Wind, energy never runs out, but ...

Wind energy is a transitional form of solar energy, because the daylight itself heats the atmosphere, creating a difference in temperature and pressure between different regions, and magnetic air masses. high pressure areas will move quickly to areas of lower pressure, creating a phenomenon of wind blowing across the surface of the globe.

However, wind energy exploitation is also not simple. The phenomenon of wind blowing is always diverse, because the movement of air masses always obey many complicated laws of flow dynamics, affected by physical forces arising from Earth's rotation, also It is impossible to ignore the presence of ocean water surfaces, different high and low terrain of continental blocks on the surface of the globe.

Since then, when using wind power, the first problem to think about is the instability of this energy source. Technological advances today have been very helpful in studying wind charts of the surveyed areas to build power stations, so as to make the most of wind power, at the same time. Minimize physical damage caused by the wind.

Wind engine: low power, high installation cost

In the future, the giants of three giant wings will be diversified to suit the terrain, the nature of the wind in different regions, and the energy needs of the residents. there.

In areas where strong winds are often present, the propellers will be designed in a compact way to cope with storms. On the other hand, according to the explanation of Éric Dupuy, in charge of the Caribbean region of the Aérowatt project on wind power exploitation, "to be able to lift a three-bladed wind engine placed on a very high cylinder, we must There are super heavy cranes, but this is a problem for many developing countries . " Therefore, wind-type engines with many removable parts will be an optimal solution for these countries.

But the difficulties are not over yet. Most wind engines will be "fixed" on the ground with a solid foundation and require about 180m3 of concrete. So, it was thought of a method of " anchoring " the body of the cylinder with ligaments, so it would only cost about 15 m ^{3 of} concrete. Although not aesthetically pleasing, it also saves a lot! But there is another disadvantage of the wind engine, which is capacity. On average, common wind engines produce about 2-3 MW. So, if scientists have seen many of the benefits of this endless natural energy, they are still looking for ways to improve their power efficiency, from real projects. best for ideas that are considered " crazy " most.

Wind engine for the city

Up to now, when it comes to wind engines, we think of the high and large areas of the mountains or the coastal areas. In general, wind engines must always " stay away " from people. But now, designers have developed wind-driven " pocket " generators for urban areas. The leading standard of these wind engines is no noise and no vibration.

"StatoEolien" is an example. These are vertical axis wind motors, installed on the roofs. Engineer Georges Gual, the inventor of this type of wind engine, explains: "StatoEolien is very efficient, works well in all conditions, even when wind speeds are up to 45 meters per second. Within the inner area There are also "sunken" areas made up of blocks, which will form "wind corridors", where wind speeds are doubled. "

Turn the body into kite wings

The exploitation of wind on the ground seems to be ineffective by allowing wind engines to " fly " into the air, or to be supported by kites, according to a simple principle: the higher and higher the wind The more powerful and even the blow! So, Italy's Sequoia Automation has developed a new concept with the " Kite Wind Generator ", called " KiteGen " for short. This is a type of generator designed in the form of a children's ferris wheel, but will be pulled round by large kites that are " released " to a height of nearly a thousand meters! This giant merry-go-round can produce 1 GW. Currently, "KiteGen" is in the testing and technical adjustment phase before being put into commercial exploitation.

Next, another " kite wing " will appear before the end of the year, when a 10,000-ton cargo ship of Beluga Shipping (Germany) is equipped with a " flying sail " with a surface area of ​​160m. ² . This solution will " help save about 10 - 15% per year of fuel to run the ship ", according to explanation from Stephan Wrage director of SkySails company, where this kite is manufactured.

(Photo: Laplanetebleue)

But, why does this ship " play freely " instead of holding the traditional sail? And according to director Stephan Wrage, there are many benefits: this kind of " kite-sail " will not displace space on the deck, the kite's pull will be stronger when " dropped " hovering to a dark height. Most likely, in addition, by being fixed to the hull with just one end of the wire, this type of sail will not pull the ship swaying when the wind is strong.

And surely in the future, along with kites, there will be more wind engine designs more spectacularly designed. The sole purpose of applied scientists is only encapsulated in thinking: the application of new technology to expand the scope of use is increasingly diverse for this abundant source of wind energy.

Manh Hung

When is wind energy used?

It can be affirmed that people knew wind early, around 3,500 BC when making sails to propel ships on the water.Next, the first vertical axis windmills appeared in the 2nd century BC in Persia.But until the 13th century, the new horizontal axis windmill was popular in Europe.

By 1850, Lord Kelvin, an English physicist, came up with the idea of ​​connecting a generator to a windmill.Since then, the " wind engine " was born. However, in the 20th century, wind power was almost neglected due to the failure to compete with oil. Entering the 21st century, when people are faced with many urgent problems of environmental pollution and are forced to find cleaner and " more " energy sources, wind energy attracts attention. special mind of scientists and the environment.

" Smart " sensors help protect wind engines

When the wind speed is too high, the blades will be braked and "droop" down to avoid the whole system from collapsing.Georg Simon Ohm University's Center for Polymer Optical Fiber (POF - AC) in Nuremberg (Germany) has developed " smart sensors " to immediately detect risks of mechanical damage to propeller.The research group of Professor Hans Poisel, director of POF - AC, hopes to build sensors that are capable of measuring and notifying the mechanical status of propellers compared to the wind speed at that time.

To accomplish this, a plastic optical fiber is attached to the impeller that accurately calculates the impact forces on the impeller surface and promptly informs the control center when these effects are known. about to exceed the allowed threshold.Professor Poisel added that this polymer fiber optic sensor will certainly be cheaper than current sensors, and more importantly, they are not afraid of being struck by lightning without responding to the school. electromagnetic.