[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
Besides all this, it’s based on an errant premise.
In the conventional design, the aerodynamic lift of the blades is indeed in the direction of providing torque. Whether talking about the top, bottom, left, or right of the windmill.
It’s not that the force is in the wrong direction: it is in the correct direction to power rotation.
EDIT: hadn’t seen your reply when posting before, but see it now.
I believe you are trying to have the wind push the blades, just as a paddlewheel pushes the water.
In contrast, a wing design generates force, excluding drag considerations, at 90 degrees to the direction of airflow across the wing. Thus, a helicopter rotor, for example, generates upwards force from the blades rapidly moving horizontally.
If you instead had a wind blowing from the bottom up through a helicopter rotor, then power would be generated.
Wind pushing the blades like a paddle, or for propulsion having a paddle push the air or water, though more intuitive, is not as efficient. [/quote]
Well here is what I’ll do, as an expiriment. I’ll build two systems trying to keep the scale and costs similar and see what blade setup produces more electricity. I think my idea will work at lower wind speeds better than the modern turbine design. The house I am buying is in a valley not a hilltop, so I won’t get the consistantly good 20-30 MPH winds like we do around here up on the hills. I can probably excpect 5-15 MPH on most days.
BTW I understand where you are coming from, I just think having the wind deflect off a turbine blade isn’t going to transfer the energy as cleanly as my design will. It is all going to boil down to torque and rotational speed, and while I think probably the rotational speed of a modern turbine would be increased, I think the torque on the “paddlewheel” will be higher. Only a scientific expiriment will answer these questions.
V