DIY wind turbine designs

 

I am looking for a good place to discuss the merits of implementing a
novel (expired) patented design, which nobody seems to talk about
anymore.

I am a mechanical engineer and have some machining capability and I
have accumulated many parts suitable for a 15 foot diameter turbine.

Serious discussions can be brought offline if you wish to email me at
the listed email address and title your note with "wind turbine" as
part of the title.
I have spent the past few days on google, looking up the latest and
greatest ..some good ideas, mostly the wrong paradigm.

Twenty five years ago I was researching wind energy for a midstate NY
application.
The primary focus was on designs suitable for only moderate wind
conditions ie 12mph avg winter velocity.

I came upon an article in Popular Science, March 1980 (back then) on  a
patented multiple "helical" blade design by William Allison.
He was a retired design engineer out of Ford.
It claimed 57% wind efficiency at 12mph wind velocity ...the accepted
physical limit is 59%
I went to Chicago and met with him and saw his experiments and demos.
I also have graphs he generated and additional info that wasn't in the
article.

I cannot find any references on Internet to his designs or any
commercial implementations that are still in existence ( several
companies had been licensed)
.
Have any of you ever researched this type of horizontal multiple blade
helix wind turbine?

here is a link to one of his patents for a blade design that shows an
example of the "helix":
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4171929.pdf

If you have interest in pursuing this, I would be more than glad to
have a detailed conversation on both the philosophy and implementation.

Regards,
Stew Corman
Endicott, NY

 

On 18 Jun 2006 13:05:24 -0700, scorman@stny.rr.com wrote:


This forum http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awea-wind-home/  is probably
your best bet. Lots of knowledgeable wind energy folks there.


You might find this one interesting as well http://www.selsam.com/ .

Wayne

 

wmbjk wrote:


Thx, I was looking there earlier today and saw one recent thread of
interest ...just subscribed and will repost my original thread over
there as well


went thru that site ... interesting ?yes, BUT I am skeptical about the
stresses/longevity of that kind of design IF it actually works any
better than anyone elses ...seems to deny the KISS principle ...besides
obviously not a DIY or residential application.

Stew Corman from sunny Endicott

 

On 18 Jun 2006 18:11:59 -0700, scorman@stny.rr.com wrote:


Me too. But Selsam is sincere and works steadily at improvement. Check
the archives at the AWEA group, his design was discussed in detail a
couple of years ago.


His 1000W, two-rotor design could work well at my place. Not much
advantage over a conventional design for me, except for substantially
increased production at very high wind speeds, something I don't need
with a hybrid installation. That increased production might be very
valuable to others though, particularly in a wind-only installation.

Wayne

 


scorman@stny.rr.com wrote:

If you keep your TSR below 5 your design will probably work well--57
percent seems high for the frontal area and blade design shown. As you
know, Betz's 59.3 percent is simply a physics problem--how much can I
slow the air mass down through the rotor (extract energy) while keeping
the air mass moving through the rotor. V2/V1=.33 is the ratio for max
energy transfer if my memory serves.

You should expect about 500 watts from your system at V1mph--not
much power even if 57% is the correct number. Engineers love efficiency
(I are one too) but might I suggest a slightly larger diameter,
lighter, and narrower two or three blade design in-liew of "the most
efficient design" to get you your 500 watts.;-))

Which ever way you choose, I would be interested in hearing how it
turns out.

Best Wishes

Tut