Bladeless wind turbines

Meet the first bladeless wind turbine

This alien-looking device is a wind turbine — but without any blades.

The Vortex wind generator looks like a finger.

It has a base — which is attached rigidly to the ground, and a mast — which is allowed to move back and forth with the wind.

When placed in the path of the wind, small whirlpools of air called ‘vortices’ are formed around the mast.

If the size and weight of the mast are just right, the wind will ‘resonate’ with it, creating larger vibrations. This phenomenon is called aeroelastic vortex shedding.

These vibrations move a coil of copper wires against a magnet attached to the base.

And moving coils in a magnetic field produce current — as we know from Faraday’s law.

In turn, by adjusting these magnets, the mast can be made stiffer or looser to the wind.

A 3 m tall device can produce 100 W of power.

It produces only 30 % as much energy as a conventional three-blade wind turbine. But four of these devices could be installed in the same area.

The mast is made from resins and carbon fiber. It’s cheaper and does not kill any birds or bats.

The maintenance is also easier as there are hardly any moving parts.

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