Comments on: Jet Engines the Inspiration for New Wind Power Technology

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:00:02 +0000

Clever design, still unfortunate it only will work with wind so no matter how much production is put in it will always be at the mercy of the elements… obviously this is easily corrected by placing them strategically, but still…

By: Geoff Thomas

Geoff Thomas — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:59:02 +0000

Agree with Paddy, there is no reason the wind will avoid the turbine area, ie, can not surpass the claimed superiority to normal wind turbines because if anything, the resistance will be higher.
Probably the rave could best argue the advantage of 2 bladed wind turbines as they do provide less resistance, – that could be a productive debate.
Cheers,
Geoff Thomas.
Advanced Wind Technologies,
Australia

By: Paddy

Paddy — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:01:31 +0000

Reminds somewhat of Dyson’s Air Multiplier …

By: Dieter Nowak

Dieter Nowak — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:21:19 +0000

The turbine design has no merit because the maximum wind energy that can be collected is in the portion of the wind profile which covers the intake area of the shroud, which is apparently small compared to a conventional rotor. Actually, because of the pressure increase in front of the shroud, the effective diameter is even smaller, maybe 80% of the shroud diameter. The streamlines diverge in front of the shroud.

For the jet engine, because the driving turbine increases the troughput velocity, the streamlines in front of the shroud converge, just the opposite as for the wind turbine.

To have the same energy convergence capability the shrouded design would have to have approx. the same diameter as the standard wind turbine. This would require a large and very expensive structure

By: J Rand

J Rand — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:30:23 +0000

As pretty as the design looks I must say I am skeptical.

By what measure is it 4 times as effective? A conventional wind turbine converts roughly 1/2 the available power from it’s swept area. It will be a nice trick of physics if this one converts twice the available power.

Also I can’t believe it is cost effective. Instead of building just 3 blades you have to build many more and some complex and bulky shroudings.

If there is a market for such a design, it’s in tidal turbines, where the energy density is higher. There are good reasons why the design of modern wind turbine have converged to the 3 bladed HAWT design.

By: Gary R. Anderson

Gary R. Anderson — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:34:28 +0000

I think somewhere in the desert there’s a boneyard with old aircraft. I wonder if one could use one of those monster shrouds and retro fit the blades to make a wind generator.

By: Stan

Stan — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:19:05 +0000

I have seen FloDesign popping up every year in the last 3 years with one and the same information. Quasi high-tech idea (jet engines – wow!), but no proof of concept, no prototype, no production plan – for years. Seems a VC trap to me. Next million please!

By: John

John — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:59:10 +0000

A fool and his money is soon parted. I am amazed as the salesmanship of some people and the fact that investors do not use experts for analysis of the models.

Wind energy is directly related to area. The amount of power in the wind is the same per area. There is no magic involved. Perhaps the design is more effective due to lower magnetic flux resistance aka lower cut in winds, but air core versus magnetic core in the nacelles will do the same thing with proven technologies.

By: Boneheaded1

Boneheaded1 — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:48:18 +0000

Can we please stop talking about bird deaths and wind turbines? 1,000x more bird deaths occur from feral cats. Wind turbines will not cause a bird extinction. Do birds die from being hit by some turbine blades. Yes. But let’s remember more birds die from flying into glass doors/windows than they do from turbine blades. It’s the smaller turbines (less than 1MW) that do most of the killing, the bigger turbines turn to slow, bird can see them and avoid them. It’s the smaller ones that turn to fast that are, as you would term them, “the killers.”

In all, I would like to see a working prototype so they can prove their theory. Until then, it’s just a theory. Were I an investor, I would only give them enough to build the prototype with a contract to invest more if performance criteria were met. Sorry guys, but bird deaths would low on the list.

By: Ed Rennar

Ed Rennar — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:02:08 +0000

I have a great idea for your flo design turbine all I need is a very small one or more to put my idea to a test. I have been checking out all possibilities and your design seems quite applicable. Is it possible to get a 7-1/2″ or 7-7/8″ dia. any volt or wattage is OK.

Looking for some help. This idea will sell a lot of your turbines. Thanks

By: rollzone

rollzone — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:42:28 +0000

hello. the interest in improving this technology is fantastic. sure, it only works where there is enough wind blowing. it works. it is relatively free energy. the applications could be unlimited. imagine one of these incorporated into a new electric car design.

By: L.Kassahun

L.Kassahun — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:32:32 +0000

It is wonderful idea day today the way for green form of energy were improved and fantastic new ideas coming.

As a suggestion what I want to add is that mixing the air with the chemical may have its own direction instead of directly using the wind for the rotation of the turbine and production of electricity.

By: Geoff Thomas

Geoff Thomas — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:43:32 +0000

There is an extensive history of these shroud type machines, basically they are really only dealing with the “swept area” of the total shroud, so the smaller blades are misleading, the shroud is part of the blades.

On top of that the extra resistance to the wind by all that complicated fluting and extra blade numbers means that the wind is inclined to go around the whole shebang, giving an actual wind speed through the total space much less than a conventional turbine.

These designs only work in a restrictive wind tunnel where the wind can not go around the device, good for extracting funds from gullible investors but bad for the wind industry.

By: C. Crusack

C. Crusack — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:09:43 +0000

Might be a pain to maintain maintenance in later years, get inside there and clean the interior like a jet engine.

By: K. Mackie

K. Mackie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:21:03 +0000

What concerns me about the presentation is that it uses false information about the so-called limitations of “traditional” wind turbines to promote its product. What does this say about the confidence of the “inventors” in their system? Where is footage of the prototype in operation? Why do we only see computer generated graphics? I will reserve judgment until I see real numbers generated by a real prototype in a real field test.

By: William

William — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:30:56 +0000

Would be interested in how much sound is generated from one (or more) of these units. Proposed target market and any known physical restrictions… and of course the actual sizes available.

Are there any written result from the series of tests available to the public?

By: Gary Schabel

Gary Schabel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:19:13 +0000

FloDesign’s video is very misleading and their design appears ridiculously expensive to me. They are not only going to build more blades that run at higher speeds but they are going to build all the shrouds also, and what about rotating the assembly to face the wind. Also, FloDesign apparently has never heard of the Betz limit which proves that you can only extract a maximum of 59% of the total kinetic energy in the wind.

By: marisa rehana mann

marisa rehana mann — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:16:36 +0000

Is this a safer form of wind energy for wild birds such as Puffins? I am an Artist working in the field of sustainable development and worry that current designs may be harmful to wild birds?

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:02:05 +0000

Great product design- I love it. Another transitional technology that is useful immediately. It reminds me of a refined Schauberger vortexian approach which is always more advanced in turbines of any design.

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:18:12 +0000

Seems like a pretty simple idea, why didn’t someone think of this sooner like GE which makes jet engines and wind turbines.