Bladeless Wind Turbine

Every year windmills kill 573,000 birds in the US according to the Associated Press. By some estimates the total number of birds and bats killed worldwide every year runs into several millions.
The concept being proposed in this abstract is for a “bladeless” windmill that would drastically reduce or eliminate bird fatalities due to windmills. The idea is based firstly on an electric fan proposed in a Japanese patent which has expired – (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6377644/Dyson-fan-was-it-invented-30-years-ago.html), and the Dyson fan. The Dyson bladeless fan has used airfoil technology to increase the speed and volume of the air moved by the fan – the “air multiplier” effect.

This concept proposes to use similar technology as these fans in a wind turbine in which the turbine is held at the base of windmill housing and is encapsulated except for slits that allow it to expel air. Air entering the annular ring at the top of the windmill is collected into the stem of the windmill and forced down to turn the turbine which powers a generator.

The Dyson airfoil technology may be used to accelerate the air into the stem housing of the windmill by directing the air around airfoils such that additional air and pressure can be directed to the turbine to enhance its operation. Like the Dyson fan, the annular ring contains no spinning blades and will be safe for birds to fly though.

The first illustration shows a bird flying though the annular ring of the “bladeless” windmill. The second illustration shows the parts of the windmill.

This concept will solve the problem of bird and bat kills caused by windmills all over the world. In addition the “bladeless” windmill will be aesthetically more pleasing than the moving bladed turbines common to most windmills. Bladeless windmills can be used in a variety of locations from cottages to wind farms. Wind farms which are often cited offshore will then cease to be a danger to seagulls and other birds while also avoiding the unnatural and disquieting look of spinning blades in wild places.

The windmill can be developed for use wherever windmills are used. Initially smaller windmills might have the annular ring made of composite materials. Larger bladeless windmills can be made of bolted plates. The costs which may initially be more expensive due perhaps to the use of non-standard plate shapes will drop as manufacturers tool up to manufacture the plate sections required.