Turbosail
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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 is used to create an important depression on one of the sides of the sail ; propulsion occurres perpendicularly to the pressure gradient.
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[1]. The system was intended to power the Calypso II, which was never built.
The system bears similarities with Anton Flettner's Rottorschiff, a different design based on the Magnus effect.
[edit] References and notes
- ^ "Turbosail" propulsion system to be placed on French ship, American Metal Market, 24 June 24 1985, by Tricia Crisafulli
