A study was undertaken to design a 40-ft diameter wind turbine employing the UTRC/ERDA Self-Regulating Composite Bearingless Rotor (CBR) concept. The CBR concept was developed at United Technologies for rotary wing applications and is now in use on Sikorsky helicopters. The concept was further developed for wind turbine applications at UTRC under an ERDA contract in 1975-76. Successful wind tunnel tests were conducted during that contract, which demonstrated the self-starting and self-regulating features. The latest contract was to design a 40-ft system in the 5 kW - 15 kW power range. This effort included performance tradeoff studies, stress analyses of the blade and tower structure, a stability investigation, and engineering drawings of the complete system. However an overall cost analysis was not performed in this study.
United Technologies Research Center, East Hartford, CT (USA)
Design Methods, Tools & Standards
Technology Development
Blades & Rotors
Technical Report
Spierings, P.A.M.; Cheney, M.C.