Publications

Performance of aeromines for distributed wind energy

Pol, Suhas; Houchens, Brent C.; Marian, David V.; Westergaard, Carsten H.

AeroMINE (Motionless, INtegrated Extraction) wind harvesters provide distributed power generation with no external moving parts. The patent-protected design easily integrates into buildings and can operate stand-alone or in conjunction with rooftop solar photovoltaics. Here, the AeroMINE configuration of a single-pair of opposing foils is investigated in wind tunnel tests. Through various geometric optimizations (foil spacing, angle-of-attack and air-jet configuration) a mechanical efficiency of approximately 1/3 of the Betz limit is achieved at a Reynolds number corresponding to the low-end wind speed for operation at full-scale. Intermittent operation at significantly higher efficiency approaching ½ of the Betz limit is demonstrated for higher angles-of-attack, but steady operation is impeded by an aerodynamic instability. In addition to pressure and anemometry, particle image velocimetry is utilized to characterize the flow around and through the AeroMINE pair.