Turbosail

Turbosail

A turbosail is a naval propulsion system invented by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and used on the "Alcyone". It consists of an airfoil, vertical and grossly ovoidal tube, with a mobile flap which improves the separation between the intrados and extrados. An aspiration system pulls air into the tubes, and is used to create an important depression on one side of the sail; propulsion occurs perpendicularly to the pressure. In this way, the "sails" act as wings, with air moving slower on one side, creating drag. Standard engines can then be used in conjunction with the turbosails. These in turn can be coordinated with computers to control the angles, suction power, and rotation of the sails.

The efficiency of the system is not well documented. When the Alcyone was launched in 1985, it was suggested that tankers and other large vessels would soon install turbosails as a mean to decrease fuel consumption. [Crisafulli, Tricia. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3MKT/is_v93/ai_3828115 "Turbosail" propulsion system to be placed on French ship] . "American Metal Market", 24 June 1985.] The system was intended to power the "Calypso II", which has yet to be built.

The Alcyone reported a 1/3 fuel savings, and a larger commercial vessel had a 15% increase in fuel efficiency over a three year study (see "external links" for references).

The system bears similarities with Anton Flettner's "Rotorschiff", a different design based on the Magnus effect.

References

External links

* [http://www.cousteau.org/en/downloadfiles/alcyone_and_turbosail.pdf Description of Turbosail]
* [http://www.limsi.fr/RS2005/meca/aero/aero11/index.html Aerodynamic simulation article describing the functioning of the turbosail]
* [http://www.cousteau.org Cousteau Society]
* [http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?IDX=US4630997&CY=gb&LG=en&DB=EPODOC Turbosail Patent]


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