Engineering Analysis
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. This figure is the result of research on the Alcyone.
The efficiency of the system has however not been subjected to sufficient comparative engineering research. There have been only two turbosail equipped vessels on which active research has been performed. The Cousteau group is the only organisation with a large body of data available on turbosails.
The Cousteau foundation reported a 1/3 fuel savings, and a larger commercial vessel had a 15% increase in fuel efficiency over a three year study.
The system bears similarities with Anton Flettner's Rotorschiff, a different design based on the Magnus effect.
Read more about this topic: Turbosail, Technical Design
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