FLUID-POWERED ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICE

摘要

A fluid-powered energy conversion device (10) for converting energy in a moving fluid such as air into mechanical energy. A rigid cylindrical frame (11) includes an upstream annular chamber (12) and a downstream annular chamber (13), each of the chambers having sides that are open to allow entry of the wind. A plurality of longitudinal baffles (14a, 14b) form a toroidal pattern that creates an upstream drive vortex in the upstream chamber, and a downstream extraction vortex rotating in the opposite direction in the downstream chamber. The drive vortex rises and changes direction as it passes through a turbine (22) mounted on a longitudinal drive shaft (23) in a central aperture between the chambers. The turbine is rotated by the rotational momentum of the drive vortex by lift that is generated by each turbine blade, and by additional momentum that is created by the vortex reversal.