Atmospheric Vortex Engine
AVE Publications
CONTROLLED TORNADOES COULD FIX ENERGY AND CLIMATE PROBLEMS 
Article published in 2024 in the journal “Clean Energy Science and Technology (CEST)”. Stationary tornadoes are produced by having warm humid air enter the bottom of a natural draft cooling tower tangentially. The energy is produced by expanding air into the low pressure at the base of the vortex and not by harnessing the kinetic energy of the swirling tornado wind. The intensity and size of the vortex would be controlled by manipulating the inlet air flow. Vortex diameter could be 10 m to 100 m. Vortex height could be up to 15 km. The Singapore Science Center fire whirl producer demonstrates that tangential air entries plus a heat source can produce vortices. Waterspouts demonstrate that low temperature heat sources can produce stable vortices. A large atmospheric vortex engine (AVE) could generate 2 GW of electricity.
This article uses a novel thermodynamic system approach to show that tornadoes could meet future energy needs.
ENERGY FRON HUMID AIR
This article uses steady-state open and close thermodynamic systems to show the
effect of ambient air temperature and humidity and of sea-spray temperature, humidity, and quantity on work production. The article shows that atmospheric work calculations can be carried out with general purpose process simulators.
The February 2023 article expands on the earlier "ON STORM ENERGY" article.
Link to full "ENERGY FROM HUMID AIR (Second Edition)" manuscript
Link to full "ENERGY FROM HUMID AIR (Third Edition)" manuscript
Link to full "ENERGY FROM HUMID AIR (Fourth Edition - October 2023)" manuscript
Link to full "ENERGY FROM HUMID AIR (Fifth Edition - November 2023)" manuscript
ON STORM ENERGY
This article uses steady-state open and close thermodynamic systems to show that upward heat convection explains wind energy, storm energy, solar chimney energy, natural draft cooling tower energy and atmospheric vortex engine energy.
The article expands on the earlier "ATMOSPHERIC EFFICIENCY" article.
Manuscript Third Edition October 2022.
ATMOSPHERIC EFFICIENCY
This article uses steady-state open and close thermodynamic systems to show unambigously that the atmosphere can convert 12% of the upward atmospheric heat flux to usefull work.
The article expands on earlier tweets.
Manuscript 5th Edition March 2022.
THE DEGRADATION APPROACH
An alternate way of showing the enormous energy production potential of the atmospheric vortex engine.
Preventing solar energy degradation could be the energy source of the future.
New manuscript posted June 2017.
Atmospheric Vortex Engine (AVE) - Technical Overview
Atmospheric Vortex Engine (AVE) - Technical Overview, AVEtec Energy Corporation, January 2015
Link to full article PDF 2.7Lambton College Vortex Engine Prototype Findings
Overview of Lambton College Vortex Engine Prototype Findings, by: Louis Michaud,
Lambton College Vortex Engine Web Page,
Link to Overview.Lambton College Vortex Engine Prototype Finding Report, by: Louis Michaud, Mehdi Sheikhzadeh and Kevin Ryan.
Link to ReportInternational Conference on Solar Updraft Tower Power Technology SUTPT2012
Huazhong University, Wuhan, China, October 27, 2012
Description of the proposed proposed Atmospheric Vortex Engine (AVE) process, its thermodynamic basis, the progress made to date and the current development plan.
Presentation entitled "Energy from Convective Vortices" - Presented by Brian Monrad
Article expanding on the thermodynamic basis of the AVE process.Paper entitled "Energy from Convective Vortices" - Written by Louis Michaud and Brian Monrad and published in SUTPT2012 transactions
Supporting presentation by Mr. Donald Cooper, MIE Australia
Hurricane Sea to Air Heat Transfer
Presentation made at the American Meteorological Society 18th Air Sea Interaction Conference, July 2012
Hurricane cooling is usually attributed to upwelling and mixing of cold water from below. The presentation proposes the opposite hypothesis, namely that: “Hurricane sea cooling is almost entirely due to heat removal from above and not to cold water from below”.
Hurricane Sea to Air Heat Transfer - Presentation Abstract - PDF (20 KB)
Hurricane Sea to Air heat Transfer - Presentation Slides - PDF (600 KB)
Hurricane Sea to Air Heat Transfer - Manuscript - PDF (1300 KB)
Link to American Meteorological Society conference web site
Link to American Meteorological Society Conference recorded oral presentation
Revisions to Spray Production and Deposition Areas
The original 18th Air Sea Interaction conference presentation suggested that spray is produced mainly under the eyewall of the right rear quadrant and then deposited to the right of the hurricane track. This revised theory suggests that the spray is produced along the hurricane track and carried by the wind to the right of the hurricane track. See link to figures showing the revised and original spray production and deposition areas. The revised theory is based on the surface and subsurface sea temperature measurements in paper: Cold Wake of Hurricane
Reference for D"Asaro et al. 2007 paper:
D’Asaro EA, Sanford TB, Niiler PP, Terrill EJ (2007) Cold wake of hurricane
Link to Rational for the theory revision
Link to revised spray production and deposition areas figures
Link to paper: Cold Wake of Hurricane Frances
Link to auxiliary material for paper: Cold Wake of Hurricane Frances
On Hurricane Intensity
Reference:
Michaud, L. M. 2012: On Hurricane Energy. Meteorol. Atmos. Phys
Abstract
Warm sea water is the energy source for hurricanes. Interfacial sea‑to‑air heat transfer without spray ranges from 100 W m-2 in light wind to 1000 W m-2 in hurricane force wind. Spray can increase sea‑to‑air heat transfer by 2 orders of magnitude and result in heat transfers of up to 100,000 W m-2. Drops of spray falling back in the sea can be 2 to 4 °C colder than the drops leaving the sea thus transferring a large quantity of heat from sea to air. The heat of evaporation is taken from the sensible heat of the remainder of the drop; evaporating approximately 0.3% of a drop is sufficient to reduce its temperature to the wet bulb temperature of the air. The heat required to evaporate hurricane precipitation is roughly equal to the heat removed from the sea indicating that sea cooling is due to heat removal from above and not to the mixing of cold water from below. The paper shows how case studies of ideal thermodynamics processes can help explain hurricane intensity.
Springer Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics web site where the article "ON HURRICANE ENERGY" is available for a feeComplete manuscript's ON HURRICANE ENERGY
Harnessing Energy From Convective Vortices
Pre-publication manuscript submitted for peer reviewed publication IEEE Power Energy System Magazine / sustainability Transaction in September 2011.The paper describes the atmospheric vortex engine process, its thermodynamics basis and its potential.
Harnessing Energy from Convective Vortices - Complete text with figures and table - PDF (7900 KB)
Harnessing Energy from Convective Vortices - Complete text without figures or table - PDF (70 KB)
Figures 1 to 9 - PDF (7700 KB)
Table 1 - PDF (20 KB)
Mechanical Engineering Magazine
Mechanical Engineering Magazine, April, 2011, The Sky's the Limit
Link to "The sky's the Limit" at Mechanical Engineering Magazine
POWER Magazine
Power Magazine, March 1, 2010, Harnessing Energy from Upward Heat Convection
Link to "Harnessing Upward Heat Convection" at Power Magazine
"For more than 127 years POWER magazine has been considered the definitive information source for the power generation market. We covered the earliest advances of steam power plants in the 1800s and addressed energy supply issues during World Wars I and II. We were the first to report on the birth of nuclear power, and today we report on modern advanced power technologies, including wind, solar, tidal, and ultrasupercritical generation. Our coverage of the worldwide power generation industry, which includes all fuel types and generation technologies, has never been more critical as the world grapples with so many supply options and regulatory hurdles."
Energy Manager Magazine
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Energy Manager Magazine, October-December, 2009, Vol 2, No 4, ISSN 0974-0996, published by Energy Press, Ernakulam, India
"A quarterly magazine of the society of energy engineers and managers / India" (www.energyprofessional.in)
Atmospheric Vortex Engine - published in Energy Manager - PDF (848 KB)
IEEE - Science and Technology for Humanity
"The Atmospheric Vortex Engine", Presented at IEEE TIC-STH
Toronto International Conference - Science and Technology for Humanity
September 26-27, 2009 at Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Draft of peer reviewed paper 1569197181 to be published in TIC-STH conference proceedings - PDF (88 KB)
TIC-STH Presentation Slides - PDF (4.9 MB)
TIC-STH Presentation Notes - PDF (41 KB)
New Unpublished Manuscript - Hurricane Isabel Intensity
Recent dropsonde observations in hurricane Isabel provided unprecedented high quality data on eyewall: air temperature, relative humidity and sea surface temperature. This January 2007 manuscript shows that eyewall temperature and humidity can be used to calculate minimum eyewall pressure and maximum wind speed.
Hurricane isabel Intensity - Complete Paper - PDF (160 KB)
Table 1 - PDF - (74 KB)
Figure 1 - JPG (61KB)
Figure 2 - JPG (61KB)
Printout of MATHCAD calculation results for case 4 - PDF (117 KB)
Technical Meeting Presentations
Unrestrained Expansion - A Source of Entropy, American Geophysical Union Fall 2005 Meeting - Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics - Poster Session
Unrestrained Expansion - A Source of Entropy - Complete Paper - PDF (143 KB)
Unrestrained Expansion - AGU Poster Presentation - Powerpoint PPT (647 KB)
References for "Unrestrained Expansion - A Source of Entropy"
Background Material for "Unrestrained Expansion - A Source of Entropy"
"The Atmospheric Vortex Engine" - A presentation prepared for the Wayne State University Department of Physics & Astronomy, Winter 2008 Nuclear Physics Seminar, at the invitation of Professor Giovanni Bonvicini, and presented on January 18, 2008
The Atmospheric Vortex Engine - WSU Presentation Slides - PDF (6.3 MB)
Thermodynamic Presentation- PDF (6.4 MB)
Thermodynamic Presentation Notes - PDF (85 kB)
The Atmospheric Vortex Engine Concept. Presentation by Don Cooper for Engineers Australia, West Perth, Australia, April 22, 2009
Engineers Australia - The Atmospheric Vortex Engine Concept by Don Cooper - Presentation Announcement - PDF (151 KB)
Link to full copy of presentation on Engineers Australia website
Peer Reviewed Publications
The proposal has been described and explained in the following reviewed publications. Links to Web versions of the articles are provided where available. The copyright to these publication belong to the publishers. Single copies of the articles can be downloaded and printed for the reader's personal research and study.
(1) Proposal for the use of a controlled tornado-like vortex to capture the mechanical energy produced in the atmosphere from solar energy. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., Michaud, L.M., Vol. 56, Pg. 530-534, 1975.
Complete Article - PDF (544 KB)
(2) On the energy and control of atmospheric vortices. J. Rech. Atmos., Michaud, L.M., Vol. 11, Pg. 99-120, 1977.
Complete Article - PDF (20.6 MB)
(3) Heat to work conversion during upward heat convection. Part I: Carnot engine method.
Reprinted from: Atmospheric Research, Michaud, L.M., Vol. 39, Pg. 157-178, 1995, with permission from Elsevier Science.
© Copyright: Elsevier Science Ltd.
Link to abstract
Complete Article - PDF (1.1 MB)
(4a) Comment on "Convective potential energy in the environment of oceanic and continental clouds., J. Atmos. Sci., Michaud, L.M., Vol.53, pg. 1209-1211, 1996.
Copy of comment - PDF (231 KB)
(4b) Reply to Comment on "Convective potential energy in the environment of oceanic and continental clouds., J. Atmos. Sci., Lucas, C., and Zipser, E., Vol.53, pg. 1212-1214, 1996.
Copy of reply to comment - PDF (219 KB)
(5) Heat to work conversion during upward heat convection.Part II: Internally generated entropy method.
Reprinted from: Atmospheric Research, Michaud, L.M., Vol. 41, Pg. 93-108, 1996, with permission from Elsevier Science.
© Copyright: Elsevier Science Ltd.
Link to abstract
Complete Article - PDF (709 KB)
(6) Entrainment and detrainment required to explain updraft properties and work dissipation.
Reprinted from: Tellus A., Michaud, L.M., Vol. 50A, Pg. 283-301, 1998, with permission from Munksgaard publications.
Full text PDF from Tellus web site
Full text scanned PDF from vortexengine.ca (30.9 MB)
Mathcad Calculations
(7) Vortex process for capturing mechanical energy during upward heat-convection in the atmosphere.
Reprinted from: Applied Energy, Author: Michaud, L.M., Vol. 62(4), Pg. 241-251, March, 1999, with permission from Elsevier Science.
© Copyright: Elsevier Science Ltd
Complete Copy of article - PDF (200 KB)
Table 1: Summary of article calculations
Mathcad 5.0 Program used to generate Table 1
(8) Thermodynamic cycle of the atmospheric upward heat convection process.
Reprinted from:Meteor. Atmos. Phys., Michaud, L.M., Vol. 72, Pg. 29-46, 2000, with permission from Springer-Verlag.
Abstract from Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics journal site
Full text PDF from vortexengine.ca
Thermodynamic Figures - Powerpoint PPT (122 KB)
(9) Total energy equation method for calculating hurricane intensity. Added to site Nov. 2001.
Reprinted from:Meteor. Atmos. Phys., Michaud, L.M., Vol. 78, Pg. 35-43, 2001, with permission from Springer-Verlag.
Full text from dvgu.ru
Full text PDF from vortex engine.ca
Unpublished Papers
(1) Note on: The energy deficit of 20 to 30 W/m2observed in climate models.
Manuscript with figures - PDF (65 KB)
(2) Subsidence required to replace radiative heat loss with work of compression.
Manuscript with figures - PDF (147 KB)
Manuscript Figures - PDF (73 KB)
(3) Could wind turbines be contributing to recent arctic warming and unusual extreme weather?
Manuscript with figures - PDF (900 KB)
Note: Posted January 2017 - after the manuscript having been submitted unsucessfully to eight scientific publications.
Web Publications
(1) Energy Central White Paper Website ("Global Power Industry News"), Report posted: 9 December 2004
Link to Energy Central Atmospheric Vortex Engine Contribution,
(2) Energy Bulletin Website ("A clearinghouse for current information regarding the peak in global energy supply")
A Proposal for a new Renewable Energy Source: The Atmospheric Vortex Engine, "A brief comprehensive description of the Atmospheric Vortex Engine written by Eric Michaud and Louis Michaud", Paper posted: 15 April 2005
Link to the article on Energy Bulletin
Link to Windtech article leader on web
Link to Windtech International website
(4) The Potential of the Atmospheric Convection Engine -- Capturing Energy in the Atmosphere, EnergyPulse ("EnergyPulse is the global forum for power industry professionals"), January 26, 2006
Link to EnergyPulse article
Software
(1) HP48SX Software Programs for Atmospheric Thermodynamic Calculations
Link to HP48SX software page
(2) Mathcad Thermodynamic Calculations
Link to Mathcad files
Miscellaneous Other Information
(1) Presentation on Atmospheric Work Production and Dissipation
Work Production and Dissipation Presentation - PDF (340 KB)
(2) Willis Island Sounding Data
Willis Island Sounding Figures - Powerpoint PPS (458 KB)
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