Some existng technologies will need to get better and better to make a large enough dent in the vast challnge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years. Wind energy shows great promise.Physorg.com reports on a smarter mousetrap .. err .. windmill blade:
This research is to improve the efficiency of turbines and prevent damage to blades from high winds. The researchers, from Purdue and Sandia National Laboratories, have developed a technique that uses sensors and computational software to constantly monitor forces exerted on wind turbine blades. Such sensors could be instrumental in future turbine blades that have control surfaces and flaps like those on an airplane's wings to change the aerodynamic characteristics of the blades for better control.
"The ultimate goal is to feed information from sensors into an active control system that precisely adjusts components to optimize efficiency," said Purdue doctoral student Jonathan White, who is leading the research with Douglas Adams, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of Purdue's Center for Systems Integrity. See full article
No comments:
Post a Comment