This document proposes a new invention called Sandocity that generates electricity using sand cyclones. It addresses the growing global demand for electricity and limitations of current generation methods. Sandocity works by using a high-pressure electric compressor to produce hot pressurized air that forms a sand cyclone or artificial tornado when passed through ionized sand. The kinetic energy of the tornado spins an S-shaped turbine fin connected to a generator to produce electricity at low cost. Further research is needed to optimize the compressor design using heat-resistant alloys and ensure the sand remains ionized to maintain continuous tornado production. Sandocity provides a renewable and eco-friendly alternative to traditional fossil fuel and nuclear plants.
1. 1. TITTLE OF THE INNOVATION:
GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY USING SAND CYCLONE -
SANDOCITY”
2. ABSTRACT:
a) What is the problem addressed by your proposed invention?
The major problem in this fast moving business world is to satisfy the customers by
meeting out the demand. Electricity plays the major role in the every aspects of
human world.
As of mid 2010s estimation is founded that 200 to 300 million people in India are
lack of electricity as well as seven out of eight of rural sub Saharan Africans. Many
more receive only intermittent and power quality electric power.
The IEA estimates that if the current trend is not able to meet out the electricity
demands of the people, then by the year 2030, it is expected to rise by 1.2 billion.
Due to high population growth, the number of people without electricity is expected
to raise more in Developing countries.
To meet out the electricity demand, an increasing number of renewable energy
resources have come in stream.
Although hydroelectric power is reasonably predictable and controllable along with
solar and wind power permits, it is thus almost impossible to match this supply to
the demand.
In recent years, to match out the demand US aims at providing the smart grid. The
main objective is to flatten the demand profile but it also allows pricing to reflect
the availability of intermittent wind and solar sources and to induce consumers to
use it when it is available.
To overcome this SANDOCITY (SANDOCITY-Generation of Electricity using
Sand Cyclone) could be used to produce large amount of electricity and to light the
world with electrification within 2030.
This power plan is operated with one of the most enriched and most abundantly
available resource is sand. Since in many deserted places have still lack of
electricity. These sorts of problem can be overcome by starting power plant in
desert areas. Sandocity is a power plant which operates at any climatic condition
and could produce large megawatt of electricity.
Major problem of every power plant is installasation cost which is minimum in
Sandocity . This power plant could be started in order to improve the production of
electricity with viable cost.
b) What are the problems/limitations/drawbacks in the currently available product of
the process?
In India major electricity production is by Thermal Power Plant and Nuclear Power
Plant is in collaboration with the European countries.
The major limitations in present concept of electricity production is that output
wastages handling and input resources availability is difficult.
In Thermal Power Plant the availability of coal is minimum and the transportation
of coal to different places leads to increase of cost.
Efficiency of the plant decreases with time. It cannot be used as peak load plant, as
2. its part load efficiency decreases very rapidly with decreasing load.
Power generation cost is considerably high compared with hydro plant.
Thermal engines requires huge amount of lubricating oil that is very expensive.
Nuclear thermal power plant demands excessive amount of water for cooling
purpose.
One of the main disadvantages is the difficulty in the management of
nuclear waste. It takes many years to eliminate radioactivity and its
risks.
The investment for the construction of a nuclear plant is very high and
must be recovered as soon as possible, so it raises the cost of electricity
generated.
Nuclear power plants generate external dependence. Not many countries
have uranium mines and not all the countries have nuclear technology,
so they have to hire both things overseas.
The people must be more careful and responsible while using nuclear energy to
avoid any sort of major accidents.
Geothermal energy have high installation cost.
It could release harmful gases. This poisonous gas enters deep into the earth.
The reservoir of water for hydroelectric power releases a large amount of carbon
dioxide and methane.
One disadvantage with renewable energy is that it is difficult to generate the
quantities of electricity. Another disadvantage of renewable energy sources is the
reliability of supply.
Renewable energy often relies on the weather for its source of power. Hydro
generators need rain to fill dams to supply flowing water. Wind turbines need wind
to turn the blades, and solar collectors need clear skies and sunshine to collect heat
and make electricity.
All Renewable power plants require high initial cost.
c) What is your proposed invention? Please include the construction, the principle involved, the
details of the project and the alternative methods of construction or operation.
Principle:
In this project Sandocity, electricity is being generated from sand by producing
tornado. The hot compressed air having pressurized energy gets converted to kinetic energy
of high velocity by producing tornado. This kinetic energy is being operated as the
mechanical energy for rotating the turbine is connected to the generator for producing
electricity.
Construction:
The construction of Sandocity fig (1.1) consists of high pressure electric compressor
which utilizes 20% of electrical energy for better operation and produces high pressurized
hot gas of violent pressure. This hot gas is allowed to pass through the conical/cylindrical
shaped setup which consists of ionized sand. When the hot gas of high pressure enters into
bottom of the cylinder and reaches the sand, then it produce tornado of sand. The kinetic
energy is produced in the sand which is 100 times the pressure given. A turbine fin of S-
Shape is used to obtain the mechanical energy. This S-Shaped fin is placed in the path of
the of sand cyclone. So that the fin gets rotated by its kinetic energy very fast. The rotation
3. of the fin is identified by LED which blinks for every rotation. The S-Shaped fin shaft is
connected to the dynamo where mechanical energy gets converted to electrical energy fig
(1.2). Then it gets stored in the switchyard (batteries) and used for the further process of
transmission and distribution. It produces the electricity for a low cost which is viable.
Compressor design:
TiAl retains high strength and corrosion resistance It withstands temperature up to
1,112°F (600°C).alpha-beta titanium, such as Ti6Al4V. Heat-resistant super alloys
(HRSAs), including titanium alloys, nickel alloys, and some nonmetal composite materials
such as ceramics, can withstand temperature demands upto3,360°F (1,850°C), are now
being brought into the material.
Turbine blades:
Turbine blades are subjected to very strenuous environments inside a gas turbine.
They face high temperatures, high stresses, and a potential environment of high vibration.
Turbine blades are subjected to stress from centrifugal force and faces temperatures around
2,500 °F (1,370 °C). In early gas turbines temperatures around 1,500 °F (820 °C). Modern
military jet engines, like the Snecma M88, can see turbine temperatures of 2,900 °F
(1,590 °C).Those high temperatures will weaken the blades and make them more
susceptible to creep failures. The high temperatures can also make the blades susceptible
to corrosion failures which can be overcome by using S-Shaped fin.
3) Application of the project
What are the immediate and future inventions of the project?
The Sandocity is the standalone power plant, which is used for production of
electricity without any hazards. It is an ecofriendly power plant.
According to present scenario there is more number of villages which does not
enjoy the electricity to the greater extent.
As this power plant is ecofriendly it could be situated in the city centers as well as
in the urban and rural areas. It is possible to light the flycoloured world with sand.
The tornadoes have high potential of kinetic energy, than any other resources
could produce. It is low cost power plant and also requires less amount of space.
It requires fewer workmen and also the whole power plant could be controlled
easily.
This power plant can be used as a backup plant for large sized power plant..
The low weight, low cost Titanium Aluminum matrix alloy is used for designing
electrical compressor which is portable and could be used for much other purpose
also.
The cooling system is not required more violently in this power plant since the hot
gases produces tornadoes and losses its heat periodically.
S-Shaped fin is used as a turbine fin which primarily opposes corrosion and
rotates at high speed for small forces and could with stand high temperature.
Here, in Sandocity hot gas is used and so there is no chance of moisture inside the
plant.
The tornadoes have more destructive energy but when it is handled effectively it
could be used for the production of lighting world.
This power plant can be used for light every villages.
This power plant is more effectively used in deserted areas so that efficiency of the
4. plant will be hyper due to the availability of sand eventually.
The efficiency of Sandocity could be achieved more than the other Power Plants.
4) Novelty and Usefulness:
At present we are producing electricity with the use of coal and water in thermal &
hydro power stations respectively.
Along with this Nuclear Power Plants contribute more for the production
electricity.
Although Nuclear Power Plants have efficient method of handling radiation there is
some hazards to the surroundings
So we are highly dependent on Renewable energy for electricity production in
future.
Due to global warming, seasonal changes contribute more for the reduction of
natural resources heavily.
The power generation is limited as the availability of natural resources is limited
which is restricting the corporate to expand their capacities because of under
utilization of installed capacities.
This is becoming the greatest hindrance in the development of the economy as
industrial development is hit by the non-availability of power in recent times.
So we have started producing electricity with the use of renewable sources of
energy but that is not feasible in the present context due to high generation costs as
in the case solar energy.
Further by generation of energy through non renewable sources of energy, lot of
carbon is emitted when power is produced by using coal, polluting the environment
in its surroundings & in addition hazardous waste is also produced.
In case of hydro power stations, water is used which disturbs the entire aquatic life
of the species living over there
Also it has certain deficiencies such as no power in rainy days or less energy
generation in the areas like Rajasthan where dust covers the panel after sometime.
To overcome these problems & for sustainable development we need green source
of energy
SANDOCIY the power plant which uses natural resource sand as a major
component will produce more amount of electricity for which leads to commercial
profit with low cost.
Herein, we have come up with an idea to generate electricity by the use of kinetic
energy by producing sand cyclone.
In this process of generation main raw material is sand, which is easily available in
most of the parts & space to set up the power plant with negligible maintenance
costs.
This mode of generation is eco-friendly, renewable and long run source of energy.
It can be fed into grid or could be used off grid as per the need of the consumer.
5. The key point of this project is that it can be installed in any climatic conditions i.e.
it can be installed in heavy snow fall areas, deserts, or at any extreme condition as
the process is completely covered under concrete or steel structure.
It is a form of producing electricity by the use of magnetized sand we can produce
artificial tornado (sand cyclones) and is made to rotate the turbine fin. Then the
electricity is generated and can be get stored in switch yard.
Sandocity is the unique form of electricity generation which could be very well
harnessed if proper action plan is laid out to use this source of energy.
At present this is not utilized as nobody has seen the positives of this form of
energy generation & started to work on this avenue.
Once this process starts to generate electricity it may leave behind all the
conventional sources of generating energy available in the market & that too
without any hazardous effects on the environment.
By the use of sand again & again there is no problem of procuring the raw material
continuously.
Also this project involves low maintenance cost to produce electricity & could be
made available at cheaper rates as compared to conventional sources of energy.
To understand how artificial tornadoes could generate electricity, it helps to know
how a tornado works in the natural world.
Tornadoes start when conditions are just right, when air closest to the Earth's
surface is at least 20 degrees Celsius warmer than the air above. The ground air
rises and starts to spin so vigorously and consistently that it forms a vortex.
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air in contact with both the surface of
the earth and a cloud. They are often referred to as twisters or cyclones.
Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes. Typically in the form of a visible
condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a
cloud of debris and dust.
Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), are
about 250 feet (80 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before
dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 300
miles per hour(480 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3 km) across , and stay on
the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).
Tornadoes travel from hot zone to cold zone. The ground air rises and starts to spin
so vigorously and consistently when it has 20 degrees Celsius warmer ground air
than the air above contributes for vortex.
This production of artificial tornado could be achieved by electric compressor
which produces hot air.
The hot air which produced by compressor moves in the same direction and starts to
rise in a circular pattern creating a vortex along with sand.
The vortex grows taller and taller as it pulls in even more hot air from the bottom
entryways.
The wind speed of the tornado will spin the S-Shaped fin which is used as a turbine
for generating electricity.
The generated electricity would have the potential greater than that of either nuclear
power or fossil fuels, at less than half the price of the lowest traditional power
6. source.
6) Further research:
The total generation from all renewable energy sources is nearly 15% of the total
electricity generation (utility and captive) in India.
To improve the production of electricity the Sandocity should be implemented and
commercialized. For commercialization, this project requires the design of compressor
and turbine fin for effective operation of this power plant.
TiAl retains high strength and corrosion resistance Withstand temperatures up to 1,112°F
(600°C).alpha-beta titanium, such as Ti6Al4V.
Heat-resistant super alloys (HRSAs), including titanium alloys, nickel alloys, and some
nonmetal composite materials such as ceramics, can withstand temperature demands
upto3,360°F (1,850°C), are now being brought into the material.
Turbine blades are subjected to stress from centrifugal force and faces.
High temperatures weaken the blades and make them more susceptible to creep failures.
The high temperatures can also make the blades susceptible to corrosion failures which
can be overcome by using S-Shaped fin.
To carry out the purpose of designing the compressor we have to take research on alloy
materials by considering the portability of the materials and its cost.
Then for the production of turbine fin its corrosiveness test and velocity with which the
turbine rotates should be considered.
The major consideration of this project is to maintain the produced tornado consistently
which is the major challenge of this project.
It could be maintained by producing continuous hot air from the compressor and makes
to reach the ionized sand.
To make the sand ionized we have to dope magnetic particles to the sand. During
continuous operation the magnetic particles of the sand get demagnetized, so periodic
checking of sand should be provided.
After the sand gets deionized, there is a chance of tornado to disappear (i.e.) sand stops
producing the tornado so the magnetizing the sand be done periodically.
Meanwhile the compressor should be prevented from sending the hot gases to the sand.
Because as the production of tornado is sopped there is no use of sending the hot gases.
In order to identify the magnetizing level of the sand, sensor should be used. The sensor
named GLASS BOB is to fix in the iron dome, which is used for measuring the magnetizing
sand level at periodic intervals of time.
An alarm is provided along with the sensor so that it gives alarm as soon as the tornado
stops.
Sensors and alarm system is connected by PIC Microcontroller so that when the sensed
magnetic level is too low for operation it alarms.
So that the electricity production will be smooth and the target efficiency could be
achieved.
8) Competitors and Market
a) What are the other comparable products or services with similar
utility/features/operation present in the market?
ATMOSPHERIC VORTEX ENGINE (AVE)- Produces artificial tornadoes
The concept of a vortex engine or atmospheric vortex engine (AVE), independently
7. proposed by Norman Louat and Louis M. Michaud, aims to replace large physical
chimneys with a vortex of air created by a shorter, less-expensive structure.
In this application, the heat is provided by a large area of ground heated by the sun
and covered by a transparent surface that traps hot air, in the manner of
a greenhouse.
A vortex is created by deflecting vanes set at an angle relative to the tangent of the
outer radius of the solar collector.
Louat estimated that the minimum diameter of the solar collector would need to be
44+ meters in order to collect "useful energy". A similar proposal is to eliminate the
transparent cover.
This scheme would drive the chimney-vortex with warm seawater or warm air from
the ambient surface layer of the earth.
This model concluded that "The full scale simulations subjected to cross wind show
that the power generation capacity is not affected by the cross winds." (Diwakar
Natarajan PhD Thesis [4] ).
B) Who are the existing manufacturers/providers of the similar existing
products/services?
Louis Michaud, a former ExxonMobil engineer, has spent his golden years trying to
manufacture tornadoes that, he believes, could eventually power the world.
Michaud has built a prototype of what he calls a vortex engine--a plywood contraption
just 2 feet tall and 4 feet wide that is capable of whipping up tiny vortexes.
The vortexes aren't big enough to create electricity. He fed the ho air from the bottom by
simply closing the lower vents to produce tornado.
This air from the surroundings will enter through the lower vent which could stop the
cycle and kill the tornado.
For complete control to be maintained there must be several ways to turn off the lower
vents estimates, generating as much as 3,000 times the electricity generated worldwide
today.
This vortex will have a 26-meter diameter and while the structure will be just 20 feet tall,
the vortex will extend 100 meters into the air.
Once the project, already in the works, is completed, they'll use the turbine to power a
light bulb, proving the electricity potential of the vortex.
8. c) Who are the current buyers of the similar existing products/products?
The is no current buyers for Automatic vortex engine.
It is in the museum at Chicago.
It was designed to be blown away by the 40-foot tornado—a vortex of swirling,
illuminated vapor rising continuously from the floor.
Manipulate and measure the dynamics of this vortex from both levels of the
exhibit.
Surrounding the base of the vortex are control panels for shaping the air column
with a series of dampers.
Once the tornado is produced it should be controlled of own miniature vortex.
It starts by activating a countertop fogger, which sends vapor upward between
three small semi-circular walls.
All three walls can be fully rotated, simulating the horizontal winds that form a
tornado. The winds associated with tornados have tremendous power. In its most
powerful forms, wind can also devastate in a matter of moments.
In the centerpiece of Science Storms, it will be blown away by the tornado, a 40-
foot vortex of swirling air and vapor you can study and manipulate.
Nearby, it can also create convection by heating the air inside large balloons and
observe the effect with thermal cameras.
Or team up with friends to ride along with storm chasers in a virtual race to
intercept severe weather.