Vortex resonance wind turbine

• US 9,856,854 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2016
• Issued: 01/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deutecno, S.L.
• Original Assignee: Deutecno, S.L.
• Inventors: Yaez Villarreal, David Jesus
• Primary Examiner(s): Dougherty, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Addison, Karen B
• Application Number:
  US15/241,807
• Publication Number:
  US 20160356264A1
• Time in Patent Office: 501 Days
• Field of Search: 310339, 290 43
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 5/06 the wind-engaging parts swinging to-and-fro and not rotating
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 9/25 the apparatus being an electrical generator F03D9/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F03G 7/08 recovering energy derived from swinging, rolling, pitching or like movements, e.g. from the vibrations of a machine
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2220/706 an electrical generator
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/122 Vortex generators, turbulators, or the like, for mixing
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/407 through piezoelectric conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 2/188 adapted for resonant operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/70 Wind energy
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction

Abstract

Wind turbine consisting of an anchoring to the ground or to a base and a mast, the natural oscillation frequency of which is purposely adjusted to the frequency of appearance of the air vortices or eddies produced after the collision of a laminar and stationary airflow against the surface thereof. The aeroelastic energy thus absorbed is converted into electrical energy due to the use of materials with high electromechanical coupling.

Claims

1. A vortex resonance wind power generator, comprising:

a mast for capturing wind energy, the mast having one end attached to a base and a higher part capable of oscillating freely, the mast being arranged so that stationary and laminar airflow striking the mast is transformed into a turbulent flow, forming vortices or eddies,

the mast having a cross section with a characteristic dimension that increases in a longitudinal direction as a function of the height, to produce a synchronized appearance of vortices along the mast.

2. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 1, wherein the mast has a circular cross section with a diameter, the characteristic dimension being the diameter.

3. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 2, further comprising means for modulating the natural frequency of oscillation of the mast to match or tune it to the frequency of appearance of vortices.

4. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 2, wherein at an upper end of the mast, the diameter decreases in the longitudinal direction toward a top of the mast, as a function of the height thereof.

5. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 2, wherein the diameter increases in the longitudinal direction so that the vortices or eddies appear in a synchronized manner along the entire length of the mast.

6. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 2, wherein the diameter increases in a non-linear manner as a function of the height.

7. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 1, wherein the mast has a height of more than 1 meter.

8. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 7, further comprising means for modulating the natural frequency of oscillation of the mast to match or tune it to the frequency of appearance of vortices.

9. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 1, wherein the mast has a height of more than 4 meters.

10. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 1, further comprising means for modulating the natural frequency of oscillation of the mast to match or tune it to the frequency of appearance of vortices.

11. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic dimension increases in the longitudinal direction from a bottom of the mast toward a top of the mast, as a function of the height thereof.

12. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 1, wherein at an upper end of the mast, the characteristic dimension decreases in the longitudinal direction toward a top of the mast, as a function of the height thereof.

13. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic dimension increases in the longitudinal direction so that the vortices or eddies appear in a synchronized manner along the entire length of the mast.

14. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 1, wherein the mast comprises elements with a high electromechanical coupling for producing electrical energy out of the oscillating movement of the mast.

15. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 1, wherein the mast comprises elements with a high electromechanical coupling for adapting the natural frequency of oscillation of the mast.

16. The vortex resonance wind power generator according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic dimension increases in a non-linear manner as a function of the height.

17. A method of producing electrical energy with a mast having one end attached to a base and an opposite end capable of oscillating freely, comprising:

subjecting the mast to wind so that vortices or eddies appear with a frequency, causing the mast to oscillate; and

adapting the natural frequency of oscillation of the mast to wind speed so that the natural frequency of oscillation of the mast matches the frequency of appearance of the vortices.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein adapting the natural frequency of oscillation of the mast to the wind speed comprises modulating the Young'"'"'s modulus of the mast.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein a characteristic dimension of the cross section of the mast increases in a longitudinal direction as a function of the height, so that the vortices or eddies appear in a synchronized manner along the entire length of the mast.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the mast has a circular cross section, the characteristic dimension being the diameter of the mast.