Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1
The direct
current (DC) produced by the dynamo was used for electrolysis,
splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen. These gasses were
stored and from 1895 used to light up the school. La Cour also used
the gasses for autogenous welding and made experiments with
the use of hydrogen in a gas engine. In 1897, la Cour had got funding
for a new bigger experimental windmill. He had at that time been
contacted by the other wind power pioneer Christian Sørensen,
who was keen to prove the superiority of his patented conical rotor
by wind tunnel tests. Sørensen also delivered the 6-bladed rotor for
the new big windmill and during the following years, la Cour made
systematic wind tunnel tests of diferent blades and rotor types,
getting deeper knowledge of the basic aerodynamic laws [4].
La Cour used the windmill for electricity production.
Figure 3.4
The laboratory windmills in 1900. The big windmill now has
an ordinary 4-blade rotor. On the right is the original small
windmill from 1891—now equipped with adjustable vanes
(Photo: The Poul la Cour Museum).
One of the results of these experiments was that though
Sørensen's conical rotor was superior to more traditional blade types,
even higher efficiencies could be obtained by a carefully designed
1
For more information about la Cour, see chapter
The Aerodynamic Research on
Windmill Sails of Poul la Cour, 1896-1900
by
Povl-Otto Nissen.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search