3526 Article 3526 (29 more) in misc.rural: From: sher@bbn.com (Lawrence D. Sher) Subject: Re: Wind power on the North Slope Message-ID: Date: 11 Aug 92 12:12:30 GMT References: Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA Lines: 27 NNTP-Posting-Host: bbn.com In article system@coldbox.cojones.com (Bryan Lockwood) writes: >MIke Romano mentions abundant windpower up here. > >Yep, it's windy alright. TOO windy! I've seen three wind generation systems >built up here (one in Barrow and two in Barter Island). None of them stayed >in operation long due to continual problems. A long time ago, I read (Popular Science?) about converting wind energy directly into heat. The idea was to carry the rotary motion down to the ground where there was a liquid-filled, air-cooled braking mechanism. I don't remember the details, but, for example, I think it could have used a torque converter with the output shaft locked. That would seem --MORE--(56%) to be ideal for cold windy climates. A vertical axis windmill would seem to eliminate the 90 degree gearing problem as well as the pointing problem. Maybe it would even reduce the overspeed problem. Certainly having no electrical apparatus whatsoever has got to make the beast much simpler and more durable. I never heard about this idea again, yet it seems to be good. It even has the nice property that it produces more heat at higher wind speeds--exactly when more heat is needed. .---------------------------------------------------------------- /Internet email: sher@bbn.com Larry Sher < US Mail: BBN, MS 6/5A, 10 Moulton St., Cambridge, MA 02138 \ Telephone: (617) 873 3426 FAX: (617) 873 3776 `---------------------------------------------------------------- End of article 3526 (of 3526)--what next? [npq]