SUBHEAD: Alternative wind generation with simpler technology than turbines... one moving part.
[Editor's note: Elegant and simple. The question is how long will any material last as a ribbon vibrating in variable wind circumstances? Replacement might be cheap and easy... but how frequently?]
By Mack on 15 September 2008 at 37Signals.com -
(http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1238-turning-aeroelastic-flutter-into-third-world-power)
Image above: Shawn Frayne and his aeroelastic electric generator. From http://thebreakthrough.org/blog/2008/03/the_answer_is_blowin_in_the_wi.shtml
Working in Haiti, Shawn Frayne, a 28-year-old inventor based in Mountain View, California, saw the need for small-scale wind power to juice LED lamps and radios in the homes of the poor. Conventional wind turbines don’t scale down well—there’s too much friction in the gearbox and other components.
“With rotary power, there’s nothing out there that generates under 50 watts,” Frayne says. So he took a new tack, studying the way vibrations caused by the wind led to the collapse in 1940 of Washington’s Tacoma Narrows Bridge (aka Galloping Gertie).
Frayne’s device, which he calls a Windbelt, is a taut membrane fitted with a pair of magnets that oscillate between metal coils. Prototypes have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph slivers of wind, making his device 10 to 30 times as efficient as the best microturbines. Frayne envisions the Windbelt costing a few dollars and replacing kerosene lamps in Haitian homes.
Video above: Demonstration of inexspensive non-spinning wind generator. From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paxI4y_WmZI
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[Editor's note: Elegant and simple. The question is how long will any material last as a ribbon vibrating in variable wind circumstances? Replacement might be cheap and easy... but how frequently?]
By Mack on 15 September 2008 at 37Signals.com -
(http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1238-turning-aeroelastic-flutter-into-third-world-power)
Image above: Shawn Frayne and his aeroelastic electric generator. From http://thebreakthrough.org/blog/2008/03/the_answer_is_blowin_in_the_wi.shtml
Working in Haiti, Shawn Frayne, a 28-year-old inventor based in Mountain View, California, saw the need for small-scale wind power to juice LED lamps and radios in the homes of the poor. Conventional wind turbines don’t scale down well—there’s too much friction in the gearbox and other components.
“With rotary power, there’s nothing out there that generates under 50 watts,” Frayne says. So he took a new tack, studying the way vibrations caused by the wind led to the collapse in 1940 of Washington’s Tacoma Narrows Bridge (aka Galloping Gertie).
Frayne’s device, which he calls a Windbelt, is a taut membrane fitted with a pair of magnets that oscillate between metal coils. Prototypes have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph slivers of wind, making his device 10 to 30 times as efficient as the best microturbines. Frayne envisions the Windbelt costing a few dollars and replacing kerosene lamps in Haitian homes.
Video above: Demonstration of inexspensive non-spinning wind generator. From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paxI4y_WmZI
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3 comments :
THIS LOOKS VERY INTERESTING; WHY SUCH LITTLE INFO. ON ALTERNATIVE ENERGY?
Aloha Hunter Gatherer,
Being that this uses something that has to move (vibrate) constantly means wear and tear as well as material fatigue.
I would guess scaling this up is quite a problem. Noise would likely be a big problem.
My experience where there is sun and wind available is to go for the sun. A good PV system could last a lifetime.
IB Publisher
It Would be a Great If u Can Provide More details about It.Thank You.
load bank hire & used generator sales
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