A Highly Efficient Wind and Water

Turbines With Wind-Lens Technology

&
Offshore Floating Renewable Energy Farm

Yuji OHYA , Director & Professor

Research Institute for Applied Mechanics
Kyushu University, Japan

Executive board member of Japan Wind Energy

Association (JWEA)
 Contents

Part 1. What is the Wind-Lens Turbine ?

Part 2. Ongoing Projects and Future Plans

 Wind Turbine Generation and
Wind-Lens Effect

Wind Power P , Wind Speed V

V
P∝V3

If one can accelerate the local wind speed by capturing and

concentrating the wind with some mechanism, there appears
hope for utilizing the wind power in a more efficient way.
This concept of accelerating the wind was named the
“WindLens” technology.
Wind-Lens Effect
 Part 2A. Development of a collection-
acceleration device for wind

Concentration of wind
energy Nozzle

Wind
A structure which Diffuser
shrouds a wind turbine
Typical configurations of
hollow-structure models
 Concentration of wind (Increase
in wind velocity)
 Nozzle type → Wind is decelerated at the entrance
 Diffuser type → Wind is accelerated at the entrance

diffuser
Diffuser

U∞ Nozzle

nozzle
 Development of a wind turbine with
brimmed diffuser for shorter shroud
Improvement of acceleration ② Idea of a ring-type plate
performance by the addition which forms strong vortices
of periphery appendages (It is called “brim”)

Brim A collection-acceleration device for wind

(Inlet shroud + Diffuser + Brim)

WindLens

A wind turbine with windlens

Flow around a diffuser shroud with brim
Vortex field and streamlines by a 2-D numerical simulation

The role of brim is to make vortex behind a shroud

The mechanism of acceleration of
wind using a wind lens

Wind flow Brim

Low-pressure region due

to strong vortices Wind
flows into this region

Wind turbine
Diffuser shroud
 Field experiment for a 500W
windlens wind turbine
350
300 Power Curve of Cw=1.4
Field Data (10min. ave.)
Output Power [W]

250 W.T. only

200
four times
150 increase
100
50
Conventional (bare)
0 wind turbine
0 2 4 6 8 10
Wind Speed [m/s]
 The features of a wind turbine
with brimmed diffuser (windlens)
 Two to five times increase in output power as
compared to conventional wind turbines
 Brim-based yaw control
 Significant reduction in wind turbine noise
 Improved safety
 Improved cut-in velocity
 Reduction in interference with Doppler radar
Aerodynamic noise Tip Vortex
Red area indicates noisy portions

Tip vortex
Longitudinal vortex
Generate noise and
drag
Trace of tip vortices in wind tunnel exp.
Vortex strength: Red and Blue
Upper: Windlens turbine
disappear

Lower: Wind turbine only

remain

Z=48mm Z=128mm Z=208mm

Conventional wind turbine （rotor only)
CFD: Calculation Field Exp. Flow visualization

• Tip vortices flow in the downstream direction

• Tip vortices are longitudinal vortices and remain in the
far downstream
Origin of aerodynamic noise
Long Diffuser Windｌens Turbine Diffuser Shroud

Tip Vortex

Induced Vortex

Interference
 Blue at rest
dB Field Experiment for
Red in operation Windlens Turbine Noise

Almost the same sound levels

in both operation and rest for
weak and strong winds
Wind (m/s)

Test site in
Momochi-
hama park
in Fukuoka
２００６.１１.２０

TIME
2006.11.20

Quiet and Safe

Adaptable even in
urban areas
 Part 2B:
Development of very compact “windlens”
(Compact brimmed diffuser shroud)

Problems in the application

to larger wind turbines

 Increase in structural weight

Shorter windlens
 Increase in wind load

Smaller brim
 Output performance with compact
Power
brimmed diffuser length Lt/D
coefficient
1.0
C0
0.8 Cⅰ
Cⅱ
0.6
Cⅲ
Cw

0.4 W.T. only

Cⅲ
0.2
Wind turbine only
Cⅱ
0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 Cⅰ
rω/U0 Tip speed ratio
C0
Performance Curves for C-type diffusers with different length
(h=0.1D, Uo=8m/s)
 Cwmax with C-type diffuser length Lt/D
If Lt/D>0.1
2-3 times as large
as a bare wind
turbine is expected
1.2
2.8 times
2.6
1.0 2.3
2.1
0.8
Cⅱ Cⅲ
Cwmax

Cⅰ
0.6 C0
with brim h=0.05D
0.4 with brim h=0.10D
W.T. only
0.2 with brim h=0.15D
with brim h=0.20D
0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Lt/D
Wind speed distribution in front
of the rotor
(acceleration factor K（=ux/Uo))
0.7
Long diffuser(prototype)
0.6 Compact diffuser(Bⅱ)
Wind turbine only
0.5

0.4
r/D

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
K
 3ｋW WindLens Turbine (Field Test)
（Rated Wind Speed 10m/s、Rotor dia. of 2.5m）
Cw*=0.54
3,500
based on the
W
3,000
Field Data (1min. average)
lens diameter
Cw=1.0 （Wind-lens Turbine）
2.5 times
2,500

2,000 Cw=0.4 (Conventional Wind Turbine）

Increase &
1,500
Very quiet

1,000

500
Conventional
0
Wind Turbine
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0

Windlens turbine m/s

 Mechanism of Wind-lens Turbine
Concentration of Wind Energy Vortex
Movie
shedding
① Brim
② ③
Wind speed
Low increases
pressure
region

•Brimmed diffuser •Strong vortices generated •Low pressure draws wind

surrounding rotors •The vortices cause low •1.4 times increase in wind
pressure region speed

Power output is proportional to wind speed by cubed （ P∝V3）

1.4 times increase in wind speed leads to 3 times

increase in power output 22
 Birds Striking Free

6cm mesh size and the diameter of 5mm

Power output (W))

Without mesh

Mesh in front

Mesh in back
Mesh

Wind speed (m/s)

 Conclusion of Part 1

 For the purpose of the practical application

to small to mid-size wind turbines, we
developed a very compact brimmed diffuser
shroud (compact windlens structure).
 Two-threefold increase in output power as
compared to conventional (bare) wind
turbines due to concentration of wind
energy.
 Quiet and safe
Part 2: Ongoing Projects

Small WindLens turbine projects (1-3kW)

 Wind energy utilization in a city which
faces the sea

Larger WindLens turbine projects (>100kW)

 100kW mid-size windlens turbine

 Offshore wind farm using windlens

turbines
Micro-siting of windlens turbines in Fukuoka city
which faces the sea using Riam-Compact (LES)

Hakata bay Fukuoka city

Windlens
turbines
• faces the sea
in the north

• has a long
seashore
which is
suitable for
wind energy
utilization
 Wind Pattern at a height of 15m
By RIAM-COMPACT (LES Numerical Tool)
Horizontal resolution of 2.5m
wind

Momochi-hama Seaside Park , Fukuoka City

 Installation of wind measurement pole
Pole Hakata bay
 Fukuoka city
Windlens
turbines

Windlens
turbines

３ｋW Windlens turbines

on the seashore

Momochi-hama park
2009.12.7
 Small WindLens turbine (3kW)

Adaptable to the
Annual Electric-Generating Capacity
surroundings
20,000
18,000 16,825
3600kWh/year
Power [kWh/year]

16,000
13,323
14,000 for a standard
12,000 family home 9,530
10,000
8,000 5,955
6,000
3,133
4,000
1,325
2,000 393
0
2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0
Average Annual Wind Speed [m/s]

Rotor dia. of 2.5m

1kW Small Windlens Turbine
NHK Robot Camera System
1kW Windlens turbine

Solar panel（1.1kW）

Robot camera system

equipped with windlens
A building remains in Sendai turbine and solar panel.
2012.8.1
Watari-tyo after Tsunami disaster
New Windlens Turbine (３ｋW rated at 12m/s)
Project supported by Mnist. Environ.（2010-2012）
Structure
・Less weight &
more strength
・long durability

For strong wind

・Stall control
・Tilt-up pole

Certification
FIT
Creating jobs for small
& medium-sized
manufactures in Japan
 Mid-size WindLens Turbine（100kW） : Next
Generation Energy Project at Ito Campus , KU

2/3 rotor diameter size

Quiet 100kW
Rotor dia.
of 13m

5kW
Windlens
Installation
turbine
site
Rotor dia.
of 2.5m
 100 kW WindLens at Kyushu-U
Merit:
• Passive yaw
• Very quiet
• Small consumption of
operation electricity
• 2/3 blade diameter
• Lightning conductor
• Adaptable to the
surroundings

Demerit:
• Large wind load
Movie • Lens cost

Rotor diameter of 12.8m, Lens diameter of 15.4m

Power Curve Estimated for 100KW
Power
100kW中型レンズ風車（1秒データ）
curve Windlens Turbine
７０ｋW風車出力特性（１秒データ）

140.00

120.00
パワーカーブ
発電機出力 100kW Mid-size WindLens
発電量[lW] (kW)

Turbine at Kyushu–U
系統出力
100.00 累乗 (発電機出力)
累乗 (系統出力)

（Rotor diameter of 12.8m）

Power Output

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00
0 5 10 15 20
風速 [m/s]
Wind Speed (m/s) Annual Power Generation (estimated)

(kWh)
Can be fed to 30 standard

production
family homes

Annual
TotalPower Power
output
(kWh)

Annual Average Wind

Annual wind Speed (m/s)
speed (m/s)
Noise comparison: Windlens turbine is quiet!
Adaptable to the surroundings
TV ［television］ commercial by Fujitsu Corp.

Round Lens structure can blend into nature.

Offshore Energy Farm project

 Japan is sometimes mentioned

with its small land and lack of EEZ
natural resources, but the total （C）海上保安庁海洋情報部
area of territorial waters and exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) is the 6th largest in the world.
 Kyushu University is currently challenging for
development of new energies including WindLens.
 The challenge is on-going with an outlook on
realizing High Density Offshore Electric Power
Generation Farm utilizing very wide Japanese EEZ.
 Wind
Multi-purpose Solar

Integrated Offshore
Renewable Energy Farm
Wave
Tidal and Current

 means an offshore energy farm on floating

bodies with combined power generation
systems such as wind, solar, tidal, wave,
current and with storage systems.
 Multi-purpose: Energy farm, Marine farming,
the base for exploring resources, etc.
Water Lens Turbine
Current, Tidal, and Mini-Hydro in Rivers
・Density 840 times than the air
Very highly efficient compared with ・The streams always flow in
conventional ones the rivers and in the sea

Very high availability

Generator

Tidal flow and Current

1.0

0.8

0.6
2.5 times
0.4

0.2

0.0
λ
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
Water flow exp. Cp-bare turbine Rivers : Mini-Hydro
 Off-shore Energy Farm project

Scaled model in test pool

CG model

A floating structure
for future ~MW type Movie
１st stage： Installation in Hakata Bay
（2011 Winter）

18m floating body and

two 3kW WindLens turbines
and solar panels

Fukuoka City

18m Hexagon floating body

Hakata Bay

Site
 1st Stage: Windlens turbines on a floating body

Hakata Bay in Fukuoka 2011.12.4

18m hexagon floating body, two 3kW windlens turbines
and 2kWHakata bay in Fukuoka
solar panels city8kW energy farm
in total
Under the floating body in Hakata Bay
Provided
by RKB TV

Realizing a floating energy farm Provided by Shibuya Corp.

with multi-purpose
In cooperation with fishery
 Wind-lens turbine
• High power output: 2-3 times
larger than conventional turbines
• Quiet
• Bird strike free
• Increased tolerance against
lightning strikes
• Environment friendly design

Off-shore floating energy farm in Hakata-bay, Fukuoka Japan

cooperation with fishery (Google map)
2nd stage (planned)： Multiple 60m-class Floating
Bodies and 1MW Renewable Energy Farm

Uwajima, Ehime 300kW Windlens turbine

Site

Undersea power cable Solar panels

1MW Energy farm

Prospective site: Uwaumi Fisherman’s union

agrees with our project.
marine farm
Annual mean wind speed on the sea is larger
than that on land of 1-2 m/s
Twofold total power output will be expected
 Floating body equipped with a marine farm

自動給餌ブイ
A new system of a marine
可変深度型生簀係留索システム
farm will be developed
浮体式洋上発電施設備

浮沈式生け簀
浮沈式生け簀
拡大 浮体式洋上発電施設備
拡大

浮沈式生け簀 餌搬送用チューブ
 Electricity is provided to
the marine farm. 海底送電線
主係留索 主係留索
 Automatic feeder (self-
feeder) 作業船 主係留索
餌搬送用チューブ
 New corf (up and down) 可変深度型生簀係留索システム

自動給餌ブイ
Offshore Floating Integrated Energy Farm
Keyword : Multi-purpose

① Energy Farm
• Wind, Solar, Tidal, Wave
• Energy conversion
• Shipping or Undersea cables

② Cooperation with Fishery

Industry
• Marine farm ③ Transportation, Resources
• Plant factory (seaweed bed) exploration base, EV base, etc.
• Offshore artificial island
④ Natural Disaster • Electrical ship & airplane base
Prevention • Resource exploration in the sea

contribute to the creation and development of industry！

 Summary

The WindLens has a compact diffuser shroud with a broad-

ring rim at the exit periphery, generating vortices and low
pressure.

This system has demonstrated power augmentation by a

factor of about 2 to 3, due to focusing the wind energy.

The further significant features of the WindLens technology

include, improved safety, reduction of acoustic noise and
Doppler radar interference.

We also showed the latest development on 100kW type

WindLens turbine and future prospects on floating farm.
Thank you for your kind attention !