hpcconcepts@yahoo.com
574 849 6236
Waters
Turbine
Optimizing
energy extraction from a moving fluid
The goal of a wind or water turbine : Convert the force of a fluid passing through a given area into electrical or mechanical force.
Current designs maximize aerodynamic efficiency like an aircraft. This results in long thin wings that comprise less than 5% of the total disk area in the region of maximum torque (the tip). Much of the air passes through unaffected or in a region that contributes low torque (the root). Only the tip of the blade maximizes leverage.
A typical Horizontal axis (HAWT) and Vertical (VAWT) is shown below. A VAWT) has to fight upwind on one side as it rotates, usually resulting in less efficiency.
1. Utilize as many molecules as possible.
2. Divert all flow to the maximum point of leverage.
3. Accelerate all flow prior to extraction of energy.
4. Place all of the blade area at both the maximum point of leverage and the highest flow velocity.
There are two choices for accelerating flow. Divert around an object or constrict through. Diverting flow to the outside provides more leverage for a given size object. Generally, large costs more than small. Complex costs more than simple. Here is a basic design that meets the criteria.
In the above illustration, all of the flow has to go around the back plate, accelerating in the process. A band of blades is mounted around the perimeter at both the maximum point of leverage and maximum flow velocity. As a result, all of the fluid is utilized and accelerated to maximum velocity prior to use.
Third party and direct comparison test
There have been three separate third party tests, including computer flow analysis. My own direct comparative tests against a conventional high performance wind turbine in a broad range of conditions confirm theory. We ran direct comparisons in real world conditions for days because 3rd party results seemed too high. An aerodynamicist study over several months of tests found a maximum of 122 times more efficient at 14 mph.
The conventional design was a molded precision product with an accurate airfoil. Mine was far from optimized, using no airfoils in order to build at low cost. Comparing my 4' design against a stock 5' three blade, under the same load, the conventional product starts at over 7 mph and produces very little torque or rpm at that speed. My turbine, under the same load starts at under 1 mph. If the square force relationship is used that is 49 times more force required to turn the conventional design. If the cube rule is used the difference is 343 times. Then there is a size difference. The actual formula is more complex and varies with wind speed but the results are interesting. Startup velocity is just one factor but this shows that a much broader wind velocity range can be utilized.
In analyzing many wind turbine polars, real world generator efficiency range usually results in electrical output falling somewhere between square and cube relationship.
Another interesting data point, under extreme shaft load, the conventional turbine would not turn, even at 28 mph. My design in the same conditions self starts at 11 mph.
Test equipment involved a pony brake, rpm meter and wind meter. Accuracy of both wind and rpm meters was within 5%. Pony brake measurements were comparative and direct, utilizing the same shaft, load and conditions for both designs.
Wind Velocity & Pressure Profiles
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Waters_Effect_Turbine
September 25, 2014 / June 29, 2015
Waters
Effect Turbine
Compiled by Sterling D. Allan
In October, 2013, at the Global Breakthrough Energy Movement Conference in Boulder, Colorado, in his presentation, my friend and associate, Mike Waters, previous President of the New Energy Systems Trust (NEST) we founded 2.5 years ago, showed a wind turbine design he came up with that is ridiculously simple. It's basically a squirrel cage arrangement set 90-degrees perpendicular to the incoming air, diverting all the incoming air to the perimeter where the torque is.
Let me say that again. The further away from the rotation point you are, the more torque you get. This design harnesses the wind at the extreme perimeter -- only. All the incoming wind is deflected there, where it achieves the maximum torque conversion. Let me say part of that again: all of the incoming air is utilized.
Furthermore, Mike says that even the "drag" effect contributes rather than diminishes in this design, much like a ridge accelerates air flow. A good analogy for this is when you are driving on the freeway close behind a semi-truck, your mileage improves, not just from his breaking the wind but because he is actually pulling you to a certain extent, so his mileage goes down.
Also, Mike's turbine will start rotating at less than 1 mph wind -- so slight that you can't even tell there is a breeze.
Compare Mike's design to the typical three-bladed turbine you see deployed in most commercial applications nowadays. At low speed, most of the wind (like 95%) misses the blades, and the bulk of the blade is near to point of rotation, where the least torque is.
Another advantage is that birds will have no problem seeing this one and will fly around it, in contrast to the 3-bladed designs that they try to fly through, with often fatal results.
Finally, it's very quiet. That, alone, is a huge advantage over the 3-blade design.
Inasmuch as Mike's focus for the past dozen years or so, mainly under the radar, has been on exotic free energy technologies, both in helping other inventors as well as his own innovations, he wasn't really motivated to put much time into pursuing his wind turbine design. Wind is not nearly as reliable as some of the exotics that harvest energy from other plugs in the wheelwork of nature continuously, inexhaustibly.
But a NASA aerodynamicist tested the design for several months, and someone from the audience at his Global BEM lecture built another prototype. What they found, independently, was so unbelievable that Mike didn't dare tell us the numbers until he had more corroboration. He certainly did not want me making any announcements until further validation.
I met the second guy at the Tesla Tech conference in July, who repeated to me what Mike had told us in private.
Using a wind tunnel to compare Mike's design to the conventional 3-blade design, they were getting numbers like 50x more efficient. FIFTY TIMES!!
In the wind industry, if you can get 5% improvement, you'll be making all kinds of friends and business deals. Mike's exhibits ONE THOUSAND TIMES MORE IMPROVEMENT THAN THAT!
Geoffrey Miller of EnergyBat Labs, who I've done extensive reporting on in recent days, replicated a ~4-foot diameter Waters turbine. We didn't get around to uncovering it from its tarp while I was there on June 19, 2015, but I could see its shape under the tarp. Geoff told of an early demonstration he saw Mike do inside a car. He had the person turn their heater blower to full, and he placed a 3-bladed turbine in front if it, and it barely turned. Then he had them turn the blower to its lowest setting, and he took a similar diameter turbine of his squirrel cage design and held it back about 2-3 feet, and it was spinning rapidly from that low air flow.
What this means is that the size of the turbine can be much smaller to perform the same amount of energy harvesting as the much larger and cumbersome three-bladed design. You could easily transport and assemble this design and it can be used as a wind or water turbine.
Furthermore, the design is potentially much sturdier, hence able to hold up to high winds.
Speaking of high winds, with Mike's design you can turn the turbine 90 degrees like the old-fashioned wind turbines. The tail fin would keep it in that orientation. I'm guessing that you would still be harnessing the wind, but you would be harvesting maybe 1/5 to 1/10 of it and it would self limit rpm.
Mike is also involved with a number of other energy technologies and inventors and several are being tested with this turbine. This includes SERPS and Kairos TGen, MES generator, a generator from India, several options from EnergyBat Labs and Al Throckmorton's Lord's Pump. Mike feels they should be able to conservatively boost output by at least 4 times using the SERPS/TGen alone.
By connecting a growing number of energy breakthroughs and inventors, Mike hopes that more people will be motivated to collaborate rather than try to compete. The more inventors align in the energy field, the greater the chance of success. Mike discusses more about collaboration on his website. http://cureforglobalcrises.weebly.com/
A provisional patent has been filed on the design and it is also being covered under a global copyright trust structure.
Mike is open sourcing for people to build for themselves and basic license arrangement for manufacturing. The design can be built in many different ways – as a blimp, windsock/parachute/umbrella, applied to wind or water. Blades can be made in bands or individually molded, fixed or variable pitch. The main disk or entry tube can be stationary or rotate. The generator can be mounted at the hub or the edge.
There is already interest in rolling out the design in the US, Brazil, India, Africa and China. A 12’ test is currently being built in Australia and water turbine variations in the US and Peru...
