WO2021240050A1

WO2021240050A1 - Wind energy converter

Info

Publication number: WO2021240050A1
Application number: PCT/FI2020/050462
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sajis Mannarath MATHAI
Original assignee: Mathai Sajis Mannarath
Priority date: 2020-05-27
Filing date: 2020-06-25
Publication date: 2021-12-02

Abstract

In the search of renewable energy, I end up with solar and wind energy as the safest of all and as solar depends entirely on the sun (day time only), wind energy is preferred over the other. But the initial structure of the horizontal axis windmill that was built in the 18th century remains unchanged till date. While trying to design a better option, I changed the axis of rotation and tried with a revolutionary invention incorporating a ballooning effect of catching the wind which at the same time doesn't have to change the direction to face the wind. Nobody has ever tried this method and so it is really a revolutionary invention. It is so easy to build, that even a layman can make it. Soon the world will be with surplus energy and I really hope that we can make an end to the future energy- wars.

Description

WIND ENERGY CONVERTER

Wind is the result of the deference in the atmospheric pressure and differential heating of the earth. The strength of the wind is directly proportional to the average temperature difference between land and the sea. That means, as long as the earth is round, we get wind.

We all know that wind is powerful, from its destructive power. But we can make use of the power of the wind when it is not destructive. Human beings started using wind from the 1^st century. In olden days, wind-mills are widely used to grind dried rice or wheat to make flour, which is used to make bread of various kinds. First windmill called Panemone is invented in Persia, sometime around 700-900 AD. It was used to pump water and subsequently modified to grind grain.

Windbelt is a device invented in 2004 by Shawn Frayn for converting wind power to electricity. A ribbon vibrates when the wind blows and the magnets attached, induces current in the pickup coils.

Wind-energy generator

If wind is capable of moving stones each other (in windmill), why not a dynamo? Yes, it works. It is possible to convert the force of wind to electrical energy by incorporating a generator. Wind energy is one of the cleanest and most environmentally friendly sources of energy available today. By generating power from the wind, we are able to reduce our reliance on conventional power plants that consume fossil fuels and pollute the earth.

Types of Windmill

Basically, two main types depend upon the axis of rotation, (a). Horizontal axis wind mills and (b). Vertical-axis windmills

(Figure-1)

Horizontal axis windmills are called as vertical windmills. There are different kinds of horizontal axis windmills, namely,

. Post Mill

• Smock Mill

• Tower Mill

• Fan mill Post mills have different categories:

• Sunk Post Mill

• Open Trestle Post Mill

• Post Mill with roundhouse

• Hollow Post Mill

• Composite Mill

• Paltrok mill

Popular horizontal-axis wind-mill must always face the wind to work. The major problem is that the wind is not at all unidirectional. So, it has to change the direction, against the direction of the wind.

The initial structure of the horizontal axis windmill that was built in the 18th century remains unchanged till date.

Vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT)

(Figure 2)

Savonius wind turbine

The Savonius wind turbine was invented by the Finnish engineer Sigurd Johannes Savonius in 1922. Savonius design is aerodynamically a drag- type device consisting of 2 or 3 scoops. The drag type devices extract much less of the wind’s power.

Darrieus wind turbine

There comes the Darrieus wind turbine (Georges Jean Marie Darrieus, a French aeronautical engineer) with the idea of incorporating curved aerofoil blades (plane wings) spiraling around a vertical pole. It doesn’t have to change its direction. Filed for patent on 1^st October 1926. It is difficult to protect Darrieus turbine from extreme wind conditions and in making it self-starting. All Darrieus turbines have resonant modes where, at a particular rotational speed, the pulsing is at a natural frequency of the blades that can cause them to break eventually. For this reason, most Darrieus turbines have mechanical brakes or other speed control devices to keep the turbine from spinning at these speeds. So far there is no known material (not even carbon fiber) which can meet cyclic load requirements.

Darrieus turbine appear to be promising for the conditions of low wind speed, but suffer from a low efficiency compared to horizontal axis turbines. Vertical-axis wind-electricity converter

So, I am coming up with a revolutionary invention of vertical-axis wind- electricity converter. Vertical-axis wind-electricity converters are generators which convert wind energy to electricity. The most important point is that, like the traditional vertical axis windmill, vertical-axis wind- electricity converter also doesn’t have to change the direction to face the wind.

Here I am presenting a "prototype” of my horizontal wind- electricity converter (vertical-axis) made in 1 :100 ratio (live demo available).

My vertical-axis wind turbine design is somewhat complicated to an extent. So, in this prototype, I am using umbrella, just for demonstrational purposes and easy understanding of the principle by which it works. It comes with a manual (1) folding system- which is used to (a) fold the umbrella completely, that no wind will force the umbrella to open and (b). fold the arms so that it is protected from heavy wind, for example, hurricane and (2) opening system (starting the device- opening everything which is closed- arms and moving umbrellas from retreat position to resting position), which I am not added in my prototype. The generator will start only when it is manually "opened” and it can be manually "folded” and easily bring to a halt without the use of a braking system which causes friction, heat, wear and tear and sometimes fire in horizontal-axis windmill types.

It has not only a manual folding and opening system, but also automatic fully opening and partially closing system (automatic system is included in the live demo).

When all the umbrellas are half opened (resting position), the wind is caught into the umbrella which forces the umbrella to open fully (working position) increasing the speed of the windmill and thereby the rotation of the generator as well (ask for a live demo).

In this umbrella model, umbrellas are placed half open as a resting position. Wind will force the umbrella to open wide (moving automatically to working position), providing the generator the much-needed torque and when the wind blows from the opposite side, for example, it folds (retreat position) completely reducing the resistance so that it works effectively giving full momentum and high efficiency without extra effort (live demo is necessary to understand how it works).

Hope you are familiar with the terms- retreat position, resting position and working position. Requirements

1. Nacelle (cover housing)- at the ground level that holds low- speed shaft, gearbox, generator, high-speed shaft, controller, braking system and electricity storage device.

2. The tower- more than 200 meters tall, can be placed over the nacelle or near the nacelle.

3. Horizontal platform- double storied rotating platform which connects and carries the arms, the opening and closing device in the lower level and solar panels on the top of the upper platform.

4. The vertical shaft- runs inside the whole length of the tower, connection the rotating horizontal platform to the gear system in the Nacelle.

5. Arms- Foldable or non-foldable

Two ends for each arm- free end and attached end. One end attached to the platform firmly and the umbrellas (in my prototype) are attached to the free end.

Number of arms is directly proportional to the torque. The more the number of arms, the more the speed and momentum for the rotation. Length of the arms One unit increase of the length of the arm will triple the momentum of rotation.

Speed of rotation.

The speed of rotation of the platform is directly proportional to the multiplication of the length of the arm and the number of arms. The speed is controlled by opening and folding control system and not with pitch and yaw mechanism seen in traditional windmills.

6. Folding and opening devices. Umbrellas are completely folded at retreat position, in conditions like hurricane or heavy wind. When you want to start the wind turbine, the umbrellas are moved to rest position and a slight breeze can open the umbrella completely to the working position, initiating the rotation without any starting device, for example- starter in normal wind turbines. There is another way to protect the turbine arms in case of a cyclone by folding all the arms down close to the tower (hibernation mode). Solar energy is used to open the arms and umbrellas to the resting position when it’s time to start the windmill again.

(Figure 3)

I have prepared a demo model to explain how the umbrella model works. The idea of the demo model is "just” to show how efficiently, the umbrella model works and so, it’s without dynamo (generator) and folding and opening system.

For the easy understanding, i will simplify the important points into advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of windmill

1 . Clean energy

2. No pollution

3. Renewable energy

4. Unlimited energy

5. Available around the clock

6. Environmentally friendly (clean air)

7 Economic advantages (cost effectiveness, no use of fossil fuels, additional income for land owners, job creation)

8. Conserve energy (Wind energy helps us conserve fossil fuels and other resources that are facing depletion).

Disadvantages of horizontal-axis windmill

1. Have to assemble heavy generator, gear system, braking system and wind sensors at around 150 to 300 meters up on top of the windmill system making it heavier at the top and so vulnerable.

2. Sulphur hexafluoride or SF6 is used widely in all horizontal axis wind turbines available, to prevent short circuits and electrical accidents. SF6 gas is 23,500 times more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide with a high global warming potential and remains in the atmosphere for at least 1 ,000 years. Wind turbines continuously leak a small amount of gas during normal operation. 3. Wind is neither constant nor continuous. So, wind speed does change.

4. Works only with pitch and yaw mechanism.

5. Lightning damage of wind turbine.

6. Damage of blades (due to manufacturing defects, precipitation and debris, water ingress, variable loading due to wind, operational errors, lightning strikes, birds and bats impact and fire)

7. Very difficult to maintain as everything is on top of the tower.

8. Maintenance cost- very expensive

9. High installation cost.

10. Chance of failure is 57% according to reports (fire accidents, replacing or repairing the long blades)

11. Threat to flying wildlife like birds and bats. Wind turbines are potentially hazardous for birds: Massive 30-170 meters long blades with tips spinning at up to 179 mph (80 meters per second), are an obvious problem for anything flying near them. The fact is that, the birds do fly into the path of the blades and die a grisly death, damaging the blades at the same time depending upon the size of the bird.

12. Disturbing high noise of the turbine (noise pollution)

13. Wind turbines create visual pollution (aesthetic pollution).

14. ’Wind turbine syndrome’ is a terms used for adverse human health effects that have been ascribed to the proximity of wind turbines. Proponents have claimed that these effects include, congenital abnormality, cancer, and death. Wind turbine syndrome has been characterized as pseudoscience.

15. Horizontal axis windmills use electricity from the national grid, to keep their blades rotating slowly when there is no wind and in cold weather to prevent them from icing up or stop rotation that, it is difficult to start again if it stops. Advantages of vertical-axis wind-electricity converter

1. No need to keep, the heavy generator, gear system, wind sensors, around 200 meters high up attached to the 30 meters long blades.

2. As the generator and gear systems are at the ground level, maintenance is easy and cheap.

3. Installation is very cheap as it is not necessary to place a heavy generator around 200 meters high.

4. No need of long smart blades with expensive wind sensors.

5. Works without pitch and yaw mechanism. Opening and closing system will control the speed of rotation.

6. No fire damage risk.

7 Create job- over 9,200,000 jobs in manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and supporting services by 2050.

8. Easy to repair.

9. Anybody can repair (No need of a specialist- a specialist who can climb).

10. No need of braking system. The system is foldable (can be stopped without a breaking system).

11 . Can install easily on top of any apartment building and provide electricity for the vast area around and away from the building.

12. Protected from storm by the unique foldable-arm system incorporated in the design

13. No turbine noise as the generator is placed on the ground and not up high on top.

Claims

In the search of renewable energy, ! end up with solar and wind energy as the safest of all and as solar depends on the sun(day time only), wind energy is preferred over all other options. But the initial structure of the horizontal axis windmill that was built in the 18th century remains unchanged till date. While trying to design a better option, I changed the axis of rotation and tried with a revolutionary invention of vertical-axis wind generator which doesn’t have to change the direction. Nobody has ever tried this method and so it really a revolutionary invention and it is so easy to build that a layman can make it and so the world will be with surplus energy soon and can make an end to all energy wars..

This is not normal windmill you see all over the world, which have to change the face according the direction of the wind flow. This is a wind generator which is completely independent of the direction of the wind and so this is unique.

I am using umbrellas just for demonstrational purpose and for easy understanding of the system it works. Wind will force the half opened umbrella to open wide collecting ail the wind providing the generator the much-needed torque and when the wind blows from the opposite side if folds automatically reducing the resistance so that it works effectively giving full momentum and high efficiency without extra effort (live demo necessary).