New type of VAWT

Piwoslaw · 11-09-14, 04:27 PM

I recently read about a new type of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine built in eastern Poland. It is 3 towers, 29 meters each, which produce 0.5 MW of power.

At first glance I thought: "Well, it's just a few VAWT drums stacked on each other. Building 3 next to each other makes it more stable."
But then I did more research and found that each 'drum' is really just a housing with the actual VAWT inside. The vanes are sized and positioned in such a way as to direct wind only to one side of the rotor while deflecting it from the other. This not only increases the efficiency (I found a source which stated 50% more efficient), but reduces noise to no more than 30-40 dB.

Among the other features of this design:

Modular design, easy to size a project depending on local conditions and available finansing, easy to transport and install,
Much safer for birds, takes up less space,
No vibrations or infrasounds,
Starting speed of only 0.7 m/s (compared to 2-3.5 m/s for HAWT),
Nominal power at 6-7 m/s (other designs - 8-12 m/s),
Built to not only withstand, but to keep producing power at wind speeds up to 55 m/s (other designs drop off above 12-15 m/s for safety reasons)

One of the things I could not find is whether each 'drum' produces power independently (taking advantage of varying wind speeds at different heights), or if all of the rotors in each tower are connected to each other, with the generator in the base. Nor could I find apicture of the shape of the internal rotor.

From a DIY POV, this can make small scale VAWT just as efficient as HAWT, and maybe easier to construct than specially shaped HAWT blades.

11-09-14, 04:27 PM	#1
Piwoslaw Super Moderator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 964 Thanks: 189 Thanked 111 Times in 87 Posts	New type of VAWT I recently read about a new type of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine built in eastern Poland. It is 3 towers, 29 meters each, which produce 0.5 MW of power. At first glance I thought: "Well, it's just a few VAWT drums stacked on each other. Building 3 next to each other makes it more stable." But then I did more research and found that each 'drum' is really just a housing with the actual VAWT inside. The vanes are sized and positioned in such a way as to direct wind only to one side of the rotor while deflecting it from the other. This not only increases the efficiency (I found a source which stated 50% more efficient), but reduces noise to no more than 30-40 dB. Among the other features of this design: Modular design, easy to size a project depending on local conditions and available finansing, easy to transport and install, Much safer for birds, takes up less space, No vibrations or infrasounds, Starting speed of only 0.7 m/s (compared to 2-3.5 m/s for HAWT), Nominal power at 6-7 m/s (other designs - 8-12 m/s), Built to not only withstand, but to keep producing power at wind speeds up to 55 m/s (other designs drop off above 12-15 m/s for safety reasons) One of the things I could not find is whether each 'drum' produces power independently (taking advantage of varying wind speeds at different heights), or if all of the rotors in each tower are connected to each other, with the generator in the base. Nor could I find apicture of the shape of the internal rotor. From a DIY POV, this can make small scale VAWT just as efficient as HAWT, and maybe easier to construct than specially shaped HAWT blades. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog.