DRAG-TYPE WIND ENERGY

TECHNOLOGY
[VERSION 2]
Part B
Module 1 Wind Energy
[Version 2]

SAILING DOWNWIND
Sailors have known for millennia
that the wind will push you
downwind
Force due to drag of object
exposed to wind
Cannot exceed wind speed

Wind
Wind

DRAG-TYPE WIND ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

Screen

Panemones
(a) cup type
(b) paddle type
(c) s type

Wind capturing element has

to go upstream as it rotates
back to starting point

(a)

Wind

(c)

(b)

Wind

Wind

CUP-TYPE PANEMONE
Rotating cup anemometer
used to measure wind speed
Convex shape on back side has
less resistance to air than
concave side facing the wind
Wind direction doesnt matter
"Cup-Anemometer-Animation" by Jan Barani

CUP-TYPE PANEMONE (2)

Creative practical example
Oil drum halves acting as cups
Drives water pump
1936 North Dakota farm

Torrey, 1976

PADDLE-TYPE PANEMONE
Paddles with screen
9th century Persia
Wood poles with reeds tied to
them
Masonry screen
Fixed screen requires prevailing
winds from consistent direction
Mill grain, pump water

Torrey, 1976

S-TYPE
Variation on cup-type
Wind
Convex surface has lower drag than
concave surface
Savonius rotor (split S-type)
Flow on back of rotor assists rotation
Higher torque

"Savonius-rotor en" by Ugo14

PADDLE CONFIGURATION
Basic geometry for analysis
Wind acts normal to
paddle
Paddle rotates
counterclockwise
Screened on return loop

WIND AGAINST A PLATE

Force on paddle is given by:
1
=
0 2
2
where: CF = pressure coefficient that
accounts for form and nature of surface
If v = 0 (paddle not moving)
1
=
0 2
2

Wind

Paddle
Paddle
speed
v

POWER APPLIED TO PADDLE

Power = Force x paddle velocity

1
=
0 2
2
Normalize by upstream wind velocity
2
1

3
=
0
2
+
2

MAXIMUM POWER FROM

DRAG-TYPE WIND DEVICE

To find maximum,

maximized when =
when =

0
,
3

0
,
3

0
2

3
0

+
0

=0

= 4/27 = 0.148 (1/4 of Betz limit)

4
1
3
= 0
27
2

PADDLE CONFIGURATION
Torque = Force x R
=

1
0 2
2

1
0

PADDLE CONFIGURATION
1

Dimensionless torque

High starting torque

Common to drag
type devices

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0

0.2

0.4

0.6

v/V0

0.8

DRAG-TYPE WIND ENERGY

TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY
Power = force x paddle or cup velocity

Max power that can be extracted from the wind

1
4
3
= 0
2
27
Low performance compared to Betz limit
High starting torque is an advantage

PRACTICE EXERCISES

REFERENCES AND PHOTO CREDITS

Reference

Golding, E.W., The Generation of Electricity by Wind Power, E.& F. N. Spon Ltd, London,1976

Torrey, Volta, Wind-Catchers; American Windmills of Yesterday and Tomorrow, The Stephen Greene
Press, Brattleboro, Vermont, 1976.
Photo credits

"Cup-Anemometer-Animation" by Jan Barani - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons AttributionShare Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cup-AnemometerAnimation.gif#mediaviewer/File:Cup-Anemometer-Animation.gif

"Savonius-rotor en" by Ugo14 - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Savoniusrotor_en.svg#mediaviewer/File:Savonius-rotor_en.svg