Windbelt – Wind energy without turbine blades
Abhishek Jagtap, Dinesh Hiray & Anish Khati
Introduction
The Windbelt is a device for converting wind power to
electricity A windbelt is essentially an aeolian
harp except that it exploits the motion of the string
produced by the aeroelastic flutter effect to move
a magnet closer and farther from one or more coils and
thus induce current in the wires that make up the coil.
About 2% of global electricity production comes from
wind-powered generators. Their capacity has doubled
in the past three years. In some countries it is more
popular than solar energy because it is cheaper on a
cost per watt basis. However, for powering small
devices there has been minimal activity to harvest
energy from the wind. This is because conventional
electromagnetic wind turbines require rotating fins and
gearing which adds bulk, and they become less
efficient when scaled down. Virginia Tech University
in the US is doing research into piezoelectric turbines,
where they have developed a "contactless" turbine
where the losses are only mechanical friction on
bearings and magnetic friction but so far the output
power is low and they are less effective at high wind
velocities. Piezo-electrics are also relatively expensive.
For all of the recent strides made in the wind industry,
wind power for the last 100 years has not been very
flexible. Turbine based wind harvesters are only cost
effective on a unit size of nearly a megawatt and
maintenance is expensive and difficult. 1-meter long
Wind belt generator is being developed to change all of
that.
A single Wind cell, for instance, is sized to power
meshed WiFi repeaters, whereas a few units linked
together can provide power to ocean navigation buoys
or isolated lighting apps. The systems, like all of
Humdinger's main products, are modular, in that
individual units can be combined together as building
blocks for larger installations. For substantially larger-
scale applications and grid-tied electricity production,
Instead of using conventional geared, rotating airfoils
to pull energy from the wind, the Windbelt™ relies on
an aerodynamic phenomenon known as aeroelastic
flutter (‘ flutter’ ). While the phenomenon is a well-
known destructive force (e.g., a cause of bridge failure)
Abstract
The kinetic energy present in wind has been
successfully applied towards productive human ends,
such as grinding grain or pumping water. Wind-
powered generators were developed to harness this
kinetic energy for the production of electricity. Today,
wind-powered generators take on the largely
ubiquitous form of a turbine, or rotating airfoil. While
these turbine-based wind generators are generally
useful in certain open spaces with consistently high-
speed winds, drawbacks still exist, such as heavy initial
capital costs, low efficiency at all but a narrow range of
wind speeds, the lack of cost effectiveness at lower
power outputs levels (<1 kW), etc. windbelt is a
device, which is design to circumvent the above
mention drawbacks.
Windbelt is a device which is based on the concept of
‘Aeroelastic flutter’. A Windbelt is designed in such a
way that it effectively utilizes the oscillations induced
by the wind for generating electricity. A windbelt
consists of a tensioned Mylar membrane (or belt), a set
of magnets and a set of electromagnetic coils. When Wilderness areas lose economic value as
recreational and vacation locations
the belt experiences aeroelastic flutter under the action Tourism supported businesses suffer

of wind, the magnets oscillate between the coils to

induce an electric current. The electricity is then
produced according to Faraday’s Law of
electromagnetic Induction.
Problems with existing system
Problem solving Methodology
[ref 10^]
The wind belt is a new advent in the world of
renewable energy. Wind belt is a device which
effectively utilizes oscillations produced by wind
for generating electricity.

Destruction of fragile ecosystems and animal This piece of technology would be best because it
habitats is easy to store, easy to repair, and relatively
Deforestation inexpensive.
Excavation
Erosion Extreme poverty, corruption in the government,
Turbines kill birds and other flying animals and lack of running water are just a few of the
Eagles problems in India.
Raptors
Hawks Optimize Practical Use of the wind energy
Migrating Birds
Bats Future develepment of the wing energy extraction
Turbine "blade thump" noise causes a health and electrical conversion
problem known as Wind Turbine Syndrome
Symptoms include: A wind belt consists of a tensioned Mylar
Sleep disturbance membrane (or belt)
Headache
Ringing or buzzing in the ears A set of magnets and a set of electromagnetic coils.
Dizziness
Vertigo The membrane vibrates when subject to a wind
Nausea flow. The button magnets are attached to the
Visual blurring membrane and configured to move with the
Rapid heart rate membrane.
Irritability
Problems with concentration and memory The vibration of the membrane caused by the wind
Panic episodes associated with sensations of flow causes a relative movement between the
internal pulsation or quivering, which arise electrical coils and the applied magnetic field.
while awake or asleep
The relative movement causes a change in the
Wind Power Causes Economic Problems: [ref strength of the magnetic field applied to the
5,12^] electrical coils, and the change in the strength of
Homes located near wind turbines lose the magnetic field applied to the electrical coils
significant value
Some homes become impossible to sell and are induces a current flowing in the coils, when it is
abandoned by their owners connected to the load.
SELECTION / DESIGNING OF Discarded transformers and motors are a good
COMPONENTS[ref 8,7^] source of well-wound coils.
If these are not available, effective coils can be
Image:- made by carefully winding copper wire with an
electrical hand-drill as illustrated in Fig 3.7
The “Buzzer” utilizes a rigid belt to flutter in the
wind as opposed to the standard Mylar belt.
1. The rigid belt in this system lasts longer than
flexible material that must be connected at both
ends and kept under tension in other designs.
2. The rigid belt can also be made of inexpensive
Design structure of windbelt. and easy to acquire materials, such as plastic or
The purpose of this section is to show how the wood.
different components were selected based on faraday’s 3. Not having to attach the belt at both ends allows
induction law. the system to be as much as half the size of
[ref 12,3^] other units. This makes it easier to build and
1 Parameters to optimize for increase in electric less expensive.
output: 4. The Buzzer may produce more power than
By Faraday’s Induction Law, other designs.

ADVANTAGES OF WINDBELT

[ref 9,3^]
Where,
Φ is the magnetic flux through the area of the loop. No specialized materials for windbelt construction.
N is the number of wire turns in the magnetic coil
1. Windbelt can be used in developing
ε is the induced electromotive force
countries.
v is the induced voltage
2. Simple and cheap in construction.
Thus, to increase the induced voltage, the
3. Required wind speed for operation is less (4
parameters N, Φ and (dϕ/dt) should be maximized (as
miles per hour).
described below).
4. For small application efficiency is high.

1. Increase number of wire turns, N 5. Flexibility in construction.

[ref 6^]
1) No specialized materials for windbelt
construction.
Windbelt requires no special material
for construction. It can be constructed using
nearby waste material. It requires Neodymium
magnet which is easily available in the market.
Hence, windbelt does not require any import
material.
Thus, cost of material is saved which
reduces overall cost of prototype.
2) Windbelt can be used in developing
countries.
Development of country depends on the
generation of energy for industrial as well as
commercial application. But, due to
unavailability of energy resources, condition
political issue, unclimatic conditions etc
country cannot meet the demand.
Hence, energy conservation is an
important factor which tries to minimize the
gap between generation & utilization by
reducing losses in transmission& distribution as
well as in electrical equipment.
Thus, windbelt is an solution for above
problem which can leads to development of
developing countries like India.
3) Simple and cheap in construction.
Windbelt construction does not require
any complex construction. It can easily
constructed by the unskilled person by knowing
the specification of each component.
the material requires for construction of
windbelt is easily available, cost of material is
saved which is an vital factor which is consider
for reducing overall cost of windbelt.
4) Required wind speed for operation is less
(4 miles per hour).
Existing wind turbine (vertical &
horizontal axis wind turbine) requires wind
speed about 20 miles per hour & above. But,
Windbelt requires minimum wind speed about
4 miles per hour. Hence, it can be installed near
to consumer end.
5) For small application efficiency is high.
Vertical axis wind turbine has maximum
efficiency 59.63% for large scale application.
But, if it is used to generate electrical energy
for smaller applications like illuminating CFL,
mobile phone charger, LED lighting its
efficiency obtained about 1%.
While on the other side windbelt used
for generating small amount of power has
efficiency above 20%.
6) Flexibility in construction.
Windbelt construction can be placed
horizontally or vertically depending on the area
available.
Hence, Windbelt requires less space
which can be mounted on building, street pole
bridge etc.
As
Design Procedure [ref 1,2^]
The stiffness of the belt and the length of the belt are
the important factor for the amount of energy
produced. Smaller belt produced more fluttering effect
in high speeds winds so longer belt is best suitable for
he harvesting of power from low speed winds. For high
wind length of the belts should be less. Therefore belt
can be maintained from 50 CM to 100 CM according
to the wind speed.
A windbelt consists of a tensioned Mylar membrane
(or belt), a set of magnets and a set of electromagnetic
coils. The membrane vibrates when subject to a wind
flow. The button magnets are attached to the membrane would have to respectfully convince the existing
and configured to move with the membrane. The
vibration of the membrane caused by the wind flow
causes a relative movement between the electrical coils wattage output. Providing lighting for the home can
and the applied magnetic field. The relative movement
causes a change in the strength of the magnetic field
applied to the electrical coils, and the change in the
strength of the magnetic field applied to the electrical
coils induces a current flowing in the coils, when it is
connected to the load.
CONCLUSION
Based on analysis of India’s climate
and people, it would be most feasible to
implement the Windbelt to generate electricity to light
the home. With the average income being well below
the poverty line an inexpensive form of energy would
have to be implemented. It also needs to be easy to
maintain and repair. The Windbelt meets all of these
requirements. To possibly cut down the number of
Windbelt that would need to be used, we could work
with the community to allow the Windbelt to be kept
outside at all times. This would require an increase in
security for the home, which poses a problem; we
security guard that he could use some extra help. We
could also consider funneling the wind to increase
greatly improve the lives of the inhabitants of India.
From above discussion we can conclude that
the windbelt is best suited for low power application by
considering its efficiency that is above 20%. Also, the
advantages of windbelt also made it suited for
generating small power that is below 100mW.it also
totally eliminate the transmission losses as installed
near consumer end.
Technical Reference Sources:

[1] Shawn Frayne „Windbelt generator‟ „Humdinger

Wind Energy‟ Energy harvesting and storage journal
17 July 2009.
[2] Shawn Frayne Windbelt Innovation: Medium
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[3] Matt Schelke ,Wind Energy with Windbelt
Generator Technology Article by Matt Schelke Edited
& published by Whitney
Worden on Jul 23, 2010
[4] Fei Fei, Wen J. Li, "A Fluttering-to-Electrical
Energy Transduction System for Consumer Electronics
Applications” IEEE
International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics
December 19 -23, 2009, Guilin, China
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Conference on Advances in Wind and Structures
(AWAS 2012). Seoul, Korea,
August 26, 2012 .
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wind energy harvesting using cross-flow fluttering”
Journal of applied
physics 109, 026104 (2011)
[7] Geoff Johnson, Lucas Hartman, Tejus
Goenka”Power Generation from Aeroelastic Flutter at
Low Reynolds Number”
[8] Faraz Ahmad, Shazia Shakeel, Kehkeshan
Naz,”Powering-Up Charging Stations for the Hybrid
Electrical Vehicles by
Harvesting Wind Energy Using Modified Wind Belt
System”
[9] J. A. Paradiso and T. Starner, "Energy scavenging
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[11] 1. International Journal of Engineering Research
and General Science Volume 3, Issue 2, March-April,
2015
ISSN 2091-2730

[11] www.humdingerwind.com

[12] www.kjmagnetics.com