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  • Author Author: Eavesdropper
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New turbine design works in urban areas

Eavesdropper
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There are major issues with using wind turbines in urban areas. Ice whipping from the blades and other mechanical disasters face turbine use on a regular basis. However, safer and smaller turbine arrays have been shown to be a major benefit. The goal is to get a larger turbine safe enough for use in cities. Katru Eco-Energy may have found the perfect balance with their IMPLUX vertical turbine. This turbine is omni-directional, somewhat enclosed, and can use up to 87% of the wind that moves into its housing. The side walls of the turbine are shaped in such a way to force the air entering to move upwards through the actual turbine blades. And birds can not be pulled into the turbine and killed, do not worry. The slots are too small for them to pass through. Which does not mean that will not get stuck in there. The first IMPLUX turbine will be approximately 4m in diameter and produce 2 KW. And future models, Katru boasts, will output 4 - 10 KW.
 
The IMPLUX was first demonstrated at the Engineering Excellence Awards, Sydney-Australia, back in 2007. The United States patent was awarded in 2008. And the first production model will be available in 2012. A long development indeed.
 
Eavesdropper
 
Pictures and  Video via Katru
  • in reply to DAB

    Great point, and I even got a good laugh out of it ;-)

  • in reply to Eavesdropper

    Actually, the wind IS solar powered.  The heating and cooling cycles as the earth turns provides the energy for up and down drafts within the atmosphere.  So given all of the radiative heating going on, I would not worry too much about depleting the kinetic energy any time soon.

     

    Besides, I am a well known source of "wind."  image

     

    Thanks

    DAB

  • in reply to DAB

    Dab,

     

    After reading about how wind turbines could deplete the work of it's kinetic energy, I am not a big fan of wind or wave power. Solar, solar thermal, fuel cell and other more passive solutions seem to be the way to go. But the momentum behind wind farm development is hard to stop right now. Like what has happened with wood, coal, and oil, after we ravage the planet of its resources we will get back to conservation. Can you imagine having to conserve wind?

     

    E

  • The one in the photo is similar, but the one I saw on TV had verticle blades along the outside of the helix axis to give the turbine more tolerance to over wind situations.  Still, a comparison between these two would be very interesting.

     

    After taking a second look, I started thinking about the thermal tower they were proposing to use in Australia.  If you added a thermal chimney to either turbine design, you could greatly increase the wind draw up through eigher device.  With that approach, you would get both wind and solar energy from the same device.

     

    I do like the progress designers are making on these wind turbines.  I just hope they can come up with a cost effective and simple to use design.  Around here, we have a lot of wind and I know that Chicago is called the Windy City, so I think a lot of people can see the potential.

     

    Thanks

    DAB

  • in reply to DAB

    This one, Dab? I took a picture of it at the Chicago Planetarium.

    image

    I too would like to know the efficiency of this turbine vs others. I will look into it.

     

    E