Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) Type: Pivoted Panel

[mladenmilanov]

Very good to watch but in strong wind this design wil be brocken.

See in my profile fin with huge blade that work ot 1.5 m/s and more ...

[arbonac]

Too many moving parts.

[dillionedison]

Wow, good windmill. I'll take it as my inspiration. Thanks

[crsbt]

i think the little ones are the coolest !!

coz all the big ones i try n make are useless lol.

[enticed2zeitgeist]

What encourages the blades the catch the wind and pivot and then reset themselves straight? Are you using some kind of gearing and weights? Magnets?

[Gunluvver2]

Good quality workmanship. However if you are planning on applying for a patent on the idea you might want to do a patent search. I had an idea similar to yours several years ago but discovered it had already been patented in the 1970's. However that patent would have expired by now and it could be produced under Public Domain. There are a lot of patents on wind power that have been issued over the past two hundred years so coming up with a "unique" patentable idea is difficult.

[AlexRyteuBart]

So it will not be same quiet as a "normal" vawt but generate more power from less wind... so similar to normal windmill but vertcal ;) cool.

Nice model anyway.

[ggibney0856]

Do you have any plans that I can look at... i can't really see how the blades pivot. thanks for the great design.. I believe you have a winner here

[worldpeace520]

that's awesome, i want to search some paper on this way,

but i can't find anything, does anyone know the keyword??

thks!

[araog11]

what is the power output that you could acheive with this design. and have you been able to test the difference with the same system with static panel

[Caleb6543]

Nice looking windmill.

I was thinking of building one with moving panels as well. However, I haven't quite figured out the mechanism. I have a Savonius type and I put a counter on it. In days I had about 1/4 million revolutions on it. That makes me wonder if I want any more moving pieces.

[sveasun1]

Keep it simple if you can-that's my advice. No harm in experimenting, however..........

[embeddedprogrammer]

This is excellent work! Thank you for posting this. How does the system know where the wind is coming from?

[sveasun1]

Thank you so much for the complimentary remarks. I truly believe vertical axis wind turbines are the future in harnessing the wind. This is where research money should be going. The advantages far outnumber those of horizontal systems. The biggest advantage being that this type of turbine is stackable. It's true that the higher you go, the greater the wind speed. By stacking this type of turbine as many as 25 turbines could be operating on the same tower in as little as one acre of space.

[sveasun1]

To answer your question about how vertical axis turbines work, let me explain it this way. Most vertical axis wind turbines have blades or panels that are shaped in such a way that they will catch the wind in one half of its revolution. The problem is, is that in the other half of its revolution it must go into the wind. That causes air drag. The system I am proposing has panels that pivot on a axis and would open to allow air to flow through, thus reducing air drag considerably.

[itsandbits1]

@sveasun1

you make this comment ignoring the fact that a lift type vawt can get energy all the way round and has little drag and is operating at faster than wind speed. I don't think you are trying to missrepresent by any means but you should say "most drag type windmills". the panels coming back on the lee side actually create more drag than a lift type wing would, assuming it is tuned properly.

[majik2hanz]

Excellent. At what wind speed is peak power produced? And what minimum wind speed is needed to induce rotation?

[sveasun1]

In theory, as many as eight (8) generators of unequal capacities would run off the drive wheel shown in red. A computer would determine which of / or combination of the eight would be engaged. Technically, this would eliminate feathering the blades or in this case panels. In the slightest of winds, the generator with the least capacity would be engaged while in the fiercest of winds, all eight generators would be engaged.

[OceanportECP]

sveasun- How would several identical generators (dynamos) of equal capacity work if they were staged. Lets say in light wind only one generator is engaged with an electro mechanical clutch then as the wind picks up clutches engage sucessivly at higher RPMs. From a maintenance standpoint, identical generators may make better sense economically if you can produce the same output.

[sveasun1]

Yes, eight generators of unequal size is probably an over kill. If eight of equal size did not do it, I'm sure four of one size and four of another size would. Thanks for your interest and input.

[Ropinlizard]

SWEET!

[sveasun1]

Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment.

[Martintfre]

Did ya take it outside?

[sveasun1]

I have not taken it outside because I live in the forested area of northern Minnesota where I cannot get any straight line winds. When I get caught up on afew things, I entend to take it to a place where it's an open area. The video demonstrates the turbine indoors where the air currents bounce off the walls and ceiling causing it to run slower than what I believe it will do outside in straight line winds.