generator. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION High efficiency wind-power installation The object of the invention is to convert wind power into electrical power more completely than hitherto. Accordingly, the invention is suitable both for detecting very fine currents of air in the manner of a sail and for reliably utilising very high wind velocities for storage purposes for periods of calm weather.

Drawing 1 shows a front view of the high-efficiency wind-power installation and Drawing 2 shows a side view thereof.

The high-efficiency wind-power installation uses all the wind which encounters a wind-wheel having many blades interacting in the manner of a foresail, in an appropriately stable design.

The wind-vane connected firmly to the top part of the installation controls the wind-wheel constantly so that the wind strikes it perpendicularly, makes it rotate by means of the driving blades and flows off behind it in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation. The special feature of the invention is to cause this through-flow to be activated as a rotational drive for the entire surface of the wind-wheel.

Although the rotational speed of the blades is so high at the outer wheel rim that it exceeds the normal wind velocities and, as it were, runs away from these, an equivalent drive effect of the wind force is sought precisely at that point also, because there the wind works on the longest lever arm.

Consequently, the driving-blade surfaces which widen from the inside outwards in the form of circular sectors are also largest there. The large number of driving blades overlapping one another ensures that the entire wind impact surface is used for the rotational acceleration of the wind-wheel.

Because the driving blades are fitted in the manner of foresails, each of them runs in the rarefied air space which the driving blade rotating before it creates for it in front of its own wind leading edge.

The air stream accumulates sideways in its concave surface, so that there arises, directly next to this air stream accumulated sideways, a rarefied air space into which the next driving blade penetrates.

The installation consists of the bottom part fixed to the ground and of the rotatable top part with the wind-wheel. It is designed preferably to be erected on the sea coast of the North German Lowlands, on the wooded heights of the hiils and on the open plateaus of the Alps for the communal supply of power to villages or parts of towns.

The tower bottom part has supporting feet which spread out far and are embedded in concrete deep in the ground or in the rocky substratum. These feet support a solid platform in which a round rotatable baseplate for the top part of the installation together with the wind-wheel is mounted, in stable ballbearings or plastic bearings, securely against any tilting.

The platform of the bottom part of the installation which is fixed to the ground is so high that it just projects above the tree-tops of the forest. Thus, because of their inclination the tree-tops can cause the wind to be deflected upwards and to blow fully against the bottom part of the wind-wheel, so that this bottom part is not adversely effected in comparison with the top part of the wind-wheel. Consequently, the forest would be allowed to remain in existence or continue to grow even under the platform of the bottom part of the installation. A circular gangway provided with reeling and extending round the platform of the bottom part serves for use as an observation tower for young people who go hiking and singing again after they have had enough of nuclear games and television.

The tower of the top part of the installation, which has a streamlined structure parallel to the shaft of the wind-wheel, rises above the rotatable baseplate. The wind-wheei shaft is mounted in ball or plastic bearings in its solid topmost part and is secured against any tilting.

Connected firmly to the baseplate of the top part is the large heavy-duty generator which at this point counteracts a top-heaviness of the installation because it is fitted at the centre of gravity of the installation as a whole. The magnet or armature windings of the generator are organised so that individual parts of these cut in or cut out automatically with an increase or reduction in the rotational speed corresponding to the wind force, and because the tapping of power is increased or reduced automatically in this way, the wind-wheel is saved from rushing round during a gale or remaining motionless during calm weather. The capacity of the generator should therefore be made so high that it is not overloaded even in the event of peak stresses of maximum wind force.

The wind-wheel made from light metal has as many spokes as there are driving blades, rotatable on the outer wheel rim and supplementing one another in the manner of foresails, which can be accommodated on them.

The driving blades, which widen outwards, are provided in the manner of birds' wings with a thick wind leading edge, behind the bulge of which the wind slips along on the blade surface, which is curved slightly against the wind, and generates a thrust force in the direction of rotation of the wind-wheel.

The bulges of the wind leading edges of the blades are hollow and are mounted rotatably by means of these cavities on the spokes of the wind-wheel which function as their shafts. These cavities are filled with foam and therefore have a low noise level. The blade bulges are mounted in plastic on the spoke-like shafts and are consequently maintenance-free.

The spokes of the large wind-wheel are connected firmly, between the inner support wheel and the outer wheel rim, at a radial distance of approximately 2 metres, to further wheel rims which divide the spokes into corresponding part spokes on which corresponding part driving blades are mounted resiliently on both sides in the wheel rims, in such a way that a square projection, in the form of a circular sector, on the blade edge slides in a recess, in the form of a circular sector, in the inner edge of the wheel rim and is retained firmly in this recess, towards the wind-wheel, by means of a tension spring.

The driving blades made, for example, in three parts are intrinsically warped and are retained in this warping, as a basic position for their retaining springes, in such a way that the angle formed by the blade surfaces and the wind-wheel surface is, at 450, largest at the inner support wheel and decreases uniformly from there outwards up to a position almost parallel to the wind-wheel. Thus the wind velocity can be matched to the rotational speed of the wind-wheel.

Consequently, an acceleration in the wind velocity, which increases from the inside outwards, corresponds to the rotational acceleration increasing from the inside outwards. This increase starts at the wind velocity, which is retarded in proportion to the thrust force, at the inner support wheel, increases because of a reduction in this retardation in proportion as the wind slips along on the concave surface of the middle supporting blades, and merges outwards into an acceleration of the wind velocity itself.

The overlapping driving blades approach one another in an outward direction in their position almost parallel to the wind-wheel, in such a way that the wind accumulated in the driving blade located in front has to flow off through a nozzle-like narrowed portion between the driving blades and thereby has to take effect as an additionally accelerating back-jet drive for the wind-wheel. In sailing close to the wind, such a nozzle effect is sought after by means of laths inserted into the sails perpendicularly to the after-leech.

Drawing 3 shows, as seen from the hub, cross-sections respectively through the outer blades on the very outside and through the inner blades on the very inside in their basic blade and retaining-spring settings.

Thus, the drive effect of the wind velocity increases, to correspond to the rotational speed increasing from the inside outwards, from the pure thrust force for the inner driving blades to a continuous impact, which also forces away laterally, in the manner of inclined planes, the driving blades which slide past more quickly, up to the nozzle back-jet drive which further accelerates the fastest outer driving blades. Thus, the wind striking the wind-wheel surface, from its approach flow over the conical inner support wheel up to the acceleration of the relatively fastest outer wheel rim, is converted into a rotational speed of the wind-wheel, which must be captured in the form of correspondingly high electrical power.

It is therefore significant that a direct mechanical tapping of power at the outer wheel rim can merge in the simplest form into the working dimension of the intersection of the lines of force in the generator and can discharge this in the form of electrical power.

Consequently, as- in the Honnef turbine, it is not the rotation of the shaft, but that of the outer wheel rim of the wind-wheel which determines the level of the intersection of the lines of force and consequently the power of the generator, because although the outer wheel rim itself does not participate in the functioning of the generator, it directly drives its shaft mechanically.

Of course, this constant load on the moment of rotation of the wind-wheel reduces its ability to adapt to sudden gusts by means of rotational acceleration and to make the wind consequently flow off correspondingly more strongly.

Sudden gusts of wind therefore force the driving blades, against the force of their retaining springs, out of their basic position in relation to the wind-wheel -- in the event of a hurricane, into the position almost perpendicular to the wind-wheel -, in order to obtain an increased flow-off, until the rotational acceleration of the wind-wheel has brought about the same increased flow-off. When the wind acceleration merges into the increased wind velocity, the tensioned springs gradually draw the opened driving blades back again into the basic spring and driving blade setting. Thus, the wind-wheel can also capture hurricane gusts elastically.

This resilience corresponds to the manual handling of the sheet of a sail. The inertia of the boat retarded in the water corresponds to the braking effect of the wind-wheel rotation by means of the intersection of the lines of force in the generator, which generates the constant electrical power.

The many intersections of the lines of force of the heavy-duty generator also ensure, by means of the latter's drive shaft, when all the windings are cut in, that the wind-wheel can be braked during calm weather. This braking can be further reinforced by raising, on each of the two sides of the generator drive shaft, a heavy brake block with a worm thread out of the plafform of the bottom part of the installation and pressing it against the outer wheel rim of the wind-wheel.

The wind-vane is provided with a disengaging and engaging rotary joint, so that is can be hauled down as a safeguard against sudden horizontal pivoting of the top part of the installation in the event of changes in the wind direction and can be lashed firmly to the platform of the bottom part.

Further possibilities for locking the movable installation would seem to be superfluous, since the installation operates completely free of maintenance and can run for several years without human intervention.

An excessive wind-wheel diameter no longer has a decisive effect on an increase in efficiency, since even the jet-like acceleration of the wind at the outer wheel rim is limited. A further increase in efficiency must then be achieved by increasing the number of wind-power installations.

The use of maximum wind forces for the peak generation of electrical power is achieved by transmitting it directly for consumption, especially for storage for periods of calm weather. This storage is carried out by transmission to electrolyser units to obtain hydrogen for a hydrogen generator drive or by transmission to an immersion-heater unit for heating Moltopren water vessels for preheating a steam turbo-generator.

The fullest possible use of the complete impact surface of the wind presupposes great toughness and breaking strength of the material of the installation as a whole, and this can be ensured with a wind-wheel diameter of 1 6 metres. Otherwise, it is advisable to distribute the power supply over several identical wind-power installations.

The high efficiency of the installation is therefore characterised in that because of the formation of the wind-wheel surface it uses all the wind which encounters it, because the installation makes the blades rotate not in retarding vortices, but in rarefied air spaces, without making them run away outwards from the wind.This is achieved due to the fact that, for example in comparison with the Noah wind-power installation, 1. approximately 80 instead of 6 rotorblades use the thrust force of the wind, 2. the blades, widening outwards, also cause the main thrust force of the wind to act on the most favourable lever arm, 3. the individual blades do not rotate in any vortices caused by the blades rotating in front of them, but in a rarefied air space provided as a result of their flow guidance, and 4. the intrinsic warping of the blades leads outwards until these almost touch one another, and thus increases the wind velocity, with a lever arm which becomes more favourable, up to the nozzle back-jet drive.

This fact that the entire wind-wheel surface is utilised is used to calculate the minimum power to be demanded of the generator, which should be distributed over two machines located next to one another and automatically complementing one another as required.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Revolutions Rotational Above d=2.8 Power in watts with Noah Wind Revolutions per minute/ speed in with Noah from wind 12 m/s calcula of in per revolutions m/s on greater ted with cubes of the force m/s minute per second the inside than m/s wind velocity 2 3 21 7/20 x2.8 77=3.08 > 3 800 4 28 2,000 3 5 34 3,800 6 42 7/10 x2.8 #=6.14 > 6 6,600 4 7 49 10,500 8 56 15,600 9 63 22,900 5 10 70 7/6 x 2.8 #=10.27 > 10 30,500 12 84 7/5 x 2.8 #=12.3 > 12 2,000x3 54,000 7 15 105 7/4 x 2.8 #=15.4 > 15 3,800x3 102,600 18 126 21/10 x 2.8 #=18.5 > 18 2,200x23 183,200 8 20 140 7/3 x 2.8 #=20.5 > 20 30,500x2 244,000 9 24 168 14/5 x 2.8 #=24.60 > 24 2,000x6 432,000 10 27 189 63/20 x2.8 #=27.7 > 27 22,900x3 618,300 11 32 224 56/15 x2.8 #=32.6 > 32 2,000x8 1,024,000 12 35 245 49/12 x2.8 #=35.9 > 35 10,500x5 1,312,500 8 9 10 11 Power in watts with Jäckel since there are 80 instead of Power in watts 6 blades, wider on the outside, with d=16m air rarefaction by means of according to the forward-guiding blades, Power in At wind Noah system back-jet drive on the outside megawatts forces

1,424 26,155 0.026 Light breeze 3,555 6,795 ., 124,806 0.125 gentle breeze o E Co 11,733 n xx 18,666 s 342,845 0.343 moderate breeze 0 z 27,733 ~ Co 0 40,710 fi fi ------- x II x Co " 54,221 2 > > 995,896 0.996 fresh breeze "1 tx xlX "Co S Co 95,998 < , 1,763,229 1.763 strong breeze E U Co 2 182,396 c 3,349,771 3.350 II E r a, E Il 325,682 I I= 5 2 o 0 433,769 e > g 7,967,186 7.967 moderate gale 'cn O o 0 o 767,984 0) 14,105,829 14.106 fresh gale = 767,984 g a) 14,105,829 14.106 fresh gale o o 0 Co oa 1,099,177 20,188,965 20.189 strong gale = ---------------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 0 0 1,820,406 33,436,029 33.436 whole gale 2,333,284 42,856,237 42.856 hurricane The capacity of the wind-power installation, calculated above, is based solely on the complete utilisation of the wind impact surface. It is to be considered as a minimum capacity, and this must be taken into account in the design of the generator. It is possible and quite probable that the factors of rotation in the rarefied air space and of the back-jet drive on the most favourable lever arm have not yet sufficiently been taken into account in calculating the utilisation of the entire wind-wheel surface.

Practical operation may give a considerably higher capacity.

In any case, the installation makes it perfectly possible to supply the entire Federal Republic with a complete sufficiency of electric power virtually free of charge, from windy North Germany and possibly also from Denmark.

In this way, the high treason of making the Federal Republic and Europe indefensible by presenting nuclear energy installations as critical war targets for Soviet medium-range missiles can no longer be justified as an alleged economic necessity for power supply.

And consequently, the urgent need to replace the hitherto existing nuclear power supply of the Federal Republic of Germany by wind-power installations according to the invention proves not only fair and proper, but also economical. Nothing should any longer prevent all nuclear energy installations from being removed from German soil, since even launching the radioactive material out into the Great Hole in the Cosmos for it to decay over aeons of time becomes cheaper than removing further lethal pollution of the earth.

Claims

1. Wind-power installation for achieving high efficiency, characterised in that the installation uses all the wind encountering a wind-wheel having many blades interacting in the manner of a foresail, in an appropriately stable design.

2. Wind-power installation according to Claim 1, characterised in that fitting the driving blades in the manner of a foresail makes each of them rotate in a rarefied air space which the driving blade rotating before it creates for it in front of its own wind leading edge.

3. Wind-power installation according to Claim 1, characterised in that the generator is attached not at the height of the wind-wheel shaft, but at the centre of gravity of the installation as a whole.

4. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1 and 3, characterised in that the magnet and/or armature windings of the generator are organised so that individual parts of these cut in or cut out automatically with the increase or reduction in the rotational speed of the wind-wheel corresponding to the particular wind force, and when the tapping of power is increased or reduced automatically in this way, the wind-wheel is saved from rushing round during a gale or remaining motionless during calm weather.

5. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the wind-wheel has as many spokes as there are driving blades, rotatable at the outer wheel rim and supplementing one another in the manner of foresails, which can be accommodated on them.

6. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1, 2 and 5, characterised in that the spokes are fastened, between the inner support wheel and the outer wheel rim, to one or more wheel rims, between which driving-blade parts narrowing inwards are mounted on the spokes, to correspond to the distances between the spokes, on both sides on the wheel rim, each by means of a tension spring counteracting the wind force.

7. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1, 2, 5 and 6, for matching the wind effect to the rotational speed of the various centre-to-centre distances of the wind-wheel, characterised in that the multi-part drive blades are intrinsically warped and retained firmly in this warping, as a basic position for their retaining tension springs, in such a way that the angle formed by the wind-blade parts and the wind-wheel surface is, at 450, largest at the inner support wheel and decreases uniformly from there outwards up to a position almost parallel to the wind-wheel.

8. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1, 2 and 5 to 7, looking outwards on the windwheel, characterised in that the overlapping driving blades approach one another in their position almost parallel to the wind-wheel, in such a way that the wind accumulated in the driving blade revolving in front has to flow off through a nozzle-like narrowed portion between the driving blades and consequently must take effect as an additionally accelerating back-jet drive for the wind-wheel.

9. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1, 2 and 5 to 8, characterised in that sudden gusts of wind force the driving blades, against the force of their retaining springs, out of their basic setting in relation to the wind-wheel, in order to obtain an increased flow-off, until the rotational acceleration of the wind-wheel has brought about the same increased flow-off and, when the wind acceleration merges into the increased wind velocity, the tensioned springs draw the opened driving blades back again into the basic spring and driving-blade setting.

10. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1, 3, 4 and 8, characterised in that it is not the rotation of the shaft, but that of the outer wheel rim of the wind-wheel which determines the number of interesections of lines of force and consequently the power of the generator, because the latter is directly driven mechanically by the outer wheel rim of the wind-wheel.

11. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1 to 1 0, characterised in that the utilisation of maximum wind forces for the peak generation of electrical power is achieved by transmitting them directly to electrolyser units for obtaining hydrogen for a hydrogen generator drive or to an immersionheater unit for heating, for example, Moltopren hot-water vessels as preheating for a steam turbogenerator for periods of calm weather.

1 2. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1 to 1 characterised in that in any case, that is to say even with the shortcomings of the installation which still exist, it becomes perfectly possible to supply the entire Federal Republic with a complete sufficiency of electric power, virtually free of charge, after relatively low investment, from windy North Germany and possibly additionally from Denmark.

1 3. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1 to 1 2, characterised in that in this way the high treason of making the Federal Republic and Europe indefensible by presenting nuclear energy installations as critical war targets for Soviet medium-range missiles can no longer be justified as an economic necessity for power supply.

14. Wind-power installation according to Claims 1 to 1 3, characterised in that consequently the urgent need to replace the hitherto existing atomic power supply of the Federal Republic of Germany by wind-power installations according to the invention proves not only fair and proper but also economical, and nothing any longer prevents all nuclear energy installations from being removed from German soil, since even launching the radioactive material out into the Great Hole in the Cosmos for it to decay over aeons of time becomes cheaper than removing further lethal pollution of the earth.