Silent invisible urban wind energy
- Urban wind energy (text version)
From left to right: computer model of the one-way fabric cube; rotor of the axial turbine; flow channel of turbine; cut-away CAD model of the one-way fabric cube.
A novel type of wind turbine for minimal impact in the urban environment. To deliver renewable power where it is needed.” Professor Martin G. Rose
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Most of the world’s population lives in cities. Renewable energy is required to meet the challenges of global warming, yet wind turbines are perceived as noisy and to be eyesores. Using a special one-way-fabric it is possible to mount a wind turbine inside a building, or in a specially designed cube, removing these problems. The one-way fabric is designed to allow the turbine to work in all wind directions.
In the TFMRC a small prototype one-way-fabric cube has been tested in a wind tunnel and the working principle was established. It was found that the dynamic head of the air traveling through the baffle was double that of the wind. An axial turbine has also been manufactured using 3D printing and tested using a ventilation fan to provide airflow to drive the turbine. A speed of 900 RPM was achieved giving 50W. Potentially higher power can be expected when exposed to the natural wind. A larger cube 1m x 1m x 1m has been designed and is currently being manufactured. It has walls of perforated aluminium with a total of 16,000 10mm diameter holes each covered by a laser cut silicon rubber flap.