**3. The shape and design of the "rain tower"**

The "Rain Tower" combines several functional units that sequentially saturate the air with the necessary moisture, transfer it from a gaseous to a liquid state, capture cloud micro-drops in an ascending vortex flow, and control the process of their coagulation into rain cloud drops.

#### **3.1 Rain tower shape optimization**

The "Rain Tower" is a hyperbolic, prestressed, cable-stayed structure with a steel core and a cheap tent covering, fixed along the perimeter with (carbon or Kevlar) cables, supported by a reinforced concrete perimeter with tubular columns on one side and with the support hoop of the lower part of the tower on the other.

The "Rain Tower" will consist of tent panels with low thermal conductivity, which are fixed around the perimeter with cables supported by the annular truss beam of the lower part of the tower on one side and the annular truss beam of the upper tower on the other side. The roof sheets will be overlapped and fastened with transverse bolts to intermediate external annular rafters [2].

As shown in **Figure 2**, the aerodynamic design of the tower and the solar collector is made according to the special geometry of a two-focal hyperboloid of rotation in accordance with the author's certificates [11]. At the same time, the aerodynamic guiding structure of the spiral air ducts twisted around the central column both inside the base of the tower and the air intake is made in accordance with the author's certificates (**Figure 3**) [12].

The vortex turbine will be installed independently of the rope-stayed structure of the "Rain Tower" on a platform with a steel frame in its narrowest part, where the speed of the adiabatic updraft will be maximum.

In the case of a vortex flow, its velocity and the path of raindrops through the installation increase significantly. At the same time, the turbulent movement of air in the tower body and the part of the collector closest to it guarantees a reduction in friction due to the shape of the internal topology of the structure.

### *3.1.1 Existing data*

The use of the proposed hyperbolic tower design makes it possible to achieve a lifting airflow velocity of more than 20 m/s (**Figure 4**) and form a moisture flow of up to 1350 mm/h, that is, 0.38 kg/(s\*m<sup>2</sup> ) (with a diameter of 30 m in the narrow part of the tower and an ambient temperature of 22°C, the installation will be able to generate

**Figure 2.** *Cable-stayed shaping structure of "rain Tower".*

#### **Figure 3.**

*Air intake topology in the form of a two-start logarithmic spiral. (https://triptonkosti.ru/4-kartinki/logarifmiche skaya-spiral-kartinki.html)*

the upward flow of water with a volume of 267 kg/s), which is almost ten times higher compared with the use of known direct-flow ventilation shafts without a condenser and collector [5].

**Figure 5** shows the temperature distribution at night. The heat from the surface of this calculation does not consider. It is known that if the ambient temperature is 26°C and the relative humidity is 50%, then the dew point temperature at normal atmospheric pressure is 15°C, which is observed at the top of the tower.

**Figure 6** shows the distribution of pressure in the tower at normal atmospheric pressure and temperatures average 22°C during the day. As can be seen at the entrance

#### **Figure 4.**

*The results of computer simulation of the plots of the velocities of ascending flows.*

**Figure 5.** *Temperature gradient in the rain tower at night.*

**Figure 6.**

*Pressure gradients in the rain tower during the daytime at 22°C.*

**Figure 7.** *Plots of ascending airflow velocities.*

to the spiral collector channels, the pressure is the highest, then there is a sharp decrease at the base of the vortex turbine, then it gradually increases at the outlet, but its pressure is still higher than atmospheric. This allows to generate rain cloud without bundles that determine its demolition of the wind at a sufficient distance.

The **Figure 7** shows the vector distribution of air flows, it can be seen that colder air descends along the center of the tower and thus active convection occurs, that is, mixing of air masses with different temperatures. This may cause higher condensation and rising warm air. That shown here is the principle of operation Vortex turbine.

### *3.1.2 Analysis*

The results of testing mathematical models indicate the positive direction research. Firstly, it is possible to achieve the transfer of large masses of moisture-saturated air to the height of the formation of rain clouds; secondly, the formation of oncoming flows in the vortex tower with a temperature contrast, thirdly, to ensure a high rate of air rise comparable to natural convection, fourth, the formation of droplets up to 100 microns, fifth, rapid condensation, sixth, stable controllability and seventh, scaling and coverage of the required area by placing a network of Rain Towers. Conducted computer experiments on the prototype of the digital twin of the tower confirm the vortex formation and estimates of the velocity of the updraft.

The computer experiments carried out on the prototype of the digital twin of the tower, confirming vortex formation and flow velocity forecasts, show the feasibility of conducting numerical experiments to optimize the parameters of a two-focal hyperboloid of rotation. Experiments should be carried out in all dynamic ranges of the observed parameters and, in frequency, combinations of environmental parameters (humidity, water and air temperature, vertical temperature gradient, wind rose at different horizons, atmospheric pressure, etc.).

Shape optimization will provide the maximum speed of the ascending vortex flow in the absence of control actions. This will give an estimate of the ranges of speeds of rotation of the turbine of the axial electric generator and the levels of electricity generated in different modes of its operation.

Numerical modeling of a loaded rope-stayed structure, considering the Rain Tower tent cover, will allow for strength calculations and architectural design with specified operating parameters (seismic resistance, requirements for monitoring structural elements and routine maintenance to ensure its performance, service life, and justified technical margin).

#### **3.2 Structural components of the "rain tower"**

It is well-known that a group of Israeli engineers, architects, and scientists, led by Prof. Dan Zaslavsky, worked on a project to use desert heat to generate electricity and water to increase the efficiency of an aero-thermal power plant [13].

The main components of the structure are a steam generator and solar collectors, in which the air in the tower is heated. Air enters through the tower's air intake and is heated under a transparent solar collector adjacent to the tower. A temperature and pressure gradient arises, which provides the conditions for the formation of an upward flow. The density and temperature of the air at the base of the Rain Tower increase several times, which allows the use of modern energy conversion technologies, which, in combination with the use of updrafts, significantly increase the efficiency of the aero-thermal power plant.

#### *Rain Tower DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112937*

The subject of research is the optimization of the parameters of the "Rain Tower" shape, which guarantees the maximum speed of the ascending vortex flow in the entire range of environmental parameters.

The control actions in the "Rain Tower" are based on the emission of acoustic signals with different parameters (dynamic and frequency ranges, spectra and durations, shape and steepness of the fronts of impulse actions, etc.) determined by the context of the tasks being solved (generation of superheated steam, coagulation in an ascending vortex flow, and formation of a virtual air duct).

### *3.2.1 Ultra-wideband acoustic transducer*

All control actions in the "Rain Tower" are based on ultra-wideband transmission using the tunnel kinetic effect (TCE), discovered 40 years ago. The tunneling kinetic effect is the process of converting the transverse components of the velocity vectors of the molecules of the working medium into an axial component while maintaining the internal kinetic (thermal) energy of gaseous or liquid substances, which occurs when a strong electrostatic field is applied to the working medium.

If a porous permeable dielectric membrane is placed in a strong electrostatic field, an acoustic background appears in the form of white noise, since shock waves arise in the working medium (gas or liquid contained between the capacitor plates) as a result of the transformation of the transverse components, directed normal to the radiating surface from the velocities of Brownian motion to the axial component.

It is possible to control the generation of acoustic shock waves. It is enough to sum up a constant electrostatic field with a control action. A monopolar control signal does not lead to a polarity reversal of the electric field between the capacitor plates with a permeable electrode, which saves the acoustic wave generator from reactive losses [6].

This effect makes it possible to use the internal kinetic energy of matter and can be applied in almost all applied fields of science and technology. By observing the Brownian motion of particles at different temperatures, it is possible to establish a direct relationship between the average kinetic energy E <sup>k</sup> of gas (liquid) molecules and the temperature T.

$$\frac{mu^2}{2} = \frac{3}{2}kT\tag{1}$$

where: *T* – temperature, measured from absolute zero and equal to the temperature in Celsius, increased by 273.16°; *u* - speed; *k* is a universal constant, the same for all substances and in any state (Boltzmann's constant k = 1.3802 � 10–23 J/deg).

Kinetic energy can be represented as the sum of kinetic energies created by the velocity components along three mutually perpendicular coordinate axes X, Y, and Z as showed at **Figure 8**.

$$\frac{mu^2}{2} = \frac{mu\_x^2}{2} + \frac{mu\_y^2}{2} + \frac{mu\_x^2}{2} \tag{2}$$

In a gas or liquid, molecules move at a certain speed in a straight line until they meet another molecule on their way. As a result of the interaction between them, the directions and magnitudes of the velocities of both molecules change. If one of the molecules at the same time reduces its speed, then the other moves faster. Of course, it is difficult to follow these fast-following changes in velocities first in one direction and then in the other.

The transformation of the transverse velocity components into a longitudinal one under the influence of a strong electric field leads to a redistribution of the kinetic energy of the particles in favor of the particles moving along the lines of force. For a particle with j degrees of freedom, this transformation will increase the kinetic energy of the working body along the lines of force of the electrostatic field by a factor of √j, since the transverse velocity components decrease due to refraction of the molecules.

Any porous permeable dielectric material containing a gas or liquid inside can be used as a converter matrix. When the required monopolar electrical signal is applied to the gas-permeable plates of the converter, kinetic tunnels begin to appear in the body of the working element. The conversion coefficient of the kinetic energy of a gas (liquid) in them is a function of the amplitude of the signal being supplied. As a result of the formation of these tunnels, the velocity vectors of the thermal motion of molecules are transformed in a plane perpendicular to the surface of the radiator (**Figure 9**).

Molecules with speeds above the speed of sound fly out of the body of the working element at hypersonic speed and, transferring their energy to the surrounding air, create shock waves; that is, matter is transferred in the direction of radiation. For air, these molecules have an elevated temperature and a free path of about 3–6 mm. Direct electroacoustic conversion, using the thermal movement of air molecules, guarantees an ultra-wide frequency band of the emitter f є (0–10 <sup>11</sup> Hz), since the absence of moving mechanisms guarantees the absence of intrinsic mechanical resonances that deform the transfer function.

When the voltage decreases, under the influence of which the formation of kinetic tunnels occurs, the molecules of the working fluid infiltrate from the environment back into the body of the dielectric membrane. At the same time, significant changes in the temperature of the converter itself and the environment are not observed.

This phenomenon can be observed visually using photo or video equipment that allows recording thermal radiation. As mentioned above, the coefficient of increase in the speed of a molecule depends on the number of degrees of freedom of molecules (n), determined by the structure of the substance, and is equal to √n.

A hydroacoustic transducer operating in seawater must consider that the presence of salinity makes it a weak electrolyte. Therefore, in order for the electrolyte ions not to terminate on the radiator plates, both of its electrodes must be covered with an

**Figure 8.** *Velocity field projections in the Cartesian coordinate system [6].*

insulator. As for atmospheric emitters, it is expedient to use weakly hygroscopic materials as a dielectric membrane, the selection of which is the subject of this study.

The manufactured laboratory models allowed to obtain an audio signal level of up to 130 dB. Theoretically, this method of producing acoustic vibrations does not impose restrictions on the frequency range of the emitter, since the working medium is the molecules of the medium, and its frequency limits are determined only by the size of the particles and the level of the sound signal, and the dynamic range of the emitting system is determined only by the mechanical strength of the emitter membrane itself. The maximum efficiency of a converter working with air can reach 80% (of the kinetic energy of the air stored in the radiator membrane and used as a working medium), which is significantly more than the energy expended by the radiator for its operation.

#### *3.2.2 Saturated steam generator*

The lack of humidity in the natural environment of the UAE indicates the need for engineering solutions to artificially saturate the atmosphere with moisture. As you know, air humidity rises as a result of evaporation. The lack of freshwater makes it expedient to use seawater for artificial evaporation.

In hermetic or quasi-hermetic conditions, saturated steam tends to achieve thermodynamic equilibrium between gas and liquid. It can be displaced by pumping air under pressure above the surface of the water in the evaporator, heated above the boiling point. The minimum conditions for the formation of supersaturated steam are: temperature 1250 С and pressure 2.37 kg/cm<sup>2</sup> . Higher temperatures require the use of more temperature-resistant materials; increasing the pressure above the surface of the evaporator also requires additional design solutions.

The evaporator of flowing seawater must saturate the ascending vortex with moisture. According to calculations, at an upward flow rate of 20–25 m/s with a diameter in the narrow part of the tower of 30 m and an ambient temperature of 22°С*,* the moisture flow can reach 1350 mm/h, that is, 0.38 kg/(s\*m<sup>2</sup> ), that is, the unit will be able to generate an upward flow of water with a volume of 267 kg/s.

Each water molecule can simultaneously form four hydrogen bonds with other molecules at strictly defined angles equal to 109°280 . They are directed to the vertices of the tetrahedron as shown in **Figure 10** [15].

Water molecules have a large dipole moment, which leads to the fact that they interact with each other in the liquid state, forming connected structures. Numerous short-lived hydrogen bonds between neighboring hydrogen and oxygen atoms in a water molecule create favorable opportunities for the formation of special structures—clusters of hydroxyl clouds, formed around impurity ions.

According to the hypothesis of S.V. Zenin [14], water is a hierarchy of regular bulk structures, which are based on a crystal-like "quantum of water," consisting of 57 of its molecules, which interact with each other due to free hydrogen bonds. At the same time, 57 water molecules (quanta) form a structure resembling a tetrahedron. The tetrahedron, in turn, consists of 4 dodecahedrons (regular 12-sided). 16 quanta form a structural element consisting of 912 water molecules.

If molecules of another substance, for example, ions of anions or cations, are placed in water, the clusters will begin to "take over" its electromagnetic properties. This property explains the extremely labile, mobile nature of their interaction. Its nature is due to long-range Coulomb forces, which determine a new type of chargecomplementary bond.

It is due to this type of interaction that the construction of structural elements of water into cells up to 0.5–1 micron in size is carried out. They can be directly observed with a phase contrast microscope. Water, consisting of many clusters of various types, forms a hierarchical spatial liquid crystal structure.

Water clusters at the phase boundaries (liquid–air) line up in a certain order, while all clusters oscillate with the same frequency, acquiring one common frequency. The oscillation frequency of water clusters can be determined by the following formula:

$$w = \sqrt{\frac{a}{M}} = 2\mathfrak{af},\tag{3}$$

where α is the surface tension of water at a given temperature; *M* is the mass of the cluster.

The oscillation frequency of the cluster *f* at room temperature 18°C is equal to *f* = 6.79 109 Hz. To experimentally test the presence of such oscillations of water clusters, the researchers detected water radiation using biological objects—wheat seeds.

**Figure 10.** *Structure of the water molecule [14].*

### *Rain Tower DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112937*

The self-organized system of water, when exposed to electromagnetic radiation, will not move as a whole, but each element of the hexagonal structure, and in the case of impurities and of another type in the area of their location, will be displaced; that is, there will be a distortion of the geometry of the structure and, consequently, stresses will arise.

The energy of electromagnetic radiation quanta, passing into the internal energy of a structured water medium as a result of its distortions, will be accumulated by it until it reaches the hydrogen bond energy. When this value is reached, the hydrogen bond is broken and the cluster structure is destroyed. This can be compared to a snow avalanche, when there is a gradual, slow accumulation of mass, and then a rapid collapse.

The energy costs for bringing water to the boiling point and the phase transition of individual water molecules from a liquid state to vapor are very high [16]. To increase the volume of evaporation, it is not necessary to heat the entire volume of water in the evaporator. It is sufficient to use resonant high-frequency acoustic emitters capable of achieving mechanical resonance of the cluster structure of sea water (**Figure 11**), since resonant vibrations can destroy hydrogen bonds between cluster molecules and give them the necessary kinetic energy.

The destruction of hydrogen bonds in hydroxide clouds surrounding sea salt ions leads to the appearance in the volume of seawater of a large number of unbound water molecules, the kinetic energy of which is sufficient to overcome the forces of surface tension.

If an imbalance is provided in such an evaporator between superheated air and seawater entering it, then the thermodynamic equilibrium will shift to the area of superheated steam.
