Configuration A
Spiral rotor in a conical collector
The full combination of a conical collector and an Archimedes-inspired rotor.
Technology
An inverted cone, a spiral rotor and a fair test.
The design and the test plan are being developed together, so every claim made later can be traced back to a measurement.
The concept
How the air moves
- 1
Collect
Wind enters the wide top of a stationary inverted cone.
- 2
Guide
The cone directs the airflow inward and down toward a central throat.
- 3
Convert
A spiral rotor on a vertical shaft turns in that downward flow.
- 4
Generate
The shaft drives a protected generator below the rotor.
This is a proposed arrangement. Rotor orientation, bearings, supports, generator coupling and safe shutdown are all still being evaluated.
The comparison
Three configurations, one honest baseline.
Configuration B
Conventional rotor with spiral guide vanes
Keeps the spiral as a flow-guidance element and uses a conventional rotor to extract the energy.
Configuration C
Unshrouded baseline rotor
A rotor of comparable swept area with no cone. This is the reference the others have to beat.
The prototype
Engineering basis
A preliminary basis. Only the outer diameter is fixed. Every other dimension stays a design variable until aerodynamic and structural analysis is complete.
- Maximum outer diameter
- 2.44 m / 8 ft
- Design wind speed
- To be selected from site wind and the applicable standard
- Rotor geometry
- To be finalized through CAD and CFD comparison
- Generator
- Interchangeable test generator; rating to be determined
- Structural frame
- Welded or bolted steel, sized by the engineer
- Instrumentation
- Anemometer, wind vane, RPM, torque, electrical power, vibration, temperature
- Safety
- Guarding, overspeed brake, emergency stop, lockout and exclusion zone
- Deliverables
- 3D CAD, assembly drawings, bill of materials, control schematic, test protocol
Construction plan
From drawing to design freeze
- Stage A
Engineering
Parametric CAD; projected area, wind loads, rotor stresses, tip speed and bearing loads; preliminary CFD; brake and overspeed protection design.
- Stage B
Fabrication
Reviewed fabrication drawings; sourcing of steel, aluminum, shaft, bearings, guards, generator, controls and sensors; weld inspection.
- Stage C
Controlled testing
Drivetrain bench test, then instrumented outdoor testing across wind-speed bins with calibrated sensors and an independent baseline.
- Stage D
Design freeze
Review of noise, vibration, fatigue, storm survival, service access and the measured power curve before choosing a commercial configuration.
The physics
P = ½ · ρ · A · v³
Available wind power depends on air density (ρ), capture area (A) and the cube of wind speed (v). Double the wind speed and the available power rises eightfold.
Electrical output is always lower. The Betz limit also applies to an ideal unshrouded rotor, so any shrouded result has to define its effective capture area carefully.
Before commercial deployment
- Prior-art and freedom-to-operate search
- Professional engineering review
- Applicable electrical and structural approvals
- Advice on the certification pathway