323 patents in this list
Updated: June 19, 2024
Improving the aerodynamics of wind turbine blades is heralding a new frontier in renewable energy efficiency. By refining blade design and materials, these advancements aim to significantly boost energy capture and operational performance.
This article explores the latest developments in aerodynamic optimization for wind turbine blades, addressing key challenges such as reducing drag, enhancing lift-to-drag ratio, and maintaining structural integrity under varying wind conditions.
These innovations promise to bring about a transformative leap in wind energy systems, making them more efficient and cost-effective, ultimately fostering a wider adoption of wind power for sustainable energy solutions.
Kyung Hee HAN, 2024
Vertical axis wind turbine generator with improved torque and noise performance compared to traditional vertical axis wind turbines. The generator has a vertical rotor shaft and multiple blades attached. The blades are divided into fixed and movable sections. The movable sections can close or open a central wind hole in the fixed sections. This allows optimizing blade pressure and torque. When backwind blows, the movable sections close the wind hole to maximize pressure. When headwind blows, they open the wind hole to minimize pressure. This reduces counter-torque from wind forces and noise compared to traditional vertical axis wind turbines.
Kyung Hee HAN, 2024
Vertical axis multi-stage wind turbine generator with reduced counter-torque wind pressure and improved stability for high wind speeds. The turbine has multiple stages of rotor blades mounted vertically between conical guide plates. Each rotor blade has a ball-netted wind hole that can open or close depending on wind direction. When the blade is accelerating into the wind, the hole opens to increase blade speed. When the blade is decelerating, the hole closes. This allows higher blade speeds and reduces counter-torque force compared to fixed wind holes. The turbine also has reinforcing poles between the guide plates to withstand high winds.
NTN Corporation, 2024
A windmill design that improves rotation energy conversion efficiency compared to conventional windmills. The windmill has a blade with a front edge and rear edge, and a supporting member that connects the blade and shaft. The supporting member has a front end and rear end. A straight line passing through the middle of the supporting member and parallel to the radial direction intersects the blade chord line at the rear edge midpoint. This configuration balances centrifugal forces on the blade and supports them more efficiently.
AGILE WIND POWER AG, 2024
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.
Alfred FINNELL, 2024
A wind turbine blade design with improved efficiency and bird safety. The turbine has a central hub with spokes connecting to a peripheral rim. Blades are mounted inside the rim near the edge. This reduces stress on the blades compared to cantilevered designs. The interior edge gap between blades and hub prevents birds flying into the blades. The blades rotate at a constant angle of attack. This optimizes power extraction by matching blade tip speed to the wind. The blades are adjustable for blade length variation.
Zhaotai Wang, 2024
A vertical axis wind turbine with double-layered reversible rotation and horizontal movable wings that improves efficiency compared to traditional vertical axis turbines. The turbine has two coaxial main bodies with reversible rotation and wings. Each wing has movable sections that pivot on shafts. The wings are arranged alternately around the main bodies in a circular pattern. This allows the wings to avoid interference during rotation. The reversible rotation allows power generation from both directions. The main bodies transmit power to a central shaft for output.
Jan Wisniewski, 2024
Vertical axis wind turbine rotor with optimized blade twist for improved efficiency. The rotor has aerodynamic profiles with distinct leading and trailing edges that operate at blade speeds greater than 1.5 times the incoming wind speed. The blade twist is optimized by having a smaller angle shift between the trailing edge at ΒΌ and Β½ blade height compared to the Β½ and ΒΎ heights. This reduces flow separation and vortex formation for better lift generation. The blade twist along the whole rotor height should be at least 90% of the full angle divided by the number of blades, preferably 100-120%.
Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, 2024
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.
Ching-Cheng HUANG, 2024
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.
George A. Spencer, 2024
Vertical axis wind turbine with improved vane control for reduced noise and drag. The turbine has vertical blades with rotating vanes that open to reduce drag when facing wind and close to generate torque when facing away from wind. The vane pivots 180 degrees. To slow vane movement and prevent impact at extremes, biasing hinges and stops limit vane rotation near 0 and 180 degrees. This reduces vane speed and contact noise compared to sudden stops.
Kuninori Tsuda, 2024
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.
Maini Renewables Private Limited, 2024
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.
Airloom Energy Inc., 2024
Extracting power from wind using a tracked airfoil that rolls along an elevated track with alternating upper and lower sections. The airfoil moves crosswind to the atmospheric wind. Rolling at different angles on the upper and lower sections allows leveraging the wind for more power extraction. A terminal section connects the sections. Yawing the airfoil on the terminal section helps acceleration. The track allows crosswind travel to avoid wind direction limitations.
University of Cincinnati, 2024
Vertical axis wind turbine with compound blades that provide more consistent torque compared to conventional savonius turbines. The compound blades have both a primary and secondary concave section. This configuration allows the blades to generate torque in both directions as they rotate, reducing torque variation and improving efficiency.
David Papini, 2024
A wind-powered generator designed for residential and portable applications that can be used in locations where wind turbines may not be feasible due to constraints like neighbor complaints, housing regulations, or insufficient wind. The generator has a unique housing shape and dual rotor design that allows it to efficiently harness low wind speeds. The housing has a curved leading section and a straight trailing section. The rotors are sized and positioned to maximize power output. A smaller rotor in the trailing section reduces wind interference. The rotors drive internal generators that combine output. The generator can be mounted directly on buildings or portably. A voltage converter adjusts output.
Sirocco Energy, 2024
A wind generator with improved efficiency and durability compared to traditional horizontal axis wind turbines. The design uses a vertical mast with a rotating frame, elliptical base, and radially fixed blades. The blades are mounted on carriages that roll on the elliptical base. This allows the blades to change angle as the frame rotates. The elliptical shape reduces drag and allows the blades to sweep more area. The rotating frame and base also stabilize the flow around the blades. The vertical orientation reduces noise and vibration. The modular frame and base sections can be scaled up or down.
Orville J. Birkestrand, 2024
An open cycle lift force turbine that can extract significantly more power from a flowing fluid like wind compared to conventional wind turbines. The turbine uses lift forces instead of just drag forces like conventional turbines. Lift forces create asymmetric pressure distribution on the blades which is used to generate power. The turbine rotates into the flow instead of with it like conventional turbines. This pre-rotation compresses the flow and improves efficiency. The turbine also has a compressor stage to match the blade speed to the incoming flow. This allows high velocity flow from a bypass fan and ram air intake. The lift force turbine generates more power density than conventional turbines and can operate in any atmosphere.
Velocity Wind Turbines, LLC, 2024
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.
Robert Lothar Montieth, 2024
A vertical-axis wind turbine with spherically shaped blades that captures more wind energy and allows for turbulent updraft capture, especially useful for rooftop installations. The blades have a concave inner surface and convex outer surface, forming a spherical shape when viewed from the top and bottom. This shape increases drag on the concave side and reduces drag on the convex side, allowing more wind capture. The spherical shape also compresses airflow through the center of the turbine, increasing its velocity as it exits. The open center of the turbine allows for efficient flow through the spherical blades.
Rakesh Aggarwal, 2023
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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