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Vertical wind generator with guide vanes. DIY vertical wind generator

The wind has incredible energy potential. Failure to use its powerful potential must be safely recognized as unreasonable waste. But you can easily build a vertical wind generator with your own hands and get virtually free energy to cover domestic needs. It's quite real, don't you agree?

The presented article will help to understand in detail a complex technical issue. Systematized, accessible information presented in great detail illuminates the principle of operation of popular systems that convert the energy of air masses into electricity.

Without a doubt, you will be carried away by the idea of ​​​​creating a windmill, the assembly specifics of which are described in the article. We have examined in detail different types vertical wind turbines, touched upon their differences, advantages and disadvantages. The text part of the material is perfectly complemented by photo and video instructions.

A modern vertical generator is one of the options. The unit is able to convert gusts of wind into an energy resource. For correct operation, it does not need additional devices that determine the direction of the wind.

A rotary wind generator is very easy to make with your own hands. Of course, he will not be able to fully take over the provision of a private large-sized cottage with energy, but with lighting outbuildings, garden paths and the local area will do just fine

The vertical type device operates at low altitude. For its maintenance, various devices are not needed to ensure the safe carrying out of high-altitude repair and maintenance work.

A minimum of moving parts makes the wind turbine more reliable and operationally stable. Optimal blade profile and original form rotor provide assembly high level Efficiency regardless of which direction the wind is blowing at any given moment.

Small household models consist of three or more light blades, instantly catch the weakest gust and begin to rotate as soon as the wind strength exceeds 1.5 m / s. Due to this ability, their efficiency often exceeds the efficiency of large installations that need stronger wind.

The generator operates absolutely silently, does not interfere with the owners and neighbors, does not create harmful emissions into the atmosphere and reliably serves for many years, accurately supplying energy to residential premises.

The vertical wind-type generator works on the principle of magnetic levitation. During the rotation of the turbines, impulse and lift forces are generated, as well as the actual braking force. The first two make the blades of the unit spin. This action activates the rotor and it creates a magnetic field that generates electricity.

A windmill with a vertical axis of rotation is inferior in efficiency to its horizontal counterparts. But it does not make claims to the territorial location and fully works in almost any place convenient for homeowners

The device functions completely independently and does not require the intervention of the owners in the process.

Classification of vertical generators

There are some structural differences between vertical type windcatchers. It does not make the units better or worse, but simply allows you to choose the most convenient option for performing specific tasks in a particular area.

#1: Features of orthogonal systems

Structurally, an orthogonal wind generator consists of a strong axis of vertical rotation and several parallel blades at a certain distance from the center base.

The device does not need additional guide mechanisms and works normally, regardless of the direction of the wind. The vertically positioned main shaft makes it possible to place the driven equipment at ground level, which greatly facilitates operation, repair and maintenance.

The support nodes of the orthogonal generator do not have a very high service life. This is due to the high dynamic loads that the rotor exerts on them during operation. To ensure that the installation does not fail ahead of time, all supporting parts must be regularly inspected and damaged in a timely manner replaced with new ones.

The disadvantages of orthogonal devices include too massive blade system and low efficiency compared to the efficiency of horizontal-axis modules.

#2: Darrieus Rotor Generators

A wind generator equipped with a Darrieus rotor has a vertical axis of rotation and 2-3 flat strip-blades without a characteristic aerodynamic profile, fixed at the base and at the top of the axis of rotation.

The unit in its work is not guided by the strength or direction of the wind, has a high rotation speed and allows the location of drive devices on the ground, which facilitates and speeds up the process of scheduled maintenance and possible repairs.

Two-bladed generator sets with a Darrieus rotor are activated only by a strong gust of wind. With a uniform oncoming flow, they cannot start on their own

The supporting and rotating components of the device with a Darrieus rotor are vulnerable to increased dynamic loads, and the efficiency of the blade system is inferior in many respects to axial horizontal installations.

#3: Aggregates with Savonius rotor

A vertical wind turbine with a Savonius rotor has a semi-cylindrical blade system and differs from similar installations in high starting torque and the ability to operate effectively in low-speed winds.

The power of vertical wind generators with Savonius rotor offered on the market does not exceed 5 kW. Devices are rarely used as an independent working unit, and most often used to create a higher starting torque for Darrieus rotary installations

The vertical complex with the Savonius rotor is reproached for increased material consumption and lower efficiency compared to horizontal axis wind turbines. That is why the production of high-power equipment of this class is considered inappropriate.

#4: Wind turbine with multi-blade rotor and guide

This type of device is an improved version of the classic orthogonal wind generator. The rotary complex here consists of blades arranged in two rows.

The outer bladed tier remains static and works as a guide vane. It captures the wind flow, captures it, compresses it and in this way noticeably increases the actual wind speed.

The inner row of blades is a movable structure, on which the air flow from the first rotor unit enters at a certain angle.

The efficiency of the wind generator, which has a multi-blade rotor with a guide system, makes this device especially attractive to consumers. However, the cost of such equipment is quite high, and it pays off somewhat longer than similar devices with a simpler configuration.

Experts call this type of device the most efficient in its class and emphasize that the specific design allows it to work even at the lowest possible wind speeds.

#5: Characteristics of devices with a helicoid rotor

The helicoid wind turbine or Gorlov generator is another modification of the traditional orthogonal rotor system. The blades of the model are twisted in an arc. This design feature makes it possible to quickly catch the air flow and rotate smoothly without jerking.

This principle of operation significantly reduces the dynamic load on the base and moving parts, thereby increasing their service life.

Devices with a helicoid-type rotor are very reliable and easily withstand significant operating loads. However, during operation, such windmills create pronounced noise effects and produce additional sound waves that are in the short-wave region of the sound spectrum.

The twisted rotor blades for a helicoid windmill are made according to a very progressive, but complex technology. Because of this, the units have a rather high cost and are not widely popular with private consumers.

#6: Characteristics of vertical axis rotors

The main difference of the vertical-axis generator is the vertically arranged blades, resembling an aircraft wing in profile, whose axis is clearly parallel to the vertical shaft. The design is somewhat reminiscent of the Darrieus rotor, but under production conditions it is made much faster and easier.

A generator with a vertical axial rotor picks up operating speed much faster than similar devices of this class and begins to produce the required energy resource. The process is accompanied by a small sound effect and does not interfere with either the owners of the installation or the neighbors.

Windmills with a vertical-axis rotor are reliable and durable, easily withstand significant operating loads and do not cost too much. big money. These qualities make them relevant for use not only in industrial, but also for domestic purposes.

Features of choosing wind turbines for a private house and an overview best offers presented in .

Handmade windmill manufacturing

It is not too difficult to create a wind turbine with a vertical axis of rotation at home with your own hands. It is enough to purchase the required component parts, assemble them in right order and install the module in the selected location. As soon as there is a minimum breeze, the product will work and begin to give the owners the necessary energy.

Step 1: Procurement of components and materials

To make a vertical wind generator with your own hands, you will need the following components:

  • rotor- the moving part of the unit:
  • blades- parts that catch the wind flow;
  • axial mast- for fastening the rotor and blades (may be in the form of a long pole, pyramid or tripod);
  • stator- designed to accommodate a coil with a strong copper wire;
  • battery– capacious capacity for accumulation of the received resource;
  • inverter- a device for converting direct current into alternating current;
  • controller- a device that slows down the generator, at the time the unit develops actual power that exceeds the baseline.

For the manufacture of blades, light, high-quality sheet plastic with a good elasticity indicator is suitable. Other types of materials are too susceptible to various damages and deformations and simply cannot cope with such a high dynamic load.

When making the device yourself, it should be remembered that do-it-yourself vertical windmills are seriously inferior in power to factory models. Therefore, in order not to be disappointed in the created design in the future, it is better to immediately make it according to parameters that are 2 times higher than the required ones.

Small blades can be made from medium density PVC, while large, wide parts will require the most durable material that can withstand strong winds blowing at a speed of 15 m/s and higher for a long time.

Step 2: Preparing the Elements

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Video No. 1 will demonstrate how to make a vertical wind-type generator with a Darrieus rotary system with your own hands at home. The video clearly shows the features and curious nuances of the assembly process. There is a definition of the maximum power of the manufactured unit:

Video No. 2 will show how a vertical wind generator works and how much energy it produces. It gives a detailed overview of the module and a description of the work to correctly measure the actual power and other parameters:

Video No. 3 presents testing of a homemade vertical type wind generator. What is a device made by hand from improvised materials capable of:

Such a modern and practical source of alternative energy as vertical windmills is easy to assemble with your own hands. With the right housekeeping experience, it is possible to fabricate every part and then combine all the components into a single, integral design.

If you don’t want to complicate the task, it’s quite appropriate to purchase ready-made components and at home, without haste and fuss, mount a reliable wind turbine that can provide uninterrupted supplies of electricity to the living quarters.

When there is no one hundred percent confidence in one's abilities, it is better to entrust the work to professionals. They will do everything very quickly and in full accordance with the basic operational requirements.

Do you have experience in building and operating a wind turbine? Please share information with our readers, suggest your own way of assembling the unit. You can leave comments and add photos of homemade products in the form below.

Russia has a dual position regarding wind energy resources. On the one hand, thanks to the huge total area and to the abundance of the plains the wind as a whole is plentiful, and for the most part even. On the other hand, our winds are predominantly low-potential, slow, see fig. On the third, in sparsely populated areas, the winds are violent. Based on this, the task of starting a wind generator on the farm is quite relevant. But to decide whether to buy enough expensive device, or make it yourself, you need to think carefully about which type (and there are a lot of them) for what purpose to choose.

Basic concepts

  1. KIEV - wind energy utilization factor. If a mechanistic flat wind model is used for calculation (see below), it is equal to the efficiency of the rotor of a wind power plant (APU).
  2. Efficiency - end-to-end efficiency of the APU, from the oncoming wind to the terminals of the electric generator, or to the amount of water pumped into the tank.
  3. The minimum operating wind speed (MPS) is its speed at which the windmill begins to give current to the load.
  4. The maximum allowable wind speed (MPS) is its speed at which energy generation stops: the automation either turns off the generator, or puts the rotor in a weather vane, or folds it and hides it, or the rotor stops itself, or the APU simply collapses.
  5. Starting wind speed (CWS) - at this speed, the rotor is able to turn without load, spin up and enter the operating mode, after which the generator can be turned on.
  6. Negative starting speed (OSS) - this means that the APU (or wind turbine - wind power plant, or WEA, wind power unit) requires mandatory spin-up from an external energy source to start at any wind speed.
  7. Starting (initial) moment - the ability of the rotor, forcibly slowed down in the air flow, to create a torque on the shaft.
  8. Wind turbine (VD) - part of the APU from the rotor to the shaft of the generator or pump, or other energy consumer.
  9. Rotary wind generator - APU, in which wind energy is converted into torque on the power take-off shaft by rotating the rotor in the air flow.
  10. The operating speed range of the rotor is the difference between MDS and MRS when operating at rated load.
  11. Slow-speed windmill - in it the linear speed of the parts of the rotor in the flow does not significantly exceed the wind speed or below it. The dynamic head of the flow is directly converted into blade thrust.
  12. High-speed windmill - the linear speed of the blades is significantly (up to 20 or more times) higher than the wind speed, and the rotor forms its own air circulation. The cycle of converting flow energy into thrust is complex.

Notes:

  1. Low-speed APUs, as a rule, have lower CIEV than high-speed ones, but they have a starting torque sufficient to spin up the generator without disconnecting the load and zero TCO, i.e. absolutely self-starting and applicable in the lightest winds.
  2. Slowness and speed are relative concepts. A household windmill at 300 rpm can be low-speed, and powerful APUs of the EuroWind type, from which the fields of wind farms, wind farms (see. Fig.) Are gaining and the rotors of which make about 10 rpm - high-speed, because. with such a diameter, the linear speed of the blades and their aerodynamics over most of the span are quite “airplane”, see below.

What generator is needed?

An electric generator for a domestic windmill must generate electricity in a wide range of rotational speeds and have the ability to self-start without automation and external power sources. In the case of using an APU with OSS (windmills with spin-up), which, as a rule, have high KIEV and efficiency, it must also be reversible, i.e. be able to work as an engine. At powers up to 5 kW, this condition is satisfied by electric machines with permanent magnets based on niobium (supermagnets); on steel or ferrite magnets, you can count on no more than 0.5-0.7 kW.

Note: asynchronous generators alternating current or collector with a non-magnetized stator are not suitable at all. With a decrease in wind strength, they will “go out” long before its speed drops to MRS, and then they will not start themselves.

An excellent "heart" of the APU with a power of 0.3 to 1-2 kW is obtained from an alternator with a built-in rectifier; most of them are now. Firstly, they keep the output voltage of 11.6-14.7 V in a fairly wide range of speeds without external electronic stabilizers. Secondly, the silicon gates open when the voltage on the winding reaches about 1.4 V, and before that the generator "does not see" the load. To do this, the generator must already be quite well untwisted.

In most cases, the oscillator can be connected directly, without gear or belt drive, to the high-speed HP shaft by selecting the speed by choosing the number of blades, see below. "Fast-walkers" have a small or zero starting torque, but the rotor, even without disconnecting the load, will have enough time to spin up before the valves open and the generator gives current.

Choice in the wind

Before deciding which wind generator to make, let's decide on the local aerology. in grey-greenish(windless) areas of the wind map, at least some sense will be only from a sailing wind turbine(and we'll talk about them later). If you need a constant power supply, you will have to add a booster (rectifier with voltage stabilizer), Charger, powerful battery, inverter 12/24/36/48 V DC to 220/380 V 50 Hz AC. Such an economy will cost no less than $20,000, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to remove a long-term power of more than 3-4 kW. In general, with an inexorable desire for alternative energy, it is better to look for another source of it.

In yellow-green, slightly windy places, if you need electricity up to 2-3 kW, you can take on a low-speed vertical wind generator yourself. They have been developed innumerable, and there are designs that, in terms of KIEV and efficiency, are almost not inferior to industrial-made “blades”.

If you are going to buy a wind turbine for your home, then it is better to focus on a windmill with a sailing rotor. There are many disputes, and in theory not everything is clear yet, but they work. In the Russian Federation, "sailboats" are produced in Taganrog with a capacity of 1-100 kW.

In red, windy, regions, the choice depends on the required power. In the range of 0.5-1.5 kW, self-made "verticals" are justified; 1.5-5 kW - purchased "sailboats". "Vertical" can also be purchased, but it will cost more than the APU of the horizontal scheme. And, finally, if you need a windmill with a power of 5 kW or more, then you need to choose between horizontal purchased “blades” or “sailboats”.

Note: many manufacturers, especially the second tier, offer kits of parts from which you can assemble a wind generator with a power of up to 10 kW on your own. Such a set will cost 20-50% cheaper than a ready-made one with installation. But before buying, you need to carefully study the aerology of the intended installation site, and then select the appropriate type and model according to the specifications.

About security

Parts of a wind turbine for domestic use in operation can have a linear speed exceeding 120 and even 150 m/s, and a piece of any solid material weighing 20 g, flying at a speed of 100 m/s, with a “successful” hit, kills a healthy man on the spot. A steel or hard plastic plate 2 mm thick, moving at a speed of 20 m/s, cuts it in half.

In addition, most windmills over 100 watts are quite noisy. Many generate ultra-low (less than 16 Hz) frequency air pressure fluctuations - infrasounds. Infrasounds are inaudible, but detrimental to health, and spread very far.

Note: in the late 80s, there was a scandal in the United States - the largest wind farm in the country at that time had to be closed. The Indians from the reservation, 200 km from the field of her APU, proved in court that the health disorders that sharply increased in them after the commissioning of the wind farm were due to its infrasounds.

For the above reasons, the installation of the APU is allowed at a distance of at least 5 of their heights from the nearest residential buildings. In the yards of private households, it is possible to install windmills of industrial production, appropriately certified. It is generally impossible to install APUs on roofs - during their operation, even for low-power ones, there are alternating mechanical loads that can cause resonance building structure and its destruction.

Note: the height of the APU is considered highest point a swept disk (for bladed rotors) or a geometric figure (for vertical APUs with a rotor on a pole). If the APU mast or the rotor axis protrude even higher, the height is calculated according to their top - the top.

Wind, aerodynamics, KIEV

A home-made wind generator obeys the same laws of nature as a factory-made one calculated on a computer. And the do-it-yourselfer needs to understand the basics of his work very well - most often he does not have at his disposal expensive ultra-modern materials and technological equipment. The aerodynamics of the APU is oh so difficult ...

Wind and KIEV

To calculate serial factory APUs, the so-called. flat mechanistic wind model. It is based on the following assumptions:

  • Wind speed and direction are constant within the effective rotor surface.
  • Air is a continuous medium.
  • The effective surface of the rotor is equal to the swept area.
  • The energy of the air flow is purely kinetic.

Under such conditions, the maximum energy of a unit volume of air is calculated according to the school formula, assuming the air density at normal conditions 1.29 kg*cu. m. At a wind speed of 10 m / s, one cube of air carries 65 J, and from one square of the effective surface of the rotor it is possible, at 100% efficiency of the entire APU, to remove 650 W. This is a very simplistic approach - everyone knows that the wind is not perfectly even. But this has to be done in order to ensure the repeatability of products - a common thing in technology.

The flat model should not be ignored, it gives a clear minimum of available wind energy. But air, firstly, is compressible, and secondly, it is very fluid (dynamic viscosity is only 17.2 μPa * s). This means that the flow can flow around the swept area, reducing the effective surface and KIEV, which is most often observed. But in principle, the reverse situation is also possible: the wind flocks to the rotor and the area of ​​the effective surface then turns out to be greater than the swept one, and KIEV is greater than 1 relative to that for a flat wind.

Let's give two examples. The first is a pleasure yacht, rather heavy, the yacht can go not only against the wind, but also faster than it. The wind is meant external; the apparent wind must still be faster, otherwise how will it pull the ship?

The second is a classic of aviation history. On tests of the MIG-19, it turned out that the interceptor, which was a ton heavier than a front-line fighter, accelerates faster in speed. With the same engines in the same airframe.

Theorists did not know what to think, and seriously doubted the law of conservation of energy. In the end, it turned out that the point was the cone of the radar fairing protruding from the air intake. From its toe to the shell, an air seal appeared, as if raking it from the sides to the engine compressors. Since then, shock waves have become firmly established in theory as useful, and the fantastic flight performance of modern aircraft is due in no small measure to their skillful use.

Aerodynamics

The development of aerodynamics is usually divided into two eras - before N. G. Zhukovsky and after. His report "On attached vortices" dated November 15, 1905 marked the beginning of a new era in aviation.

Before Zhukovsky, they flew on flat sails: it was believed that the particles of the oncoming flow give all their momentum to the leading edge of the wing. This made it possible to immediately get rid of the vector quantity - the angular momentum - which generated furious and most often non-analytical mathematics, go to much more convenient scalar purely energy relations, and eventually get the calculated pressure field on the carrier plane, more or less similar to the present one.

Such a mechanistic approach made it possible to create devices that could, at the very least, take to the air and fly from one place to another, without necessarily crashing to the ground somewhere along the way. But the desire to increase speed, carrying capacity and other flight qualities more and more revealed the imperfection of the original aerodynamic theory.

Zhukovsky's idea was as follows: air passes a different path along the upper and lower surfaces of the wing. From the condition of medium continuity (vacuum bubbles do not form in the air by themselves), it follows that the velocities of the upper and lower flows descending from the trailing edge must differ. Due to the albeit small, but finite viscosity of the air, a vortex should form there due to the difference in speeds.

The vortex rotates, and the law of conservation of momentum, as immutable as the law of conservation of energy, is also valid for vector quantities, i.e. must take into account the direction of movement. Therefore, immediately, on the trailing edge, an oppositely rotating vortex with the same rotational moment should form. For what? Due to the energy generated by the engine.

For the practice of aviation, this meant a revolution: by choosing an appropriate wing profile, it was possible to launch an attached vortex around the wing in the form of a circulation Г, increasing its lift. That is, by spending a part, and for high speeds and wing loads - a large part, of the engine power, you can create an air flow around the device, which allows you to achieve better flight qualities.

This made aviation aviation, and not part of aeronautics: now aircraft he could create for himself the environment necessary for flight and no longer be a toy of air currents. All you need is a more powerful engine, and more and more powerful ...

Again KIEV

But the windmill does not have a motor. He, on the contrary, must take energy from the wind and give it to consumers. And here it comes out - he pulled out his legs, his tail got stuck. They let too little wind energy into the rotor's own circulation - it will be weak, the blade thrust will be small, and KIEV and power will be low. Let's give a lot for circulation - the rotor will be on Idling spinning like crazy, but consumers again get little: they just gave the load, the rotor slowed down, the wind blew off the circulation, and the rotor stopped.

The law of conservation of energy gives the "golden mean" just in the middle: we give 50% of the energy to the load, and for the remaining 50% we twist the flow to the optimum. Practice confirms the assumptions: if the efficiency of a good pulling propeller is 75-80%, then the KIEV of a bladed rotor that is also carefully calculated and blown in a wind tunnel reaches 38-40%, i.e. up to half of what can be achieved with an excess of energy.

Modernity

Today, aerodynamics, armed with modern mathematics and computers, is increasingly moving away from inevitably simplifying models to an accurate description of the behavior of a real body in a real flow. And here, in addition to the general line - power, power, and once again power! – side ways are discovered, but promising just with a limited amount of energy entering the system.

The famous alternative aviator Paul McCready created an airplane back in the 80s, with two motors from a 16 hp chainsaw. showing 360 km / h. Moreover, its chassis was a tricycle non-retractable, and the wheels were without fairings. None of McCready's vehicles went on line and went on combat duty, but two - one with piston engines and propellers, and the other jet - flew around for the first time in history. the globe without landing at one gas station.

The sails that gave rise to the original wing were also significantly affected by the development of the theory. "Live" aerodynamics allowed the yachts with a wind of 8 knots. stand on hydrofoils (see fig.); to disperse such a hulk to the desired speed with a propeller, an engine of at least 100 hp is required. Racing catamarans with the same wind go at a speed of about 30 knots. (55 km/h).

There are also finds that are completely non-trivial. Fans of the rarest and most extreme sport - base jumping - wearing an apecial wing suit, wingsuit, fly without a motor, maneuvering at a speed of more than 200 km / h (fig. on the right), and then land smoothly in a pre-selected place. In which fairy tale do people fly by themselves?

Many mysteries of nature have also been solved; in particular, the flight of a beetle. According to classical aerodynamics, it is not capable of flying. Just like the ancestor of the "stealth" F-117 with its diamond-shaped wing, it is also not able to take to the air. And the MIG-29 and Su-27, which can fly tail first for some time, do not fit into any ideas at all.

And why, then, when dealing with wind turbines, not a fun and not a tool for the destruction of their own kind, but a source of a vital resource, it is imperative to dance from the theory of weak flows with its model of a flat wind? Is there really no way to go further?

What to expect from a classic?

However, the classics should not be abandoned in any case. It provides a foundation without leaning on which one cannot rise higher. Just as set theory does not cancel the multiplication table, and quantum chromodynamics does not make apples fly up from trees.

So, what can you expect from the classical approach? Let's look at the picture. Left - types of rotors; they are depicted conditionally. 1 - vertical carousel, 2 - vertical orthogonal ( wind turbine); 2-5 - bladed rotors with different number of blades with optimized profiles.

To the right of the horizontal axis is the relative speed of the rotor, i.e., the ratio of the linear speed of the blade to the wind speed. Vertically up - KIEV. And down - again, the relative torque. A single (100%) torque is considered to be one that creates a rotor forcibly decelerated in the flow with 100% KIEV, i.e. when all the energy of the flow is converted into rotational force.

This approach allows us to draw far-reaching conclusions. For example, the number of blades must be chosen not only and not so much according to the desired rotation speed: 3- and 4-blades immediately lose a lot in terms of KIEV and torque compared to 2- and 6-blades that work well in approximately the same speed range. And outwardly similar carousel and orthogonal have fundamentally different properties.

In general, preference should be given to bladed rotors, except in cases where extreme cheapness, simplicity, maintenance-free self-starting without automation are required, and it is impossible to climb the mast.

Note: we’ll talk about sailing rotors in particular - they don’t seem to fit into the classics.

Vertical lines

APUs with a vertical axis of rotation have an undeniable advantage for everyday life: their nodes that require maintenance are concentrated at the bottom and there is no need to lift them up. There remains, and even then not always, a self-aligning thrust bearing, but it is strong and durable. Therefore, when designing a simple wind generator, the selection of options must begin with verticals. Their main types are shown in fig.

sun

In the first position - the simplest, most often called the Savonius rotor. In fact, it was invented in 1924 in the USSR by Ya. A. and A. A. Voronin, and the Finnish industrialist Sigurd Savonius shamelessly appropriated the invention, ignoring the Soviet copyright certificate, and began mass production. But the introduction of the invention in the fate means a lot, so we, in order not to stir up the past and not disturb the ashes of the dead, we will call this windmill the Voronin-Savonius rotor, or for short, the Sun.

VS for a do-it-yourselfer is good for everyone, except for the "locomotive" KIEV in 10-18%. However, in the USSR a lot of work was done on it, and there are developments. Below we will consider an improved design, not much more complicated, but according to KIEV, it gives odds to the blades.

Note: a two-blade BC does not spin, but jerks; The 4-blade is only slightly smoother, but loses a lot in KIEV. To improve 4-"trough" most often spread over two floors - a pair of blades below, and another pair, rotated 90 degrees horizontally, above them. KIEV is preserved, and the lateral loads on the mechanics weaken, but the bending ones increase somewhat, and with a wind of more than 25 m/s, such an APU has a shaft, i.e. without a bearing stretched by the guys above the rotor, “breaks the tower”.

Daria

The next one is the Daria rotor; KIEV - up to 20%. It is even simpler: the blades are made of a simple elastic band without any profile. The theory of the Darrieus rotor is not well developed yet. It is only clear that it begins to unwind due to the difference in the aerodynamic resistance of the hump and the belt pocket, and then it becomes like a high-speed one, forming its own circulation.

The rotational moment is small, and in the starting positions of the rotor parallel and perpendicular to the wind, it is absent at all, therefore self-promotion is possible only with an odd number of blades (wings?). In any case, the load from the generator must be disconnected for the duration of the promotion.

The Darrieus rotor has two more bad qualities. First, during rotation, the thrust vector of the blade describes a complete revolution relative to its aerodynamic focus, and not smoothly, but jerkily. Therefore, the Darrieus rotor quickly breaks its mechanics even with a flat wind.

Secondly, Daria not only makes noise, but yells and squeals, to the point that the tape is torn. This is due to its vibration. And the more blades, the stronger the roar. So, if Darya is made, then it is two-bladed, made of expensive high-strength sound-absorbing materials (carbon, mylar), and a small aircraft is used for spinning in the middle of the mast-pole.

orthogonal

At pos. 3 - orthogonal vertical rotor with profiled blades. Orthogonal because the wings stick out vertically. The transition from the BC to the orthogonal is illustrated in Fig. left.

The angle of installation of the blades relative to the tangent to the circle, touching the aerodynamic foci of the wings, can be either positive (in the figure) or negative, according to the strength of the wind. Sometimes the blades are made swivel and windcocks are placed on them, automatically holding the alpha, but such structures often break.

The central body (blue in the figure) makes it possible to bring the KIEV to almost 50%. In a three-blade orthogonal, it should have the shape of a triangle in the section with slightly convex sides and rounded corners, and with a larger number of blades, a simple cylinder is sufficient. But the theory for the orthogonal gives the optimal number of blades unambiguously: there must be exactly 3 of them.

Orthogonal refers to high-speed windmills with OSS, i.e. necessarily requires promotion during commissioning and after calm. According to the orthogonal scheme, serial maintenance-free APUs with a power of up to 20 kW are produced.

Helicoid

Helicoid rotor, or Gorlov rotor (pos. 4) - a kind of orthogonal that provides uniform rotation; an orthogonal with straight wings "tears" only slightly weaker than a two-bladed aircraft. The bending of the blades along the helicoid avoids the loss of KIEV due to their curvature. Although the curved blade rejects part of the flow without using it, it also rakes a part into the zone of the highest linear speed, compensating for losses. Helicoids are used less often than other windmills, because. due to the complexity of manufacturing, they turn out to be more expensive than counterparts of equal quality.

Barrel-barrel

For 5 pos. – BC type rotor surrounded by a guide vane; its scheme is shown in fig. on right. Rarely found in industrial design, tk. expensive land acquisition does not compensate for the increase in capacity, and the material consumption and complexity of production are high. But a do-it-yourselfer who is afraid of work is no longer a master, but a consumer, and if no more than 0.5-1.5 kW is needed, then for him a “barrel-barrel” is a tidbit:

  • This type of rotor is absolutely safe, silent, does not create vibrations and can be installed anywhere, even on a playground.
  • Bend the "trough" of galvanized and weld the frame of the pipes - the work is nonsense.
  • Rotation is absolutely uniform, mechanical parts can be taken from the cheapest or from the trash.
  • Not afraid of hurricanes - too strong wind cannot push into the "barrel"; a streamlined vortex cocoon appears around it (we will still encounter this effect).
  • And most importantly, since the surface of the "grab" is several times larger than that of the rotor inside, KIEV can also be superunit, and the torque at 3 m / s at a "barrel" of three meters in diameter is such that a 1 kW generator with a maximum load, as It is said that it is better not to twitch.

Video: Lenz wind generator

In the 60s in the USSR, E. S. Biryukov patented a carousel APU with KIEV 46%. A little later, V. Blinov achieved 58% from the design on the same principle of KIEV, but there is no data on its tests. And full-scale tests of Biryukov’s Armed Forces were carried out by the staff of the Inventor and Rationalizer magazine. A two-story rotor with a diameter of 0.75 m and a height of 2 m, with a fresh wind, spun a 1.2 kW asynchronous generator at full power and withstood 30 m/s without breakage. Drawings of the APU Biryukov are shown in fig.

  1. roof galvanized rotor;
  2. self-aligning double row ball bearing;
  3. shrouds - 5 mm steel cable;
  4. axle shaft - steel pipe with a wall thickness of 1.5-2.5 mm;
  5. aerodynamic speed control levers;
  6. speed control blades - 3-4 mm plywood or sheet plastic;
  7. speed control rods;
  8. speed controller load, its weight determines the speed;
  9. drive pulley - a bicycle wheel without a tire with a chamber;
  10. thrust bearing - thrust bearing;
  11. driven pulley - regular generator pulley;
  12. generator.

Biryukov received several copyright certificates for his APU. First, pay attention to the section of the rotor. When accelerating, it works like a sun, creating a large starting torque. As it spins, a vortex cushion is created in the outer pockets of the blades. From the wind's point of view, the blades become profiled and the rotor turns into a high-speed orthogonal, with the virtual profile changing according to the strength of the wind.

Secondly, the profiled channel between the blades in the operating speed range works as a central body. If the wind increases, then a vortex cushion is also created in it, which goes beyond the rotor. There is the same vortex cocoon as around the APU with a guide vane. The energy for its creation is taken from the wind, and it is no longer enough to break the windmill.

Thirdly, the speed controller is designed primarily for the turbine. He keeps her speed optimal from the point of view of KIEV. And the optimum frequency of rotation of the generator is provided by the choice of the gear ratio of the mechanics.

Note: after publications in the IR for 1965, Biryukov's Armed Forces disappeared into oblivion. The author did not wait for a response from authorities. The fate of many Soviet inventions. They say that some Japanese became a billionaire by regularly reading Soviet popular technical magazines and patenting everything worthy of attention.

Lopatniki

As u said, according to the classics, a horizontal wind turbine with a bladed rotor is the best. But, firstly, he needs a stable, at least medium-strength wind. Secondly, the design for the do-it-yourselfer is fraught with many pitfalls, which is why the fruit of long hard work often illuminates the toilet, hallway or porch at best, or even turns out to be only able to unwind itself.

According to the diagrams in Fig. consider in more detail; positions:

  • Fig. BUT:
  1. rotor blades;
  2. generator;
  3. generator frame;
  4. protective weather vane (hurricane shovel);
  5. current collector;
  6. chassis;
  7. rotary node;
  8. working weather vane;
  9. mast;
  10. clamp for shrouds.
  • Fig. B, top view:
  1. protective weather vane;
  2. working weather vane;
  3. protective wind vane spring tension regulator.
  • Fig. G, current collector:
  1. collector with copper continuous ring tires;
  2. spring-loaded copper-graphite brushes.

Note: hurricane protection for a horizontal blade with a diameter of more than 1 m is absolutely necessary, because. he is not capable of creating a vortex cocoon around himself. With smaller sizes it is possible to achieve a rotor endurance of up to 30 m/s with propylene blades.

So, where are we waiting for "stumbling"?

blades

Expect to achieve power on the generator shaft of more than 150-200 W on blades of any span, cut from thick-walled plastic pipe, as is often advised - the hopes of a hopeless amateur. A blade from a pipe (unless it is so thick that it is used simply as a blank) will have a segmental profile, i.e. its top, or both surfaces will be arcs of a circle.

Segment profiles are suitable for incompressible media, such as hydrofoils or propeller blades. For gases, a blade of variable profile and pitch is needed, for an example, see Fig .; span - 2 m. This will be a complex and time-consuming product that requires painstaking calculations in full theory, blowing in the pipe and field tests.

Generator

When the rotor is mounted directly on its shaft, the standard bearing will soon break - there is no equal load on all the blades in windmills. We need an intermediate shaft with a special support bearing and a mechanical transmission from it to the generator. For large windmills, a self-aligning double-row bearing is taken; in the best models - three-tier, Fig. D in fig. above. This allows the rotor shaft to not only bend slightly, but also move slightly from side to side or up and down.

Note: It took about 30 years to develop a thrust bearing for the EuroWind type APU.

emergency weather vane

The principle of its operation is shown in Fig. B. The wind, intensifying, presses on the shovel, the spring stretches, the rotor warps, its speed drops and in the end it becomes parallel to the flow. Everything seems to be fine, but - it was smooth on paper ...

On a windy day, try to hold the lid of boiled water or a large pot by the handle parallel to the wind. Just be careful - the fidgety piece of iron can hit the physiognomy so that it breaks the nose, cuts the lip, and even knocks out the eye.

Flat wind occurs only in theoretical calculations and, with sufficient accuracy for practice, in wind tunnels. In reality, a hurricane windmills with a hurricane shovel distorts more than completely defenseless ones. Still, it's better to change warped blades than to do everything all over again. In industrial settings, it's a different matter. There, the pitch of the blades, for each individually, monitors and regulates automation under the control of the on-board computer. And they are made from heavy-duty composites, not from water pipes.

current collector

This is a regularly serviced node. Any power engineer knows that the collector with brushes needs to be cleaned, lubricated, adjusted. And the mast is from water pipe. You won’t climb in, once a month or two you will have to throw the whole windmill to the ground and then raise it again. How long will he last from such "prevention"?

Video: bladed wind generator + solar panel for power supply to the dacha

Mini and micro

But as the size of the blade decreases, the difficulty decreases with the square of the wheel diameter. It is already possible to manufacture a horizontal bladed APU on its own for a power of up to 100 W. 6-blade will be optimal. With more blades, the diameter of the rotor, designed for the same power, will be smaller, but it will be difficult to firmly fix them on the hub. Rotors with less than 6 blades can be ignored: a 2-blade 100 W needs a rotor with a diameter of 6.34 m, and a 4-blade of the same power - 4.5 m. For a 6-blade power-diameter relationship is expressed as follows :

  • 10 W - 1.16 m.
  • 20 W - 1.64 m.
  • 30 W - 2 m.
  • 40 W - 2.32 m.
  • 50 W - 2.6 m.
  • 60 W - 2.84 m.
  • 70 W - 3.08 m.
  • 80 W - 3.28 m.
  • 90 W - 3.48 m.
  • 100 W - 3.68 m.
  • 300 W - 6.34 m.

It will be optimal to count on a power of 10-20 watts. Firstly, a plastic blade with a span of more than 0.8 m will not withstand winds of more than 20 m/s without additional protection measures. Secondly, with a blade span of up to the same 0.8 m, the linear speed of its ends will not exceed the wind speed by more than three times, and the requirements for profiling with twist are reduced by orders of magnitude; here the “trough” with a segmented profile from a pipe will already work quite satisfactorily, pos. B in fig. And 10-20 W will provide power to the tablet, recharge the smartphone or light up the housekeeper light bulb.

Next, choose a generator. A Chinese motor is perfect - a wheel hub for electric bicycles, pos. 1 in fig. Its power as a motor is 200-300 watts, but in generator mode it will give up to about 100 watts. But will it fit us in terms of turnover?

The speed factor z for 6 blades is 3. The formula for calculating the speed of rotation under load is N = v / l * z * 60, where N is the speed of rotation, 1 / min, v is the wind speed, and l is the circumference of the rotor. With a blade span of 0.8 m and a wind of 5 m/s, we get 72 rpm; at 20 m/s - 288 rpm. A bicycle wheel also rotates at about the same speed, so we will remove our 10-20 watts from a generator that can give 100. You can put the rotor directly on its shaft.

But here the following problem arises: having spent a lot of work and money, at least for a motor, we got ... a toy! What is 10-20, well, 50 watts? And a bladed windmill that can power at least a TV set cannot be made at home. Is it possible to buy a ready-made mini-wind generator, and will it not cost less? Still as possible, and even as cheaper, see pos. 4 and 5. In addition, it will also be mobile. Put it on a stump - and use it.

The second option is if somewhere a stepper motor is lying around from an old 5- or 8-inch drive, or from a paper drive or carriage of an unusable inkjet or dot matrix printer. It can work as a generator, and attaching a carousel rotor from cans (pos. 6) to it is easier than assembling a structure like that shown in pos. 3.

In general, according to the “blades”, the conclusion is unequivocal: home-made - rather in order to make one's heart's content, but not for real long-term energy efficiency.

Video: the simplest wind generator for dacha lighting

sailboats

The sailing wind generator has been known for a long time, but the soft panels of its blades (see Fig.) began to be made with the advent of high-strength wear-resistant synthetic fabrics and films. Multi-blade windmills with rigid sails are widely distributed around the world as a drive for low-power automatic water pumps, but their technical data is even lower than that of carousels.

However, a soft sail like the wing of a windmill, it seems, was not so simple. It's not a matter of wind resistance (manufacturers do not limit the maximum allowable wind speed): yachtsmen-sailboats already know that it is almost impossible for the wind to break the panel of a Bermuda sail. Rather, the sheet will rip out, or the mast will break, or the whole vessel will make an “overkill turn”. It's about energy.

Unfortunately, exact test data cannot be found. Based on user feedback, it was possible to compile "synthetic" dependencies for the Taganrog-made wind turbine VEU-4.380/220.50 with a wind wheel diameter of 5 m, a wind head weight of 160 kg and a rotation speed of up to 40 1/min; they are shown in Fig.

Of course, there can be no guarantees for 100% reliability, but even so it is clear that there is no smell of a flat-mechanistic model here. In no way can a 5-meter wheel in a flat wind of 3 m / s give about 1 kW, at 7 m / s reach a plateau in power and then keep it until a severe storm. Manufacturers, by the way, declare that the nominal 4 kW can be obtained at 3 m / s, but when installed by them according to the results of local aerology studies.

Quantitative theory is also not found; The developers' explanations are unintelligible. However, since people buy Taganrog wind turbines and they work, it remains to be assumed that the declared conical circulation and propulsion effect are not fiction. In any case, they are possible.

Then, it turns out, BEFORE the rotor, according to the law of conservation of momentum, a conical vortex should also arise, but expanding and slow. And such a funnel will drive the wind to the rotor, its effective surface will turn out to be more swept, and KIEV will be over unity.

Field measurements of the pressure field in front of the rotor, at least with a household aneroid, could shed light on this question. If it turns out to be higher than from the sides to the side, then, indeed, sailing APUs work like a beetle flies.

Homemade generator

From the foregoing, it is clear that it is better for do-it-yourselfers to take on either verticals or sailboats. But both are very slow, and transferring to a high-speed generator is extra work, extra costs and loss. Is it possible to make an efficient low-speed electric generator yourself?

Yes, you can, on niobium alloy magnets, the so-called. supermagnets. The manufacturing process of the main parts is shown in Fig. Coils - each of 55 turns of 1 mm copper wire in heat-resistant high-strength enamel insulation, PEMM, PETV, etc. The height of the windings is 9 mm.

Notice the keyways in the rotor halves. They must be arranged so that the magnets (they are glued to the magnetic circuit with epoxy or acrylic) after assembly converge with opposite poles. "Pancakes" (magnetic circuits) must be made of a magnetically soft ferromagnet; normal structural steel will do. The thickness of the “pancakes” is at least 6 mm.

It's actually better to buy magnets with an axle hole and tighten them with screws; supermagnets are attracted with terrible force. For the same reason, a cylindrical spacer 12 mm high is put on the shaft between the "pancakes".

The windings that make up the stator sections are connected according to the schemes also shown in fig. The soldered ends should not be stretched, but should form loops, otherwise the epoxy, which will be filled with the stator, can break the wires when it hardens.

The stator is cast in the mold to a thickness of 10 mm. It is not necessary to center and balance, the stator does not rotate. The gap between the rotor and the stator is 1 mm on each side. The stator in the generator housing must be securely fixed not only from displacement along the axis, but also from turning; a strong magnetic field with a current in the load will pull it along.

Video: do-it-yourself windmill generator

Output

And what do we have in the end? Interest in "blades" is explained more by their spectacular appearance than by the actual performance in home-made performance and at low power. A self-made carousel APU will provide “standby” power for charging a car battery or powering a small house.

But with sailing APUs, masters with a creative vein should experiment, especially in a mini version, with a wheel of 1-2 m in diameter. If the developers' assumptions are correct, then it will be possible to remove all of its 200-300 watts from this using the Chinese generator engine described above.

Andrey said:

Thank you for your free consultation ... And the prices “from firms” are not really expensive, and I think that craftsmen from the outback will be able to make generators like yours. And Li-po batteries can be ordered from China, inverters in Chelyabinsk are very good (with a smooth sine). And sails, blades or rotors are another reason for the flight of thoughts of our handy Russian men.

Ivan said:

question:
For windmills with a vertical axis (position 1) and the “Lenz” version, it is possible to add an additional detail - an impeller that is exposed to the wind and covers the useless side from it (going towards the wind). That is, the wind will not slow down the blade, but this “screen”. Setting downwind with a “tail” located behind the windmill itself below and above the blades (ridges). I read the article and an idea was born.

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The wind generator is mechanical device designed to generate (generate) electric current. The wind flow rotates the impeller, interacting with its blades. The rotation is transmitted to the generator, which begins to generate electricity. Such. In practice, everything is much more complicated, since there are a lot of technical and operational difficulties, but in general, the capabilities of these devices are greatly underestimated.

Russia is considered an energy surplus country with a large number of powerful power plants, but, nevertheless, there are areas where there is still no network electricity. The use of wind energy to generate energy for such areas is a good alternative to solve the issue, if not completely, then to a sufficient extent.

The amount of energy received is directly proportional to the power of the generator and the speed of rotation of the windmill, which in theory allows using several devices to obtain the required amount of electricity. Practice does not yet sufficiently illustrate the situation, since today there are not enough generators to collect statistical data. Therefore, for the time being, we have to be content with calculated data, which in most cases are confirmed in practice.

There are two main types of wind turbines:

  • . They are considered the most effective greater efficiency and give good results when using
  • . These devices are less efficient, but have a number of specific qualities that make them no less in demand among similar units.

Types of wind turbines with a vertical axis of rotation

A vertical wind generator is a device whose axis of rotation is perpendicular to the direction of the wind flow and oriented in the vertical direction. The longitudinal axes of the blades are parallel to the axis of rotation.

If horizontal generators appearance resemble a propeller, then the vertical ones are closer to the centrifugal fan drum, installed vertically and equipped with a small number of blades (usually there are 2 of them, but there are other options). This arrangement allows the blades to equally respond to wind currents from either side without the need to orient the axis of rotation in the opposite direction to the air movement.

Exist different kinds vertical wind turbines. The difference between them lies only in the type of rotating part - the rotor, since the design of the fixed stator has no fundamental changes. Known species are:

  • orthogonal rotor. Its blades are located tangentially to the circle of rotation and have a section similar to that of an aircraft wing. Able to begin to rotate even with a relatively weak wind, increasing speed due to rarefaction of air above the surface of the blades and compaction under it (the occurrence of lift). It does not have a high windage of the blades, which allows you to stabilize the rotation speed and eliminate sudden changes in dynamics that can damage the bearings
  • . Represents two blades bent in the form of halves of a pipe. With a large area, balancing of the forces acting on the blades does not occur, since the flow acting on the inner part of the blade is reflected from its bend and partially enters the bend of the second blade, increasing its rotation. The reverse side breaks the flow into equal parts, one of which flows around the bend and hits the working part, increasing the torque, and the other goes to the side. The efficiency of such a rotor is low, only 15%, but in terms of the combination of characteristics, it is quite worthy of attention.
  • Rotor Daria. This is one of the variants of the orthogonal design. It has a cable-stayed type of blades, the ends of which are attached to the rotation shaft, and the central parts, smoothly curving, move away from the shaft in such a way that, when viewed from the side, the blades form an oval or circle with their outlines. The rotor has low power, high noise and vibration levels, which makes it demanding for constant monitoring and maintenance.
  • helical rotor. The design has blades of complex shape, twisted around a vertical axis. This allows you to stabilize the speed of rotation and eliminate the noise generated by the blades during rotation. Uniformity of work makes the design more convenient, providing a smooth result in different rotation modes. For self-manufacturing, this design option is the most difficult, but, in general, available.
  • multi-bladed rotor. It has several blades, which allows you to get a smooth and powerful rotation of the rotor with a relatively weak wind pressure. Typically, several narrow strips are used at some distance from the rotation shaft, transferring the flow with increasing speed and density to the second row of blades located inside the first. There are also options with two levels (a pair of blades, and under it - another with a turn of 90 °. All design options have good performance characteristics, which makes this design one of the most promising.

There are designs that provide protection from the balancing flow pressure on the underside of the wing. A shield is made according to the shape of a part of a circle, covering the area with the reverse side of the blades from the wind in such a way that the wind affects only the working side. To point the rotor to the wind, i.e. turning the system when changing the direction of the flow, a weather vane-type device is made that turns the protection in the right direction downwind.

The effectiveness of all these types is approximately the same. There is also no fundamental difference in the characteristics, the main differences lie in the field of noise reduction, reduction of shaft loads, alignment of rotation modes.

Advantages and disadvantages of vertical axis wind turbines

Vertical wind generator- a design that is successful for creating with your own hands. With all the variety of execution options, many of them still do not have a mathematical model of rotation, which does not allow creating a correct calculation method. At the same time, this situation contributes to the active development of modeling of all types of wind turbines and the development of their technical parameters.

The main advantages of vertical axis wind turbines are considered to be:

  • simplicity of design, the ability to manufacture almost any type with your own hands
  • stability, stability of operating modes, caused by the ability to equally respond to wind flows of any direction
  • there is no need for a mechanism for pointing the axis of rotation to the flow, without which generators with horizontal rotation cannot function
  • in order to make a vertical wind generator with your own hands, a relatively small investment of money, time and labor is required. The main expense item is the generator itself, and the rotating parts can be made literally from improvised means

Disadvantages of a vertical wind generator are considered:

  • work efficiency is lower than that of horizontal structures
  • during operation, the devices emit noise that is difficult to eliminate, since it occurs due to the contact of the air flow and the material of the blade
  • a high level of vibrations and sudden changes in rotation modes create a strong load on the bearings, contributing to the rapid failure of moving parts and assemblies
  • more materials are required to create a vertical generator than horizontal samples

Location of the wind generator

To mount the wind generator, you will need an open area that does not have obstacles nearby that can close the device from wind currents. above ground level can be relatively small, about 3 meters. It is noteworthy that from the point of view of the effectiveness of the contact of the blades with the wind, raising the device to a great height has little effect on the increase in the performance of the generator, since raising the rotor to a considerable height is unrealistic, and changes of 2-3 meters do not bring any significant benefits.

At the same time, it is necessary to remember about the length of the cable and its resistance. A long length will cause a voltage drop and require significant expenses for an expensive cable, so it is not recommended to make it too far from the house, just like bringing the windmill too close. Vibrations and noise from a rotating rotor will be very annoying to the inhabitants of the house, cause sleep disturbances and require a change in the installation location of the device.

How to make a vertical type wind generator yourself

Independent wind turbine manufacturing quite possible, although not as simple as it might seem at first glance. You will need to either assemble the entire set of equipment, which is very difficult, or purchase some of its elements, which is quite expensive. The kit may include:

  • wind generator
  • inverter
  • battery pack
  • wires, cables, accessories

The best option would be the partial purchase of finished equipment, partial do-it-yourself manufacturing. The fact is that the prices for nodes and elements are very high, not accessible to everyone. In addition, the high one-time investment makes one wonder if these funds could be spent in a more efficient way.

The system works like this:

  • the windmill rotates and transmits torque to the generator
  • an electric current is generated that charges the battery
  • The battery is connected to an inverter that converts D.C. at 220V 50Hz AC.

Assembly usually starts with a generator. The most successful option is to assemble a 3-phase design on neodymium magnets, which allows you to generate the appropriate current.

Rotating parts are made on the basis of one of the most accessible systems for recreating with your own hands. from pipe sections, metal barrels sawn in half or sheet metal bent in a certain way.

The mast is welded on the ground and installed in a vertical position already finished. As an option, it is made of wood immediately at the installation site of the generator. For a solid and reliable installation, a foundation should be made for the supports and the mast should be fixed with anchors. At a high height, it should be additionally secured with stretch marks.

All components and parts of the system require adjustment to each other in terms of power, performance settings. It is impossible to say in advance, since too many unknown parameters will not allow us to calculate the characteristics of the system. At the same time, if you initially lay the system under a certain power, then the output is always fairly close values. The main requirement is the strength and accuracy of the manufacture of nodes so that the operation of the generator is sufficiently stable and reliable.

Recently, there has been a rapid increase in the popularity of alternative energy sources. The use of wind is one of the most popular areas in the energy sector, so many people are thinking about buying a vertical wind generator for their home. Craftsmen are trying to build such an installation with their own hands, which is quite realistic.

general information

The task of a modern vertical windmill is to convert the force of the wind into electrical energy. The first prototypes of such an invention appeared a very long time ago, but in those days people did not attach such importance to them as they do now. As for modern installations, they are characterized by a lot of advantages and provide a stable supply of electricity, which is quite enough for domestic needs. In some European countries, the share of consumed energy resources generated by wind farms is 25%. Denmark is among them.

Vertical wind turbines are superior in some parameters to the classical horizontal types, due to the specific design and principle of operation. They, unlike models with a horizontal axis, have practically no nodes and mechanisms that are guided by the wind flow. Due to this feature, any hydroscopic loads are significantly reduced, and the structure assumes an arbitrary position, regardless of the direction of the wind flow. At the same time, such windmills have more simple execution, which allows you to build them at home.

Among the key varieties of installations with a vertical axis of rotation are:

  • orthogonal design;
  • Darier mechanism;
  • Savonius mechanism;
  • windmill with helicoid design.

Main advantages

The main advantage of a vertical windmill is its ability to operate at low altitude, giving a high level of efficiency. And although the horizontal wind generator is more productive, the vertical one does not have to use complex mechanisms or expensive equipment during the maintenance of the system, while the design has high reliability and a long service life.

Due to the special profile of the blades and the specific shape of the rotor, the unit provides the best performance indicators that do not change depending on the wind movement. Compact household models are equipped with three (or more) rotating elements that can instantly capture a gust of wind and begin the process of converting it into electrical energy. They operate with a wind force of 1.5 m/s, which significantly increases their efficiency and efficiency.

During operation, the installation does not make noise or sound characteristic of large windmills, which is considered an indisputable plus. It also does not emit harmful substances into the atmosphere, does not need frequent maintenance and continues to supply high-quality energy to the premises for a long period of time. If you make a list of the advantages of vertical wind turbines, then it will consist of the following items:

  1. Maximum environmental friendliness.
  2. Ability to work without additional fuel.
  3. Profitability.
  4. No complicated and frequent maintenance.
  5. Work on the basis of inexhaustible energy.

If the windmill is designed correctly, then it can turn a private building into an autonomous facility for the production of electricity, becoming an additional source of income. However, in addition to the advantages of such units, there are also disadvantages:

  1. High cost. Factory models from foreign brands are quite expensive, but Russian-made vertical axis wind turbines are quite affordable.
  2. Decent noise level. Such a minus is present in large industrial windmills, since domestic developments are almost silent.
  3. Unstable power.

The last feature of windmills is considered the most significant, but experts get rid of it by installing several batteries. It is also important to note that the performance of a wind farm can be affected by weather conditions, which are often unpredictable. The advantages of such an energy generator are much greater than the disadvantages, so the question of installing it in a private house is becoming more and more relevant.

Working principle and classification

The operation of a vertical windmill is based on the principle of magnetic levitation. When the turbines rotate, impulse and lift forces are generated, as well as the actual braking force. Due to the first two, the blades of the installation begin to move, which causes the activation of the rotor and leads to the creation of a magnetic field. The system works autonomously and does not require the participation of the owner.

In spite of general principle work, wind-catchers may differ in their design. And although this practically does not affect efficiency and productivity, it helps to find best option for specific tasks in a specific area.

If we talk about orthogonal systems, then they are built on the basis of a strong axis of vertical rotation and several blades that are located at a distance from the center base. The system does not require the installation of additional guide units and fully works in any wind. The vertical arrangement of the main shaft allows the drive to be installed at ground level, and this greatly simplifies further operation or repair work.

The only weak spot in orthogonal generators is the reference nodes. They have a not very long service life, which is explained by the need to work under high loads that the rotor has. To prevent rapid damage to the system, the support parts must be serviced in time, replacing failed elements with new ones.

Among the disadvantages of devices of this type, the impressive weight of the blades is distinguished, as well as a lower efficiency indicator compared to horizontal-axis devices. But for domestic purposes, such wind turbines are enough. They do their jobs in the best possible way.

Models with Darrieus and Savonius rotor

The devices based on the Darrieus rotor are equipped with a vertical axis of rotation and two or three flat blade systems that do not have a characteristic aerodynamic profile and are located at the base and at the top. The principle of operation of the installation is based on the strength or direction of the wind. The advantages of such a windmill include:

  1. Maximum rotation speed.
  2. Possibility of mounting the drive system directly on the ground.
  3. Ease of inspection and maintenance.

Models with two blades interact with the wind only with strong gusts. If the wind flow is not intense enough or evenly incoming, they remain motionless. Among the shortcomings of windmills with a Daria generator, vulnerability to dynamic loads and a relatively low efficiency indicator are distinguished.

As for wind devices equipped with a Savonius rotor, they have semi-cylindrical blades and provide high torque even when the wind is not strong enough. The maximum power of wind turbines of this type reaches 5 kW, so they are practically not used as an independent workstation. Instead, the instruments began to be used as a tool for overclocking Darrieus rotary models. Due to significant shortcomings, the mass production of such equipment is considered unjustified.

Other types

Windmills equipped with a multi-bladed rotor are a qualitative upgrade of classic orthogonal models. Their work is based on a rotary complex of several blades placed in two rows. The outer tier is static and acts as a guiding mechanism, capturing the wind flow and compressing it. Due to this technology, the actual wind speed increases significantly.

The second tier consists of movable elements that perceive the air flow from the outer blades at a certain angle. This configuration makes the device highly productive and significantly increases its efficiency. But systems with a multi-blade rotor are not cheap, so average consumers stop at simpler and more affordable solutions. However, energy experts claim that this installation demonstrates the best efficiency in its class and can operate even with a slight wind flow.

Also on the market are widespread helicoid wind turbines, which are an improved version of orthogonal devices. In these devices, the blades are twisted in an arc, which ensures effective trapping of the wind flow and stable rotation. The use of advanced rotation technology reduces the dynamic load on the main working elements, which has a positive effect on the service life of the installation.

Devices with a helicoid rotor have maximum reliability and are able to cope with heavy loads. But during operation, they can make noise and additional sound waves.

Unfortunately, this type of windmills has not gained wide popularity due to the high cost. This is explained by the fact that the production of helicoid devices is a very laborious and lengthy process, which involves the use of complex technology.

Vertical axis devices

As for vertical-axis generators, they differ from the previous types in the location of the blade system. In a vertical configuration, it resembles an aircraft wing with an axis parallel to the vertical shaft. In terms of its design features, the invention is slightly similar to the Darrieus rotor, but it has a lot of advantages and unique features.

This generator works much faster than other models, so its efficiency is noticeably higher. In a short period of time, the installation produces the required energy resource and meets the needs of consumers in energy consumption.

Also, the advantages of the system include maximum reliability and durability, the ability to cope with impressive loads and relative cheapness. Due to these characteristics, vertical-axis generators are very popular and are market leaders.

DIY manufacturing

Even the most simple models wind turbines are quite expensive, so not everyone can afford to buy such a device. Because of this, craftsmen and talented inventors began to make productive mechanisms with their own hands.

It is not difficult to make a vertical-axis wind generator. To do this, you need to find suitable accessories, draw up drawings and follow the instructions. With minimal gusts of wind, such a windmill will start working, delighting its owners with affordable and high-quality electricity. To create a future generator, you need to prepare:

  • rotor - movable unit;
  • paddle system;
  • axle mast;
  • stator;
  • batteries;
  • inverter;
  • controller.

At self-manufacturing blades, it is recommended to use lightweight plastic, which has good elasticity. The rest of the raw materials are afraid of all sorts of influences and are quickly deformed, so it is better to dwell on plastic structures.

Before proceeding with production, it must be taken into account that such a device is not powerful enough and is significantly inferior to factory samples in terms of performance. In order not to be disappointed in a home-made design, it is better to make it 2 times more powerful in advance than mentioned in the instructions.

Without a doubt, the wind generator is one of the most useful inventions of our century. And it is not necessary to be an oligarch to acquire such a system, because with minimal effort you can make it yourself.

The windmill that is thought of most often and in the first place is a wind generator in the form of a propeller. Many do not even suspect that there are some others. In fact, wind generators are of another type. Some resemble a rotating column, others - a chain carousel like in an amusement park. Only in place of the chains are vertically arranged blades. Such wind generators are called vertical. Why vertical? - Because the axis of the rotating generator looks up, that is, it is located vertically.

What was the purpose of the vertical wind turbine

Wind turbines with a vertical axis of rotation have a more complex design. After all, vertically mounted blades must be held in this position, and securely kept at a distance from the axis of rotation. Why, then, developed and implemented such a unit?

The main ideas, according to which the vetric axial wind generator was created, were the following. The first is that since the vertical blades do not care which side the wind blows on them, the entire structure does not need to be turned to the wind as a weather vane does. Due to this, the windmill does not need to adapt to the changing direction of the wind, during which part of the energy is lost.

The second is low-speed, and, consequently, low-noise installation. Since high speeds are not allowed here, the noise from rotating parts is noticeably lower. This means that such a windmill can be installed without any fear in the city and residential areas.

The third idea is the greater resistance of the vertical wind generator to storm winds. This is also facilitated by the top effect, which makes it difficult for the rotor to deviate from the axis of rotation. And the fact that the blades are constantly moving away from the wind. And in the inhibited state, the plane of the frontal collision of the blades with the wind is lower than that of the horizontal.

Technical features of the latest rotary wind turbines

First of all, we note that rotary orthogonal wind generators are most widely used and mass-produced. Its appearance is shown in the photo.

The following innovations have been implemented in the latest models of installations. First of all, it is a three-tiered rotor. The blades of such a rotor have become lighter, their fastening is more reliable and they are more evenly distributed along the radius.

Another innovation is the frame design of the windmill. Here, the bottom and top of the rotor are supported. Accordingly, its rotation is more even and it is more reliable. The frame allows you to install vertical wind turbines, even without a mast, simply on a flat surface or even the ground. And, when fixed on a stand, it is especially good for mounting on flat roof. Solar panels can also be mounted on the stand.

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