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Is wind the answer to
Israel’s energy problems?
7.50'*
BEERSHEVA—A new tech
nique to increase the efficiency of
wind turbines for the production
of electricity is currently being
perfected at the Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev.
Dr. Ozer Igra, a senior lecturer
in the dept, of mechanical
engineering, says that by
surrounding any ordinary wind
turbine with his special shroud he
can increase its output three-fold
“Wind has certain advantages
over other sources of energy,” says
Dr. Igra. “First, it is always
available and will never run out,
like oil or coal reserves. Secondly,
it does not involve any pollution of
the environment.
“The disadvantages of wind as
an energy source are that it is
unstable and that its power is
relatively low. Water, for example,
is about 800 times heavier than air
and therefore can be utilized much
more efficiently to drive turbines
for the creation of energy.
Not being able to do much about
the instability of wind, Dr. Igra has
been working to increase its
efficiency. Basing his work on
group studies done almost 20 years
ago when he was a student at the
Technion under the direction of
Prof. Avraham Kogan, Igra has
perfected a “shroud” for wind
turbines which, taking advantage
of the principle of the airplane
wing, is able to concentrate the
wind and increase its effectiveness.
An airplane wing produces lift
because the air pressure is lower
under the wing and higher above.
Igra has, in effect, produced a
circular airplane wing which
creates lower pressure inside the
shroud and higher pressure
outside. This difference in air
pressure creates a suction effect,
drawing more air into the turbine.
Igra claims that the output of the
shrouded turbine is at least three
times that of a regular turbine. To
further increase efficiency, Igra has
also created two sets of turbine
blades—one stationary, one
moving—which he claims, also
increases electrical output.
Another advantage of his
shroud, Igra sayS, is that it does not
have to be facing the wind directly
as a normal turbine does. The
shroud, he claims, can pick up
wind at an angle with as little as 20
percent of the turbine facing into
the direction of the wind.
Igra has built a prototype of his
shroud at the Israel Aircraft
Industries plant in Beersheba. The
present model has a minimum
diameter of about three meters and
a maximum of about six meters,
but Igra says that he can
geometrically increase energy
output by small increases in the
size of the apparatus. The model
will produce a constant one
kilowatt of electricity at a constant
wind speed of 18 kilometers per
hour.
The inventor does not think his
work is a solution for Israel’s
energy problems, but that it can
serve as an excellent supplement in
such places as Mizpe Ramon,
where the cost of electricity is
extremely high. He hopes that
shrouded turbines will someday be
placed in high-wind regions
throughout the country, such as
the Judean Hills or the Haifa
coast.
Igra’s work has been financed by
grants from the U.S.-Israel
Binational Science Foundation
over the last three years.
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