The Aerogenerator: 9MW Vertical Axis Turbine
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02. 1.08
We love wind turbines, and we get pretty excited when we hear about installations of the new generation of turbines already going up with generating capacities as high as 2MW. Imagine our thrill, then, when we see designs such as the Aerogenerator above, which is being developed by a Scottish firm called, imaginatively enough, Windpower (we can’t find a link to their site). We previously covered the design of this baby in its early stages, but according to a report in The Guardian, plans for its deployment have been developing rapidly since then. The Aerogenerator’s creators claim that it can not only generate as much as 9MW of power, it is also capable of harnessing wind from all directions without the need for the usual gearing mechanisms needed in regular horizontal axis turbines. They also claim the design overcomes many of the inherent problems associated with large horizontal axis turbines:
One reason [for problems] is that the weight of the turbine blades becomes prohibitive. As they turn, this places the blades under enormous stress because gravity compresses them as they rise and stretches them as they fall. The larger you make these structures, the more robust they must be in order to withstand these forces.
Add to that the cost and difficulty of building the increasingly large towers needed to keep this top-heavy structure stable and you have a major engineering challenge on your hands. The Aerogenerator team claims its invention gets round these problems. "The centre of gravity is at the bottom," says Sidor, making the structure much more stable.
Unfortunately we’re not likely to see Aerogenerators of this size until 2013 at the earliest, but tests have already been carried out on a miniature version, with positive results. ::The Guardian::via site visit::
Vertical wind generators, have been around for a while. One of the most efficient and durable windmills ever made for energy was in Canada , but it was taken off line, even though it was working great. The centrifugal motion of a vertical windmill can create a flywheel type of sustainable supply that is more durable to flux in demand. It also is less effected by changes in Wind direction. Energy with a new Spin on it, Eh?
"The centrifugal motion of a vertical windmill can create a flywheel type of sustainable supply that is more durable to flux in demand."
Not for periods more than about a minute, depending on size, where the change in demand is insignificant.
Shouldn't this read:
-----------------
Author's Comment:
Oops! You are correct - I will edit accordingly. Thanks for spotting that! VErtical/horizontal - sometimes I get confused between the two. Especially early in the morning...
One thing that was left out (supposedly by Windpower) is that horizontal axis turbines place an enormous and uneven load on their bearings. The vertical axis approach levels the load.
The design is quite inspired. The problem with traditional vertical axis wind turbines is that they don't have a very large cross section (which means that they cannot capture much wind/energy) which is the inherent advantage of horizontal axis turbines. The cross section of wind you can capture per turbine is the most important factor in determining the economics of the turbine, hence the current trend towards horizontal axis units.
Truly brilliant. I wish them the best.
i get the impression that something this big with this two finned design could just blow over if a hits it on its long side. your asking alot for the pressure on one side to force the other which is only connected at the base to cut through the on coming wind with that much of a surface area.
and yeh, the maintenance on the bears would be heavy and not easy for them to get to. harder for it to handle waves. im not too sure we will see these take off on mega large scale.
small scale though - i think they are the best and i love all the designs they can make. mag lift ones, low noise, low flicker etc. ill be putting one up when i get a house ... sigh.
have you ever noticed how a good chef puts things in threes on a plate? 3 is the magic number, as they say. that is why the three bladed HAWT's have predominated. they are visually more balanced
i think that the sight of an array of these would be a bit stomach churning. they would flip between invisibility and highly visible twice per rotation...
maybe they would well away from people, or in the dark(!) but then whats the point if the transmission losses are so high?
Helical VAWT's are a more visually balanced option possibly, and it also smooths the torque output to the generator.
anyway, we need top get these things working so the more ideas the merrier; but we need to be VERY carefull to be as critical as our oil loving opponents.
Its pretty easy to get excited about new and big stuff. To pull something like this off, its takes a large group of dedicated people who work together. Problem is there's always one or a few guys who can drag project down. I'm not an energy guy, but am a mechanical engineer. Lots of times these guys (schmoes, turkeys, insert epithet here) are too blue sky or get bogged in less important details. It doesn't take much to pull a team down.
The desire that a new configuration of aerodynamic surfaces will fix all of the problems of the last incarnation is enticing. People fall in love with design ideas, and that is a very dangerous territory to tread. More money is wasted on that love than I would like to think about. Get a concept that scales well, and you have a path to large scale. An artist rendition of a large scale design (with BIG numbers attached to it) means about as much as any other piece of art. Its just a way of getting people to think, which is what art is really good at. The problem in my view is that these images feed the "lets all fall in love with an idea before it is proven out" desire.
Great Vertical (semi-vert?) design, truly has great potential.
VAWT of this design appears to present a tremendous "sweep" - offsetting the VAWT shortcomings of simply just not catching
much air compared to the Horizontal cousins.
True, maintenance is always a question, as is the long term
aspect of the design where the "rubber meets the road" or
any physical wear parts facing the elements and wear and tear.
The time it takes to perfect, test and market this unique may very well prove it can fly with the large turbines already out there. Hope it makes the cut.
My idea for birthing this baby would be to scale test for optimum size and siting situations - if aero has that down, then its time for the big time, if not, this could be a good design in the wrong setting.
You can bet, if it works people will be jumping on board, if not, jumping overboard.
drhall/bearcreekresearch
Great Vertical (semi-vert?) design, truly has great potential.
VAWT of this design appears to present a tremendous "sweep" - offsetting the VAWT shortcomings of simply just not catching
much air compared to the Horizontal cousins.
True, maintenance is always a question, as is the long term
aspect of the design where the "rubber meets the road" or
any physical wear parts facing the elements and wear and tear.
The time it takes to perfect, test and market this unique may very well prove it can fly with the large turbines already out there. Hope it makes the cut.
My idea for birthing this baby would be to scale test for optimum size and siting situations - if aero has that down, then its time for the big time, if not, this could be a good design in the wrong setting.
You can bet, if it works people will be jumping on board, if not, jumping overboard.
drhall/bearcreekresearch