Thursday, December 28, 2017

Generating electricity from ocean waves with Wells Turbine

The ingenuity of this is a turbine that spins the same direction regardless of air flow direction, a Wells turbine. Not as efficient as a regular turbine, it is however much more mechanically simple, and hence more serviceable to install in remote locations along the seashore.

The Wells Turbine is better explained in this video, which shows the blades are shaped like a sailboat in a crosswind. At 3:13, the single direction of rotation is demonstrated very well with reversing airflow direction.
This video shows some flexible blades of plastic or metal that change shape as the airflow reverses, much like letting the sail out into a broad reach in a crosswind, which increases the efficiency.
Unfortunately, this ingenious project was shut down in 2013 due to lack of interest in funding the idea. https://mobile.offshorewind.biz/2013/03/05/voith-hydro-shuts-down-its-scottish-wave-business/



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