RU2431957C1 - Method for production of rain clouds - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture. ^ SUBSTANCE: method to produce rain clouds consisting in cooling of atmosphere lower layer air, having the relative humidity of more than 40% with air of upper layers of atmosphere. Air in the upper layers of atmosphere arrives along a channel vertically arranged above the Earth surface with length of 300 metres. Channel walls are made of soft heat-insulated material. Temperature of air inside the channel is five and more degrees higher than in the surrounding atmosphere. ^ EFFECT: formation of rain clouds due to solar energy application without additional power inputs. ^ 5 dwg

Description

The invention relates to methods for causing artificial rain. In connection with the expected warming on Earth, much attention is paid to this problem throughout the world.

Two approaches to solving the problem are possible: either to get rain from the clouds that are already floating in the sky, or to cause the artificial formation of clouds where they do not exist.

We have already learned how to obtain artificial rain from existing clouds, for example, by dispersing grains of solid carbon dioxide, crystals of silver iodide, and other particles that form crystallization (condensation) nuclei. The second challenge remains technically challenging: to create clouds where they do not exist.

A known method that allows you to get rain clouds, which consists in cooling the air entering through a vertically installed channel of a certain length, air of the upper atmosphere, while the channel walls are made of soft heat-insulating material (patent GB 2448591 A, publ. 22.10.2008). The disadvantages of the method are: a) high energy costs going to heat the air; b) attachment to a source of energy, which does not allow the use of the method in those places where it is urgently needed.

Known aeronautical aircraft (BES, volume 5, third edition, M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1971, p. 255).

The elimination of these drawbacks is achieved by the fact that when rain clouds are formed by cooling the air coming in through a channel vertically mounted above the Earth’s surface, the air in the upper atmosphere, cool the air in the lower atmosphere, which has a relative humidity of more than 40 percent and a temperature at which the air temperature in the channel five or more degrees higher than in the surrounding atmosphere. Moreover, the length of the channel, the walls of which are made of soft heat-insulating material (moisture-proof fabric or film), is more than 300 meters.

The essence of the invention lies in the fact that the movement of air masses in a channel vertically mounted above the Earth’s surface is due to solar energy, which is a renewable form of energy and distributed over the entire earth’s surface (there is no reference to a specific geographical location).

The effectiveness of the method increases when: a) the use of a balloon (probe) as a device that creates lift; b) air intake from the lower atmosphere, located at a distance of one or two meters from the surface of the Earth; c) mixing crystals of silver iodide, drops of water and other particles with air entering the channel; d) increasing the cross-sectional area of the channel; d) heating the air entering the channel; d) dark (black) color of the outer surface of the channel; e) the use of a reservoir as an underlying surface.

The mechanism for increasing the effectiveness of the proposed method are as follows. The balloon (probe) allows a simple (affordable) way to set the channel in a vertical (working) position and ensure its stability. At the surface of the Earth (at a distance of one or two meters), the air temperature is 1 ÷ 5 degrees or more (depending on the temperature of the underlying surface) higher than the metrological one. When taking air from the specified zone, the temperature inside the channel will also be higher than metrological, which allows you to create a pressure difference between the atmospheric air (around the channel) and the air in the channel, and thereby ensure the translational movement of air in the channel. The presence of crystals (particles) in the air promotes the formation of condensation nuclei. The increase in the cross-sectional area of the channel increases the air flow (the amount of water carried by the air) and the lift generated by the channel. Additional heating of the air also increases the air flow and the lift generated by the duct. The dark color allows you to absorb solar energy and heat the air as it moves along the channel. The use of a reservoir allows increasing air humidity and, accordingly, increasing the mass of water carried by moist air from the lower atmosphere to the upper atmosphere.

The proposed method can also be used as a method of draining, for example, wetlands. For this, the channel is installed above the drained surface.

Figure 1 shows the aeronautical apparatus;

figure 2 shows the dependence of the amount of precipitation in tons, falling from artificial clouds within an hour;

figure 3 shows the dependence of the amount of precipitation in tons falling from artificial clouds within an hour;

figure 4 shows the dependence of the weight of the gondola in tons from its length;

figure 5 shows the dependence of the required lifting force of the balloon in tons on weather conditions and the size of the nacelle.

The method can be implemented using a balloon apparatus (figure 1).

The aeronautical apparatus consists of a balloon 1 and a nacelle 2. The nacelle 2 is made of a moisture-resistant fabric with heat-insulating properties and is a cylindrical channel longer than 300 meters. The power base of the gondola is the cable running along its entire length. In the working position, the lower edge of the gondola is at a distance of one to two meters from the surface of the Earth.

The method is as follows. The air in the lower part of the nacelle is heated, for example, by a gas heater. Heated air rises and fills the nacelle (this operation is carried out during the installation of the nacelle in the working position). The weight of the column of air in the gondola, as the temperature rises, becomes less than the weight of a similar column of air in the atmosphere. As a result, at the entrance to the nacelle, a pressure differential ΔP is established, which is defined as

where Po is the air pressure at the surface of the Earth;

L is the length of the gondola;

Rg is the gas constant of air;

g is the acceleration of gravity;

Tg is the average air temperature inside the gondola;

Tx is the average temperature around the nacelle.

After filling the nacelle with warm air, the heater is turned off. Under the influence of the pressure drop ΔР, the air of the lower atmosphere, having a temperature To, enters the nacelle. As the nacelle fills, the air temperature inside it decreases to a temperature determined by the temperature To, and the pressure drop to a value corresponding to the average temperature inside the nacelle. After filling the nacelle with air in the lower atmosphere, an equilibrium flow is established in it - the air progressively moves from the bottom up (the temperature difference inside and around the nacelle is maintained due to the heat-insulating properties of the nacelle material).

Thus, the aeronautic apparatus (Fig. 1) turns into an air pump that raises the air of the lower atmosphere to a height L. The pump operates due to solar energy.

At a height L, the warm air of the lower atmosphere under the action of buoyant forces (Archimedes forces) rushes further up. Subsequent thermal transformations of air are determined by the laws that occur in nature during the formation of rain clouds (BES, Volume 5, Third Edition, Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1971, p. 138). Moreover, the greater the height L, the more intense these processes are. When L is less than 300 meters, there is a high probability that when warm air enters the atmosphere, its energy and moisture content will dissipate in the surrounding space, and the processes associated with the formation of rain clouds will not be realized.

The calculation method evaluated the technical capabilities of the method: the expected amount of precipitation was determined depending on the temperature and relative humidity, the size of the gondola.

When calculating the characteristics, the following assumptions are made:

1. Air temperature decreases by one degree with an increase in altitude of 100 m.

2. The air temperature at the underlying surface is 5 degrees higher than at an altitude of 3–5 meters (the average temperature inside the gondola is 5 degrees higher than the average temperature around the gondola).

3. The height to which warm air rises is ~ 2500 m.

Initial data: pressure at the surface Po = 1 atm; the diameter of the gondola D = 50 m; the specific gravity of the fabric is ρ = 0.3 kg / m ² (power elements are also included here).

The calculation was performed for four values of the air temperature T0 (20, 30, 40, and 50 ° C) and two values of the relative humidity φo (40 and 70%).

The calculation results are presented in figure 2 ÷ 5.

The amount of precipitation in tons falling from an artificial cloud within an hour is shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Figure 2 shows the results obtained with a relative humidity of the source air of 40 percent, figure 3 - 70 percent. The amount of precipitation was determined as the difference between the amount of water that was raised with moist air to a height of 2500 m, and the amount of water that can be in moist air at a specified height. It can be seen that, even taking into account possible amendments to the assumptions made, the results presented in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 indicate the possibility of industrial use of the method, for example, in agriculture.

The weight of the gondola in tons, depending on its length, is shown in FIG. 4. The gondola creates its own lifting force, but this force is not always enough to compensate for its own weight. Figure 5 shows the missing lift in tons, which is compensated by the lift of the balloon.

Calculations show that to ensure the technical ability to keep the gondola in a vertical position (for heating, which can be realized through the use of solar energy), the cross-sectional area of the gondola should be more than 1000 square meters (calculated - 1963 m ² ).

The proposed method can be used: in agriculture as a means of increasing crop yields; in the emergency services as a means of preventing natural disasters (drought, fire); in public utilities as a means of improving the environment, for example, in Moscow.

The application of the method is limited by the presence (speed) of wind.

Claims (9)

1. The method of obtaining rain clouds, which consists in cooling the air entering through a vertically installed channel, the walls of which are made of soft heat-insulating material, with air of the upper atmosphere, characterized in that they cool the air of the lower atmosphere, having a relative humidity of more than 40% and a temperature, at which the air temperature in the channel is 5 or more degrees higher than in the surrounding atmosphere, the channel is installed above the earth's surface and has a height of more than 300 m. 2. The method of producing rain clouds according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper part of the channel is connected to a balloon / probe. 3. The method of producing rain clouds according to claim 1, characterized in that the entrance to the channel is located 1-2 m from the surface of the Earth. 4. The method of producing rain clouds according to claim 1, characterized in that a moisture-resistant fabric or film is used as a soft heat-insulating material. 5. The method of producing rain clouds according to claim 1, characterized in that the cross-sectional area of the channel is more than 1000 m ² . 6. The method of producing rain clouds according to claim 1, characterized in that crystals of silver iodide, water droplets and other particles are supplied to the channel together with air. 7. The method of producing rain clouds according to claim 1, characterized in that the air entering the channel is heated. 8. The method of producing rain clouds according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer surface of the channel has a dark / black color. 9. The method of producing rain clouds according to claim 1, characterized in that the Earth's surface is a body of water.

Images