Wind turbines 3x more efficient, resemble jet engine

[francolettieri]

A company called Flodesign has invented a new far more efficient Wind Turbine that resembles and uses the same principles as jet engines. It has NUMEROUS advantages over the standard giant 3 blade turbines we are used to seeing. Links to the article, illustration and youtube video included below.

Too bad they didn't think of this 20 years ago before they began installing those giant, inefficient 3 bladed turbines that exist now!!

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/flodesign_wind_turbine_corp_of.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RagPPrHUMTY

[Turbineguy]

1. Interesting.

The inlet nozzles on the one side and the exhaust cowl on the other.

The inlet nozzles guide the air to the moving blades at the optimum angle and the exhaust cowling creates a low pressure on the backside of the turbine.

[doc03]

2. I hope GE can steal it from them so I can make some

profit on my stock.

[SteveM]

4. Just sold my GE so I can pay property taxes. 61: retired whether you like it or not (nt)

[doc03]

10. Interesting I am also 61 and was laid off on April 17

in April 2010 I will be 62 and think I may as well retire early since there is little hope of being recalled and I don't want to start a new job. Good luck and enjoy your retirement.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Cool. Pretty much the same principles as an aircraft jet engine.

Hope it works.

[Gregorian]

8. Multiple stages will be next.

I see no reason why not. Get the most out of it.

[caraher]

3. I'll be a lot more impressed once they build something more than animations

That 3x more efficient claim sounds fishy when you consider that conventional systems can attain half the theoretical maximum energy extraction.

Now the system could be 3x more productive by operating efficiently over greater range of wind speeds... but just say that then instead of making it seem like there's some impossible magic at work.

I hated the video. Showing conventional 3-bladed turbines splintering? Please! There are catastrophic modes of failure for them, but let's not mock working systems when you're still just working out your prototype. It also seems silly to claim a huge advantage in ease of construction sites when you haven't built one yet. Yes, being smaller has to help with transportation... but proof by computer animation has a lot of obvious defects!

This may be a far superior design, and I look forward to seeing its potential fully explored. But I object to the sales pitch of sniping at technology that already works as a means of promoting theirs. The OP's remark about it being too bad they didn't think of this years ago points up my big worry - that someone might use the promise of a better wind technology tomorrow as an excuse not to install the technology we have today. Turbines don't last forever - I'm sure any turbine put up 20 years ago will be decommissioned long before a full-scale, commercial version of this proposed technology comes into being. The old can then be replaced by the improved technology. Never let perfect be the enemy of the good!

[Statistical]

6. Lots of good points. The 3x improvement is very suspect.

[madokie]

9. He's never a big man when he tears down others to get there

that applies here, methinks :hi:

[madokie]

7. and you think that sob is Pretty

:rofl: thats about the ugliest thing I've ever seen but its fine with me. I could live with it no problem as I like wind