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US 12,503,994 B2Granted
Ducted turbine with passive flaps for load reduction
OwnerVincent Loccisanoinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fluid turbine has an annular-airfoil duct and passive, leading-edge flaps on the airfoil that enhance yaw stability and reduce extreme loads in excessive fluid-stream velocities when the turbine is in shutdown mode, or when it is parked or otherwise not producing power. Flaps retract and deploy passively to reduce loads by eliminating the lift over the airfoil, providing manageable loads in high-velocity flow at Up-0. The flaps are intended for use in extreme and unlikely events. Appropriate design and material selection mitigates the detrimental effects of dormancy.
Claims5
A fluid turbine comprising:
- a rotor mechanically coupled with a generator, rotationally engaged about a central axis;
- and
- at least one annular airfoil surrounding said rotor and disposed about said central axis;
- and
- said at least one annular airfoil having a lift surface and a pressure surface, a leading edge and a trailing edge, said lift surface proximal to said central axis, and said leading edge proximal to said rotor;
- and
- at least one flap having a pivot axis that is perpendicular to said central axis;
- and
- said at least one flap freely-movably engaged over a closed recess proximal to said leading edge and configured to passively reside flush with said pressure surface in response to a first pressure differential between the lift surface and the pressure surface created by the respective annular airfoil when a fluid stream over the respective annular airfoil is parallel to said central axis;
- and
- said at least one flap configured to passively pivot about said pivot axis in response to a second pressure differential between the lift surface and the pressure surface created by the respective annular airfoil when an angle of attack of the fluid stream over the respective annular airfoil is greater than 4° out of alignment with said central axis.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.