Small diameter wind turbine - uses stator which channels wind onto rotor blades tangentially to rotor to compensate loss of efficiency

摘要

The stator of the turbine comprises a cylindrical shell (1), which may be shaped to increase wind velocity, and a group of radial helical director vanes (2) coupling the outer shell to a central hub (3). The hub carries a shaft (15) on which the hub of the helical turbine blades (18) runs. The blades fit inside the outer shell and have the wind diverted to a more tangential flow by the stator guide vanes. An electric generator may be housed in the central hub (3), or mechanical transmission from the turbine blades may drive a generator. The turbine combines the advantages of the two or three long blade horizontal axis wind turbine with those of the smaller multi-blade turbine. Despite some loss of efficiency due to the use of multiple shorter blades, a wider range of useful wind speeds, better starting torque, and no requirement for speed regulation are obtained.