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Long-term energy storage during the synodic period (two weeks of lunar day and two weeks of lunar night) on the Moon using a solar-to-mechanical energy conversion system
◉ Invention: Long-term storage of electrical energy in a power plant on the moon
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors
◉ Introduction and objectives:
In this article, we will briefly explain the invention of a system for converting solar energy into mechanical energy and recycling it into electricity to solve the problem of long-term energy storage on the moon.
The duration of a full day and a full night on the moon has drastic differences in terms of time and temperature compared to Earth. These differences have been serious challenges for decades, limiting human residence on the moon and preventing space agencies from achieving desired results from expensive research projects. In recent years, despite the possibility of sending robots equipped with artificial intelligence and remote control, but human interest in long-term residence and setting foot on the moon again continues to increase every day and for this reason, space researchers, astrophysicists and engineers developing space industries are still searching for the best solution for the possibility of long-term living on the moon.
◉ Invention: Long-term storage of electrical energy in a power plant on the moon
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors
It is clear that long-term residence on the moon is not possible due to the inability to store energy for a long time at the moment, but solutions have been proposed, such as using a small nuclear fission reactor on the moon. Of course, this solution also requires a longer development and schedule due to the very low capacity of generating electricity on such a small scale which is to provide continuous, high-voltage electricity to a large station during a long lunar night on the moon. As Professor Neil deGrasse Tyson (astrophysicist, professor at Harvard University and director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York) stated in his interview, "this new nuclear reactor designed for use in space and on the surface of the moon is only capable of producing 100 kilowatts of electricity". It should be noted that this is approximately 9 times less than the electricity required to turn on and operate a typical hair dryer, and it seems that this is not a goal that the Artemis space program (aimed at traveling to the moon) led by NASA or any other space agency program would want to spend a lot of money on to make operational.
To better understand this challenge, I think it is necessary to point out that the temperature of the Moon can vary from a maximum of 250 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius) at its equator to -208 degrees Fahrenheit (-130 degrees Celsius) at night during a lunar day, and of course the temperature at the Moon's poles can drop even more than this. In defining a day, the time between two noons or sunsets is the standard of measurement, and as we know, this time on Earth is 24 hours, but on the Moon it is 708.7 hours (29.53 Earth days), which is called the synodic period. Considering the synodic period, we can see that one lunar day and one lunar night on the Moon are approximately equivalent to 14 Earth days. The synodic period is about 2.2 days longer than the astronomical period of the Moon.
◉ Invention: Long-term storage of electrical energy in a power plant on the moon
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors
According to scientific data, the Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.4 degrees and rotates around its axis at a speed of approximately 1670 km / h. Therefore, for a complete astronomical day on Earth a complete rotation must occur, which is equivalent to 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. This measurement of time in an astronomical day is made using a distant star (other than the Sun) as a reference point, and that is the time when the star has revolved around the Earth once. This is while the Moon revolves around the Earth at a speed of 1.022 km / s and completes its elliptical orbit approximately every 27.3 Earth days. The time for the Moon to rotate around itself is obtained by the time it completes one orbital revolution around the Earth through a process called synchronous rotation or tidal locking, which is why from our perspective on Earth, we always see only one side of the Moon.
Now we understand better that permanent or temporary residence on the 14 lunar nights of the Moon in total darkness at a temperature of approximately 200 degrees below zero requires a reliable and stable energy source, not a nuclear fission reactor with a limited power of 100 kilowatts of electricity. On the other hand, due to changes in the chemical properties and then the physical structure of even the most advanced new generation of current batteries, no battery has yet achieved the ability to store electricity at a temperature of 200 degrees below zero for a long time. Therefore, the idea of storing electricity generated by solar panels during a lunar day (14 Earth days) in a battery for use during a lunar night (14 Earth nights) is unfeasible which of course, is not possible for humans to settle in a space station that is heavily dependent on electricity. To solve this problem, I designed and created the idea of a "Moon Generator" or a system for converting solar energy into mechanical energy with the aim of long-term energy storage for consumption during a 354-hour lunar night on the moon. This is described in detail in the technical description section of this article that, how does the "Moon Generator" work and what is the structure of this system?
◉ Invention: Long-term storage of electrical energy in a power plant on the moon
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors
◉ Technical description of the invention:
Due to the lack of an atmosphere, the moon receives sunlight without filtering and reducing radiation on its surface. This means that even at the most angular horizon (the position of the sun at sunset or sunrise), the intensity of absorption and reception of radiation is the same power as when the sun is directly overhead on the moon. Such a potential allows the efficiency of solar panels to be at the highest efficiency of absorbing sunlight during the entire 14 lunar days without any atmospheric filtering, which is an important point in generating electricity with solar panels. However, with the occurrence of complete sunset and absolute darkness on the 14th lunar night, we must store the electricity generated during the day in a mechanical system as an energy storage. I have called this innovative system a mechanical elastic system "Moon Generator" as an alternative in the case of the impossibility of using a battery at the very low temperature of the moon's surface.
◉ Invention: Long-term storage of electrical energy in a power plant on the moon
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors
The structure of the solar-to-mechanical energy conversion system has been designed considering the factors of the possibility of sending from Earth, the possibility of deployment on the surface of the moon, and the alloy resistance of the body structure to very low temperatures. Accordingly, as can be seen in the images and video at the end of this article, I have designed the outer structure of each of the "Moon Generators" in a cylindrical shape with the aim of physically matching the launch pad and connecting to the launch rockets, reducing the aerodynamic instability coefficient, keeping the thrust of the structure at very high speeds and atmospheric pressure, reducing the friction coefficient, and controlling the thrust and drag coefficient when entering and leaving the Earth's atmosphere. This design helps space agencies to carry out 2 or 3 cylindrical "Moon Generator" structures using one rocket and in one launch phase, which leads to a significant reduction in the cost of sending and scheduling projects.
◉ Invention: Long-term storage of electrical energy in a power plant on the moon
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors
Each of the "Moon Generator" cylinders is equipped with a folding base that, after landing on the lunar surface, is responsible for stabilizing and holding the "Moon Generator" at a 45-degree angle to the connection surface. Given the low gravity of the lunar surface, which is equivalent to one-sixth of Earth's gravity and approximately 1.6 meters per second squared, connecting the base to the generator does not require the complexity of deployment and balancing due to the reduced weight of the structure on the lunar surface, and the mechanical stages of its unfolding and deployment are possible both through remote control by an intelligent robot and close mounting by a human. It should be noted that the scale of the dimensions of the "Moon Generator" in the images and video of this article is somewhat larger than the original idea, which I designed as a 3D animation, so that the overall scheme and internal details of each cylinder can be expressed more clearly from a visual perspective. Therefore, if this idea is implemented, the real-world dimensions of each "Moon Generator" cylinder will be smaller than the 3D images in this article.
The lunar generator consists of: a zero-pressure protective body, a generator for generating mechanical energy into electricity, a protective chamber with 9 hybrid gears for transmitting and converting speed and torque, an expandable and retractable hydraulic pump with 7 linear mechanical arms, and a flexible and elastic beryllium rod. Electric generators in space have the property of bearing zero-pressure loads and variable high or low temperatures outside the atmosphere and according to this property, the alloy of materials that make up a space generator has high strength, electrical conductivity and excellent resistance to fatigue, and high physical properties of flexibility and elasticity. For this reason, I have used a space generator with the aforementioned properties to place the electric generator in the "Moon Generator".
◉ Invention: Long-term storage of electrical energy in a power plant on the moon
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors
During the 2-week lunar day on the moon, solar panels receive heat from the sun's radiation and provide the electricity needed for consumption in 2 parts. The first and main part is the electronic and vital devices located on the station, and the second part, which is actually the surplus production, is used to start the "lunar generator". In other words, instead of storing electricity in a battery (which is impossible at a temperature of nearly 200 degrees Fahrenheit below zero), this surplus electricity is stored as mechanical energy by the generator. The way it works is that by operating the generator during the 2-week lunar day, a hydraulic pump presses the spring-shaped beryllium rod to its maximum capacity. This pressure is gradually completed over the 354 hours of a lunar day.
◉ Click on any of the gallery images below to enlarge:
As can be seen in the video at the end of this article, the hydraulic pump is equipped with 7 cylindrical arms that move along a straight line. These arms are separated from each other by the pressure applied by the gears of the hybrid gearbox, resulting in pressing and squeezing the beryllium rod. As the pump pressure continues and the resistance of the spring rod material, which is made of beryllium copper alloy ASTM B197, the generator intelligently consumes more power to create more powerful torque in the hybrid gearbox. This process continues slowly over 2 lunar days until all 7 cylindrical arms of the pump are opened in a straight line and the spring rod storing mechanical energy is in the maximum pressing and retracting state. At this point, we have been able to store the energy of the solar panels in the beryllium rod as flexible and elastic mechanical energy for any other use.
◉ Invention: Long-term storage of electrical energy in a power plant on the moon
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors
One of the reasons I used ASTM B197 copper beryllium alloy for the structure of the spring rod is its extremely high flexibility and ductility, as well as its toughness in terms of metallurgical properties (the ability of a material to absorb energy and deform plastically before failure occurs). These unique properties prevent the rod from becoming brittle and breaking at very high or low temperatures on the lunar surface. ASTM B197 copper beryllium has properties such as high strength, electrical conductivity, excellent fatigue resistance, and high physical properties at critical temperatures outside the atmosphere because it has the ability to easily maintain mechanical properties down to cryogenic temperatures (below -328 degrees Fahrenheit or -200 degrees Celsius), which was what I needed to complete my idea on the moon. In addition to such a suitable property, ASTM B197 copper beryllium also has non-magnetic and non-sparking properties, which makes it suitable for emergency situations or unwanted incidents in space. This is why ASTM B197 copper beryllium is known and used as a primary and base material in the aerospace, cryogenic, and precision instrument industries.
After the maximum contraction of the beryllium spring rod and the onset of the 14-day period of darkness and deadly cold of the long lunar night on the Moon, it is now time to use the mechanical energy storage to generate the electricity needed. At this stage, by releasing the hydraulic pump return lock to its original position and due to the extremely high elasticity and toughness of the copper beryllium rod, the 7 cylindrical arms of the pump are subjected to the strong tendency of the copper beryllium to re-expand and the mechanical arms begin to contract. As the 7 cylindrical arms gradually contract during the 14 lunar nights, the hybrid gearbox continues to rotate in reverse and, by converting and transmitting torque to the smaller gears of the gearbox, causes the generator shaft to rotate at high speed and ultimately produces continuous electricity to transition through the lunar night period.
◉ Invention: Long-term storage of electrical energy in a power plant on the moon
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors
As can be seen in the images and video of this article, I have designed the power plant on the moon without a shelter so that the detailed and overall layout of the various parts and how the system works can be better seen and understood. However, to achieve maximum efficiency of material toughness, a separate section of the solar panels can be placed in a closed shelter equipped with an intelligent temperature control system. In this way, the damage from temperature changes to the generator, pump and beryllium rod components is reduced by half and the guarantee of continuous electricity production efficiency on the moon is higher. The temperature control system of this shelter can use the surplus of primary electricity production to create heat or cold on each lunar day.
Building a station on the moon without worrying about energy production has been one of the long-standing dreams of mankind. It is certainly impossible and unjustifiable to use the potential of unfiltered sunlight at greater distances, whether inside or outside the solar system, and the development of nuclear fission technology must be brought to more efficient stages to enable the production of more power and voltage for use in the depths of space and absolute darkness. However, what has so far hindered the progress of research projects on the moon is the challenge of limiting long-term residence due to the lack of a suitable solution for using the very powerful radiation of the sun and producing continuous energy. Therefore, the new idea that I have presented can reduce the percentage of financial risk both in terms of cost and budget and be justified for investors in space research programs, and in terms of implementation engineering, it has the ability to be carried out on the moon in various dimensions.
◉ Invention: Long-term storage of electrical energy in a power plant on the moon
◉ Inventor and Patent Owner: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Category: New inventions of inventors
Like other inventions, this invention also has the potential for further development and optimization, and by building such power plants, it can make a significant contribution to removing the limitations of long-term residence on the moon.
End of article//
◉ Video of Long-term energy storage during the synodic period on the Moon using a solar-to-mechanical energy conversion system / Category: Inventions by Ali Pourahmad
◉ Animation creator of this video: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Music composer of this video: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Narrator: Ali Pourahmad
◉ Language: English
◉ Subtitles: None
About inventor and author of this article:👇
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