Wind Energy
This spreadsheet demonstrates the kWh's per year a single wing would generate in an area having an average wind speed of 8 mph. Assuming a rectangular planform of this single wing, and given it's span(height) is 12 ft., with a chord(width) of 5 ft.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, www.eia.gov, the average American home uses 11,496 kWh a year. Here in Seattle a six foot Pterofin mounted on your home or somewhere on your property can generate up to 2 or 3 thousand kWh's annually, depending on placement and the areas specific average wind speed. According to the chart above, a Pterofin product is twice as large and can produce 14,434 kWh annually.
Hydroelectricity
This next spreadsheet demonstrates the total kWh each year a 5 foot fin would generate in a given water speed. This particular product can be installed in man made canals, rivers, and tidal currents, while other products can be made smaller or larger to harness energy from streams or oceanic currents. As you can see below, this product placed in a 2 mph current can generate 12,133 kWh annually.
For only a few thousand dollars, Pterofin products could allow the average US homeowner to be energy independent and free from a growing and ageing power grid.
the Validation
Engineer Carl Baker with PNNL, under the Technical Assistance Program, received funding from the DOE to study our patent and write up a technology note which summarizes recommendations and observations about Pterofin technology. "The design concept is effective in capturing energy from any moving fluid – wind or water are the most widely available candidates." "With the difficulties of power generation and the characteristics of the device itself, a very attractive application of the Pterofin technology may be in developing economies. If a kit consisting of a very few simple and inexpensive parts (and some plans or general directions) could be provided to individuals, they could construct a micro-scale generator system using mostly locally-obtained materials. A very small generator system would also provide sufficient power to recharge a cell phone or LED flashlight over the course of a day. Making these devices available to low-income people in developing economies could provide a considerable improvement in quality of life at a very low cost."
Senior Engineer Palmer Carlin, with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, confirmed the math associated with the estimated power output of an oscillating wing and helped create the spreadsheets above.
Co-inventor and Professor Robert Breidenthal, from the University of Washington College of Engineering explains, "The exploitation of novel physics, like nonsteady effects in aerodynamics, is an attractive approach to develop green energy technologies. The key idea with the nonsteady aerodynamics of wings is that it takes time for a boundary layer to separate. So when you pitch an airfoil up suddenly, the vorticity in the boundary layer takes time to move up away from the surface. As long as it is close to the airfoil surface, the lift coefficient can be very high. The figure of merit for a windmill or watermill is the ratio of the lift coefficient raised to the 3/2 power divided by the drag coefficient to the first power. So high lift coefficients, even at the expense of some additional drag, are desirable. In comparison to steady flow through a conventional, horizontal axis wind turbine, for example, the maximum lift coefficient can be increased in nonsteady flow with blades that rapidly increase their angle of attack."
Senior Engineer Palmer Carlin, with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, confirmed the math associated with the estimated power output of an oscillating wing and helped create the spreadsheets above.
Co-inventor and Professor Robert Breidenthal, from the University of Washington College of Engineering explains, "The exploitation of novel physics, like nonsteady effects in aerodynamics, is an attractive approach to develop green energy technologies. The key idea with the nonsteady aerodynamics of wings is that it takes time for a boundary layer to separate. So when you pitch an airfoil up suddenly, the vorticity in the boundary layer takes time to move up away from the surface. As long as it is close to the airfoil surface, the lift coefficient can be very high. The figure of merit for a windmill or watermill is the ratio of the lift coefficient raised to the 3/2 power divided by the drag coefficient to the first power. So high lift coefficients, even at the expense of some additional drag, are desirable. In comparison to steady flow through a conventional, horizontal axis wind turbine, for example, the maximum lift coefficient can be increased in nonsteady flow with blades that rapidly increase their angle of attack."