Vad händer
Harmony Turbines har utvecklat en mikrovindturbin som snurrar längs en vertikal axel.
Kontext
Harmonys vindturbin har många ovanliga egenskaper. Den är helt tyst, parerar höga vindar automatiskt och genererar elektricitet oavsett från vilket håll vinden blåser.
The idea came to him, he explained, while contemplating the yin and yang symbol — an Eastern philosophical concept depicting the two complementary forces comprising all life. He realized the pattern was a more sensible form of wind turbine than the unwieldy, far-reaching designs currently used.
Lebtown: Lebanon County company hopes to bring to market a revolutionary turbine design
Tekniken har lockat många som är nyfikna på nya sätt att fånga vind och omvandla till elektricitet. Vid Bucknell University i Pennsylvania har forskare börjat studera Harmonys vindturbin för att bättre förstå hur vinden agerar och reagerar.
There has been much progress made thus far. Scale models of the Harmony Turbine are running in the wind tunnel and are collecting preliminary data about the power generated in a variety of conditions. The structure of the full scale test rig has been welded by Lostak-Baker, and assembly of the braking system, which extracts and dissipates the power from the turbine, along with power measurement are in progress. The team of researchers expect to receive the full scale turbine from Harmony and have it integrated with the work done by Lostak-Baker and Orozco by the end of the semester.
The Bucknellian: University professors and students work to test vertical-axis wind turbines
Vad har det för betydelse
Småskalig vindkraftproduktion kan kombineras med solpaneler och ge ett hushåll verktyg för att producera elektricitet dygnet runt.
Because of that revolutionary design, he said, Harmony can continue to draw power from high-speed winds that would force other turbines to shut down. “We’re going to keep on producing power — extra power — in full winds. That’s huge.”
On the other hand, he said, his turbine can start spinning in 1 to 2 mph winds, while most standard turbines don’t start spinning until wind speeds hit 5 or 6 mph. “So we’re already capturing power before they start to spin,” he said.
Lebtown: Lebanon County company hopes to bring to market a revolutionary turbine design
