Norsepower has big plans to bring wind power back to the shipping industry, with an assist from the Magnus effect to save fuel and maximize energy efficiency.The firm Norsepower Oy Ltd has been trying to bring wind power back to the maritime shipping industry, in the form of sails that look like oversized smokestacks. The idea hasn’t quite caught on like hotcakes, but that could change in short order.
If you’re wondering how it works, that’s a good question. Norsepower’s pipe-shaped Rotor Sail takes advantage of something called the Magnus effect, which refers to the pressure difference created when an object moves through air. Students of soccer may recognize this phenomenon as the thing that makes an expertly kicked ball bend around the legs of the opposing team like magic. It also occurs in baseball, tennis, ping-pong and just about any other sport in which a ball travels through air.“When wind meets the spinning Rotor Sail, the air flow accelerates on one side of the Rotor Sail and decelerates on the opposite side of the Rotor Sail.
Norsepower notes that the inner workings are based on the Flettner Rotor, a technology attributed to the early 20th century Finnish engineer Sigurd Savonius. Anton Flettner took charge of the name after demonstrating the device during an Atlantic crossing back in 1926.rotor sails are powered by small motors
that are located within the hull, while the rotors themselves project vertically upwards for propulsion. As they rotate, the Magnus effect comes into play, and a horizontal thrust is generated to the aft [that’s the rear] of the vessel. The main source of energy is the motors that power the rotors, while the output is provided by the relative motion of the surrounding air.
This looks like similar tech…
When you re discover technology after 100 years of cheap oil.