Next Generation Wind Turbine Produces 3 Times the Power
by Derek Markham in Wind Energy
A radical new design in wind turbines takes a page from the design of jet turbine technology to generate three times the amount of power as a standard wind generator using propellers. The Dragonfly Wind Turbine uses three sub chambers working in line to speed up the airflow inside the turbine, which may have far-reaching potential in the wind energy field.
The fundamental flaw in every wind turbine is that none of them actually speed up the air – they all base their functionality on relative wind speed and will only produce energy if the wind is blowing. The current systems extract less than 50% of the wind’s energy and are only working about a third of the time!
According to Dragonfly, the nature of the new turbine’s inner wing design increases the air speed to create more power – up to three times the average of a standard wind generator. The new technology is dubbed the “Body Ring Airfoil”, which takes the air flowing into it and speeds it up as it comes in contact with each sub chamber. The chambers act as defusers so by the time the air reaches the third chamber, the smallest, the air inside is moving as fast as the air outside.
The nacelle of the Dragonfly was inspired by the technology of the SR 71 Blackbird, with a unique nose cone capable of expanding over 600% in size, increasing or decreasing the air speed and flow passing through the unit. The generator is housed inside the shroud, or nacelle, and is similar to the jet turbo prop system which generates electricity. The faster the wind flowing through the unit, the faster the tail blades in the generator will spin.
According to Dragonfly Industries, two computer dynamic fluid (CDF) tests on the design were completed by an independent software company, SolidWorks, and the results are promising for moving forward with prototypes. Test results found that Dragonfly breaks the law – the Betz Law – and proves that more than 59% of the wind’s power can be harvested with the right design.
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Posted on Nov 04, 2009
Alternative Energy, Betz Law, Dragonfly Industries, Wind Energy, wind turbine design
About the Author
Derek Markham
Derek Markham is a father, writer, and social media butterfly based in New Mexico, with a passion for all things sustainable. For the last ten years, he's worked in the natural foods industry, most recently running a small co-operative grocery store. In his personal time, he loves to ride his bike (an 80s Trek singlespeed), go bouldering and slacklining, and he can usually be found in the middle of about ten different books. You can also find him on other sites including Twitter and Natural Papa.6 Responses to “Next Generation Wind Turbine Produces 3 Times the Power”
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[...] Wind turbine 15.0: OK, I made that number up, but turbines have gone through tons of iterations. Dragonfly claims to have designed the next generation of wind turbine: one that speeds up the air as it moves through, thus creating more energy. (via Green Living Ideas) [...]
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Uncle B
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Dec 06, 2009
Science used in the logic of this design is beyond me! I once saw a great 5′ diam.. turbine in a scrapyard spinning quite quickly in just summer breezes – I tried to stop it with my hands – much to my surprise it was unstoppable! had a great deal of power! As Energy grows scarce due to Asian demands on limited world resources, we will seek out these less obvious ways of getting smaller amounts of power, and carefully conserve its use, not wasting as before, in the “Cheap Oil Era” The paradigm shift in American views of energy and its value are already morphing the American Dream lifestyle – some folks even living off-grid with modern technologies assistance. The morphing of American society this way will reach convulsive proportions as the dollar continues on its downward slide to a possible crash. We will soon adapt European customs of energy conservation, just to survive. The growing lines of “Unemployables” are a sign of the times – this recovery will leave souls behind! American souls! Patriots! or as the commies used to call the disposables, “Proletariat’ they did this just before the fall of the U.S.S.R. a seemingly impossible occurrence even today to the folks that lived through it, and they are still in shock and denial! Will we feel the same way in the decade to come, when America faces demise and failure of government and economy? Will America pull through unscathed? Will new-fangled wind turbines contribute to the new economy, not based on oil? Can it be true that the “Prairie Corridor” possesses enough Wind Power to fuel America? Replace Oil in America? Is T, Boone Pickens right when hes says it is so? Were Scientific American kidding around when they said the same about Solar Power in the American South West? Is any of this worth knowing? Will Americans stay addicted to gasoline until “Third World” conditions prevail in America? Even our schools rated only 32nd in the world today, are suffering. Are we following the U.S.S.R. into the abyss? Can electric bullet trains reduce our foreign oil bill, the one that is ruining our economy today? Must we continue being “Blackmailed” by parasite Oil countries abroad due to our own addiction? Are their alternatives? Does anyone in America give a damn anymore?
James Smith João Pessoa, Brazil
Dec 15, 2009
While I would like to believe that this is true. some independent comparisons of this with standard turbines in identical conditions would be more creditable. Just because the manufacturer says something, that doesn’t make it true.
Side-by side comparisons with reproducible results are proof.
f_s
Dec 19, 2009
So here is what doesn’t makes sense to me.
- “The fundamental flaw in every wind turbine is that none of them actually speed up the air – they all base their functionality on relative wind speed and will only produce energy if the wind is blowing”
Is it being implied that the dragonfly can generate energy even without wind? I think there is another word for such a machine.
- I think one should be suspicious when claims are made that break physical laws (betz law). Even in theory all the energy cannot be extracted, since this would bring the airspeed behind the windmill to zero, and block the wind in front from entering the mill.
- The current wind turbine design allows a windmill to extract 59% of the energy in theory, and 45% in tests. So a triple increase is 135%. That’s quite amazing and impossible too, unless the triple increase is because that it can produce energy at wind speed outside the range of a normal windmill.
- It also seems to me that the fan area spanned by the dragon fly must be much smaller, otherwise the construction itself is huge. A smaller fan area would mean a smaller volume of air will come through the windmill. So even if it has a higher efficiency, it should produce less energy.
Perhaps somebody can enlighten me?
f_s
Dec 19, 2009
Just checked their webpage and, and yes, they actually claim that “Dragonfly also produce electrical energy in NO WIND at all.” Well, that certainly puts the final nail in the coffin from my perspective
tajweed quran online
Jan 15, 2010
at least some body is doing some thing and moving his way forward i think that after the lunch of the prototype they will figure out the ways to improve it and use it more efficiently