Airflow Enhancement for Wind Turbine Blades

Vertical wind turbine design with improved blade control and reduced energy loss for higher efficiency. The vertical turbine has blades that pitch continuously throughout rotation, controlled by cam disks, to optimize performance in partial load winds. The blades are supported by bearings at multiple points to enable independent pitching between sections. The pitch motors are enclosed in a housing with support ribs to transmit forces. A casing around the pitch motor reduces aerodynamic drag. The turbine has sensors on the blades for wind speed/direction feedback. A control device adjusts blade angles based on sensor data.

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Wind apparatus that maximizes the amount of kinetic energy captured from an air flow by changing the aerodynamic behavior of its blades over time in response to the air flow. The apparatus has blades that move along curved guides when hit by wind, rotating to optimize capture. This allows the blades to respond to changing wind directions and speeds, increasing energy capture compared to fixed blade designs. The blade motion is transmitted through mechanisms to turn shafts and generate electricity.

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Turbine design for wind power generation that improves efficiency by allowing blades to expand and close as the turbine rotates. The blades pivot on a rotary shaft and have stoppers to limit expansion angles. Elastic members connect the blades to the shaft. In the expanded position, the blades face the stoppers to capture more wind force. In the closed position, the blades are near the shaft to reduce drag. This eliminates negative power during blade reversal. The turbine can be integrated in a channel structure where the blades touch the walls when closed. The blades expand when diverted fluid flows between the walls. This allows high fluid speed entry and extraction. The turbine also integrates anti-friction members and cover sheets for pivotal motion.

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Impeller design for wind turbines that improves power generation efficiency and noise reduction. The impeller has blades that widen outwards towards the outer edge. The blade leading and trailing edges form overlapping segments on the front and rear sides of the impeller in the front view. This configuration allows more wind area capture without increasing blade count. The wider blade shape also reduces noise by smoothing airflow transition. The impeller can be used in a streamlined wind tunnel to further enhance efficiency.

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Rotating airfoil design for rotating systems like wind turbines and propellers that improves efficiency compared to conventional airfoils. The rotating airfoil has a concave working surface for lift generation and a convex section connected by motion transmitting members. The concave surface has veins for boundary layer effect. This allows autorotation, rapid fluid displacement, and retardation. The veins create a disturbed layer on the surface reducing direct fluid-blade interaction and drag. The convex section connects to the power generator.

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Wind turbine rotor design for cross-flow applications that improves efficiency and reduces vibrations compared to conventional Savonius-style turbines. The rotor has primary blades around a central axis and secondary blades positioned between the primary blades. The secondary blades are smaller than the primary blades. This configuration allows the secondary blades to capture additional wind energy and redirect it into the primary blades, enhancing overall performance. It also concentrates the force of the wind on the primary blades, reducing return drag and vibrations compared to having more primary blades.

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A wind turbine system with adjustable blades that can optimize drag and lift forces for higher efficiency, lower wind speeds, and reduced damage. The system has multiple blade assemblies with pivoting sub-blades. A main control unit adjusts the sub-blade angles during rotation to optimize forward drag and lift. This is done by rotating the blade shafts using primary control arrangements. The sub-blades open and close using secondary control arrangements. This allows partial or full blocking of wind flow. The blade panel design with adjustable sub-blades enables higher efficiency at lower speeds, protection against high winds, and smoother torque output during gusts.

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A vertical axis wind turbine blade design to improve performance by delaying blade stall. The blade has a leading edge slat with a curved hollow channel extending from the slat to the blade surface. An airflow blocker obstructs the channel. This creates a suction effect that helps prevent flow separation and stall. The slanted leading edge with the curved channel and blocker allows reattachment of the airflow. The design allows higher angles of attack before stall compared to conventional blades.

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Vertical axis wind turbine blade with a curved hollow channel and an airflow blocker to delay stall and improve performance. The blade has a leading edge slat and a curved hollow channel extending from the slat to the blade surface. An airflow blocker is placed in the channel to prevent airflow separation. This creates a localized low pressure region and promotes airflow reattachment during stall conditions. The curved hollow channel and blocker design delays stall and improves performance compared to traditional blades.

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Vertical wind turbine with a blade pitch motor that allows optimal blade angle adjustment for maximum efficiency and longevity. The blade pitch motor is mounted between the upper and lower blade sections, allowing symmetric torque distribution along the blade span. The pitch motor also supports the blade weight. This avoids external actuators and guys for blade angle control. The pitch motor can have absolute and relative position sensors. The turbine also has a compact transmission with planetary stages. The control calculates optimal blade angles based on wind speed and direction. This enables continuous, smoothest blade pitch control compared to discrete steps.

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Wind turbine design with a hollow center and blades mounted off-center to maximize power extraction. The turbine has a rotor with blades at the outer radius, mounted on supporting rods. This allows airflow to pass through the center undisrupted or accelerated to create higher velocity behind the turbine. The hollow center reduces wind drag and entrains faster moving air. The turbine can have a generator inside the center or mounted separately. The off-center blades leverage the "entrainment effect" to improve performance.

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A wind turbine blade design with self-aligning pitch control that maximizes performance by automatically adjusting blade angle of attack in response to changing wind speeds. The blade has a spar stub that allows the airfoil section to rotate freely around its longitudinal axis. The axis is located forward of the airfoil's aerodynamic center. The blade is mass balanced around this axis. This configuration causes the blade to trim itself to the optimal angle of attack for lift vs. drag based on wind and rotational velocity. Any perturbations cause the blade to rotate back to trim.

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Monitoring air flow over a wind turbine blade to improve blade design and control by placing a simple device on the blade surface. It has two air inlets facing opposite directions along an axis. A sensor module with two pressure sensors, one connected to each inlet, outputs signals. Processing determines flow direction based on pressure difference sign and speed based on magnitude. Additional inlets and sensors can provide additional flow data. The device is integrated in the blade and wirelessly communicates.

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Rotor blade design for wind turbines that reduces drag and noise while maintaining efficiency. The blade has a blunt trailing edge with a short trailing-edge region of less than 30% chord length. Inside this region, turbulators are placed on the suction side and/or pressure side. This prevents flow separation and vortices that cause drag and noise. The turbulators are small protrusions aligned parallel to the blade thickness. The blade can also have transition regions near the trailing edge to smoothly connect the profile and blunt edge. This avoids sharp corners that cause vortices.

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Passively modifying the airfoil shape of wind turbine blades to improve lift and reduce noise at low angles of attack using deformable elements that respond to local air pressure. The deformable elements are attached to the blade surface and deform when pressure builds up. This alters the blade thickness and profile without active control or components. The deformable elements can have fillers, semi-permeable membranes, or chambers to enhance their deformation.

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Power generation device using two distinct fluid flow streams, one external and one internal, to extract power from fluid flow like wind or water. The device has airfoils facing the wind to create low pressure that draws fluid into an internal stream through a separate inlet. This internal flow is accelerated by the airfoils, extracting energy in a turbine, then ejected back into the external flow. The dual flow design allows uncoupled pressure extraction from the external flow versus traditional single flow wind turbines.

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Wind turbine system with adjustable blades that optimize lift and drag forces at all wind speeds. The turbine has multiple rotating blade assemblies with pivoting sub-panels. The main rotor and blades rotate tangentially to the wind. The sub-panels can rotate independently during each rotation to continuously optimize the blade attack angle. This allows forward drag to be maximized and reverse drag minimized. The sub-panels also open/close to further reduce reverse drag. Sensors monitor wind, rotor speed, etc. to dynamically adjust the blade angles. This improves efficiency across wind speeds and prevents damage at high speeds.

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A wind turbine blade design with a unique pitch control mechanism that automatically adjusts the blade angle to optimize performance without using complex mechanical or electrical systems. The blade has a mass-balanced spar stub located forward of the airfoil's aerodynamic center. The airfoil is reflexed, meaning it has an upward camber line at the trailing edge. This creates a positive pitching moment. The blade can rotate freely around the spar stub axis. The reflexed airfoil pitches itself to the optimal angle due to aerodynamic forces, as any perturbation causes it to return to the trimmed position. This self-aligning blade design maximizes power extraction without requiring sensors or actuators.

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Variable scooping blade windmill with rotating blades to capture more wind energy compared to fixed blade windmills. The windmill has two sets of blades on a central hub at each end of the shaft. Each blade has an inner rod enclosed in an outer sleeve that can rotate around the inner rod. This allows the blade to pivot between a scooping orientation with the capture surface facing the wind and a knife orientation with the edge parallel to the wind. A drive gear rotates the outer sleeve to pivot the blade. By sensing wind direction and automatically pivoting the blades, more energy is captured compared to fixed blades.

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A wind director device to improve efficiency of vertical-axis wind turbines by simultaneously reducing drag force on the returning blade and increasing force on the advancing blade. The wind director has an inlet to capture wind and an outlet with a smaller width to accelerate the flow. It can be positioned near the turbine to direct wind into the advancing blade and also block wind from the returning blade. This reduces drag on the returning blade while increasing speed for the advancing blade. The device can also have a secondary duct to further enhance force on the returning blade.

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