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Forum Index : Windmills : Blades On Stand-offs
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MacGyver Guru  Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
I haven't been on here for quite a while; sorry. I did a search, but couldn't come up with anything. Here's the question: Is there any advantage to using turbine blades on stand-offs? This would effectively increase the swept area and reduce the amount of mass whirling at break-neck speeds high up in the air. I personally like VAWTs, but nobody else here (read that NOBODY ELSE HERE) does, so I've gone back to building HAWTs. I build miniature stuff, so my goal is to make 100 15-watt tiny windmills and I got the idea to stand the blades off, simply because the wind in my area can go from nothing to 60 mph in a matter of minutes. Along those lines, I saw a joke recently on the Internet and it went like this: Mother Nature said, "You can't have all four seasons in one week." Texas said, "Hold my beer!" I live in north Texas. . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Yep, there is an advantage. See http://www.thebackshed.com/windmill/articles/SweptAreaofHAWT.asp Put simply, the inner 1/3 of the turbine is doing bugger all. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Kinda what I thought; thanks, Glen. Once I settle in on a working prototype, I'm going to use the 3-d printer to make some of the parts and I hope to have an entire "array" of tiny windmills, each putting out in the neighborhood of from 15 to 30 watts. Not a lot, I agree, but then when was the last time you saw a 15-pound honey bee? See my point? In nature, big jobs get done by vast numbers of tiny critters, so I decided to follow suit. Besides, my lathe and mill are just hobby size, forcing me to build little toys, but it keeps me busy and the cows are always curious about the strange noises coming from my barn. . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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