VWAT Design Project

[healerenergy]

I have many projects which I put into the catagory of design projects because I may not be able to put them together for a long time so I work on them as I can.  This particular design project has been on the drawing board for quite some time and it has gone through many changes.  This one started after the junkyard wars episode on wind mills aired.  So far I have set the overall size that I want which is 30' in diameter and 30' tall on a 40' six legged tower.  It will have 4 wings with variable pitch, a govenor and a closed loop hudraulic system.  

I realise that a project of this size requires a lot of research planning, calculations, at least one scale model and the right airfoil.  I have three airfoils which I intend to try on the model which will be one quarter scale.  The symetricalair foils are these NACA 66-020,  NACA 64A020 and one which I modified from a website I found.  The first two came out of a yacht design book I have which are for keei bulbs.   My plans for construction of the rfirst scale model are about complete and parts gathering is just beginning.  This should be a lot of fun to build and play with as a part of my serious research.  

[thefinis]

Well that is a mighty big bite to chew on.

How about a few questions. Why did you pick that size? Will those airfoils self start? If not then how are you going to bring it up to speed? How much research have you done on fluid power? It seems to be more in the mystical dark ages than wind power. Keep in mind that efficiency losses from the fluid power system need to be factored in. Mobil hydraulics may be best matched for your needs as much of it is setup for varying rpms. Have you tried yet to find a pump to match the power curve that matches the rpm range? A gear box to make the slow rpms fit a hydraulic pump is wasteful. Fluid power itself is set up to be a transmission/power converter. One last question how do you plan to use the end power?

Dream big but take small steps. Trying to leap the chasm between theory and reality is best done with a running start.

Finis

[healerenergy]

Yes it is a lot to chew on.

Why?  I picked the size because because I want to see commercial VWATs the size of the commercial HWATs and with tremendous out puts.  

Will?  Yes when I get done with the govenor device it will self start and regulate it's own speed even in storm winds.

How?  Well this particular design project is a number of years old and has elements of other design projects in it which are far older because I am not real young anymore.  Fluid dynamics is one of the things I learned when I was in the Navy and on submarines.  A closed loop Hydraulic system will be a push pull system which will provide some advantages and some disadvantages over traditional concepts.  With a low rpm high gpm pump and a matched rpm motor the pressure differential across the motor will give useable torque and the right rpm for my pancake alternator I am still gathering parts for.  The hydraulic system will also allow me to put  the alternator on the ground and to pump water or do other things with hydraulic motors.  I am not worring about  efficiency or losses right now but more on If all the concepts will work together so far everything looks promising.  On the ground there will be a flywheel inbetween the motor and the alternator.  Im hoping for the one on the oldest air compressor we have at work but It has yet to break beyond repair so Im not holding my breath.  What I have found is a pump/motor which is low rpm high gpm for the head and several candidates for the ground motors.  In the hydraulic loop I intend to put at least two accumulators which will serve several purposes and a bypass.   The accumulators will act as shock absorber and flow/pressure regulator.  The bypass will allow the turbine to start easier then close as the rpm gets high enough to use.  I plan to use a gear box if I have to between the flywheel and the alternator.  Yes I understand fluid power and little of a lot of other scientific theories and aplications I am continously learning as these projects mature.  I plan to use the power to power a property my family owns several miles outside of town where I plan to build a large shop first and maybe a house someday.  It will also be used to offset my power bill here in town.  This project will be combined with a solar heat/steam/electricity project, an earth cooling project and probably a few other projects in time

I always dream big so the learning ladder has a lot of rungs and I take my time climbing to the top.

[healerenergy]

Well I has been a while sense I updated this project thread so I thought I would let you know there has been some progress.  I mentioned an old air compressor that I wanted the flywheel for this VAWT project which is actually just part of a larger combined project.  I got it and the motor that it was attached to and the info on it is in the Rescue Mission thread.  The VAWT design might be changing because of a number of things  one of them is the size of the flywheel and rotor from the compressor motor They are huge.  The size of the flywheel will determine the size of the hydraulic motor and everything else including the final design of my wind mill which is still changing.  Now I have a solid place to start finalizing all the other little things that have until now been floating unknowns to a very big puzzle.  

George

Ps: I also learned the right way to spell VAWT but still do not know how to edit old posts for errors.