The challenge
The rotor blades of a conventional wind turbine are radially cantilevered from a rotor head and equally spaced in a circle around the horizontal rotation axis. This leads to different circulation velocities depending on the radial distance to the rotation axis. A rotor blade therefore has to be twisted to adapt to the different velocities. Only at its outer end a blade is highly efficient in converting the kinetic energy of the flow into rotation. How would a turbine look like which is exclusively driven by rotor blades on the outer radius of the rotor?
The invention
The RES-Flow-Conducting Turbine e.g. uses the rim of a spoked wheel as a flow conductor which deflects the incoming flow to either pass the rim on the outside or on the inside. A double cone angle therefore is imposed on the incoming flow. Rotor blades on the in- and outside of the rim are carried by the rim extending diagonally from up- to downwind in a symmetrical arrangement. Each pair of rotor blades causes a propulsion force when the flow attacks in a favorable flow angle.
The advantages
- Generation of propulsion forces by rotor blades exclusively on the outer circle of the rotor
- No need to twist the rotor blades
- Introduction of a lightweight structure for turbines
- Creation of an upwind rotor thrust relieving the load-bearing structure
- Minimizing the visual effects of rotation
The applications
- Extension of the rotor diameter up to 300 m
- Design of a wind turbine that delivers 16 MW