Darrieus vertical-axis wind turbine
Turbina eólica de eje vertical de Darrieus
- Date
- 1926-1931 · confidence high
- Place
- Paris, Île-de-France, France
- Credited to
- Georges Jean Marie Darrieus
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
A vertical-axis wind turbine whose curved blades act as airfoils generating lift as they spin. It is a high-efficiency turbine that does not need to point into the wind.
He filed the patent in France in 1926 and in the US in 1931; it was not commercialised until rediscovered in the 1970s.
What it led to
- vertical-axis turbines of the 1970s-80s (Sandia, Éole)
- turbines for urban and turbulent environments
- aerodynamic research