Aquanis Inc, the United States, has developed a new device which requires minimal modifications to a new blade. The design features a blade-mounted plasma flow actuator, a software controlled, solid-state electrical device that is simple and inexpensive. When a blade-embedded sensor detects deflection, soft-ware would signal the device to generate plasma that modulates the aerodynamic lift and drag forces, similar to the effect of trailing edge flaps in airplane wings.
Each device weighs only a few ounces and would be placed on the outer 20 to 30% of the blade length near the tip. An electronic driver weighing a pound or two would mount inside the blade and provide 8 to 12 kV signals to the plasma generators. The device is based on patented technology developed at the University of Notre Dame, the United States. Aquanis has an exclusive license to the patent portfolio for the wind energy field of use.
All remedies tried to date use moving parts and are costly and complex to implement. “The simplicity of our plasma actuator technology provides the basis for an inexpensive, no-moving-parts control system that will let wind turbines react instantly to changes in the wind,” said Neal Fine, at Aquanis. Contact: Aquanis, Inc., 224 Wickham Road, North Kingstown, RI 02852, USA. Tel: +1-401-595-7379; E-mail: info@aquanisinc.com.
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Greater turbine power production
VATIS UPDATE Part
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