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14th May 2021, 10:56 PM
#1
Ships and wind turbines
So how daft does this sound. We have wind farms all over the place now. So how about putting wind turbines on say VLCC's or gearless Bulk Carriers, basically flat decked ships more or less.
My reasoning is the wind turbines power the ship. These things can track the wind direction yes? The vanes can be feathered yes? So when the vessel arrives in or leaves port you utilise what we will call the prime mover and feather the wind turbine vanes. The engine/s are diesels driving an electric motor propulsion unit/s. While at sea the wind turbines are coupled to the electric motor drive and the diesels are shut down. The forward motion of the ship should be sufficient enough to turn the wind turbines? Thereby supplying electricity to the power unit to drive the propeller. Speed is controlled by feathering the vanes? Any thoughts, Could this be classed as a perpetual machine.
Or I suppose we could just invent a thing called a sailing ship!!!
Last edited by Lewis McColl; 14th May 2021 at 10:59 PM.
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15th May 2021, 06:15 AM
#2
Re: Ships and wind turbines
Lewis not three kilometers from where we live there was a guy, owned the local funeral parlor, who invented a wind turbine that was very different.
It did not require the large wings of the ones now, rather something resembling a desk fan of sorts.
Would turn to meet the wind and run on very low winds speeds.
One would power a house for most of the day, sole 40 to one factory near the air port.
Saw him a few years ago and asked how they were going.
Going was the word, or rather gone.
Tried to sell them to various state govs with no luck, told they would interfere with the states power supply, more than likely the power companies income.
But he did sell it, the patent to China with love.
Happy daze John in Oz.
Life is too short to blend in.
John Strange R737787
World Traveller
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