To keep them stable, diameter would be roughly 1,312ft (400 metres)
The giant blades would generate up to 50 megawatts of electricity
Only simulations have been done so far, scale model expected by 2019
If model passes tests, the first facility is likely to be completed in 10 years
By Abigail Beall For Mailonline
When it comes to wind turbines, the bigger the better.
But one problem with building bigger wind turbines in the past has been
that the structures become too heavy to survive in extreme weather conditions.
Now a new kind of turbine design, inspired by palm trees, could allow
turbines to be built taller than ever before.
Researchers in the US are designing a new wind turbine that will reach
1,574 feet (479 metres) into the sky – 100 feet (30 metres) taller than the
Empire State Building.
THE SIZE OF THE TURBINE
Researchers in the US are designing a new wind turbine that will reach
1,574ft (479 metres) into the sky,
This is 100ft (30 metres) taller than the Empire State Building.
The giant blades would generate up to 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity, 25
times more than a typical turbine today.
To keep them stable, the diameter of the structures would be roughly 1,312
feet (400 metres).
The turbines wouldn’t face the wind but would go downwind, aligning the
blades to flow with the wind instead of fighting it.
Instead of a single stiff blade, each blade will be broken into segments,
allowing it to be built and transported more easily.
The concept would also allow the blades to spread out when the wind is
blowing lightly to capture as much power as possible.
Most wind turbines are around 328ft (100 metres) tall.
The giant blades would generate up to 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity, 25
times more than a typical turbine today.
By comparison, this would roughly power 44,400 average family homes.
To keep them stable, the diameter of the structures would be roughly
1,312ft (400 metres).
The design is called Segmented Ultralight Morphing Rotors (SUMR).
The turbines wouldn’t face the wind but would go downwind, aligning the
blades to flow with the wind instead of fighting it.
Instead of a single stiff blade, each blade will be broken into segments,
allowing it to be built and transported more easily.
The concept would also allow the blades to spread out when the wind is
blowing lightly to capture as much power as possible.
‘Like a flower, the petals are spread out, and we reach out and grab as
much wind as we can,’ Professor Loth said.
When winds blow with hurricane force the blades would contract, almost like
a claw.
So far the team, consisting of four US universities, led by Professor Eric
Loth, from the University of Virginia’s mechanical and aerospace
engineering department, has only built simulations of the giant turbine.
They have described the designs in a YouTube video.
‘The concepts have all looked very promising, but they’re all pure
simulations,’ Professor Loth told the Los Angeles Times.
‘Now we’re actually going to build something. That’s where the rubber meets
the road.’
Their aim is to produce a prototype a tenth of the final size by 2019. It
would then be tested by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado.
The blades would look much different look from today’s wind turbines,
because the blades need to be made of lighter and more resilient material
to be built at such a large scale.
The researchers said the design was inspired by the structure of palm
trees, which are tall and light but can survive hurricane force winds.
If the technology works, the team want to avoid putting the big-blade
facilities on land. Instead they would be put offshore around 20 to 25
miles (32 to 40km) away from the coast.
‘I really want to focus on going far enough offshore that we’re away from
the migratory patterns of the birds,’ Professor Loth said.
Even if the turbines pass the tests in 2019, it is estimated that it will
be between 10 and 15 years before the first facility would be up and running.
‘This highlights the extraordinary innovations taking place in the wind
industry internationally. This particular American blade is at an early
stage, so it will be interesting to see how the small-scale prototypes
perform over the next few years of testing,’ Maf Smith, RenewableUK’s
Deputy Chief Executive told MailOnline.
‘In the UK, we’re already using and refining the next generation of
full-size high-tech blades. These are up to 80 metres long which is
equivalent of nine double decker buses. These are already generating
increasingly large quantities of electricity out at sea, which is driving
down the cost of electricity for all of us.’
‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’ Robert Bryce, energy journalist and a
vocal critic of wind energy said.
‘While longer blades may allow project developers to produce more energy
from their turbines, they will also require bigger towers to support them.
That means higher costs.’
TURNING TO NATURE FOR INSPIRATION
Like the team behind the new wind turbine, inspired by the palm tree that
can survive hurricane force winds, engineers are turning to nature for
solutions to a range of issues in the growing field of biomimetics.
Earlier this year, engineers from Southampton University developed an
unmanned vehicle inspired by the way in which bats fly by changing the
shape of their wings. The team behind the wings believes the design is
revolutionary and could pave the way for a new generation of drones.
At Stanford University in California, scientists have focused on the
hummingbird for flight insight.
They found that the ratio of the bird’s wing length to its width that makes
them so efficient.
The discovery is helping experts compete with 42 million years of natural
selection to build helicopters that are increasingly efficient, which could
match the performance of the hummingbird.
Another area of interest is spider silk, with scientists looking to use
synthetic versions of the ultra strong protein threads in a range of sectors.
Commercial applications have already seen warm, tough jackets produced for
the great outdoors. Other groups have had attempts at bulletproof skin –
made of human skin reinforced with spider silk – which is four times
stronger than kevlar.
How the gecko get its grip is still a source of mimicry attempts from
scientists, with researchers trying to replicate the sticking power of the
reptiles’ toes to produce new adhesives for industry.
‘We have to be really careful to prove our technology and our concept
before someone’s going to sink in a lot of money,’ Professor Loth said.
But besides generating more electricity, the project’s primary goal, team
leaders say, is reducing the cost of wind energy by 50 per cent.
‘That is the big issue because right now wind energy is more expensive than
fossil fuel energy,’ Professor Loth said.
‘It’s wonderful to have no carbon or CO2 emissions, but you have to do that
cost-effectively and that’s what this whole project is about.’
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