Early development of an energy recovery wind turbine generator for exhaust air system

W.T. Chong, S.C. Poh, A. Fazlizan, S.Y. Yip, C.K. Chang and W.P. Hew

Applied Energy, 2013, vol. 112, issue C, 568-575

Abstract: An innovative idea on extracting clean energy from man-made wind resources with micro wind turbine system for power generation is introduced in this paper. This system generates on-site clean energy using a micro wind generation system. A vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with an enclosure is mounted above a cooling tower’s exhaust fan to harness the wind energy for producing electricity. The VAWT is positioned at a specific position at the cooling tower outlet to avoid a negative impact on the performance of the cooling tower. The enclosure can act as a safety cover and also enhance the performance of the VAWT. It is designed with several guide-vanes positioned at the up-stream side of the wind turbine to create a venturi effect and guide the wind before it interacts with the turbine blades. Moreover, the enclosure design is comprised of diffuser-plates that can draw more wind and accelerate the flow. Laboratory test conducted on a scaled model shows no measurable difference in the air intake speed and current consumption of the power-driven fan when the turbine was spinning above the cooling tower. Field test on an actual induced-draft cooling tower shows no significant difference on the outlet air speed of the cooling tower. A small difference was observed on the power consumption by the fan motor which is 0.39% higher with the presence of the VAWT. This system is retrofit-able to existing cooling towers and has very high market potential due to abundant cooling towers and other unnatural exhaust air resources globally.

Keywords: Building integrated wind turbine; Exhaust air system; Energy savings; Clean energy; Power augmentation; Urban wind energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.01.042

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