turbosail

The soldering that held the Turbosail in place gave way and the prototype fell into the sea.

The system consisted of a single turbosail mast, painted a navy blue.

There have been only two turbosail equipped vessels on which active research has been performed.

The Turbosail is a naval propulsion system based on an application of the Magnus effect.

It was created as an expedition ship and to test the operation of a new kind of marine propulsion system, the turbosail.

While the turbosail did generate thrust and power, they were less than those of the sails and generator set which it replaced.

As a result of this design, the turbosail provides a reaction force, a component of which, thrust, is available for the direction of travel.

When the Alcyone was launched in 1985, it benefited from the development of the original turbosail Moulin a Vent.

Alcyone for Cousteau's experimental turbosail ship.

With an interest in expanding adoption of the turbosail, it was suggested that tankers and other large vessels would soon install turbosails as a mean to decrease fuel consumption.

Structural problems on the prototype turbosail resulted in buckling of structure, as well as mechanical sheer fatigue cracks at the base of the sail, reducing the effectiveness of the sail quite dramatically.

The Alcyone thus traveled around the world, gaining data about the turbosail's performance in varying wind and weather conditions - in all cases proving the concept and finding the propulsive potential to be very good.

When compared to the thrust coefficient of the best sails ever built (Marconi or square types, i.e. ships of the America's Cup or the Japanese wind propulsion system) that of the Turbosail is claimed to be 3.5 to 4 times superior.