Vortex Bladeless: A wind-turbine without blades

How to generate energy with a bladeless windturbine.

The team from Vortex Bladeless are developing a windturbine without any blades. But can such a system generate energy? When wind blows over cilinder it can generate a repeating pattern of swirling vortices caused by the unsteady separation of flow of a fluid around this body. This causes the object to oscillate and you can use this movement to generate energy.

Von Karman Vortex Street

This theory  is named after the engineer and fluid dynamicist Theodore von Kármán. You might know this principle for such phenomena as the “singing” of suspended telephone or power lines, and the vibration of a car antenna at certain speeds. It can even have a devastating effect.  You can even see this happening from space, like wind blowing over islands. Although I like the idea, I’m a bit sceptic about the efficiency of this system compared to the traditional windturbines. What do you think?

Jetman Dubai 4K explores the limits of flight

“The real dream is to be completely free”

In my first post about Jetman Dubai there was a short movie about this amazing guy Yves Rossy and his jet powered wing. Well, check out this longer, 4K movie where he flies with his 4 turbines over Dubai with his friend Vince Reffet. Amazing aerial views, ‘onboard’ video and a perfect music score makes me want to build a wing as well.

Jetman flies in Dubai 4K

Mini turbines Dubai

Yves Rossy, better knows as Jetman is back. You may have know him from his flight over the English Channel and across the Grand Canyon. With his small carbon fiber wing, including 4 small jet turbines he makes the most amazing flights. Check this sensational flight with Aerobatics Champion Veres Zoltán in Dubai!

The Wing with Turbines

Specifications:
• Weight: 55 kg
• Span: 2 meters
• Speed: 200 km/h
• 4 x JetCat P-200-SX turbine|
• Fuel: Jet A1, 1-K kerosene

Source: http://www.jetman.com/

Kitepower: Is this Kite an alternative to Wind Turbines?

Generate Electricity with a Kite.

Kitepower is harvesting wind energy by using a kite. This results in a eco and cost friendly solution. Traditional wind turbines are expensive to place and maintain. Kitepower would be a few cents cheaper per kilowatt generated, compared to traditional ways. An average Dutch household consumes 3,340 kilowatts per year, resulting in a 70 euro lower electricity bill.

How does Kitepower work?

The system is operated in periodic pumping cycles, alternating between reel-out and reel-in of the tether. During reel-out, the kite is flying figure-eight maneuvers at high speed (70 to 90 km/h). This creates a high traction force (3.1 kN at 7 m/s wind speed) which is converted into electricity by the drum and the connected 20 kW generator. When reaching the maximum tether length, the kite is de-powered by releasing the rear (steering) lines such that the whole wing rotates and aligns with the apparent wind. Using the drum/generator module as a winch, the kite is now pulled back to the initial position to start the next pumping cycle. De-powering reduces the traction force during reel-in by 80% and for this reason the energy consumed during reel-in is only a fraction of the energy generated during reel-out. Crucial element of the technology is the automatic control and synchronization of the drum/generator module and the flight dynamics of the kite. Source: Kitepower

Other innovative wind turbine alternatives

Ampyx Power: Generate Electricity with the use of unmanned systems (Drones / UAS)







Makani: an energy kite that generates more energy at lower cost