A novel type of wind turbine dramatically improves efficiency by changing the tip shape and linking the blade tips.
Inventor EvoLogics in Berlin, Germany claims that it enhances power output by 50% at a wind speed of 8m/s, 30% at 12m/s and 20% at 15 m/s. The average wind speed in the UK is 5.6m/s.
The design is inspired by the fanned wing tips of birds, and its purpose is to break up tip vortices, in a similar manner to that achieved by the winglets on the latest generation of wings on airliners.
The result is a reduction in the loss of energy to tip vortices, not only providing improved efficiency, but also reducing noise and making the turbine design self stabilising.
More information from: www.evologics.de
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