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Forum Index : Windmills : Opposing directional generator
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crabtronic Newbie  Joined: 31/07/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 9 |
I'm probably going over old ground somewhere but has anyone ever tried to create an opposing direction windmill. I'll try to explain what i'm getting at without tieing myself up in knots. You could have two sets of blades, maybe one inside the other. Sort of like two dough nuts that fit inside eachother. These rings would have opposing biase on the blade pitch which would make them spin in opposite directions. One set of blades would be attached to the outer magnetic disc and the other fixed to all that crazy coil of wire part. (excuse my lack of knowledge for correct terms) They would both be located on a static shaft and have independantt bearings. The problem of transferring the electrical charge could be simplified by a similar method as the old bike dynamo's. The shaft and tower become the neutral and the active would be transferred by a single brush mechanism. Why would you do this? To double the revoltion velocity and power output. Probably been tried before, so i'd like to hear from anyone who knows Cheers Try it! It's crabtastic |
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| KiwiJohn Guru  Joined: 01/12/2005 Location: New ZealandPosts: 691 |
It might be noisy but otherwise it should work OK. I doubt you could get double the power as one set of blades is bound to have a negative influence on the other but nonetheless I am sure the increase in power for the same blade diameter would be significant. The best thing to do is to make one but please keep us informed of progress! 
P.S. The term you may be seeking is 'contra rotating'. |
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| crabtronic Newbie Joined: 31/07/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 9 |
Yeah Sounds good in theory but probably a complex tangle of obstacles to get it to operational stage. I need a bigger swear jar for this project. Best i start on the more conventional model and work my way up. baby steps first Try it! It's crabtastic |
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| KiwiJohn Guru Joined: 01/12/2005 Location: New ZealandPosts: 691 |
I dont think it would really be that hard. You would have to find a way to mount two bearings in the middle of the rotor and fix one set of blades to that. The stator would also need bearings and a set of opposite pitch blades. Then you would need to make slip rings or something on the back of the stator to curry the current away, you could start with a disk of printed circuit blank that you scribe a couple of circles to form the rings. The biggest problem, which might not even be a problem, I see is that almost all of the mass will be mounted on one side of the tower. |
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vawtman Senior Member  Joined: 14/09/2006 Location: United StatesPosts: 146 |
Hi Crab I had a thought once of using counter rotating vawts using a shaft within a shaft.One vawt would spin one rotor our way and the other your way. Turned out not to be good idear. Do you know what KISS stands for over there? |
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| KiwiJohn Guru Joined: 01/12/2005 Location: New ZealandPosts: 691 |
Shaft within a shaft would be one way of getting half the weight to the other end of the mill! |
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| crabtronic Newbie Joined: 31/07/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 9 |
All sounds like good advice but is there any documented examples to look at. Just don't wanna re-invent a wonky wheel. Maybe there's some boffin who's written a paper on them. i use the word boffin as a complimentry term. Try it! It's crabtastic |
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Gill Senior Member Joined: 11/11/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 669 |
G'day crabtronic, One counter rotating VAWT was discussed here. The idea was to use the high torque yet low rpm to turn a counter rotating F&P. The rotor being attached to one and the stator attached to the other. The engineering of shaft in a shaft together with the need for slip rings was the main drawback as I recall with a possible disruptive turbulence between the two turbines. I think the idea is quite workable if built by the right man. was working fine... til the smoke got out. Cheers Gill _Cairns, FNQ |
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| crabtronic Newbie Joined: 31/07/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 9 |
thanks Gill for the reference to the older discussion and sketch. I think the whole idea of increasing the velocity of the rotor might be lost on a vertical shaft version but i could be wrong ta crabtronic Try it! It's crabtastic |
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