The Vortex EngineA proposal for the utilization of updraft systems to increase rainfall, reduce global warming and generate electrical power Presentation by Donald Cooper CPEng Perth, Western Australia
The Vortex Engine
A proposal for the utilization of updraft systems to increase rainfall, reduce global warming and generate electrical power Presentation by Donald Cooper CPEng Perth, Western Australia
First, the Vortex Engine’s cousin: the Solar Updraft Tower
Enviromission in Australia and Solarmission in the US are planning to build a 200 MWe solar-thermal power station. Enviromission 1000 m high, 100 m diameter. Collector 40 sq km 200 MW, 300 tonne/sec Australia / US
The main problem with the solar updraft tower is that at a projected cost of around A$600 million, it is expensive. The kilometre-high stack and the five kilometre diameter canopy together constitute about two thirds of the overall projected cost.
The Alternative - the Vortex Engine
It will be shown that the vortex chimney generated by the vortex engine should be regarded as a natural “worm hole” which is able to link the high and low temperature strata of the troposphere, thereby releasing the energy contained in atmospheric water vapour.
In the Vortex Engine, the vortex tunnel can functionally replace the power tower’s solid stack, and similarly a “vapour field” can functionally replace the glass canopy
The Increase in Atmospheric Water Vapour Content
The increase in atmospheric CO2 content has been well documented. The much more important greenhouse gas – water vapour - has been less so: “When you heat the planet, you increase the ability of the atmosphere to hold moisture. The atmosphere’s water vapor content has increased by about 0.41 kg/m² per decade since 1988, and natural variability in climate just can’t explain this moisture change. The most plausible explanation is that it’s due to the human-caused increase in greenhouse gases.” Benjamin Santer, lead author from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Program for Climate Modelling and Intercomparison. Water vapour strongly amplifies the warming effect of increased atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. This is a classic “positive feedback loop.” By conveying water vapour to higher levels in the troposphere, the vortex engine and to a much lesser extent the solar updraft tower can act to enhance heat transfer from the atmosphere.
The scientific consensus is that a runaway greenhouse effect must be halted
We have to reverse the growth in atmospheric CO2 and water vapour The vortex engine can arguably go a considerable way towards achieving this
Solarmission’s projected full-scale solar updraft tower will produce an updraft of 300 tonnes of air per second containing around 3 tonnes of water per second.
The glass solar canopy of a solar updraft tower will be in the region of five to seven kilometres in diameter. One 200 MWe solar updraft tower will dissipate around 20 Gigawatts in terms of atmospheric convection. The Solar Updraft Tower
A cloud will often be formed over the top of the updraft tower, but precipitation from the cloud is likely to be negligible because of its relatively low altitude.
Precipitation Efficiency (ep) vs. Cloud Height
RH ep = 1 When clouds reach the top of the Troposphere, precipitation efficiency tends towards unity. Some evaporation occurs during the descent of the rain, but this is not an entire loss as the evaporation causes cooling of the air, subsequent downdrafts, and horizontal wind when the flow hits the ground. Some of this energy can be harvested by means of conventional wind turbines. Relative Humidity (RH) ep = 0 Tropopause altitude 10 - 12 km ep = 0.5 RH Earth Source: Divine Wind
Vortices in Nature
The Tropical Cyclone NASA
Vortices in Nature
A severe tropical cyclone can dissipate in the region of 30,000 Gigawatts. Australia’s electrical power generation capacity is in the region of 50 Gigawatts. NASA
Vortices in Nature
(Not to scale – the eye is typically 40 km in diameter and 12 km high) The primary driver for the tropical cyclone and tornado is the enthalpy of water vapour within warm humid air. Wikipedia
Vortices in Nature
The Tornado Wikipedia
Vortices in Nature The tornado is a highly effective mechanism through which Nature conveys moist boundary layer air to the top of the Troposphere where precipitation is initiated. The “anvil” is formed when it reaches the tropopause, the interface with the stratosphere. World Book
Updraft Clouds
Updraft velocities of up to 240 km/hr have been recorded within clouds – this is enough to hold aloft hailstones of up to 180 mm diameter. Atmospheric water vapour should arguably be regarded as a storehouse of solar energy. Wikipedia /Bidgee
Nature’s “Heat Pump”
Convection processes such as storms, cyclones and tornados are the primary means of effectively pumping heat out of the ocean, into the atmosphere, and lifting it to where it can be re-radiated into space, thereby mitigating the heat build-up that otherwise occurs.
The Atmospheric Temperature Profile
It has been shown by MIT Professor Kerry Emanuel that tropical cyclones are based on a close approximation of the Carnot cycle. Within the troposphere, the temperature varies from approximately 30oC (~300 K) at ground level to minus 70oC (~200 K) at an altitude of 10 kilometres. The Carnot thermodynamic cycle working between these limits has a theoretical efficiency of up to 33%. The frequency of these events is arguably only the “tip of the iceberg.” There is always a potential for vortex generation, particularly strong in hot and humid regions.
The Carnot Engine
The ideal thermodynamic efficiency of a Carnot cycle is a function of the difference between the extreme temperatures of the cycle. The relationship between efficiency and temperature difference is given by
The Carnot Potential Wind Speed
Map showing the maximum wind speed in MPH achievable by tropical cyclones over the course of an average year according to Carnot’s theory of heat engines. Source: Divine Wind by MIT Professor Kerry Emanuel Cyclonic energy is normally derived from the moist air over a warm sea
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