Vortex Wind Turbine Design (Bladeless Wind Turbine )
The VBT is a flexible cylindrical structure that oscillates in a fluid flow [1].Not only does this
special design lack any blades for a rotational movement, but it also has a mast part for
oscillating in any direction [2,3]. The vortex shedding phenomenon exerts lift force, which
causes the structure to fluctuate crosswise. Using the effect of vortex-induced vibration (VIV)
phenomenon in an energy harvesting procedure helps to convert fluid energies to the output
electrical power by an aero-generator. The aero-generator system contains a group of moving
magnets on a fixed coil that uses the Faraday law of electromagnetic induction [4]. Figure 1
presents the structure of VBT.
Figure 1. A schematic view of an standard vortex bladeless wind turbine.
As shown in Figure 1, the VBT structure has three main parts that are assembled together
according to [5]. (a) Cylindrical mass made of glass fiber (Part 1). (b) Flexible rod made of
reinforced carbon fiber that is fixed to part1 (Part 2). (c) Special cover that anchors the carbon
fiber rod to the foundation (Part 3). The purpose of the lightweight cylindrical mass that is
connected to the flexible rod is to harvest energy by converting the mechanical energy to an
electrical form of energy.
Structure and Design of Bladeless Wind Turbines [6]
The cylinder on the outside is designed to be rigid and vibrate while being anchored to the
bottom rod. The apex of the cylinder is unconstrained which allows it to oscillate at maximum
amplitude. The structure is built using resins that are reinforced with carbon or glass fiber. These
materials are similar to the ones used in conventional wind turbine blades as well.
The rod’s top supports the entire mass while the bottom of the rod is anchored to the ground. It is
built from carbon-reinforced polymer which provides it with excellent fatigue-resistance and
minimal energy losses into the surrounding during its oscillation. The design of these bladeless
turbines is very unique and different from traditional wind turbines. Instead of tower, nacelle or
blades; the device only consists of a mast made of lightweight material over a base. This avoids
digging and building a deeper foundation or utilizing more raw materials.
Formula for determining torque
Describes a dynamic relation between the disc and the fluid [7].
However the mass and viscosity of the fluid are essential in developing an equation that will
work across fluid. The equations are:
Momentum = mass * velocity
Kinetic energy = (mass*velocity2) / 2
Also engineers have developed a dynamic relation between torque and fluid viscosity as follows,
Torque = (3uvr2) / 2h
Where
v = velocity of the fluid, in meters/second
u = viscosity of the fluid, in Pascal-second
r = radius of the disc, in meters
h = half of the distance between the discs, in meters
Design of Vortex Bladless
1. Mast:- Light circular section- wind Breaker
Fiber glass- carbon fiber
Wind breaker -woscillatory motion
2. Rod:- Carbon Fiber
Strength & Flexibility
Minimizing energy dissipation
3. Generation System: Alternator
Series of Motor
4. Foundation:- Reduced significantly
Because of Vortex's lightness
Figure 2 Design of Vortex Bladless
Figure 4 The force of the wind moves the magnet installed in the joint at the base of the
electrical power generating unit
MAIN PROTOTYPES
Basically there will be Three main Prototypes to hit the Market.
1. Vortex Atlantis (Micro power generation)
2. Vortex Mini (Domestic or industrial generation, Near to consumption point)
3. Vortex Grand(Large scale power generation)
Si.No Name Height Weight Generation Tentative Capabilities
Capacity Price
1 Vortex 10 feet 22 pounds 100 Watts $ 250 Lightungs
Atlantis (3m) (10 Kg) and
electronics
items
2 Vortex 42 feet 220 4 Kilowatts $5000 A Village
Mini (13m) pounds
(100 Kg)
3 Vortex 490feet 220-500 1Megawatts TDB 400
Grand (150m) pounds Households
(100 tons )
How Does The Bladeless Wind Turbine Operate?
The bladeless wind turbine operates by using the Magnus effect. When the airflow hits the
turbine, it creates a difference in pressure on either side of the object.
This difference in pressure creates a rotational force that powers the turbine.
It’s important to note that the bladeless wind turbine doesn’t create more wind than a traditional
wind turbine. The design just takes advantage of the natural wind that is already blowing.
References
1. Cajas, J.C.; Houzeaux, G.; Yáñez, D. SHAPE project Vortex Bladeless: Parallel multi-code
coupling for fluid-structure interaction in wind energy generation. Adv. Comput. Eur. 2016, 12, 1–
6. Available online: http://hdl.handle.net/2117/88263 (accessed on 4 April 2021).
2. Moayedi, H.; Mosavi, A. An Innovative Metaheuristic Strategy for Solar Energy Management
through a Neural Networks Framework. Energies 2021, 14, 1196. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
3. Thomai, M.P.; Kharsati, L.; Rama Samy, N.; Sivamani, S.; Venkatesan, H. Experimental Analysis
of Vortex Induced Vibration in the Bladeless Small Wind Turbine. In Proceedings of the ASME
2019 Gas Turbine India Conference, Chennai, India, 5 December 2019; American Society of
Mechanical Engineers Digital Collection: Shanghai, China. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
4. Xu, H. Application of intelligent control technology in aero-generator’s overload protection. In
Proceedings of the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Information Technology, Big Data and
Artificial Intelligence (ICIBA), Chongqing, China, 6 November 2020; IEEE: Piscataway, NJ, USA,
2020; Volume 1, pp. 309–312. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
5. Available online: https://vortexbladeless.com/technology-design/ (accessed on 4 April 2021).
6. https://www.environmentbuddy.com/energy/wind-energy/vortex-bladeless-wind-turbines/
7. Nikola Tesla, 1913 Tesla patent 1,061,142 Fluid Propulsion.
