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Submission + - SPAM: Windbreaks, surprisingly, could help wind farms boost power output

Submitted by labloke11
labloke11 writes: Windbreaks may sound like a counterintuitive idea for boosting the performance of a wind turbine. But physicists report that low walls that block wind could actually help wind farms produce more power.

Scientists already knew that the output of a single wind turbine could be improved with a windbreak. While windbreaks slow wind speed close to the ground, above the height of the windbreak, wind speeds actually increase as air rushes over the top. But for large wind farms, there’s a drawback. A windbreak’s wake slows the flow of air as it travels farther through the rows of turbines. That could suggest that windbreaks would be a wash for wind farms with many turbines.

But by striking a balance between these competing effects, windbreaks placed in front of each turbine can increase power output, new computer simulations suggest. It comes down to the windbreaks’ dimensions. Squat, wide barriers are the way to go, according to a simulated wind farm with six rows of turbines. To optimize performance, windbreaks should be a tenth the height of the turbine and at least five times the width of the blades, physicists report July 30 in Physical Review Fluids. Such an arrangement could increase the total power by about 10 percent, the researchers found. That’s the equivalent of adding an additional turbine, on average, for every 10 in a wind farm.

In the simulations, the wind always came from the same direction, suggesting the technique might be useful in locations where wind tends to blow one way, such as coastal regions. Future studies could investigate how this technique might apply in places where wind direction varies.
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Comment Japanese do not do well with disruptive tech (Score 1) 304

I am not sure why Japanese companies have hard time transitioning in time of disruptive technology. It happened with Sony where they thought LCD technology was inferior to CRT technology and now they make more money selling insurance than electronic products. It is happening with Toyota where they feel solid state battery is ONLY plausible route to EV. Other companies are more willing to try and fail and iterate until they get good enough where Japanese engineers want something good enough on their first try. In fact, Toyota was pioneer with EV at one time when they were THE partner of Tesla. Toyota sold their Fremont factory to Tesla for pittance to assist the company and they even co-developed EV with them (RAV4 EV). As recently as 2018, they looked good because they were not producing EVs since they were loss leaders where residual values dropped by over 70% in one year. Times do change....

Submission + - Intel Is in Talks to Buy GlobalFoundries for About $30 Billion (wsj.com)

Submitted by labloke11
labloke11 writes: Intel Corp. is exploring a deal to buy GlobalFoundries Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, in a move that would turbocharge the semiconductor giant’s plans to make more chips for other tech companies and rate as its largest acquisition ever.

A deal could value GlobalFoundries at around $30 billion, the people said. It isn’t guaranteed one will come together, and GlobalFoundries could proceed with a planned initial public offering. GlobalFoundries is owned by Mubadala Investment Co., an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government, but based in the U.S.

Any talks don’t appear to include GlobalFoundries itself as a spokeswoman for the company said it isn’t in discussions with Intel.

Intel’s new Chief Executive, Pat Gelsinger, in March said the company would launch a major push to become a chip manufacturer for others, a market dominated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Intel, with a market value of around $225 billion, this year pledged more than $20 billion in investments to expand chip-making facilities in the U.S. and Mr. Gelsinger has said more commitments domestically and abroad are in the works.

Comment Intel could have maximized R&D = Same place (Score 1) 119

This article is missing the point. Intel could have spent all their profits in R&D and what not and they would still be in same position as they are now. They suffered from not invented here culture and the current condition is its consequences. If they did not return the money to shareholders, there would be more instances of failed ventures - e.g., modems, which was sold at loss to Apple.

Comment NVIDIA has no choice, but to make CPU (Score 2) 111

by labloke11 (#61264992) Attached to: Nvidia To Make CPUs, Going After Intel
Intel is slowly, but surely encroaching in their space of data center AI processing. It is not lack of spending billions in this effort. NVIDIA has no choice, but to defend this space by building CPU since Apple has shown everyone that the future is computer on a chip. Expect Intel to announce something similar soon. I am confused about AMD on this - instead of beefing up their GPU to compete with Nvidia, they are going into FPGA space. Confusing...

Comment Re:Technology centers will be distributed (Score 1) 171

by labloke11 (#61183950) Attached to: Why the Next Silicon Valley will be Austin, Texas
It is all about perspectives I guess. If you came from some parts of Midwest where it is literally flat for miles then Hill Country surrounding Austin is not flat. If you came from California then small hills in Austin area is considered as flat area. You may tout lakes in Texas as beautiful, but in reality there is only one natural lake in entire state of Texas. All other lakes are man made reservoirs.

Comment Technology centers will be distributed (Score 1) 171

by labloke11 (#61183734) Attached to: Why the Next Silicon Valley will be Austin, Texas
I am not sure why Austin is promoted as such since: 1. Austin is unbearably hot during the summer - Scorching hot. Not sure what kind of outdoor activities you can do in Austin. 2. Nature surrounding Austin is boring and flat where mountains are really far away and oceans in few hours of drive away have poop metrics. 3. Austin is getting expensive. Not really cheap anymore. 4. There is no state income tax, but property tax is 3x of California - taxed on market value. You should rent here. 5. Best university in Texas is in Houston, not Austin.

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