Wind Turbine Power Enhancements
Systems are provided for increasing the power to be extracted from a wind stream by a wind turbine, including placing a duct and nozzle system, or cluster of such systems, up-stream of the wind turbine.
1 . A system for increasing the power to be extracted by a wind stream by a wind turbine, comprising:
a duct having an inlet with a first cross-sectional area, and an outlet with a second cross-sectional area, wherein the first cross-sectional area is larger than the second cross-sectional area, so that when a wind stream enters the inlet of the duct, it will exit the duct with increased air velocity;
wherein the wind turbine is separated from the duct by an air space, and aligned with the outlet of the duct, so as to receive a stream of air from the outlet and convert said stream into usable mechanical energy.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the duct comprises a cylinder connected to a tapered nozzle, the end of the nozzle being the outlet of the duct.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the duct comprises metal structural members covered with a skin comprising a sheet of flexible or ductile material.
4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the skin is a fabric.
5 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
means for rotating the duct so as to align it with the direction of the wind.
6 . The system of claim 5 , further comprising:
means for measuring the direction of the wind;
wherein said means for rotating the duct comprises one or more bearings, a motor, and an electronic control system.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the wind turbine is a vertical wind turbine.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the wind turbine is a horizontal wind turbine comprising blades, and the first cross-sectional area is less than the cross-sectional area defined by the area swept by the blades.
9 . A system for increasing the power to be extracted by a wind stream by a wind turbine, comprising:
a cluster of ducts arranged in a pattern, each duct having an inlet with a first cross-sectional area, and an outlet with a second cross-sectional area, wherein the first cross-sectional area of each duct is larger than the second cross-sectional area of each duct, so that when a wind stream enters the inlet of each duct, it will exit the duct with increased air velocity;
wherein the wind turbine is separated from the cluster of ducts by an air space, and aligned with the outlets of the ducts, so as to receive a stream of air from the outlets and convert said stream into usable mechanical energy.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein each of the ducts comprises a cylinder connected to a tapered nozzle, the end of the nozzle being the outlet of said duct.
11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein each of the ducts comprises metal structural members covered with a skin comprising a sheet of flexible or ductile material.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the skin is a fabric.
13 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising:
means for rotating the cluster so as to align it with the direction of the wind.
14 . The system of claim 13 , further comprising:
means for measuring the direction of the wind;
wherein said means for rotating the cluster comprises one or more bearings, a motor, and an electronic control system.
15 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the wind turbine is a vertical wind turbine.
16 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the cluster of ducts comprises a hexagonal arrangement.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein said ducts within the cluster of ducts are hexagons.
18 . The system of claim 9 , wherein said ducts within the cluster of ducts are rectangular slot nozzles.
19 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the wind turbine is a horizontal wind turbine comprising blades, and the cross-sectional area of the cluster of ducts is less than the cross-sectional area defined by the area swept by the blades.