Technology prospectus for wind energy balloon.

1. AIR-CUP
HARVESTING UPPER ATMOSPHERE
TECHNOLOGY PROSPECTUS
March 2013
By Suchit Sharma
B.Tech. Indian School of Mines

2. AIR-CUP technology overview
• Helium filled tunnel balloon design for operation
at altitudes of 2000m and airspeeds in excess of
15 m/s.
• Tethering cable ties AIR-CUP to ground station
and relays developed power.
• Primary wind turbine at entry point of tunnel
with diameter 20 m.
• Secondary wind turbine before exit of tunnel
with diameter 8.5m

3. AIR-CUP technology overview
• Inflatable volume of 1.46E+05m^3
• Length of 90 m
• Surface area of 2.45E+03m^2
• Lightweight helium impervious body materials
• Refilling only three times every year
• 27 times power generated than similar ground
based station
• Equivalent to several hundred times steel and
concrete systems at ground

4. AIR-CUP technology overview
• Aerodynamic design with optimized weight
distribution to prevent tunnel collapse and
vibrations
• 320 kW peak power developed at 15 m/s inlet
airspeed
• Streamlined flow available for secondary
turbine with 4x boost to inlet airspeed.
• Actively variable diffuser mounted at rear end
to vary low pressure zone and manage drag

5. Potential
• 27x Wind power developed than comparable
systems on ground

6. Potential
• 320 kW peak power developed at
2000 m altitude with 15 m/s wind
speed

7. Potential
• Secondary turbine
operates on flow with
high airspeeds, outside
cut-off speed for
conventional turbines.
• Tail diffuser varies airflow
pattern to maintain low
pressure zone causing
tunnel flow. Air flow
significantly increased
diffuser.

8. Potential
• Aerodynamics and build
prevent the tunnel from
collapsing and help balloon
maintain shape
• Helium for increased safety
• Helium non-permeable
membrane to lower refilling
costs
• Additional payload capacity
for mounting remote sensing
and communication
equipment.

9. Clean Energy
for Future
• Low environmental impact
as operation away from the
surface
• Enormously lower
procurement, installation
and maintenance cost
when compared to
equivalent steel and
concrete power systems.

10. Critical Tech
• Aero-dynamics
• Helium non-permeable
membrane
• Active diffuser
adjustment system

11. Thanks
By
Suchit Sharma
Indian School of Mines