The challenge
A spoked wheel with a rim stabilized and pressurized by prestressed spokes is a highly effective lightweight structure that can be built in almost any size with diameters from e.g. 1-200 m. How would the rim of a spoked wheel look like when used as a ring-shaped rotor blade?
The invention
The RES-Sinusodial Ring Turbine is characterized by the following features:
- The rim is subdivided in an equal number of segments
- The segment consists of airfoils exposed with their nose to the incoming flow
- Each segment is divided in a convex and a concave half
- Within one segment the suction side and the drag side of an airfoil change from the outside to the inside of the rim
- Prestressed spokes connect the sinusodial ring to a nozzle that houses the generator
- The turbine is driven directly by uplift resulting from each half of a segment creating torque at the horizontal axis of rotation
The advantages
- Elegant and effective rotor drive
- Uncompromised lightweight structure
- The sinusodial ring-shaped rotor blade works with an optimal distance to the axis of rotation
The applications
- Small wind turbine for local power generation
- Medium size wind turbine for a wider distance to buildings
- Large turbines for offshore generation of electric power