Turbine

Abstract

A fluid turbine for extraction of power from a moving fluid, and that is particularly suitable for use as a wind turbine. The fluid turbine includes, for example, a rotor mounted to a support structure for rotation about a horizontal axis, the rotor having multiple blades extending forwardly and outwardly from a hub, and may include a ring fairing secured to the blades at their outer ends and rotatable with the blades about the axis. The ring fairing may be cocentric with the axis of rotation and may have, at at least one peripheral location thereon, a radial cross-section shaped to develop in operation a circulatory flow about the cross section in such a direction as to increase the velocity of fluid flow between the ring fairing and said hub. In one preferred embodiment of the turbine, the ring fairing cross-sectional shape is an airfoil-section, with a chamber line that is concave outward and forward. Alternatively, the ring faking cross-sectional shape is arcuate, being concave outward and forward. The combination of the ring fairing as disclosed and the forwardly and outwardly directed blades is found to be surprisingly effective.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.