35
40
The following table gives the result of tests carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture at Cheyenne, Wyo., with a l4 ft diameter windmill under differing wind velocities:—
TABLE No. 15.
POWER or l4-rx WINDMILL IN VARYING WINDS.
Velocity of Wind (miles per hour).
0—5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35
It will be apparent from the foregoing figures that practically the whole of the pumping for a small sewerage works may be done by means of a windmill, but it is undesirable to rely entirely upon such a system, even if two mills are erected so that the plant will be in duplicate, because there is always the possibility, although it may be remote, of a lengthened period of calm, when the sewage would accumulate; and, further, the Local Government Board would not approve the scheme unless it included an engine, driven by gas, oil, or other mechanical power, for emergencies. In the case of water supply the difficulty may be overcome by providing large storage capacity, but this cannot be done for sewage without creating an intolerable nuisance. In the latter case the storage should not be less than twelve hours dry weather flow, nor more than twenty-four. With a well-designed mill, as has already been indicated, the wind will, for the greater part of the year, be sufficient to lift the whole of the sewage and storm-water, but, if it is allowed to do so, the standby engine will deteriorate for want of use to such an extent that when urgently needed it will not be effective. It is, therefore, desirable that the attendant should run the engine at least once in every three days to keep it in working order. If it can be conveniently arranged, it is a good plan for the attendant to run the engine for a few minutes to entirely empty the pump well about six o'clock each evening. The bulk of the day's sewage will then have been delivered, and can be disposed of when it is fresh, while at the same time the whole storage capacity is available for the night flow, and any rainfall which may occur, thus reducing the chances of the man being called up during the night. About 22 per cent, of the total daily dry weather flow of sewage is delivered between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The first cost of installing a small windmill is practically the same as for an equivalent gas or oil engine plant, so that the only advantage to be looked for will be in the maintenance, which in the case of a windmill is a very small matter, and the saving which may be obtained by the reduction of the amount of attendance necessary. Generally speaking, a mill 20 ft in diameter is the largest which should be used, as when this size is exceeded it will be found that the capital cost involved is incompatible with the value of the work done by the mill, as compared with that done by a modern internal combustion engine.
Mills smaller than 8 ft in diameter are rarely employed, and then only for small work, such as a 2 1/2 in pump and a 3-ft lift The efficiency of a windmill, measured by the number of square feet of annular sail area, decreases with the size of the mill, the 8 ft, 10 ft, and l2 ft mills being the most efficient sizes. When the diameter exceeds l2 ft, the efficiency rapidly falls off, because the peripheral velocity remains constant for any particular velocity or pressure of the wind, and as every foot increase in the diameter of the wheel makes an increase of over 3 ft in the length of the circumference, the greater the diameter the less the number of revolutions in any given time; and consequently the kinetic flywheel action which is so valuable in the smaller sizes is to a great extent lost in the larger mills.