Aquatic animals swimming in isolation and in groups are known to extract energy from the vortices in environmental flows, significantly reducing muscle activity required for locomotion. A model for the vortex dynamics associated with this phenomenon is developed, showing that the energy extraction mechanism can be described by simple criteria governing the kinematics of the vortices relative to...

The Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbines (DAWTs) have been widely studied, since the diffusers improve the power coefficient of the wind turbine, particularly of small systems. The diffuser is a device which has the function of causing an increase on the flow velocity through the wind rotor plane due to pressure drop downstream, therefore resulting in an increase of the rotor power coefficient. Thi...

First it will be shown that an actuator disk operating in wind turbine mode extracts more energy from the fluid than can be transferred into useful energy. At the Lanchester-Betz limit the decrease of the kinetic energy in the wind is converted by 2/3 into useful power and by 1/3 into heat. Behind the wind turbine the outer flow and the flow that has passed the actuator disk will mix. In this p...

Abstract AeroMINEs consist of a mirrored pair foils that have no external moving parts. A low-pressure region is created between the foils. The are hollow and side skins contain orifices (air-jets) allow air to flow from interior foil exterior flow, driven by suction pair. This ducted an internal turbine generator, producing electricity. series pilot-scale field (1-m chord) demonstrations were ...

In the cerebral cortex, the voltage-gated potassium channel, Kv3.1b, a splicing variant of Kv3.1, has been associated with fast-firing interneurons. Here, we report strong expression of Kv3.1b-protein and mRNA in both Betz and Meynert pyramidal cells of the monkey, as shown by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Strong expression also occurs in large pyramidal neurons in layer 5 of ...