TheStar.com - A whale of a tale

Link: TheStar.com - A whale of a tale.

Toronto-based WhalePower Corp. has received $70,000 early-stage research funding from the Ontario Centres of Excellence and the Ontario Power Authority to develop a wind turbine blade that is more efficient and stalls at lower wind speed.  By allowing the turbine to capture energy from lighter winds, it could increase the number of areas that could generate useful wind power and improve the profitability of wind farms.  The funding will allow collaboration with the University of Western Ontario wind-engineering group as well as independent performance verification. 

Frank Fish, a biology professor at West Chester University (Pennsylvania) has been studying the bumps on the lead edges of humpback whale flippers.  Compared to smooth flippers, these 'tubercles' have been shown to reduce drag by 32%, increase lift by 8%, and increase the angle of attack by 40% before the blade 'stalls' (a situation where turbulent flow dramatically cuts lift). 

Fish and Stephen Dewar formed WhalePower to develop wind turbine blades based on the principles learned from the humpback whale.  It appears that "the tubercles channel the wind as it hits the front or 'leading' edge of the blade. The channels cause separate wind streams to accelerate across the surface of the blade in organized, rotating flows. These energy-packed vortexes seem to increase the lift force on the blade."  The channels also keep airflow from slipping off the tip of the blade, reducing noise and increasing power.  Tests have shown that the new blades can generate as much power at wind speeds of 5 metres per second as a traditional blade at 8 metres per second.

The approach also applies to blades moving in water, potentially increasing the areas that could support hydroelectric generation or pump-storage sites.

Additional information can be found at Tyler Hamilton's Clean Break blog.  One of the patents filed by WhalePower is (WO/2006/042401) TURBINE AND COMPRESSOR EMPLOYING TUBERCLE LEADING EDGE ROTOR DESIGN.

Thanks to Beth Anne Currie and April Hoeller for the pointer to this article!

Comments

[NH]

"Whales and dolphins influence new wind turbine design" (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080707222315.htm) provides an update on Dr. Frank Fish's work, including a pointer to a recent paper "Fish, F. E., Howle, L. E. and Murray, M. M. 2008. Hydrodynamic flow control in marine mammals; Integrative and Comparative Biology 211: 1859-1867." (http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/icn029v1 - subscription required).

Thanks to