Whalepower

Attention News Editors: Wind Energy Institute of Canada (WEICan) completes the first real-world test of WhalePower Corporation's bio-inspired, retrofitted wind turbine blades. WEICan finds the blades work and Annualized Energy Production (AEP) enhancement is "promising." WhalePower's analysis of test data shows tubercles applied to the leading edge enhance operational stability, durability, quietness, and significantly improve AEP. WEICan recommends direct comparative tests. TORONTO, Jan. 22 /CNW/ - WhalePower Corporation announces today the end of an independent study by WEICan of WhalePower's Tubercle Technology, modeled on the aerodynamic properties of the leading edge tubercles on Humpback Whale flippers. The WEIcan tests were conducted under the International Electro-Technical Commission (IEC) standard for small wind turbines. Previous mathematical and wind tunnel studies had demonstrated that leading edge tubercles create a new kind of air foil. The WEICan tests were the first study of a bio-mimetic air foil in unsteady air on a rotating platform, in this case a Wenvor Technologies 25 Kilowatt turbine with a 10 meter span. WhalePower retrofitted two Wenvor blades with tubercles on the outer 60% of their leading edges, with support from a grant by the Ontario Power Authority. They were installed on WEICan's Wenvor test turbine at its North Cape, Prince Edward Island site in July 2007. With grant support from Natural Resources Canada, WEICan personnel gathered data between December 2007 and June 2008. As these tests were conducted, WhalePower also developed and tested tubercles on the full lengths of each 12 foot span, high volume-low speed (HVLS) fan system for Envira-North Systems Ltd. of Seaforth, Ontario. The WEICan tests did not directly measure the engineering feasibility, or the tubercle fabrication durability, but focused on the performance of the new airfoil in a real world setting on a commercial turbine. Nevertheless, in all these categories, the blades performed admirably. It was not possible to do a straight comparison of AEP between the modified, and the unmodified Wenvor turbine. Though it had been previously tested by WEICan's predecessor, the Atlantic Wind Test Site, the turbine had not been characterized according to the IEC protocol, and those original Wenvor blades were unavailable for modification by WhalePower. Still, conclusions about tubercle performance may be drawn. 1.  Operational stability was demonstrated and the blades were quiet. Subsequent analysis of air flows on the fully tubercled HLVS fans demonstrated that where tubercles are applied, there is dramatic stall reduction as air stays attached to the blade. Further improvement can be expected with tubercles on the full span of wind turbine blades. 2.  Blade durability was demonstrated though no formal durability test was conducted. The turbine was exposed to winds in excess of 100 km/h, thunderstorms, and a very severe ice storm that knocked out most of the PEI power grid. The retrofitted blades were undamaged and collected little or no debris while rotating. When locked off, the blades accumulated ice, but when allowed to rotate, they shed the ice with ease. 3.  AEP increased by an estimated 20%. The power curve WEICan measured shows power generated at wind speeds of approximately 5 meters per second (m/s) and peak efficiency at 9 m/s. Rated power was attained at 12.5 m/s versus the 15 m/s previously published performance for the unmodified Wenvor turbine. WhalePower's analysis of both Wenvor and WEICan data, by Dr. Laurens Howle of Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, shows an approximate 20 percent increase in AEP despite the fact that tubercles were applied on just the outer 60% of the un-optimized Wenvor blades. Greater efficiencies still were measured by Envira-North's tests of WhalePower's fully tubercled fan blades. The WEICan data supports WhalePower Corporation's conclusion that future R&D on turbines should incorporate tubercles on the entire length of optimized blade shapes to fully measure what these new air foils can contribute to the production of energy in all wind speeds while reducing stall and noise. WEICan also recommends direct comparative tests be done. "An improvement of just 1 or 2% in AEP is significant," says Stephen Dewar, Director of R& D at WhalePower. "Here we have about 20% with low noise. We're thrilled by this result." For the full WEICan report and WhalePower analyses, please see the WhalePower Corporation website at: www.whalepower.com. For further information: Stephen Dewar, Director of R&D, (416) 651-7559, stephen.dewar@WhalePower.com; For information on tubercled HVLS fans, please see: www.enviranorth.com or write Mbowden@Sunnorth.com