Renewable Energy
Patented Technology
Aerial Mill
TM
​A patented renewable energy system that can produce power day or night. It is an application of the Archimedes principle and uses the natural thermal gradient of the Earth’s atmosphere to produce power.
Archimedes' principle states that an object submerged in a fluid experiences an upward buoyant force that is equal in magnitude to the force of gravity on the displaced fluid. An example is blowing up a balloon. If the buoyant force is greater than the weight of the object, such as filling the balloon with a light gas like helium, the object rises. If the balloon is filled with a heavy gas like carbon dioxide or even just air, it will fall to the ground, but a buoyant force was still generated when the balloon was inflated and atmospheric air was displaced.
Solar energy warms the Earth’s surface which heats the adjacent air layer. This air rises and cools through expansion as atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude. This creates an atmospheric temperature gradient several kilometers above the Earth’s surface. The upper portion of the gradient is relatively stable, while the lower 1,000 meters will cool at night. The graph below is representative of the atmospheric air temperature by altitude in the southern United States, for night and day and summer and winter.
Proof of Concept
An initial test was conducted using butane. Liquid butane was expanded within a container. The weight was measured before and after expansion. A buoyant force was measured and was consistent with the calculated buoyancy corrected for ambient air temperature.
Next Steps
Engineering - Finalize the system design and options for testing. A test program is to be developed.
Testing - Build a prototype capsule and prototype LTA balloon assembly. Different materials will be evaluated within the capsule and as well as different pressure control mechanisms. Dynamic forces will be measured on the balloon assembly as well as documentation of different atmospheric parameters by altitude. Different bearings and components will be evaluated with an emphasis on weight reduction and friction reduction.
Once the designs have been finalized, the two can be integrated.
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Pilot Testing - The pilot will target power generation of 10 to 20 kW.