This Crazy Wind Turbine May Be The Future of Wind Energy

Is AirLoom onto something or is it just hype? The first 100 people to use code UNDECIDED at the link below will get 60% off of Incogni: incogni.com/undecided If you liked this, check out Why This NASA Battery May Be The Future of Energy Storage https://youtu.be/2zG-ZrC4BO0?list=PLnTSM-ORSgi4dFnLD9622FK77atWtQVv7

Hi Matt, have you considered makeing a "where are they now" style video of technologies/companies you've spoken about in the last years? Would be cool to see the progress made

As a mechanical engineer, I see some potential issues with this design. One of them is how the blades would react to turbulent winds. I can see the blades twisting the track and really stressing the pulley system and even potentially hitting the vertical support towers. Having a single mid-point track does not have much resistance to twisting. There are plenty of moving parts here that would require upfront CAE analysis and thorough development testing to determine how long it would last and the conditions it would be able to survive (high winds, high and low temperatures, ice, etc.).

I like this concept, and I could even see niche case uses, such as at the top of skyscrapers. At that height, you've typically got the wind, scale the device to the structure. It doesn't need to be crazy power generation if they're also cheaper to produce and maintain.

That does seem like a very high friction system in less than optimal wind conditions. I can see how, in theory, you could potentially capture more energy in a given footprint, however blade area is only one component in the lift equation. Velocity is a square component in the lift equation, so chasing higher air flow with taller structures makes more sense. Also the higher the aspect ratio of the blades the more efficient as well, this is one of the major driving factors behind taller wind turbines.

I think the fundamental issue is also going to be with friction loss, fundamentally they have more wearing friciton parts which would result in losses and increated in maintenance costs.

A regular turbine can generally last at least 20 years. Many around where I live have worked for well over 30 years at this point. This point is mentioned in the video but I would like to see how long a track system such as the one shown here is going to last. These tracks, when used in the industrial applications I have seen, are regularly lubricated and maintained and operate in factories which, compared to a field in a windy area, is a relatively clean environment. I think dust and dirt buildup will make scrap out of those tracks in a few years without regular cleaning and maintenance. We'll see, but I doubt it will amount to much. Also, thank you for including the recap of previous wind technologies you have covered. It is greatly appreciated.

The first thing that came to my head was "it's way too short". Maybe it's a good solution if you plan to put it on a big flat roof of a tall building (it would be more conspicuous than a solar roof, though)

I question the friction losses of the wind track

As others have pointed out, AirLoom is a vertical axis wind turbine where the central axis is replaced by a rail.

I think you're right to be concerned about both the intermittency of low-level wind, and the overall cost of maintenance.

The key physical problem is the loss to friction due to the track system; a secondary problem is alignment as it seems designed to sit statically aligned. Wish 'em luck!

Great to see that you got back to being more critical again nowadays. I had some problems with some of your videos in the past that felt like you were - to put it bluntly - parroting marketing material. It's important to showcase new ideas and you're doing a great job at that, and it is good to see that you're staying critical. Will go back and watch a few of the latest videos that i skipped.

Maintenance would seem to be the biggest issue. More moving parts, more problems. Close to the ground might be another issue, but there also may be places where the wind blows all the time.

Matt Ferrell has become more skeptical and objective in his analysis.

Low, long solutions like this are needed. They can be put on buildings, along canals, in fallow fields. I really hope this one pans out.

Holy cow, this could be something a DIYer could install if this works. Really cool to see this.

To me it looks like something that will be mechanically very fragile and susceptible to failures, too many friction points and moving pieces.

If you could gimbal the blades as they travel around the track, you could maintain an optimal angle of attack regardless of wind direction and ensure the blades generate torque during their entire rotation.

Matt, another one of the big hurdles for these large-scale long-blade wind turbines is airspace. For instance there are none of these large wind turbines in our area because we have Wright-Pat AFB, Dayton International Airport, Wilmington Commercial, and four small regional airports all within 25 miles of each other. This makes for a very large air space that simply cannot accommodate Eiffel Tower tall wind turbines in that same airspace. So yes, these other projects you mentioned would be well suited for this kind of space. Keep up these videos on products like these and others. Your approach is greatly appreciated.