THEELECTROSTATICWINDENERGY

CONVERTOR[EWICON]

ASeminarReportSubmitted
InPartialFulfilmentoftheRequirements
Forthedegreeof
BACHELOROFTECHNOLOGY
In
ELECTRICALENGINEERING
By
YASHASWIDEO(2017031126)
Underthesupervisionof
Dr.ShekharYadav
(AssistantProfessor)

DepartmentofElectricalEngineering
MadanMohanMalaviyaUniversityofTechnology
Gorakhpur-273010(U.P.),INDIA
©M.M.M.UniversityofTechnology,Gorakhpur,(U.P.)-273010,INDIA
ALLRIGHTSRESERVED
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Thesatisfactionandeuphoriathataccompanythesuccessfulcompletionof
anytaskwouldbeincompletewithoutthementioningofthepeoplewhose
constantguidanceandencouragementmadeitpossible.Itakepleasurein
presentingbeforeyou,myseminar,whichisresultofstudiedblendofboth
researchandknowledge.

IwouldliketoexpresssincerethankstomysupervisorDr.Shekhar
Yadav,AssistantProfessor,EED forhisconstantsupport,encouragement
andguidance.Iamgratefulforhiscooperationandvaluablesuggestions.

IalsoexpressmywholeheartedthankstoProfessorA.K.Pandey,Head
OfDepartment,forprovidingthefacilitiesandguidancetocaryoutthiswork.
 DECLARATION

Iherebydeclarethattheworkpresentedinthisseminartitled“THE
ELECTROSTATICWINDENERGYCONVERTOR[EWICON]”submitedtowards
completionofseminarpresentationinSixthSemesterofB.Tech(ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERING)attheMadanMohanMalviya,UniversityofTechnology ,Gorakhpur,(U.P.)-
273010,INDIA

Place:Gorakhpur

Date:18/07/2020

YashaswiDeo(2017031126)
 INDEX

Contents PageNo

1.ABSTRACT 3
2.INTRODUCTION 4

3.EWICONWORKINGPRINCIPLE 6

4.EWICONCONSTRUCTION 9

4.1TYPEA 9

4.2TYPEB 10
4.3CHOICEOFSETUP 11
5.CHARGINGSYSTEMANDDESIGN 12

5.1HIGHPRESSUREMONODISPERSEDSPRAYING 13

5.2ELECTROHYDRODYNAMICATOMIZATION 14
6.IMPLEMENTATIONOFEWICONMETHODS 16

7.ADVANTAGESOFEWICONOVERCONVENTIONAL 18

WINDTURBINE
8.DRAWBACKSOFEWICON 19

9.CONCLUSIONSANDFUTUREWORK 21

10.REFERENCES 22
 LISTOFFIGURES

Figno Figure
1.ARTIST’SSKETCHOFASEA-BASEDEWICONWINDFARM.

2.CHARGEDPARTICLEINANELECTRICFIELDWITHWINDFORCE.

3.TYPEAEWICONSYSTEMWITHASEPARATECOLLECTOR.

4.TYPEBEWICONSYSTEMWITHOUTACOLLECTOR

5.HIGH-PRESSUREMONODISPERSEDSPRAYING;THELIQUID
BREAKSUPINTOMONODISPERSEDDROPLETS,ANDTHE
DROPLETSARECHARGEDUSINGARINGELECTRODE.

6.(A)CONESHAPE,DROPLETSIZE,ANDELECTRICCURRENT
DEPENDONTHEFORCESACTINGONLIQUIDANDDISSOLVED
IONS:GRAVITY,ELECTRICFIELD,SURFACETENSION.(B)
ETHANOLSPRAYINGINTHECONE-JET.
 7.WINDSURFACEAREAOFBOTHWINDENERGYCONVERTERS.AT
AWINDTURBINE,THEAREAISINCREASEDBYINCREASINGTHE
ROTORDIAMETER(D).ANEWICONSYSTEMCANBESCALEDUP
BYINCREASINGTHEHEIGHTH)ORTHEWIDTH(W),ORBOTH.

1.ABSTRACT

Wind,likethesun,canbeanexcelentsourceofalternativeenergy.And
itisalreadyprovingcountriessuchasDenmark,whichisgoingin2050
tocompletelyswitchtothisenergysource.Butthetraditionalapproach
tocolectenergyfromthewindisnotalwaysaseffectiveandrelevantas
itwouldlike.Conventionalwindturbineswithlargerbladestodisperse
turbinesrequirefrequentandexpensiveequipmentandatractedthe
atentionofanimalrights–fromthebladesareoftenkiledbirds.
Itisnotsurprisingthatsomeresearchershavecreatedaprototype
oftheissueofturbineinstalationsinwhichthewindisgoinginclosed
chambers.Sooneofthesenewtechnologiestocolectwindenergy
proposedDutch,presentingitsdevelopmentEWICON(orElectrostatic
WIndenergyCONvertor).
Whenthemajorityofwindturbinesgenerateelectricitythrough
mechanicalenergy,EWICON,devoidofbladescreatesitbycharged
particles,inthiscase–waterdrops.Curentdesigndesignlookslikea
bigsteelframe,inwhichthehorizontaltubeareisolated.Ineachof
thesetubesareelectrodesandnozzlesthatareconstantlyinjectedinto
theairpositivelychargedwaterparticles.Whentheparticlesstarttheir
motion,thevoltageinthedevicechangesandformanelectricfield,
whichcanbeusedasenergy.
Thisreportfocusesontheprincipleofoperation,constructionand
theadvantagesanddisadvantagesofEWICON

2.INTRODUCTION

Sinceancienttimeshumanityhasbeenharnessingthepowerof
thewindinvariousforms,suchasdiscoveringtheplanetinsailboats,
creatinglivingspaceintheDutchpolders,orprovidingbreadbyflour-
grindingwindmils.Since1887windhasalsobeenusedtogenerate
electricityastheshifttorenewableenergyproductionisbeingmade.
Inordertofulfilthelong-termcarbonemissiongoalssetby,for
example,theEUfor2050,theshareofrenewableenergy(wind,solar,
hydro,biofuels)needstoincreasesubstantialy.
Ofthesevariousmeansofrenewableenergy,windenergyisstil
thelargestpart.Therefore,windfarms,bothdecentralizedandbulk,are
beingconstructed.In2010windenergyconstituted2.5%oftheglobal
electricityproduction.
Curently,wind-basedelectricityisgeneratedbymeansofwind
turbines.Theadvantagesofwindturbinesarethattheyhavehigh
conversionefficiencies,arereliablewithpropermaintenance,andare
continuouslyimprovedwithongoingresearch.However,therearealsoa
numberoffundamentaldisadvantagesthateitherleadtotechnical
chalengesforlargescale,offshoredeployment,publicresistancefor
constructiononlandinornearpopulatedareas,orboth.
First,windturbinesrequireregularmaintenance,whichinthecase
ofoffshorewindfarms,increasestheoperatingcosts.Theneedfor
maintenancearisesfromthefactthattheconversionfromwindenergy
toelectricalenergycomesfromtherotationalmovement.This
movementsignificantlycontributestothewearandtearoftheturbine.
Second,complaintsfueledbynoiseand
visualdisturbanceshaveeffectivelydecreasedthenumberofpotential
areastobuildwindturbines,suchasremotefarminglands.
Constructingwindfarmsatseacouldverywelbeanefficient
solution,becausethewindfarmswouldbeoutofview.Consideringthe
intensivemaintenancecurentlyinvolvedwithwindturbines,the
operatingcostsofawindfarmatseawouldseverelylimittheeconomic
feasibilityofthisoption.Themaintenancearisesprimarilyfromthe
conversionofwindenergytoelectricalenergyviamechanicalenergy,i.e.
therotationalmovementthatdrivesthewindturbine.Therefore,a
methodisneededtodirectlyconvertthewindenergytoelectricalenergy
insuchaway,thatverylitlemechanicalmovementisrequired.
Thesedisadvantagescanbemainlyatributedtotherotational
movementinwindturbines.Therefore,othermethodsofwindto-
electricalenergyconversionhavebeenresearched,ofwhichthe
electrostaticwindenergyconverter(EWICON)wilbediscussedinthis
article.IntheEWICON,chargedparticlesaremovedbythewindinan
electricfield,thusincreasingthe
Potentialelectricalenergyofthechargedparticles.Thisideahadbeen
previouslydescribedinpatentsbyAlvinMarks,butmostversionshave
proventobeunpracticalduetoeithertheuseofnonenvironmental-
friendlyparticles,suchasoil,orduetonegativeefficiencies,i.e.,more
energywasrequiredtocreateparticlesthanwasproducedbythose
versions.
Inthispaper,wewildiscussadevicecaledEWICON,inwhich
chargeddropletsaremovedbythewind.Asaresultofthischarge
movement,acurentisgeneratedwhichcanbeconvertedtobe
connectedtothepowergrid.Thismethod,inprinciple,doesnothavethe
needformovingmechanical
parts.Apartfromthepositiveimpactonmaintenancecosts,itwould
alsomeanthatthistypeofenergyconverterwouldproducelessnoise
thanawindturbine,makingitacandidateforplacementontalbuildings.
Anotheradvantageisthatthismethoddoesnothaveacut-outspeed,
themaximumspeedatwhichawindturbinecanbeused.
 Figure1.Artist’ssketchofasea-basedEWICONwindfarm.

3.EWICONWORKINGPRINCIPLE

First,wewillookatthetheoreticalfoundationofthemovementof
chargedparticlesbywindinanelectricfield.Subsequently,wewil
discusstwopossiblewaysinwhichtheEWICONsystemcanbe
implementedandchoosethemost
practicalyfeasibleimplementationtype.Last,withthetheoryandthe
implementationtype,wewilpresentsimulationresultstoshowthatthis
conversionprinciplecandeliverelectricalenergy.

TheoreticalBasis

Whenaforceactsonabodythatundergoesadisplacement,thatforce
doesworkonthebody.IntheEWICONsystem,thebodyisacharged
particlewithchargeq,andthereiselectricforceonthechargedparticle
duetoanelectricfieldE,givenby

combinedwiththeforceofthewind,whichisschematicalydepictedin
Figure2.

Figure2.Chargedparticleinanelectricfieldwithwindforce.

Theseparticleswithincreasedenergycanthenbecolected.Intheory,
anychargedobjectthatcanbewinddrivencanfunctioninEWICON.
Experimentshaveactualybeencariedouttoshowthattheprinciple
alsoworkswithpingpongbals.However,therecyclingofthesebalsfor
rechargingrendersthis
particularchoiceofchargecariersunpractical.Thereareseveralforces
actingonthedroplets,startingwithgravitywithworksondropleti:

Thesedropletsfalinair,therefore,thereisalsoanupwardsforceacting
onthedroplets,thebuoyancy,

inwhichVdisthevolumeofthedropletandρaistheairdensity.Moving
inthewind,therewilalsobeadragforcethatinitialycausesthe dropletstomove,

inwhichCDisthedragcoefficient,disthedropletdiameter,vwisthe
windspeed,andvdisthespeedofthedroplet.Thisdragforcewilbe
zerowhenthedropletmoveswiththesamespeedasthewind.When
theairflowislaminar,i.e.,theReynoldsnumberislowerthanone,the
processissaidtobeintheStokesregion,andStokes’lawcanbeused
forthedragforce,

inwhichηaisthedynamicviscosityofairandCcistheslipcorection
factorbyCunningham,whichbecomesrelevantforparticlessmaler
than15μm.Fordropletswithd>>1μm,wecanassumeCc=1.The
electricforcesactingonthedropletscanbedividedintotwoparts.The
firstpartistheelectricforceduetotheexternalelectricfield,Eext,as
indicatedinFigure2,

inwhichqiisthechargepresentontheithdroplet.Thischargewil
dependonthemethodbywhichthedropletsarecreated.Thisexternal
fieldobviouslydependsontheexactconfigurationoftheelectrode(s)in
anactualEWICONsystem.Thesecondpartistheelectricforcedueto
theelectricfieldscreatedbytheotherchargeddropletssuroundingthe
ithdroplet.

inwhichri,jisthedistancebetweendropletianddropletj.Itshouldbe
notedthatalthecreatedchargeddropletshavechargewiththesame
polarityand,thus,wilrepeleachother.Summingalcontributingforces,
wefindforthelawofmotion

inwhichFiisthetotalforceoftheithdropletandaiistheaccelerationof
thechargeddroplet.Inthisequation,ifwelookattheordersof
magnitude,thetotalforceismainlydominatedbythedragforceandthe
electricforce.Wecansolvethisequation,givingusthevelocityand
positionofeverydropletateachpoint
intime.Using(8),theworkdoneontheithdroplet,Wi,bythewindis
inwhichdℓisthedisplacement,whichfolowsthepathofthedroplet.
Fromthis,thetotalenergygainedfromthewindcanbecalculated.Itis
importanttonotethatthereisalimittothepowerthatcanbeextracted
fromthewind.BetzandLanchesterhavederivedanexpression[6]for
thepowersurfacedensity,

inwhichρaistheairdensityandvwisthewindspeed.

4.EWICONCONSTRUCTION

TherearetwoimplementationsbywhichtheEWICONsystemcanbe
designed.Thefirstone,caledTypeA,ismoreintuitivebutcaries
severalpracticalproblems.Thesecondone,caledTypeB,iselectricaly
morechalengingbutwilresultinanEWICONsystemwithhigher
applicability.

4.1TYPEA
TypeA:ThemainprinciplecanbeseeninFigure3.Inthisfigurewecan
seethatchargeddropletsarecreatedatthechargingsystem,which
usualyconsistsofasupplyofliquid,anumberofelectrodes,anda
sprayingsystem,e.g.,nozzles.

Figure3.TypeAEWICONsystemwithaseparatecolector.

Afterchargeddropletshavebeencreated,thewindmovesthemtowards
acolectorthathasbeenelectricalyisolatedfromearth.Asdroplets
colidewiththecolector,theelectricpotentialofitwilincreasetoa
certainvalue.Theelectricalenergyisthenstoredinasimilarwayasina
capacitor.
Sincethedropletsandthecolectorwilhavethesamepolarity,
thedropletswilexperiencearepelingelectricforceawayfromthe
colector.Therefore,themaximumpotentialthatcanbeatainedbythe
colectorwildependonthewindspeed,assumingthatdroplet
propertiesremainunchangedduringoperation.
TheworkingprinciplebehindTypeAisstraightforward;however,
thereareanumberofissuesthatwouldreducethepracticaland
economicalfeasibilityofanEWICONbasedonthisimplementation.
AsFigure3makesclear,thereisaneedfortwoseparate
structures,achargingsystemandacolector.Thesetwostructures
needtobealignedwiththewind.Insituationswithvaryingwind
directions,anEWICONwouldbeincapableofquicklyadapting.
 Furthermore,inordertoensurethecaptureofthemajorityofthe
chargeddropletsandconsideringthedispersionofthechargeddroplet
cloud,thecolectordimensionsneedtoberelativelylargewithrespectto
thechargingsystem.Inlaboratorysetups,theratiobetweenthetwo
structuresneededtobeintheorderof2to5dependingonwindspeed
andchargeondroplets.Thiswouldmeanthatcolectorsinrealistic
situationswouldbeintheorderoftentohundredsofmeters.
Inthisconfiguration,showninFig.3,thechargingsystem
(electrodes+nozzles)responsibleforthechargedparticlesis
connectedtoearth.Afterthechargingsystemhasproducedthecharged
particles,thewindblowsthesechargedparticlesawaytowardsan
initialyneutralcolectorthatiselectricaly
isolatedfromearth.Consequently,theelectricpotentialofthiscolector
wilriseandhavethesamepolarityasthepolarityofthecharged
droplets.Therefore,thecolectorwilstarttorepelthedropletsand
dependingonthepowerofthewind,whichisrelatedtothewindspeed,
thevoltageofthecolectorwilreachamaximum.Anelectricalloadcan
beatachedtothiscolector.

4.2TYPEB
TypeB:ThemainprinciplecanbeseeninFigure4.Inthisfigure,wecan
seethat,now,thechargingsystemiselectricalyisolatedfromearth.
ThechargingsystemisinfacttheEWICONsystem.Sincethesystemis
initialyneutralandbecausecharged.dropletswithonepolaritywilbe
createdandmovedawayby thewind,theelectricalpotentialofthe
systemwilrisewithapolarityoppositetothatofthedroplets.Again,the
maximumpotentialtowhichthesystemcanbechargeddependsonthe
windspeed.
OnesignificantadvantageinTypeBisthatanexternalcolectoris
nolongerrequired.Theearthactsasthecolector,anditisonly
necessarytoremovethechargeddropletsfromthechargingsystem,
removingtherequirementforwindalignment.
ThechalengewithTypeBwilbethedesignofanelectricaly
isolatedchargingsystem.Moreover,thefactthattheearth,i.e.,the
environment,actsasthecolectorforthedropletputsrestrictionsonthe
typeofliquids.Forexample,certainoilsthathavebeenshownto
producegoodresultsintermsofelectricchargeproductioncannotbe used.
 Figure4.TypeBEWICONsystemwithoutacolector

Inthisconfiguration,showninFig.4,thechargingsystemis
electricalyisolatedfromearth.Inthiscase,afterthechargingsystem
hasproducedthechargedparticles,thewindblowstheparticlesaway
fromthechargingsystem.Duetothischargemovementawayfromthe
set-up,theelectricpotentialofthe
chargingsystemrises,butwithapolarityoppositetothepolarityofthe
chargedparticles.Therefore,therewilbeanatractiveforcebetween
thechargingsystemandthechargedparticles,whichwoulddecrease
thestreamofcharged
dropletsbeingremovedfromtheset-up,thusdecreasingthenetcurrent.
Again,themaximumvoltageoftheset-upthatcanbereachedis
dependentonthewindpower.Similarly,anelectricalloadcanbe
atachedtotheset-up.

4.3CHOICEOFSETUP

Itisusefultonoteagainthesignificanceofthewindintheseset-ups.
Withouttheworkofthewind,thechargedparticleswouldeitherbe
repeledbythecolector(TypeA)orbeatractedbythechargingsystem
(TypeB).Inbothcases,thiswouldmeanthecurentcreatedbythe
sprayingprocesswould
benulified.Thismeansthesystemcannotfeedaload.
 TypeA'smainadvantageisthatitisconceptualysimple.However,
itrequiresaseparateisolatedcolector,whichmeansextrabuilding
materialandeffort.Also,duetotheinherentchaoticcharacterofthe
wind,arelativelylarge
colectorneedstobebuilttoensurethatmostofthechargeddroplets
arecaughtandeventhen,thereisnoguaranteethataloftheparticles
wilbecolected.
TypeB'smaindisadvantageisthatthechargingsystemneedsto
beisolatedfromearth.Thismeansthechargingsystemismore
complicatedthantheoneusedinaTypeAsetup.However,thereisno
needforaseparatecolectorwhichsimplifiestheconstructionoftheset
-up.Thefactthatthe
chargedparticlesarenotcolecteddoesmean,however,thatthe
particlesaredispersedintothesuroundings.Therefore,froman
environmentalpointofview,theparticlescannotbeharmfulortoxic.
SincetheintendedsprayingmediumfortheEWICONiswater,this
conditionhasbeenmet.Also,duringthefeasibilitytestingperiod,itwas
foundthatusingaTypeBset-upresultedinverystablevoltages
comparedtovoltagesachievedwithaTypeAset-up.
Therefore,theTypeBset-upismorefavourableasastarting-point
forfurtherEWICONresearch.
 5.CHARGINGSYSTEMSANDDESIGN

ChargeandLiquidDroplets
Regardlessofthechargingmethod,therewilalwaysbeamaximum
chargeqmaxthatcanbeappliedonaliquiddroplet.Thisiscaledthe
Rayleighlimitandisgovernedbythesurfacetension,

inwhichγisthesurfacetensionoftheliquidofthedroplet,ε0isthe
vacuumpermitivity,anddisthedropletdiameter.Ifthechargeona
dropletexceedsqmax,thedropletwilbreakupduetotheelectrical
stresses,whichthesurfacetensionisunabletowithstand.Goingsolely
by(11),ahighsurfacetensionandlargedropletdiameterseemtobe
morefavourablefortheEWICONsystem.However,ahighsurface
tensionalsocomplicatesdropletproduction.Moreover,whileasingle
dropletmightholdmorechargewithlargerdiameter,themportant
parametertotakeintoaccountisthechargepermassratio,

CloupeauandMarijnissen[8],[9]havediscussedmethodstodetermine
theseterminalvelocitiesdependingontheelectricfieldanddroplet
diameterandchargeinboththeStokesandtheNewtonian
regimes.Calculationshaveshownthat
•theelectricfieldmustnotexceed106V/mastheEWICONthen
requireswindspeedsover30m/sand
•theproduceddropletsshouldhaveadropletdiameterbetween0.1and
100μm.

5.1High-PressureMonodispersedSpraying
Thismethodisbasedontheprinciplethataliquidisforcedthrougha
devicefitedwithmicron-sizedporesofequalsizecreatingliquidjetsof
equaldiameter.Thepressureisintheorderof10to15MPa,resultingin
anexitvelocityof10to20m/s.
TheliquidjetsbreakupintodropletsundertheRayleighbreakup
principle,withthedropletdiameterproportionaltothejet
diameter.Chargingthedropletisachievedbyinductionusinga
ringelectrode,asshowninFigure7.
Thissprayingtechniqueismostlyusedinink-jetprintersand
medicineapplicationswheresalinewateriscommonlyused.
Furthermore,thechargeonthedropletscanbecontroledbyvaryingthe
potentialoftheelectrode.Themaindisadvantageofthismethodisthe
powerrequiredtoachievethehighpressure.Thiswilnegatively
contributetotheoveralefficiencyofthe EWICONsystem.

Figure5.High-pressuremonodispersedspraying;theliquid
breaksupintomonodisperseddroplets,andthedropletsare chargedusingaringelectrode.

Thissprayingtechniqueismostlyusedinink-jetprintersandmedicine
applicationswheresalinewateriscommonlyused.Furthermore,the
chargeonthedropletscanbecontroledbyvaryingthepotentialofthe
electrode.Themaindisadvantageofthismethodisthepowerrequired
toachievethehighpressure.Thiswilnegativelycontributetotheoveral
efficiencyoftheEWICONsystem.

5.2ElectrohydrodynamicAtomization
Electrohydrodynamicatomization(EHDA)isasprayingandcharging
methodthatisusedforcoatingoradministeringmedicine.Itsmain
advantageisthatverylitleenergyisrequiredforthecreationofcharged
droplets.Themethodisbasedontheprinciplethatastrongelectricfield
wildeformthemeniscus
ofaliquidleavingasprayingnozzletoaconicalshape,aTaylorcone,
seeFigure8.Fromthisconicalshape,aliquidjetiscreatedthatbreaks
intodropletswithahighchargedensity.
Dependingontheliquidflowrate,density,viscosity,surface
tension,conductivity,andelectricfield,thissprayingprocesscantake
placeinvariousmodes.
Ofthesemodes,theso-caledcone-jetmodeisdesiredformainly
tworeasons:
1)highestchargeperdropletand
2)monodispersity.
Themainchalengewiththecone-jetmodeisthatthesurface
Tensionofthesprayingliquidshouldberelativelylow,intheorderof20
to40mN/m.Sincewaterhasarelativelyhighsurfacetension(72
mN/m),thesprayingconditionshavetobecarefulysettoprevent
disruptingdischarges.
Ifthecone-jetmodeisnotachieved,thenthenextbestmodeisthe
micro-drippingmode.Inthismode,dropletshaveawiderrangeof
diameterandthechargeoneachdropletislowerthanduringthecone-
jetmode.Experimentswilhavetoshowwhethertheseproduced
chargeddropletsinthemicro-dripping
wilbesufficientforanefficientenergyconversionprocess

Figure6.(a)Coneshape,dropletsize,andelectriccurrentdependontheforces
actingonliquidanddissolvedions:gravity,electricfield,surfacetension.(b)
Ethanolsprayinginthecone-jet.
 6.IMPLEMENTATIONOFEWICONMETHOD

EWICONSYSTEMWITHANINSULATED
COLLECTER-

InthisimplementationoftheEWICONsystem,the
chargedparticlesarecreatedbyachargingsystem,
Itconsistsofanumberofnozzlesandelectrodes,
whichisgrounded.
Astreamofchargedparticles,whichcanbe
consideredasanelectriccurent,isthen
transportedbythewindtoaseparateinsulated
colector,whichisinitialyneutral.
Whenthechargedparticlestouchthecolector,
theywildelivertheirchargetothecolector.This
causesthepotentialofthecolectortorise.
 EWICONSYSTEMWITHOUTCOLLECTOR-

Thechargingsystemitselfisinsulatedfromearth.
Thereisnoseparatecolectorpresent.
Tobemoreprecise,thepotentialwilriseincase of
negativelychargedparticles,itwildecreasein
caseofpositivelychargedparticles.
However,thistime,thepolarityofthispotentialis
oppositetothepolarityofthechargedparticles.
 7.ADVANTAGESOFEWICONOVERCONVEN
TIONAL WINDTURBINE

Oneofthedisadvantagesofthemechanicalconversionmethodisthe
wearandtearofthemovingparts.Therefore,thesecomponentsare
moresubjectivetofailureandhavehighmaintenancecosts.Another
drawbackisthenoiseandintermitentshadowcausedbytherotational
movementoftheblades.Alsovisualpolutionofthelandscapeis
mentionedasanegativepropertyofawindturbine.
Anewconcept,whichconvertsthewindenergydirectlyinto
electricalenergyistheElectrostaticWIndenergyCONverterorEWICON.
TheEWICONdirectlyconvertswindenergyintoelectricalenergy,by
displacementofchargedparticlesbythewindintheoppositedirection
ofanelectric_eld.Withthismethodthemovingmechanicalpart,andits
disadvantages,isnolongerpresent.Anotheradvantageis,thatthesize
ofthisconverteri.e.thewindsurfacearea,canbescaledintwo
directions.Inaconventionalconverterthisareacanonlybeincreasedby
increasingtherotordiameter,seefgure

Figure7:Windsurfaceareaofbothwindenergyconverters.Atawindturbine,
theareaisincreasedbyincreasingtherotordiameter(d).AnEWICON
systemcanbescaledupbyincreasingtheheight(h)orthewidth(w),or both.

Summarizing,theadvantagesoftheEWICONsystemare:
Nomechanicalwearandtear,therebylowermaintenancecosts
Nointermitentshadowsandlowernoisebecausetheabsence
movingandrotatingparts
Areacanbeincreasedinbothdimensions
Canbeconstructedinvariousshapes

8.DRAWBACKSOFEWICON

Despitetheadvantages,therewilbealsosomerestrictionsby
implementingan
EWICONsystem.Thechargedparticleswilberepresentedbycharged
droplets.Asaconsequence,aliquidwilbereleasedintheenvironment,
whichhastobeenvironmentalyfriendly.Alsocorosion,andcloggingof
theliquidsupplyshouldbetakenintoaccount.
HowevertheEWICONsystemcanbescaledintwodimensions,
thesizewilstilbeintheorderofaconventionalwindturbine.Thevisual
polutionproblemwilnotbesolved.Thecompletesystemaswelasthe
creationofchargeddropletsoperatesathighvoltage,aswilbe
explainedinchapter4.Thisrequiresatentiontosafetyandinsulation
aspects.Otherdisadvantagesatthepresentstageare

Comparedtothemaximumconvertiblepowerinthewind,thenet
poweroutputisintheorderofafewpercent.

Therotorpowerco-efficientontheyaxisisthenumbertolookathere.
TheEWICON's10%equatesto0.1onthatscale.Thatmeansthatthey
aredownwiththeSavoniuswindturbine-theleasteffectivewind
generatortechnology-iftheysubstantialyincreasedtheirefficiencyin
thepastfiveyears.Notethatstilputsthemwelbelowtheefficiencyof
400yearoldDutchwindmiltechnologyortheoldslatedwindmils
usedtopumpwatersonfarmsinNorthAmericaandAustralia.

Waterinmanypartsoftheworldisn'tfree.Justforquickexamples,it's
ameteredutilitylikeelectricityinSingapore,LasVegas,Baltimoreand
ustralia.Itcostsmoney.Thetrendistowardmuchmoremetered,costed
waterratherthanawayfromitandhigherpricesforwater.Thisthingis
much,muchworsethanadrippingtap,morelikeasplitgardenhosein
termsofwaterusageforasmaldevice.

Theyproposeputingthesedevicesontopofbuildings.Any
buildingoverahandfulofstoriestalneedstomanageitsownwater
pressureeitherwitharooftoptankthatitpumpswaterintoora
pressurizedsystem.Bothoftheserequireelectricitytopumpthewater,
whichcostsmoney.

Theyproposeputingthesedevicesouttoseaandusingseawater.
Theseawaterwon'tpumpitselfupintothedevicebyitself.Thesea
waterwon'tfilteritselfsothatitdoesn'tdirectlyclogthenozzles.The
seawaterwon'tremovemineralsfromitselfsothattheydon'tbuildupin
theverysmalnozzlesandclogthem.Theseareengineeringproblems
relatedtolocatingthesedevicesatsea,butwhenyouarestartingwith
suchapoorperformancefactor,theymakethistechnologyanon-starter
outofthebox.

Ofcourse,there'stheotherrealyinterestingquestion:what
happenswhentemperaturesdropbelowfreezing?Givenaloftheholes
init,itprobablywon'tbedamagedtoobadlywhenalofthewaterinit
freezes,butitcertainlywon'tbegeneratinganyelectricitybelowzero.
Andheatingalofthefinetubesrequiredtooperatethisinthefaceofa
coldwindwouldrequiremoreenergythantheyareextractingbecause
theirefficiencyissopoor.

9.CONCLUSIONANDFUTUREWORK
Itispossibletoconvertwindenergytoelectricalenergyrequiringless
energyfortheoperation,whichhasnotbeenachievedwithwaterbefore.
However,thepowercoefficientsarestilsmalcomparedwith
conventionalwindturbines.Partoftheselowerefficienciesandpower
coefficientsisduetothefactthatthedroplet-chargingprocess producesalower-
than-expectedoutputcurrent.InthecaseofEHDA,
waterisnotsprayinginthecone-jet,causingpolydispersity
inthechargeddroplets.Therefore,asignificantpartofthecharged
dropletsareatractedbacktoEWICONsystem.Itisveryimportantthat
aldropletshavethesamesize.InthecaseofHPMS,thecharging
processbyinductionisnotasefficientaspredictedbychargingmodels.
Also,themechanicalpower
requiredtoachievethehighpressurenegativelyaffectstheefficiency
ignificantly.TheexperimentsshowthattheEWICONsysteminthe
curentconfigurationiscapableofgeneratingelectricalenergyfrom
windenergywithanefficiencyofatleast700.Theefficiencyof
conventionalwindturbines,likee.g.aSiemens1.3MWwindturbine,is
roughly4500whichstilissixtoseventimeshighercomparedtothe
efficiencyofthecurentEWICON.
IfwetakethepowercoefficientofthecurentEHDAlaboratory
systemandapplythattoascaled-upsystemwithawindsurfacearea
comparabletotheaforementionedSiemenswindturbine,anoutput
powerof360kWwouldbegeneratedat13m/s.Whilethisisstil
significantlylowerthan6MW,itis
importanttobearinmindthatitisnotsolelyoutputpowerbut“costper
kWh”thatwildeterminetheeconomicfeasibilityoftheEWICON.
Withadditionalresearch,in5to10years,thepowercoefficientof
theEWICONmightonlyneedtobeimprovedto20to30%afterwhich
savingsinconstructionandmaintenancewiltipthescaletowardsthe
EWICON.Ifthatisachieved,electrostaticwindenergyconverterssuch
theonessketchedin
Figure1mightbeplacedbothinseaandinurbanenvironments.

10.REFERENCES

1.ANovelMethodofWindEnergyGeneration—TheElectrostatic
 WindEnergyConverter-DhiradjDjairam,PeterH.F.Morshuis,and
JohanJ.Smit,publishedinIEEEElectricalInsulationMagazine, 0883-
7554/12/$31/©2014/IEEE
2.ThedevelopmentofanElectrostaticWindEnergyConverter
(EWICON)-D.Djairam,A.N.Hubacz,P.H.F.Morshuis,J.C.M.
Marijnissen,J.J.Smit[DUTCHPROGRAMEET]
3.FeasibilityStudyofanEWICONSystemusingtheSelfAdjusting
MultinozzleElectrosprayingTechnique,ThesispresentedbyArjan
WintersatDelftUniversityofTechnology
4.www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/3/bladeless-wind-turbine -
ewicon
5.www.wonderfulengineering.com/ewicon-the-worlds-first-blade-
less-wind-turbine/
6.www.quora.com/Wind-Energy/How-much-water-does-EWICON-
Electrostatic-Wind-Energy-Converter-use
7.www.ewi.tudelft.nl/en/curent/ewicon-wind-energy-converter-
unveiled-wind-mil-without-moving-parts
8.www.gizmag.com/ewicon-bladeless-wind-turbine/26907/
9.landartgenerator.org/blagi/archives/2872
10. www.mecanoo.nl/Default.aspx?tabid=116&DetailId=847&pc
ode=A498