The Living Turbine!

I'm working on the design of a turbine based on concepts from physics, aerodynamics, aviation mechanics, and simple logic.

Let's logically think about what we actually want from a wind turbine that fully utilizes the speed/force of the wind and converts this force into dynamic energy to drive a generator. The first prerequisite for the ideal operation of such a turbine is its aerodynamics "against" the wind. Imagine standing in the middle of a parking lot with a strong wind blowing. You're holding a round disk (a full circle) with a diameter of two meters. How do you position the disk in the wind so that it offers minimal resistance, even if the wind suddenly changes direction?

Definitely horizontally, meaning flat. The disk then behaves "neutrally" in the wind, and if you want to rotate it around its vertical axis, it will spin almost effortlessly, both with and against the wind. The foundation of my turbine design will therefore be the shape of an aerodynamic disk, which in standby mode offers almost no resistance to the wind.

Another benefit of this turbine shape is that it's omnidirectional. It doesn't matter which direction the wind is blowing from or if the wind is swirling. Thanks to its shape, the turbine is resistant to wind gusts and changes in wind direction.

Now that we know what the ideal turbine shape looks like—one that allows wind to flow easily around it even in standby mode—it's good to note that even in this mode, the turbine can still generate "minimal" power. Now we can focus on how to bring the turbine to life in the wind.

The principle of every wind turbine lies in rotating slightly against the wind and then trying to capture as much energy as possible from the wind.

Since this time it's not primarily about the turbine's rotational speed but rather its power output, we can afford to mechanically control the turbine blades using the force of the wind. Here, we'll use aviation mechanics, where the same system a pilot uses to control an airplane's rudder with a joystick (note that the pilot isn't a bodybuilder, and the joystick's movement isn't long) will be used to control the direction and force of the wind. Based on the wind's direction and force, we'll ensure the correct position of the turbine blades.

Since we're planning to "flap" the turbine blades in the wind like birds, we need to choose a system for controlling the blade positions that is cheap, efficient, powerful, durable, and, above all, simple.

I've chosen the same principle used to operate an umbrella. An umbrella has exactly the properties we want from our turbine blades. When folded, it offers no resistance to the wind, but when opened, the wind can easily rip it out of your hand (if you've ever tried opening an umbrella against the wind, you know how quickly the wind can open it). To control this mechanism, we'll use a simple system of rods connected to two control flaps, which are solely for operating the blade-opening mechanism.

Thanks to the inclusion of a spring in the mechanism, we'll be able to control both the turbine's power output (I'm talking about the maximum output to avoid overloading the generator) and the force and gusts of the wind (here, I mean the maximum wind speed the turbine is designed for). Without a spring, the umbrella would open well with the wind's force but would close slowly and poorly against the wind. Since we need the fastest possible reaction to changes in wind direction and force, we'll use a spring to help close the umbrella again.

It's also interesting to note that until overload occurs—whether from the generator or extreme wind conditions—all blades operate individually, independently of each other. This means each turbine blade reacts to wind speed and direction independently of the others. Thanks to this, the turbine utilizes wind from all directions with maximum efficiency and isn't susceptible to changes in wind direction. In the event of generator overload or extreme weather conditions, any blade can trigger a chain reaction, transitioning all turbine blades to minimum power. The turbine will continue to spin and deliver minimal power. In this mode, the turbine can withstand even the strongest winds and still produce electricity.
(It probably won't survive a tornado or hurricane, but standard Central European storms or gales should be no problem for its design.)

Demonstration of the Principle – In Preparation

I've come up with an interesting idea to demonstrate the principle of my proposed turbine.
I'll use a wheel from an ordinary bicycle and create a turbine model.
This model will be equipped with the simplest system of flexible blades I could think of.
We'll install a tachometer and see how fast we can spin this model in the wind.
Since this will only be a model to demonstrate the principle of my turbine, it won't have any regulation.
If the results are as I expect and the model doesn't break during the no-load test,
I'll try mounting the model on a generator and testing it under load.