| 摘要 |
The updraft power plant is constructed from a flexible tube forming the tower, and as this tube is of light construction, its weight can be supported at the top by a captive balloon or by buoyancy gas chambers built into the tower walls. The captive balloon is so arranged that the upper end of the tower forms a wind scoop and turns constantly into the lee of the wind. The low pressure field behind the upper tube end therefore induces an updraft in the tower, and this energy is used by a turbine located at the foot of the tower. The airstream enters the tower first via a shallow roof structure close to the ground containing guide vanes, which rotate the entering air and prevent it from streaming across the entrance to the turbine and being wasted. The higher the tower, the more efficient the plant, and as the cost of the tower itself in relation to the cost of the entrance structure, is low, it thus pays to build the tower as high as possible. |
