If there’s one ever-evolving renewable energy technology, it’s wind turbines that have plunged into a revolution for efficiency when it comes to electricity generation. Big companies with many engineers are working on it every day, and now a competitor has emerged: Horst Bendix from Leipzig. And Horst Bendix, who will be 93 years old this year, has developed an improved model. up to three times more efficient than existing wind turbines.
Horst Bendix worked as head of research and development at Leipzig-based heavy machinery manufacturer Kirow until his retirement in 1995. There he was a heavy machinery specialist, designing lignite excavators and cranes.
Installing turbines that provide higher performance and therefore take up less space than existing turbines can be a major advance for the problems that wind power presents in many situations today.
high altitude turbine
its design It has the ability to move at heights of more than 200 meters. The benefit is higher energy efficiency. Higher altitude winds are stronger and more constant, which can make “wind harvesting” more efficient.
The new prototype of the so-called high-altitude wind turbine differs from the design of conventional wind turbines: the usual one-piece tower of today’s turbines is replaced in the Bendix wind turbine with a three-legged structure consisting of a vertical column and two support columns. In addition, at the top of the engine compartment there is no longer a single generator, but several generators operating below the turbine.
As compiled by the Ecoinventos portal, a system that completely reverses the classical structure: the conventional wind turbine currently consists of a tower with a rotating engine section with a rotor hub on which the rotor blades sit. The generator is installed inside the gondola and the whole system rests on a solid foundation. But, These systems have to deal with a serious problem: bending forces.
The wind acts on the rotor with a significant force of tons. As a result, the tower tilts and has to withstand this bending and requires a large moment of resistance in the ground.
The taller the tower, the stronger the bending forces. This increases the risk of instability and damage to the material structure.
overcome bending forces
For this reason, Horst Bendix used the tower in his system. tripod structure consisting of an upright column and two support columns.
And there is one more innovation: the generator is no longer in the gondola, but a few are located below, at the bottom of the system. Wind energy is directed to these generators by a belt system from top to bottom.
The advantage of the structure is obvious: bending forces problem solved. Since the generators are located at the bottom, the weight of the tower head is eliminated. This means you can easily reach higher regions where there is much more wind. And that means much higher performance. In addition, the entire tower rotates automatically according to the direction of the wind.
You can triple the resulting energy.
Experts also believe that the new wind turbine has a good chance of success. Wind energy expert Frank Zeulner, who has already planned and installed several wind farms around the world, says: “With such a large system with such a large belly height, you can harvest up to 20 to 30 gigawatt hours per year. With a conventional one, for example, 10. Performance can be doubled to tripled.”.
“With the absence of a heavy generator, reducing the load on the tower head, The turbine is also much more stable as the high bending forces of conventional turbines are eliminated. Of course, this allows me to easily reach high areas where the wind is much more. That means even more performance,” adds Zeulner.
Horst Bendix’s high altitude wind turbine has already been patented. But, There is no working prototype yet. however, initial discussions were held with companies interested in building a test turbine.
Reference articles: https://www.mdr.de/wissen/energie-windrad-zukunft-100.html
More system information: https://www.sprind.org/en/projects/beventum
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