Wind Turbine Reaction/Impulse Vector Diagrams & the Betz Limits

An axial compressor and/or axial gas turbine engine turbine is designed using these nifty vector diagrams that indicate the direction of the flow for each stator-rotor stage.

I looked through some wind turbine books at the local full service University library and could find nothing where anyone has done that. Nor could I find anything on the Betz limit -- 59% -- which is the maximum efficiency for a rotor only design.

Typically modern wind turbines only get 40% efficiency and noise is a problem.

An impulse turbine from gas turbo is all that's is necessary to design the most efficient wind mill of all -- 80%. Even the Reynolds Numbers are in the same ballpark.

A nose cone will accellerate the flow toward the tips at the expense of pressure. The stator and rotor blades need not be adjusted because the wind turbine can operate at one speed, increasing only the torque with wind speed.

No loud noise either.

GE is a big player in wind turbines and it's hard to believe no one from their gas turbine engine dept. has introduced these vector diagrams or some equivalent analysis -- certainly GE turbo has software that does it -- to the wind mill people.

Bret Cahill

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Bret Cahill
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