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RESEARCH
TOPICS
IN WIND
ENERGY 4

Jens Nørkær Sørensen

General
Momentum
Theory for
Horizontal Axis
Wind Turbines
123
Research Topics in Wind Energy

Volume 4

Series editor
Joachim Peinke, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
e-mail: peinke@uni-oldenburg.de
About this Series

The series Research Topics in Wind Energy publishes new developments and
advances in the fields of Wind Energy Research and Technology, rapidly and
informally but with a high quality. Wind Energy is a new emerging research field
characterized by a high degree of interdisciplinarity. The intent is to cover all the
technical contents, applications, and multidisciplinary aspects of Wind Energy,
embedded in the fields of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Physics,
Turbulence, Energy Technology, Control, Meteorology and Long-Term Wind
Forecasts, Wind Turbine Technology, System Integration and Energy Economics,
as well as the methodologies behind them. Within the scope of the series are
monographs, lecture notes, selected contributions from specialized conferences and
workshops, as well as selected PhD theses. Of particular value to both the
contributors and the readership are the short publication timeframe and the
worldwide distribution, which enable both wide and rapid dissemination of research
output. The series is promoted under the auspices of the European Academy of
Wind Energy.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11859


Jens Nørkær Sørensen

General Momentum Theory


for Horizontal Axis Wind
Turbines

123
Jens Nørkær Sørensen
Department of Wind Energy
Technical University of Denmark
Lyngby
Denmark

ISSN 2196-7806 ISSN 2196-7814 (electronic)


Research Topics in Wind Energy
ISBN 978-3-319-22113-7 ISBN 978-3-319-22114-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-22114-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015945129

Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London


© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
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Printed on acid-free paper

Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media


(www.springer.com)
Preface

The aerodynamic research of rotors has contributed significantly to the successful


development of the modern wind turbine. Probably, the most important contribution
to wind turbine aerodynamics is due to Glauert (1935), who collected all available
work on aerodynamics in a single textbook. In this book, the main ingredients of the
Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory was formulated, which include the
general momentum theory, the blade element approach, and the tip correction.
Today, the aerodynamic research on wind turbines is highly specialized and forms
one of the knowledge frontiers of modern engineering science, including scientific
disciplines such as turbulence theory, control theory and sophisticated numerical
techniques. In spite of this, most practical designs of wind turbines still rely on the
‘classical’ BEM theory and the various extensions that have been introduced in
order to extend the applicability of the basic technique. There is therefore still a
need for validating and challenging the basic approach forming the BEM technique.
The aim of this book is to reconsider the basic approaches behind the BEM
method and in particular to assess and validate the equations forming the general
momentum theory. Although this theory is relatively simple, there are numerous
examples in the literature on misinterpretations and even wrong statements derived
from the theory. The main reason for the problems associated with the interpretation
of the theory is that it contains more unknowns than equations, and it therefore is
required to introduce various simplifications to establish a closed set of equations.
In the original work of Glauert (1935), these simplifications were postulated
without any further justification, simply because it was not possible to assess their
validity. However, with the use of numerical fluid mechanics (CFD) it is today
possible to validate the influence of the various terms and, in particular, to assess
the impact on the loading and performance when neglecting some of them. Part
of the present book concerns the validation, using CFD, of the different terms in the
equations forming the momentum theory. Other parts concern new ideas for
extending the theory and for enhancing the accuracy of the BEM approach. The
book contains new as well as already published material, but in all cases the author
has strived to put the material into a new and more consistent context than what is
usually found in textbooks.

v
vi Preface

The book is primarily intended for researchers and experienced students with a
basic knowledge of fluid mechanics wishing to understand and expand their
knowledge of wind turbine aerodynamics. The author has strived to make the book
self-consistent, hence all necessary derivations are shown, and it should not be
necessary to seek help in other literature to understand the content in this book.
Chapter 1 contains a brief review of the history of wind energy and of the
aerodynamics of wind turbines. In Chap. 2 the main basic definitions, to be used later
in the thesis, are introduced. In Chap. 3 the one-dimensional axial momentum theory
is revisited and the errors committed when using locally a one-dimensional approach
on a differential element is assessed. Furthermore, it is demonstrated how
one-dimensional axial momentum theory may be applied to analyse the additional
performance achieved for rotors located in diffusers and to derive corrections for
rotors tested in wind tunnels. Finally, the chapter contains a description of how
one-dimensional momentum theory can be applied to the somewhat exotic case of a
wind turbine driven vehicle. In Chap. 4 the equations forming the general
momentum theory is derived. Usually in textbooks, these equations are derived with
some a priori unverified assumptions, which in many cases have caused misinter-
pretations with respect to the importance of the various terms. In the present work,
the axial momentum equation is first derived without any simplifying assumptions,
after which different approaches are derived from the full equation, and the terms
that usually are omitted in the general momentum theory are assessed by compar-
ative CFD computations. Chapter 5 continues with a description and comparison of
different proposals for optimum aerodynamic rotor models based on the general
momentum theory. In Chap. 6 one of the aerodynamics models, the Joukowsky
model, is analysed in detail for small tip speed ratios. The analysis is carried both
analytically and by comparison to additional CFD computations. Chapter 7 intro-
duces the blade-element/momentum (BEM) theory. The chapter gives both a survey
of the main ingredients in the ‘standard’ method and the various ‘engineering
adds-on’. Furthermore, techniques for extending the ‘standard’ approach by inclu-
sion of correction terms are introduced and compared. In Chap. 8 the tip correction is
discussed in detail, and it is shown that the ‘traditional’ Prandtl/Glauert tip correction
contains an inherent inconsistency in the vicinity of the tip when using tabulated
airfoil data. A remedy to solve this problem is proposed and a new additional tip
correction, based on the so-called decambering technique, is introduced. In Chap. 9
an analytical solution to the finite-bladed optimum Betz rotor is given, and the results
are compared to other optimum rotor models, both with respect to performance and
resulting rotor geometry. Finally, in the Appendix, the CFD technique used for
assessing the various terms in the analysed rotor models is described.

Reference

Glauert, H.: Airplane Propellers. division L. In: Durand WF (ed.) Aerodynamic Theory, vol. IV,
pp. 169–360. Springer: Berlin (1935)
Acknowledgments

This book was written during a sabbatical leave in 2014, where I was given the
opportunity to collect and edit previously published works regarding wind turbine
aerodynamics and combine it with new material and ideas that emerged during the
leave.
I would like to thank the Head of DTU Wind Energy, Peter Hauge Madsen, for
granting the sabbatical leave and for encouraging me to write this book. During my
leave I stayed at different places in Europe, and I would like to thank Stefan Ivanell
for his hospitality during my stay at Uppsala University in Visby, Thomas Leweke
for kindly hosting me at IRPHE/CNRS in Marseille, and Xabier Munduate for his
hospitality at CENER in Pamplona.
Part of this book is the result of many years of collaboration with some of my
very skillful colleagues. In particular, I would like to thank Robert Mikkelsen, Wen
Zhong Shen and Valery Okulov for contributing with invaluable input to the work.
Also, the contributions from Néstor Ramos Garcia and Kaya Onur Dag are greatly
appreciated.
I would also like to thank my colleagues at the Section of Fluid Mechanics for
the many years of collaboration on aerodynamics and fluid mechanics. In particular,
I wish to thank Martin O.L. Hansen, Kurt S. Hansen, Stig Øye and Henrik
Bredmose for many inspiring discussions. I would also like to thank Steen Krenk
for encouraging me to write and publish the book.
I acknowledge financial support from the IRPWIND mobility program and from
the Danish Council for Strategic Research for the project ‘Center for Computational
Wind Turbine Aerodynamics and Atmospheric Turbulence’ (grant
2104-09-067216/DSF) (COMWIND: http://www.comwind.org).
Finally, last but not least, I am grateful for the support and understanding I got
from my dear family—my wife Lena and my two boys, Thorbjørn and Clement—
during the sabbatical leave and during the many late hours at the office.

vii
Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 A Brief Historical Review of Wind Energy . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.2 The Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 Basic Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3 One-Dimensional Axial Momentum Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9


3.1 Basics of Axial Momentum Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.2 Assessment of Basic Assumptions of 1D Momentum Theory . . . . 11
3.3 Assessment of Axial Momentum Theory on Differential Form . . . 14
3.4 One-Dimensional Momentum Theory Applied
to a Diffuser-Augmented Wind Turbine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.5 Wind Tunnel Corrections Using Axial Momentum Theory. . . . . . 23
3.5.1 Wind Tunnel Correction for Closed Test Section . . . . . . . 24
3.5.2 Wind Tunnel Correction for Open Test Section . . . . . . . . 28
3.6 Axial Momentum Theory Applied to Wind Turbine-Driven
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.6.1 Mechanical System Without Losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.6.2 Mechanical System With Losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

4 The General Momentum Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43


4.1 General Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.2 The Glauert Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.3 The Model of Burton et al. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4.4 The Model of Joukowsky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.5 Discussion and Assessment of the Validity
of the General Momentum Theory . . . . . . ................ 53
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................ 58

ix
x Contents

5 Optimum Rotor Performance Based on Momentum Theory . . . . . . 59


5.1 The Optimum Power Coefficient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.2 The Optimum Rotor Model of Glauert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.3 The Optimum Rotor Model of Burton, Sharpe et al. . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.4 The Optimum Rotor Model of Joukowsky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.5 A Modified Optimum Glauert Rotor Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.6 A Modified Optimum Joukowsky Model
Without Wake Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 65
5.7 Comparison of the Performance of Optimum Rotor Models . .... 66
5.8 Design and Comparison of Blade Geometries
for Optimum Rotors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.8.1 Expressions for Design of Plan Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.8.2 Comparison of Different Optimum Design. . . . . . . . . . . . 70
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

6 Detailed Analysis of the Joukowsky Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75


6.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
6.2 Basic Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
6.3 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
6.4 Inherent Upper Limits from the Momentum Equations . . . . . . . . 81
6.5 A Likely Explanation of the High Power Coefficient
at Small Tip Speed Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ 83
6.6 Rotor-Induced Vortex Breakdown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ 86
6.7 Navier–Stokes Simulations of the Joukowsky Rotor
at Small Tip Speed Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ 88
6.8 Design and Test of Joukowsky Rotor at Small Tip
Speed Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ 93
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ 96

7 Blade-Element/Momentum Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
7.1 Basics of the ‘Standard’ Blade-Element/Momentum Theory . . . . . 100
7.2 Engineering Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
7.2.1 Tip Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
7.2.2 Correction for Heavily Loaded Rotors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
7.2.3 Yaw Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
7.2.4 Dynamic Wake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
7.2.5 Airfoil Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
7.3 Alternative Formulations of the BEM Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
7.3.1 The Approach by Glauert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
7.3.2 Alternative Model 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
7.3.3 Alternative Model 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
7.3.4 Alternative Model 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
7.3.5 Overview of the Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Contents xi

7.4 Comparative Study of the Different BEM Alternatives . . . . . . . . 113


7.4.1 Comparison at a Design Tip Speed Ratio λ = 6 . . . . . . . . 113
7.4.2 Comparison at a Design Tip Speed Ratio λ = 3 . . . . . . . . 117
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

8 The Tip Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123


8.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
8.2 The Finite Number of Blades Approximation by Prandtl . . . . . . . 124
8.3 The Tip Correction of Glauert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
8.4 Alternative Formulations of the Glauert Tip Correction . . . . . . . . 133
8.5 Analysis of the Prandtl/Glauert Tip Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
8.6 Generalized Tip Correction Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
8.7 Application of the Tip Correction in Generalized
Numerical Actuator Disc/Line Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
8.8 The Decamber Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
8.8.1 Description of the Decamber Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
8.8.2 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

9 The Finite-Bladed Betz Rotor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151


9.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
9.2 Basics of Simple Vortex Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
9.3 Optimum Rotor Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
9.4 Solution of the Betz Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
9.5 Assessment of Different Solutions to the Betz Problem . . . . . . . . 166
9.6 Analysis of the Infinite-Bladed Betz Rotor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
9.7 Analysis of the Finite-Bladed Betz Rotor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Appendix A: Generalized Axisymmetric Navier–Stokes Actuator


Disc Modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Chapter 1
Introduction

1.1 Introduction

In the following chapter, a brief historical introduction will be given to the


development of the modern wind turbine and the associated development of wind
turbine aerodynamics.

1.1.1 A Brief Historical Review of Wind Energy

Windmills have existed in more than 2000 years and mainly been used for water
pumping and grinding purposes. Except for propulsion of sailing ships, the wind-
mill is the oldest device for exploiting the energy of the wind. Today, the most
popular turbine type is the 3-bladed horizontal-axis wind turbine, the so-called
Danish concept, but many different types of windmills have been invented since the
appearance of the ancient Persian vertical-axis windmill. In the western part of
Europe, the Dutch windmill was for many years the most popular and formed the
basis for the development of the modern wind turbine in the twentieth century. In
July 1887, the Scotsman James Blyth built a cloth-sailed wind turbine in Marykirk
in Scotland (note that a windmill is a machine intended for grinding grain, whereas
the term wind turbine refers to an electricity producing machine). The produced
electricity from the turbine was used to charge accumulators, which powered the
lights in his cottage, which thus became the first house in the world to be powered
by wind-generated electricity. The design and performance of the wind turbine was
later reported in a paper published by Philosophical Society of Glasgow (Blyth
1888, 1894). Over the next years, Blyth did a series of experiments on wind energy,
which resulted in different designs and a UK patent. The same year as Blyth build
his wind turbine; Charles F. Brush in the USA constructed the first automatically

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 1


J.N. Sørensen, General Momentum Theory for Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines,
Research Topics in Wind Energy 4, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-22114-4_1
2 1 Introduction

operated electricity producing wind turbine. Brush’s machine was constructed with
a 17-m-diameter rotor, equipped with 144 blades, and a 12-kW generator.
At the same time, unaware of the work of Blyth and Brush, basic wind turbine
research was undertaken by Poul La Cour in Denmark. La Cour carried out sys-
tematic airfoil studies using his own developed wind tunnel and the experimental
wind turbines at Askov ‘folk high school’. Among several important discoveries, he
found that rather than being pushed by the wind, as was generally believed to be the
main aerodynamic principle at that time, the driving force on the rotor blades is
formed by suction (Fig. 1.1). Further, La Cour demonstrated that fast rotating wind
turbines with few rotor blades are most efficient for producing electricity (La Cour
1897, 1901). Based on his ideas, the design of aerodynamically efficient rotor
blades soon advanced, and in 1918, about 3 % of the Danish electricity con-
sumption was covered by wind turbines. While the first wind turbines used prim-
itive airfoil shapes and produced electricity through a dynamo located in the tower,
a new-generation wind turbines were developed in the mid-1920s that used mod-
ified airplane propellers to drive direct current generators installed in the nacelle. An
example of this is the Jacobs wind turbine developed by Jacobs Wind Electric
Company that from the early 1930s found widespread use in USA to provide
lighting for farms and to charge batteries. However, in the following period
fuel-based power became cheap and forced wind power out of the marked.
Because of supply crises, renewed interest was paid to wind energy during
World War II. This lead to the construction of the American 1.25-MW
Smith-Putnam machine, installed in Vermont in 1941, and the Danish F.L. Smith
turbines built in 1941–42. With a concept based on an upwind rotor with stall
regulation and the use of modern airfoils, the F.L. Smith turbines can be considered
as the forerunners of modern wind turbines. After World War II, the design phi-
losophy of the F.L. Smith turbine was developed further, resulting in the Gedser
turbine, which was constructed in 1957 (Fig. 1.2). At the same time, in Germany,
Ulrich Hütter developed a new approach comprising of two fibreglass blades

Fig. 1.1 Prof. Poul La Cour


in front of his experimental
wind turbines, 1899.
Courtesy: The Poul La Cour
Museum
1.1 Introduction 3

Fig. 1.2 Left The 200-kW Gedser turbine (1957). Right Modern 2.5-MW wind turbine located in
a cluster

mounted downwind on a teetering hub. These turbines later became prototypes for
the new generation of wind turbines that was put into production after the oil crisis
in 1973. In many countries, national programs for investigating the potential of
producing electricity from the wind were launched in the mid-1970s and big dem-
onstration projects were carried out, e.g., in USA, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden,
the Netherlands, and Denmark. This together with the effort of a large number of
small industries formed the basis for what is today an industry with a global annual
turnover of more than 50 billion USD and an annual average growth rate of more than
20 %. By now (june 2015), the largest wind turbine is the Vestas 8 MW and
D = 164 m machine. State-of-the-art wind turbines are today often placed in large
wind farms with a production size corresponding to a nuclear power plant.

1.1.2 The Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines

The aerodynamics of wind turbines concerns, briefly speaking, modelling and


prediction of the aerodynamic forces on the solid structures of a wind turbine and in
particular on the rotor blades. Aerodynamics is the most central discipline for
predicting performance and loadings on wind turbines. The aerodynamic model is
normally coupled to models for wind conditions and structural dynamics.
4 1 Introduction

The integrated model for predicting performance and load-response, referred to as


an aero-elastic model, is an important and necessary prerequisite for design,
development and optimisation of wind turbines. Aerodynamic modelling may also
concern design of specific parts of wind turbines, such as airfoil shape and wing
plan form, or performance predictions of wind farms.
From an outsider’s point of view, aerodynamics of wind turbines may seem simple
as compared to, e.g., fixed-wing aircrafts or helicopters. However, the inflow is always
subject to stochastic wind fields and for machines that are not pitch-regulated, stall is
an intrinsic part of the operational envelope. Stall refers to the phenomenon that the
airflow separates from the suction face of the blade and features turbulent mixing and
flow reversal close to the surface. This makes an adequate description very compli-
cated. Indeed, in spite of the wind turbine being one of the oldest devices for exploiting
the energy of the wind, some of the most basic aerodynamic mechanisms are not yet
fully understood.
Aerodynamics is the oldest science in wind energy. Using simple axial
momentum and energy considerations, Betz (1920) and Joukowsky (1920) pre-
dicted that the maximum power output of an ideal wind turbine cannot exceed
59.3 % (see Okulov and van Kuik 2012 for a historical review). Later, Glauert
(1935) achieved a major breakthrough in 1920–1930, when he formulated the
blade-element momentum (BEM) theory. This theory, later extended with many
‘engineering rules’, is today the basis for all rotor design codes in use by industry.
It is interesting that the early development of the modern wind turbine, which
started in the end of the nineteenth century, closely follows the general development
of aerodynamics, which appeared as a new scientific discipline in connection to the
emerging aircraft industry. In the beginning of the twentieth century, a lively dis-
pute took place regarding the physics behind the lift force, with contributions from
as prominent scientists as Lord Rayleigh, Lanchester, Prandtl, Joukowsky and
Kutta. An eminent review of the various contributions can be found in the very
readable text book by Bloor (2011). At the same time, wind energy pioneers were
struggling with the same questions, as it had become clear that the conventional
explanation of how an optimum wind turbine works was not valid. An example of
this can be found in the physics text book published in 1907 by La Cour and Appel
(1907). Here, it is stated that the usual theory, which explains the driving force to be
associated with the pushing action of the air, by itself cannot explain the forces
appearing on the blade, but there is an additional suction force, for which no
explanation yet could be given. Instead, it was suggested to base the development
of rotor blades on experimental results. Doing this, it was indeed possible to
increase the performance of wind turbines with a factor of more than two (see, e.g.
La Cour 1897, 1901). At the same time, the groups of Prandtl in Germany and of
Joukowsky in Russia made the foundation for the aerodynamic theories required to
perform optimum designs of airplanes and wind turbine rotors. Mainly due to the
Russian language barrier, the work of Joukowsky and his colleagues is not as well
known as the work of the Prandtl group, but both groups made significant
1.1 Introduction 5

contributions to the aerodynamics of wind turbines. A review of the contributions


from the group of Joukowsky has recently been published by van Kuik et al. (2015)
and Okulov et al. (2015). The main achievement of Joukowsky in the field of wind
power is the derivation of the equations forming the general momentum theory and
the vortex theory for propellers (Joukowsky 1912–1918), and the development of
the so-called NEJ rotor (formed by the initials: Nikolai Egorovich Joukowsky;
Joukowsky 1920). A main idea behind the rotor models of Joukowsky is the
implicit assumption that the circulation is constant along the rotor blades. This has
later caused quite some dispute regarding the influence of rotational effects (see,
e.g. Sørensen and van Kuik 2011). Probably, the most important contribution to
wind turbine aerodynamics is due to Glauert (1935), who collected all available
work on aerodynamics in a single text book. In this book, the main ingredients of
the BEM theory were formulated, including the general momentum theory by
Joukowsky, the tip correction by Prandtl, the pioneering work of Betz (1926), and
the blade-element theory by Stefan Drzewiecki (one the most distinguished of
Joukowsky’s pupils, who later worked with Eiffel in Paris). However, the personal
touch of Glauert, and the various subjects treated, makes his text book a very
original contribution to the aerodynamics of propellers and wind turbines, and
today it still forms the backbone in the design of modern wind turbines.
In response to the needs of the wind energy industry, the interest of researchers
in rotor aerodynamics has grown significantly in recent years. Today, a new stage of
intensive scientific development, similar to the fruitful aviation era led by the
scientific schools of Joukowsky and Prandtl, is underway. State-of-the-art advances
are occurring in the creation of numerical simulation tools for rotor optimisa-
tions, aerodynamic modelling of wind turbine wakes and wind farms (Sørensen
2011; Sanderse et al. 2011). Without question, the state of the art of rotor aero-
dynamics has been advanced significantly due to the success of modern compu-
tational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools, by which engineering rules have been
developed and verified for a large range of unsolved problems. Airfoil data for
blade design are now derived from experiments and CFD computations using new
techniques to determine the angle of attack. The classical method for determining
wind turbine aerodynamics—the BEM technique—is today employed with various
add-ons for coping with complex three-dimensional and unsteady effects. This
makes it possible to handle all realistic operational conditions of importance for the
design of the rotor. Although most development of aerodynamic methods in wind
energy today concerns CFD methods, the wind turbine era has brought a new
development of analytical approaches too. Recently, an explanation for the
anomalous behaviour of the Joukowsky infinite-bladed rotor (Sørensen and van
Kuik 2011) and new theories for optimum performance of finite-bladed rotors
(Okulov and Sørensen 2010) have been developed. Furthermore, the basics of the
BEM technique, as it was formulated by Glauert (1935), have not really been
challenged, although some of the basic assumptions from the beginning were
questioned by Glauert. With the emergence of the CFD technique and newly
developed analytical tools, however, it is now possible to reconsider some of the
6 1 Introduction

basic assumptions forming the BEM technique. It is the purpose of the present work
to reconsider and assess the validity of the equations, which form the basis of the
general momentum approach and the BEM technique, by comparing results from
additional CFD computations and new analytical approaches.

References

Betz, A.: Das Maximum der theoretisch möglichen Ausnützung des Windes durch Windmotoren.
Zeitschrift für das gesamte Turbinenwesen 26, 307–309 (1920)
Betz, A.: Windenergie und ihre Ausnützung durch Windmühlen. Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht,
Göttingen (1926)
Bloor, D.: The Enigma of the Aerofoil. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London
(2011)
Blyth, J.: On the application of wind power to the generation and storage of electricity. Paper read
before the Philosophical Society of Glasgow, 2 May 1888 (1888)
Blyth, J.: On the application of wind power to the production of electric currents. Trans. Royal
Scott. Soc. Arts 13, 170–181 (1894)
Glauert, H.: Airplane Propellers. division L. In: Durand WF (ed.) Aerodynamic Theory, vol. IV,
pp. 169–360. Springer: Berlin (1935)
Joukowsky, N.E.: Vortex theory of the screw propeller I–IV. (French translation: ‘Théorie
Tourbillonnaire de l´Hélice Propulsive I–IV’ by W. Margoulis. Éditeurs: Gauthier-Villars et
Cie. Paris, 1929) (1912–1918)
Joukowsky, N.E.: Windmill of the NEJ type. Transactions of the Central Institute for
Aero-Hydrodynamics of Moscow (in Russian). Reprinted in: Joukowsky, N.E. Collected
papers vol. VI, pp. 405–424. Moscow-Leningrad, 1937 (1920)
La Cour, P.: Forsøg med små Møllemodeller. (Experiments with small wind turbine models).
Ingeniøren, no. 10 (1897)
La Cour, P.: Forsøg i Askov med den horizontale Vindmotor. (Experiments in Askov with the
horizontal wind turbine). Ingeniøren, no. 10, p. 89 (1901)
La Cour, P. og Appel, J.: Historisk Fysik. III Kraft, pp. 118–119. Gyldendalske Boghandel;
Nordisk Forlag. Kjøbenhavn og Kristiania (1907)
Okulov, V.L., Sørensen, J.N.: Maximum efficiency of wind turbine rotors using Joukowsky and
Betz approaches. J. Fluid Mech. 649, 497–508 (2010)
Okulov, V.L., Sørensen, J.N., Wood, D.H.: Rotor theories by Professor Joukowsky: Vortex
theories. Prog. Aerosp. Sci. 73, 19–46 (2015)
Okulov, V.L., van Kuik, G.A.M.: The Betz-Joukowsky limit: on the contribution to rotor
aerodynamics by the British, German and Russian scientific schools. Wind Energy 15, 335–
344 (2012)
Sanderse, B., van der Pijl, S.P., Koren, B.: Review of computational fluid dynamics for wind
turbine wake aerodynamics. Wind Energy 14, 799–819 (2011)
Sørensen, J.N.: Aerodynamic aspects of wind energy conversion. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 43,
427–448 (2011)
Sørensen, J.N., van Kuik, G.A.M.: General momentum theory for wind turbines at low tip speed
ratios. Wind Energy 14, 821–839 (2011)
van Kuik, G.A.M., Sørensen, J.N., Okulov, V.L.: Rotor theories by Professor Joukowsky:
Momentum theories. Prog. Aerosp. Sci. 73, 1–18 (2015)
Chapter 2
Basic Definitions

The basic tool for understanding wind turbine aerodynamics is the momentum
theory in which the flow is assumed to be steady, inviscid, incompressible and
axisymmetric. The momentum theory basically consists of control volume integrals
for conservation of mass, axial and angular momentum balances, and energy
conservation
I
qV  dA ¼ 0 ð2:1Þ
CV
I I
uqV  dA ¼ T  pdA  ex ð2:2Þ
CV CV
I
ruh qV  dA ¼ Q ð2:3Þ
CV
I h i
p=q þ 1=2kVk2 qV  dA ¼ P ð2:4Þ
CV

where V ¼ ðu; v; uh Þ is the velocity vector in axial, radial and azimuthal direction,
respectively, q is the density of air, A denotes the outward pointing area vector of
the control volume, p is the pressure, T is the axial force (thrust) acting on the rotor,
Q is the torque, and P is the power extracted from the rotor.
The main dimensionless parameters to characterize the aerodynamic operation of
a wind turbine are the following;

XR
Tip speed ratio: k ¼ ð2:5Þ
U0

T
Thrust coefficient: CT ¼ ð2:6Þ
1=2qAU02

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 7


J.N. Sørensen, General Momentum Theory for Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines,
Research Topics in Wind Energy 4, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-22114-4_2
8 2 Basic Definitions

P
Power coefficient: CP ¼ ð2:7Þ
1=2qAU03

where X is the angular velocity of the rotor, A is the rotor area, R is the radius of the
rotor, and U0 is the wind speed.
Essentially a wind turbine is a rotating flow machinery that extracts the kinetic
energy in the wind to useful mechanical power in the rotor and drive train and from
this into electrical power in the generator. The first part of this process, i.e. the
extraction of energy from the wind to the rotor can be modelled using the actuator
disc concept. An actuator disc is an idealized rotor representation, in which a
sudden pressure difference is created over the rotor without having any disconti-
nuity of the velocity. Thus, in front of the disc a high pressure, pþ , appears, whereas
a lower pressure, p , acts behind the rotor disc. The pressure jumps over the rotor
disc, ðpþ  p Þ, then corresponds to the local thrust force acting over the rotor,
DT ¼ ðpþ  p Þ  DA, where DA ¼ 2prDr corresponds to the local area of an
annular segment of the rotor. The extracted power can then be determined by
multiplying the thrust by the local velocity in the rotor plane. The above-presented
equations form the background for the analysis presented in the rest of the thesis.
Chapter 3
One-Dimensional Axial Momentum
Theory

In the following, the basic equations forming the one-dimensional momentum


theory are introduced and analysed, and the errors committed, when using locally a
one-dimensional approach on a differential form, are assessed. It is shown that an
actuator disc with constant axial loading does not result in a constant axial velocity
in the rotor plane. Hence, one-dimensional momentum theory is only valid for
averaged quantities. This is further demonstrated when applying the theory on a
differential element, where it is shown that large errors may be committed if it is
assumed that the axial velocity in the rotor locally is equal to the average value
between the free-stream velocity and the wake velocity. In spite of the shortcomings
of one-dimensional axial momentum theory, it may be applied in practice for
analysing the additional performance achieved for rotors located in diffusers and to
derive corrections for rotors tested in wind tunnels.
In the case of a diffuser-augmented rotor, it is shown that the governing equa-
tions result in the same closure problem as the one for axial momentum theory on
differential form. In the former case, the unknown is the axial force acting on the
walls of the diffuser, whereas the unknown in the latter is the resulting axial force
component exerted by the pressure on the lateral walls of the control volume. For an
optimum operating rotor, it is shown, using certain approximations, that the
increase in the power coefficient is directly proportional to the ratio of the exit area
to the rotor area and that the additional thrust coefficient is directly proportional to
the back pressure coefficient.
Applying the one-dimensional momentum equations on a rotor tested in a wind
tunnel makes it possible to derive a set of equations for wind tunnel corrections.
Corrections for a rotor located both in a close test section and in an open test section
are derived, resulting in a simple correction procedure. Comparison with CFD
computations verifies that the method works perfect.
Finally, the chapter contains a description of how one-dimensional momentum
theory can be applied to the somewhat exotic case of a wind turbine-driven vehicle.
The analysis contains both the case of a mechanical system without losses and the
case of a mechanical system with losses.

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 9


J.N. Sørensen, General Momentum Theory for Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines,
Research Topics in Wind Energy 4, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-22114-4_3
10 3 One-Dimensional Axial Momentum Theory

3.1 Basics of Axial Momentum Theory

We first revisit the simple axial momentum theory as it originated from Rankine
(1865), W. Froude (1878) and R.E. Froude (1889). Consider an axial flow of speed
U0 past an actuator disc of area A with constant axial load (thrust) T. Let uR denote
the axial velocity in the rotor plane, let u1 be the axial velocity in the ultimate wake
where the air has regained its undisturbed pressure value, p1 ¼ p0 , and let q denote
the density of air. Consider a one-dimensional model for the stream tube that
encloses the rotor disc (see Fig. 3.1) and denote by A0 and A1 the cross-sectional
area of the wake far upstream and far downstream of the rotor, respectively. The
equation of continuity, Eq. (2.1), requires that the rate of mass flow, m, _ is constant
in each cross section. Thus,
Z
m_ ¼ qudA ¼qU0 A0 ¼ quR A ¼ qu1 A1 : ð3:1Þ

Axial momentum balance, Eq. (2.2), for the considered stream tube results in the
following equation for the thrust:

_ 0  u1 Þ ¼ quR AðU0  u1 Þ:
T ¼ mðU ð3:2Þ

Here, we have exploited the fact that the pressure in the wake is equal to the
upstream pressure, p1 ¼ p0 and that the net action of the lateral pressure acting on
the stream tube is zero. The latter can be shown by using a cylindrical control
volume with radius going to infinity (this will be shown later). Applying the
Bernoulli’s equation in front of and behind the rotor, we find that the total pressure
head of the air in the slipstream has been decreased by

Fig. 3.1 Control volume for


one-dimensional actuator disc

U0 uR u1
3.1 Basics of Axial Momentum Theory 11

Dp ¼ 1=2qðU02  u21 Þ: ð3:3Þ

The pressure drop takes place across the rotor and represents the thrust, T ¼ ADp.
Combining Eqs. (3.2) and (3.3) shows that

uR ¼ 1=2ðu1 þ U0 Þ: ð3:4Þ

Introducing the axial interference factor as

U 0  uR
a¼ ; ð3:5Þ
U0

we get that uR ¼ ð1  aÞU0 and u1 ¼ ð1  2aÞU0 . From Eq. (2.2), we get the
following expressions for thrust and power extraction

T ¼ 2qAU02 að1  aÞ; ð3:6Þ

P ¼ uR T ¼ 2qAU03 að1  aÞ2 : ð3:7Þ

Introducing the dimensionless thrust and power coefficient, respectively, we get

CT ¼ 4að1  aÞ; CP ¼ 4að1  aÞ2 : ð3:8Þ

Differentiating the power coefficient with respect to the axial interference factor, the
maximum obtainable power is obtained as

16 1
CP max ¼ ¼ 0:593 for a¼ : ð3:9Þ
27 3

This result is usually referred to as the Betz limit or the ‘Betz–Joukowsky limit’, as
recently proposed by Okulov and van Kuik (2012) and states the upper maximum
for power extraction: not more than 59.3 % of the kinetic energy contained in a
stream tube having the same cross section as the disc area can be converted to
useful work by the disc. However, it does not include the losses due to rotation of
the wake, and therefore, it represents a conservative upper maximum.

3.2 Assessment of Basic Assumptions of 1D Momentum


Theory

In the one-dimensional momentum theory, it is assumed that the axial velocity of


the air has a constant value over the disc and that one-dimensional considerations
can be employed to relate velocities in the rotor plane to those in the slipstream.
12 3 One-Dimensional Axial Momentum Theory

To verify this assumption, we here analyse the implications resulting from the
hypothesis that the axial velocity is constant along the rotor plane, that is u ¼ uðxÞ.
Assuming a constant loading on the rotor disc, vortices are shed downstream only
along the stream tube enclosing the rotor edge. Thus, upstream the rotor and in the
slipstream behind the rotor, the flow is irrotational, and from the definition of
azimuthal vorticity, with r denoting the radial coordinate and v the radial velocity,
we get

@v @u
xh ¼  ¼ 0; ð3:10Þ
@x @r

implying that

@v @u
¼ : ð3:11Þ
@x @r

As we assume a one-dimensional axial velocity distribution, i.e. u ¼ uðxÞ, it is


readily seen that the radial velocity does not depend on x, i.e. v ¼ vðrÞ: Continuity
then states that

@ðruÞ @ðrvÞ
þ ¼ 0; ð3:12Þ
@x @r

implying that

@u 1 @ðrvÞ
 ¼ ¼ C; ð3:13Þ
@x r @r

where C is a constant, since the first expression only depends on x and the second
only depends on r: Integrating from the rotor to a neighbouring point ðx; yÞ
upstream or in the slipstream of the rotor shows that

u ¼ uR  Cx; v ¼ 1=2Cr: ð3:14Þ

This expression shows that one-dimensional flow only is possible if the axial
velocity varies linearly as a function of x and that the radial velocity increases
linearly as a function of radial coordinate in the rotor plane. It has been argued, e.g.,
by de Vries (1979, Appendix C, page 6) and Xiros and Xiros (2007), that a constant
loading results in a uniform axial velocity in the rotor plane. The argument is as
follows. Upstream of the rotor there is an increasing expansion, implying that
@v=@x [ 0. Downstream of the rotor, the expansion starts to diminish, implying
that @v=@x\0. Hence, in the rotor plane, it is therefore likely that @v=@x ¼ 0,
which from Eq. (3.11) implies that @u=@r ¼ 0 ) u ¼ uðxÞ. This further implies
that u is constant in the rotor plane. However, from numerical analyses using the
axisymmetric generalized actuator disc Navier–Stokes code developed by
Sørensen and Myken (1992), Sørensen and Kock (1995) (see Appendix A), this
3.2 Assessment of Basic Assumptions of 1D Momentum Theory 13

Fig. 3.2 Distributions of different quantities in the rotor plane for different constant loadings. Left
distributions of gradients of velocities with red line denoting @v=@x and dashed black line @u=@r;
Right radial velocity (Sørensen and Mikkelsen 2012)

argument has been shown not to be correct by Sørensen and Mikkelsen (2001,
2012). This is demonstrated in Fig. 3.2a, which shows computed distributions of
du=dr and dv=dx from numerical actuator disc computations assuming a constant
loading. Both distributions are required to be zero if the above argument holds.
From the figure, it is seen that the numerical results support the basic relationship
that two terms are identical. However, they are only zero in the inner part of the
actuator disc, whereas they, depending on the actual value of the thrust coefficient,
CT , attain rather large values when approaching the edge of the actuator disc. This
is supported by Fig. 3.2b that shows the dimensionless radial velocity component in
the rotor plane. If @v=@x ¼ 0, this velocity component should vary linearly as a
function of radius, as illustrated in Eq. (3.14). However, from Fig. 3.2b, it is clearly
seen that this is not the case. In Fig. 3.3a and b, we depict the associated distri-
butions of axial velocity and axial interference factor, respectively. These distri-
butions seem only to be constant for small thrust coefficients (CT \0:2), whereas
they generally are subject to a large increase near the edge of the actuator disc.
From the computations, it is clearly seen that the statement that @v=@x ¼ 0 does
not hold in the rotor plane. As a consequence, we may conclude that a pure
one-dimensional flow cannot take place, and hence, in general, uR ¼ uR ðx; rÞ. This
implies furthermore that the momentum equation, Eq. (3.2), has to be replaced by
the general formula
Z
T¼ quR ðu1  U0 ÞdA; ð3:15Þ
AD
14 3 One-Dimensional Axial Momentum Theory

Fig. 3.3 Axial velocity distributions in the rotor plane for different constant loadings. Left
Dimensionless axial velocity; Right axial interference factor (Sørensen and Mikkelsen 2012)

from which we get


Z
1 1
uR dA ¼ ðu1 þ U0 Þ: ð3:16Þ
AD 2
AD

This shows that for a rotor with constant loading, only the area-averaged axial
velocity is given as the arithmetic mean of the free-stream velocity and the slip-
stream velocity. In recent paper by van Kuik and Lignarolo (2015), it was shown
that the absolute velocity is constant along the rotor plane.
A thorough analysis of the validity of using the actuator disc principle in con-
nection with one-dimensional momentum theory has recently been given by van
Kuik et al. (2014). In this work, they investigated the higher-order effect of adding
thickness to the actuator disc and found that conservative forces that would
otherwise appear on the edge of the disc vanish for vanishing disc thickness and
therefore do not play any role in the infinitely thin actuator disc method.

3.3 Assessment of Axial Momentum Theory


on Differential Form

The next question to be addressed is to what extent the axial momentum theory may
be applied locally to a rotor with a non-constant loading distributed over the pro-
peller disc. Applying the momentum equation to individual stream surfaces of the
propeller (see Fig. 3.4), we get the following expression for the local thrust
3.3 Assessment of Axial Momentum Theory on Differential Form 15

Fig. 3.4 Control volume of differential annulus

DT ¼ quR DAðU0  u1 Þ þ DX; ð3:17Þ

where DA is the area of the rotor disc on which DT acts and DX denotes the axial
component of the force exerted by the pressure on the annular control volume,
I
DX ¼ pdA  ex ; ð3:18Þ
cv

where dA denotes an area element of the stream surface oriented in the outward
pointing normal direction and ex is the unit vector in the axial direction.
It should be noted that in a viscous theory also, the influence of friction forces
has to be taken into account. In particular, in the far wake behind the rotor,
molecular and turbulent mixing may play an important role that is not taken into
account in the inviscid model.
From Eq. (3.3), the local thrust may also be expressed as

DT ¼ 1=2qðU02  U12 ÞDA ð3:19Þ

Combining Eqs. (3.17) and (3.19) shows that

DX
uR ¼ 1=2ðU0 þ u1 Þ  ; ð3:20Þ
qAðU0  u1 Þ

from which we get


 
DX
uR ¼ 1=2ðU0 þ u1 Þ 1  : ð3:21Þ
DT

This expression shows that there exists a direct relation between the error com-
mitted by using Eq. (3.4) directly and the appearance of the lateral force component
due to the pressure. In most work on wind turbine aerodynamics, the influence of
the lateral force is neglected and Eq. (3.4) is utilized without further discussion.
16 3 One-Dimensional Axial Momentum Theory

Fig. 3.5 Distributions of


error functions along rotor
plane for constant loaded
actuator disc (Sørensen and
Mikkelsen 2012)

In the textbook of Glauert (1935), it is stated that the validity of ignoring the term
DX in Eq. (3.17) has not been established and its adoption may imply the neglect of
the mutual interference between the various annular elements. However, Glauert
also believed that the influence of ignoring the term in general is extremely small.
The issue has been discussed by, e.g., Thoma (1925), Goorjian (1972) and Sørensen
and Mikkelsen (2001, 2012). In the work by Sørensen and Mikkelsen (2001), the
error introduced by neglecting the lateral forces, DX, was quantified by comparing
results from the momentum theory with numerical results from the axisymmetric
generalized actuator disc/Navier–Stokes code. It is here appropriate to introduce the
following quantities:

uR DX
e1 ¼ 1  ; e2 ¼ : ð3:22Þ
1=2ðU0 þ u1 Þ DT

These quantities can be computed directly from the Navier–Stokes results by evalu-
ating velocity distributions in the rotor plane and in the wake, and by integrating the
pressure along annular control volumes. In Fig. 3.5, computed e1 and e2 distributions
are plotted as a function of radial distance at constant loadings CT = 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6,
respectively. Far from the edge of the actuator disc, it is found that e1 and e2 are close to
zero, with errors less than 1 % over more than 90 % of the rotor surface. However,
errors up to about 15 % appear near the edge of the disc. In Fig. 3.6, the difference
between the computed axial velocity and the corresponding axial velocity obtained
from the momentum theory is plotted along the rotor plane. We here observe that for
CT values up to 0.8, the difference over most of the rotor plane is less than 1 %. Near
the edge of the disc, however, differences up to about 8 % exist, which gives an
indication of the order of magnitude of the local error committed when ignoring the
impact of the lateral pressure on the differential form of the axial momentum
equation. It should be noted, however, that the inclusion of a tip correction in a realistic
rotor calculation will reduce the error near the edge of the disc.
3.4 One-Dimensional Momentum Theory Applied … 17

Fig. 3.6 Relative difference


between computed axial
velocity along the rotor plane
and values obtained from
momentum theory (Sørensen
and Mikkelsen 2012)

3.4 One-Dimensional Momentum Theory Applied


to a Diffuser-Augmented Wind Turbine

In spite of its shortcomings, one-dimensional momentum theory is in many cases a


simple and powerful tool for giving a first estimate of the flow behaviour, and in
this subsection, it will be employed to analyse the flow through a wind turbine
placed in a diffuser. As will be shown below, from the viewpoint of momentum
theory, the basic equations are the same whether they are employed to analyse a
rotor in a diffuser or in contractor, or in a combined converging/diverging device, as
long as the rotor is located in the throat. The rationale behind placing the rotor in the
inlet of a diffuser or in the outlet of a contractor is in all cases to increase the mass
flow through the rotor.
As discussed previously, the Betz limit sets an upper limit for the power output
of a wind turbine. However, if it would be possible to increase the mass flow though
the rotor, this limit may be exceeded. The idea of using a diffusor to increase the
mass flow is not new. Indeed, already in the 1920s, Betz (1926) investigated the
possibility of enhancing the power output by using a diffusor to reduce the pressure
further in front of the turbine and by this increase the mass flow. Later investiga-
tions, among others, are due to Lilley and Rainbird (1956), Iwasaki (1953), Igra
(1976, 1981), Lewis et al. (1977), Gilbert et al. (1978), Fletcher (1981) and Abe
et al. (2005). Theoretical analyses based on one-dimensional momentum theory are
due to De Vries (1979), van Bussel (1999, 2007) and Jamieson (2009). The first
CFD analysis was carried out by Hansen et al. (2000) and later followed by the PhD
work of Philips (2003), who besides comparing CFD analysis with experimental
results, gave a comprehensive review of the state of the art. New ideas for designing
diffusor-augmented wind turbines are due to Werle and Presz (2008, 2009), and a
recent comprehensive work, including CFD and vortex modelings as well as new
designs of diffusors, was made by Hjort and Larsen (2014). In the following, a
18 3 One-Dimensional Axial Momentum Theory

simple way of analysing diffuser-augmented wind turbines will be given. In most


previous theoretical analyses, the authors have introduced different auxiliary vari-
ables in order to derive general conclusions concerning maximum power output,
etc. However, this is not necessary, as will be shown in the following.
Consider now the diffusor shown in Fig. 3.7. We here use the same notation as
for the free rotor, that is, the undisturbed inflow is designated with subscript 0 and
the quantities appearing in the wake with subscript 1. At the exit, the axial velocity
is denoted by uexit and the pressure is denoted by pexit . Due to the back pressure
created because of the presence of the diffusor, the flow will expand after leaving
the diffusor. For simplicity, we here only consider a rotor located at the inlet of the
diffuser, and hence, all losses are expected to take place in the diffusor downstream
from the wind turbine. Thus, due to the presence of the diffusor walls, a reaction
force, Tdiffusor , will act on the diffusor, and pressure losses due to friction and
possible separation in the boundary layer of the diffusor, Dploss , will also be a part
of the analysis.
Carrying out a control volume analysis along the stream surface containing the
diffusor walls (see Fig. 3.7) from far upstream to far downstream, we get
 
_ loss ;
q_ 1=2qU02  1=2qu21 ¼ P þ qDp ð3:23Þ

where q_ ¼ AuR is the volume flow through the rotor and P is the power produced
by the rotor. Rearranging this equation, the power can be written as follows:

Fig. 3.7 Geometry and notation of diffuser-augmented wind turbine


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“You go down to your tea and leave her ladyship’s looks alone. I
don’t know what you’re doing hanging about this landing at such an
hour of the day.”
Payne was an old servant in the Wynyard family, and he was aware
it had been generally said that “Master Owen had the looks and Miss
Leila the brains.” Master Owen was always a wild, harum-scarum
young fellow, and it wasn’t at all unlikely that he had got into one of
his scrapes. With this conviction implanted in his mind, Payne
deliberately descended the stairs, issued an edict to one of the
footmen, and retired into his lair and the evening paper.
CHAPTER II
BROTHER AND SISTER

“Well,” began Lady Kesters, as the door closed, “I suppose you


have seen him?”
“I have very much seen him,” replied her brother, who had thrown
himself into a chair; “I did a sprint across the park, because I know
your ladyship cannot bear to be kept waiting. Everything must be
done to the minute in this establishment.”
“Yes,” she agreed; “and you come from a country where time is no
object—everything is for ‘To-morrow.’ Now, tell me about Uncle
Richard. Was he furious?”
“No; I believe I would have got off better if he had been in a rage. He
received me in a ‘more in sorrow than in anger’ frame of mind, spoke
as deliberately as if he had written his speech, and learnt it by heart;
he meant every word he said.”
“I doubt it,” said his sister, who had been filling the teapot, and now
closed the lid with a decisive snap. “Let me hear all you can
remember.”
“He said he had done his best for me since I was a kid—his only
brother’s son and his heir,—that he had sent me to Eton——”
“As if you didn’t know that!” she interrupted.
“Engineered me into the Service——”
“Yes, yes, yes!” with a wave of her hand. “Tell me something new.”
“He says that he is sick of me and my failures—is that new?”
“What does he propose?” asked Lady Kesters.
“He proposes that, for a change, I should try and get along by
myself, and no longer hang on to other people.”
“Well, there is some sense in that.”
“He says that if I continue as I’ve begun, I’ll develop into the awful
loafer who haunts men’s clubs, trying to borrow half a sov. from old
pals, and worrying them with begging letters.”
“A pretty future for you, Owen!”
“He swears I must work for my living and earn my daily bread; and
that, if, for two years from now, I can maintain myself honourably in
this country or the Continent—Asia, Africa, and America are barred
—and neither get into debt, prison, or any matrimonial entanglement
——” he paused for a moment to laugh.
“Yes, yes,” said his sister impatiently; “and if you comply with all
these conditions?”
“He will reinstate me, put me into Wynyard to take the place of his
agent, and give me a handsome screw. But if I play the fool, he takes
his solemn oath he will leave everything he possesses to a hospital,
and all I shall come in for will be the bare estate, an empty house,
and an empty title—and that he hopes to keep me out of for the next
thirty years!”
“No doubt he will,” agreed his sister; “we are—bar accidents—a
long-lived stock.”
“He also said that he was only fifty-six; he might marry; a Lady
Wynyard——”
“No fear of that,” she interposed; “the old servants will never permit
it, and never receive her. But how are you to earn your living and
your daily bread?”
“That, he declares, is entirely my affair. Of course he doesn’t expect
much from a wooden-headed duffer like me; he knows I’ve no
brains, and no, what he calls ‘initiative or push.’ He doesn’t care a
rap if I sweep a crossing or a chimney, as long as I am able to
maintain myself, become independent, and learn to walk alone.”
“So that is Uncle Richard’s programme!” said Lady Kesters
reflectively. “Now, let’s have some tea,” and she proceeded to pour it
out. “The little cakes are cold and stodgy, but try these sandwiches.
Martin is away to-night—he had to go to a big meeting in Leeds, and
won’t be home. I shall send for your things. I suppose you are at
your old quarters in Ryder Street?”
“Yes; they have been awfully decent to me, and kept my belongings
when I was away.”
“And you must come here for a week, and we will think out some
scheme. I wish you could stay on and make your home here. But
you know Martin has the same sort of ideas as Uncle Richard; he
began, when he was eighteen, on a pound a week, and made his
own way, and thinks every young man should do the same.”
“I agree with him there—though it may sound funny to hear me say
so, Sis. I hope you don’t imagine I’ve come back to loaf; I shall be
only too glad to be on my own.”
“I suppose you have no money at all?” she inquired, as she
replenished his teacup.
“I have fifteen pounds, if you call that nothing, all my London kit, a
pair of guns, and a gold watch.”
“But what brought you back so suddenly? You did not half explain to
me this morning, when you tumbled from the skies.”
“Well, you see,” he began, as he rose and put down his cup, “the
Estancia I was on was of the wrong sort, as it happened, and a
rotten bad one. Uncle Richard was tremendously keen to deport me,
and he took hold of the first thing he heard of, some crazy advice
from a blithering old club fogey who did not know a blessed thing
about the country. The Valencia Estancia, a horse-breeding one, was
far away inland—not one of those nearer Buenos Ayres and
civilisation,—it belonged to a native. The proprietor, Vincino, was
paralysed from a bad fall, and the place was run by a ruffian called
Murcia. I did not mind roughing it; it’s a splendid climate, and I liked
the life itself well enough. I got my fill of riding, and a little shooting—
duck, and a sort of partridge—and I appreciated the freedom from
the tall hat and visiting card.”
“You never used many of those!” she interposed.
“No. From the first I never could stand Murcia; he was such an oily
scoundrel, and an awful liar; so mean and treacherous and cruel,
both to men and animals. He drank a lot of that frightfully strong spirit
that’s made out there—fermented cane—and sometimes he was
stark mad, knocking the servants and the peons about; and as to the
horses, he was a fiend to them. He killed lots of the poor brutes by
way of training; lassoed them—and broke their hearts. It made my
blood boil, and, as much as I could, I took over the breaking-in
business. When I used to jaw him and remonstrate, it made him wild,
and he always had his knife into me on the sly.”
“How?”
“The stiffest jobs, the longest days, the largest herds, were naturally
for the English ‘Gringo.’”
“What is that?”
“A dog. He never called it to my face—he was too much of the cur—
but we had several shakes up, and the last was final. One afternoon
I caught him half-killing a wretched woman that he said had been
stealing coffee. It was pay-day, all the employés, to a man and child,
were assembled in the patio—you know what that is? An enclosed
courtyard with the house round it. This was a grand old dilapidated
Spanish Estancia, with a fine entrance of great iron gates. It was a
warm, still sort of afternoon. As I cantered across the campo I heard
harrowing shrieks, and, when I rode in, I soon saw what was up!
Murcia, crazy with drink, was holding a wretched creature by her hair
and belabouring her with a cattle-whip, whilst the crowd looked on,
and no one stirred a finger.”
“You did?” leaning forward eagerly.
“Rather! I shouted to him to hold hard, and he only cursed; so I
jumped off the horse and went for him straight. He dropped his victim
and tried to lay on to me with the whip; but the boot was on the other
leg, and I let him have it, I can tell you. It was not a matter of fists,
but flogging. My blood was up, and I scourged that blackguard with
all my soul and all my strength. He ran round and round the patio
yelling, whilst the crowd grinned and approved. I settled some of
Murcia’s scores on the spot and paid for many blows and outrages!
In the end he collapsed in the dust, grovelling at my feet, blubbering
and groaning, ‘a worm and no man.’ I think that’s in the Bible. Yes, I
gave that hulking, drunken brute a thrashing that he will never forget
—and those who saw it won’t forget it either. Naturally, after such a
performance I had to clear. You may do a lot of things out there; you
may even shoot a man, but you must never lay hands on an
overseer; so I made tracks at once, without pay, bonus, character, or
anything except the adoration of the employés, my clothes, and a
few pounds. Murcia would have run me in, only he would have
shown up badly about the woman. Well, I came down country in a
cattle-train, and found I was just short of coin to pay my way home.”
Leila stared into the fire in silence; her warm imagination transported
her to the scene her brother had described. She, too, was on the
campo, and heard the cries of the woman; she saw the Englishman
gallop through the gates, saw the cowardly crowd, the maddened
ruffian, the victim, and the punishment!
“But what did you do with your salary?” she asked, after an
expressively long pause; “surely you had no way of spending it?”
“That’s true. As I was to have a bonus, you know, on the year, my
salary was small, and I got rid of it easily enough.”
“Cards!” she supplemented; “oh, of course. My dear Owen, I’m afraid
you are hopeless!”
“Yes, I suppose it’s hereditary! After the day’s work there was
nothing to do. All the other chaps gambled, and I could not stand
with my hands in my pockets looking on; so I learnt the good old
native game of ‘Truco,’ but I had no luck—and lost my dollars.”
“And after your arrival at Buenos Ayres in the cattle-train, what
happened?”
“Well, naturally, I had no spare cash to spend in that little Paris: the
Calle Florida, and the Café Florian, and Palermo Park, saw nothing
of me, much less the magnificent Jockey Club. I searched about for
a cast home! I was determined to get back to the Old Country, for I
knew I’d do no good out there—I mean in Buenos Ayres; so I went
down to the Digue, where the big liners lie, and cadged for a job. I
believe they are pretty sick of chaps asking for a lift home, and I had
some difficulty in getting a berth; but, after waiting several days, I got
hold of a captain to listen to me. I offered to stoke.”
“Owen!”
“Yes; but he said, ‘You look like a stoker, don’t you? Why, you’re a
gentleman! You couldn’t stand the engine-room for an hour.
However, as I see you are not proud and they are short of hands in
the stewards’ pantry, they might take you on to wash plates.’”
Lady Kesters made no remark; her expression was sufficiently
eloquent.
“‘All right,’ I agreed, ‘I’ll do my little best.’ So I was made over to the
head steward. We carried a full number of passengers that trip, and,
when one of the saloon waiters fell sick, I was promoted into his
place, as I was clean and civil. Needless to say, I was thankful to get
away from the horrors of greasy plates and the fag of cleaning
knives. I can wait pretty well, the ladies liked me—yes, and I liked
them—and when we docked at Southampton yesterday, Owen, as
they called me, received nearly six pounds in tips, not to speak of a
steamer chair and a white umbrella!”
As he concluded, he walked over to the fire and stood with his back
to it. His sister surveyed him reflectively; she was thinking how
impossible it was to realise that her well-bred, smart-looking brother,
in his admirably cut clothes, and air of easy self-possession, had,
within twenty-four hours, been a steward at the beck and call of the
passengers on a liner. However, all she said was—
“So at any rate you have made a start, and begun to earn money
already.”
“Oh, that’s nothing new. I was never quite broke;” and, diving into his
pocket, he produced a little parcel, which he tossed into her lap.
“For me?”
“For who else?”
He watched her attentively as she untied the narrow bit of red and
yellow ribbon, unfolded a flat box, and discovered a beautiful plaque
or clasp in old Spanish paste. The design was exquisite, and the
ornament flashed like a coruscation of Brazilian diamonds.
“Oh, Owen, how perfect!” she gasped; “but how dare you? It must
have cost a fortune—as much as your passage money,” and she
looked up at him interrogatively.
“Never mind; it was a bargain. I picked it up in a queer, poky little
shop, and it’s real old, old Spanish—time of Ferdinand and Isabella
they said—and I felt I’d like to take something home to you; it will
look jolly well on black, eh?”
“Do you know it’s just the sort of thing that I have been aching to
possess,” she said, now holding it against her gown. “If you had
searched for a year you couldn’t have given me anything I liked so
much—so beautiful in itself, so rare and ancient, and so uncommon
that not one of my dear friends can copy it. Oh, it’s a treasure”—
standing up to look at her reflection as she held the jewel against her
bodice—“but all the same, it was wicked of you to buy it!”
“There are only the two of us, Sis, and why shouldn’t I give myself
that pleasure?”
“What a pretty speech!” and she patted his arm approvingly.
At this moment Payne entered, salver in hand.
“A telegram for you, my lady.”
“Oh,” picking it up, and tearing it open, “it’s from Martin. He is
detained till Saturday—three whole days;” then, turning to the butler,
she said, “You can take away the tea-table.”
As soon as the tea-things were removed, and Payne and his satellite
had departed, Lady Kesters produced a gold case, selected a
cigarette, settled herself comfortably in a corner of the sofa, and said

“Now, Owen, light up, and let us have a pow-wow! Have you any
plan in your head?”
“No,” he answered, “I’m afraid my head is, as usual, pretty empty,
and of course this ultimatum of Uncle Richard’s has been a bit of a
facer; I was in hopes he’d give me another chance.”
“What sort of chance?”
“Something in South Africa.”
“Something in South Africa has been the will-o’-the-wisp that has
ruined lots of young men,” she said; “you would do no good there, O.
You haven’t enough push, originality, or cheek; I believe you would
find yourself a tram conductor in Cape Town.”
“Then what about India? I might get a billet on some tea estate—yes
—and some shooting as well!”
“Tea-planters’ assistants, as far as I can gather, don’t have much
time for shooting. There is the tea-picking to look after, and the
coolies to overseer in all weathers. I believe the work in the rains is
awful and the pay is poor—you’d be much more likely to get fever
than shooting. Have you any other scheme?”
She glanced at her brother, who was lying back in an arm-chair, his
hands clasped behind his head, his eyes fixed on the fire. Yes, Owen
was undeniably good to look at, with his clean-shaven, clear-cut
face, well-knit figure, and length of limb. He shook his head, but after
a moment said—
“Now let us have your ideas, Sis. You are always a sure draw!”
“What about matrimony?” she asked composedly, and without
raising her eyes.
He turned and surveyed her with a stare of ironical amusement.
“On the principle that what is not enough for one will support two—
eh?”
“How can you be so silly! I don’t mean love in a cottage; I’m thinking
of an heiress. There are several, so to speak, on the market, and I
believe I could marry you off remarkably well, if you were not too
critical; there is Miss Goldberger—a really good sort—enormously
rich, an orphan, and hideous to the verge of fascination. She is in the
racing set—and——”
“No, thank you, Sis,” he broke in; “I’d rather drive a ’bus or motor any
day than live on my wife’s fortune. If I married one of your rich
friends I should hate it, and I guarantee that she’d soon hate me;
anyway, I’m not keen on getting married. So, as the young men in
shops say, ‘and the next article, please?’”
“Of course I know I need not again waste my breath talking to you of
business. Martin got you a capital opening in Mincing Lane, and you
threw it up; he’d taken a lot of trouble, and he is rather sore about it
still. He fancies you look down on the City.”
“I? He never made a greater mistake! The City would soon look
down on me. I’m no good at figures; I’ve no business ability or smart
alacrity. If I had not taken myself off, I’d soon have been chucked
out; besides, I never could stick in an office all day from ten to six. I’d
much rather wash plates! I want something that will keep me in the
open air all the time, rain or shine; and if I had to do with horses, so
much the better. How about a place as groom—a breaker-in of
young hunters?”
“Not to be thought of!” she answered curtly.
“No?” then drawing out another cigarette, “do you know, I’ve half a
mind to enlist. You see, I know something of soldiering—and I like it.
I’d soon get my stripes, and for choice I’d pick the ‘Death and Glory
Boys.’”
“Yes; you may like soldiering as an officer, with a fair allowance, a
couple of hunters, and polo ponies; but I’m not sure that Trooper
Wynyard would care for stables, besides his drill and work, and I
may be wrong, but I think you have a couple of troop horses to do
up.”
“Oh, I could manage all right! I’m rather handy with horses, though I
must confess the bronchos I’ve been riding lately did not get much
grooming.”
“No, no, Owen, I’m dead against enlisting, remember that,” she said
authoritatively. “I shall go and interview Uncle Richard to-morrow
morning, and have a tooth-and-nail combat on your behalf, find out if
he means to stick to his intention, or if I can’t persuade him to give
you a job on the estate, say as assistant agent, that would suit you?”
“You’re awfully clever, Sis,” said the young man, now rising and
leaning against the chimneypiece, “and in every respect the head of
the family. It’s downright wonderful how successfully you manage
other people’s affairs, and give one a push here and a hand there. I
am aware that you have immense and far-reaching—er—influence.
You have been the making of Kesters.”
His sister dismissed the statement with an impatient jerk of her
cigarette.
“Oh yes, you have,” he went on doggedly. “He was formerly a
common or garden wealthy man, whose daytime was divided
between meals and business; now he’s a K.C.B., sits on all sorts of
boards, has a fine place in the country, shoots a bit, is a Deputy-
Lieutenant, and I don’t know what all—and you’ve done it! But there
is one person you cannot manage or move, and that is Uncle
Richard; he is like a stone figure that all the wind and sun and rain
may beat on, and he never turns a hair.”
“How you do mix your metaphors!” she exclaimed; “who ever saw a
stone image with hair upon it! Well,” rising to stand beside him, “I
shall see what I can do in the morning. Now, let us put the whole
thing out of our heads and have a jolly evening. Shall we go to a
theatre? I suppose you’ve not been inside one since you were last in
town?”
“Oh yes, I was at theatres in Buenos Ayres, the Theatre Doria, a sort
of music hall, where I saw some ripping dancing.”
“I’ll telephone for stalls at something. You may as well have all the
fun you can before you start off to plough your lonely furrow.”
“It’s awfully good of you, Sis. I’m a frightful nuisance to the family—
something between a bad penny and a black sheep!”
“No, Owen, you know perfectly well you are neither,” she protested,
as she lit another cigarette. “You mentioned just now there are only
the two of us, and it would be rather strange if we did not stick by
one another. And there is this to be said, that although you’ve been
wild and extravagant, and your gambling and practical joking were
shocking, all the time you remain a gentleman; and there are two
things in your favour—you don’t drink——”
“No, thank God!” he responded, with emphasis.
“As far as I know you have never been mixed up with women—eh,
Owen?” and she looked at him steadily.
“No. To tell you the truth, I give them a wide berth. I’ve seen some
pretty awful affairs they had a hand in. To be candid, I’m a little shy
of your sex.”
“That is funny, Owen,” she replied, “considering it was on account of
a woman you have just been thrown out of a job.”
“You could hardly expect a man to stand by and see a brute like
Murcia knocking a poor creature about—half-killing her—and never
interfere!”
“No, of course; but you must not make the mistake of being too
chivalrous—chivalry is costly—and it is my opinion that it has cost
you a good deal already. That detestable de Montfort was not the
first who let you in, or persuaded you to pull his chestnuts out of the
fire. Come now, own up—confess to the others.”
“No—no”—and he smiled—he had a charming smile—“there is such
a thing as honour among thieves.”
“That’s all very noble and generous, my dear brother, but some of
the thieves were not honourable.”
Her dear brother made no reply; he was staring fixedly into the fire
and thinking of Hugo de Montfort. How little had he imagined, when
he backed Hugo’s bill, that the scribbling of his signature would
make such an awful change in his own life!
Hugo and he had been at Eton in the same house; they had fagged
together, sat side by side in chapel, and frequently shared the same
scrapes. Later they had lost sight of one another, as Owen had
struggled into the Service and gone out to India. Some years later,
when stationed at the depôt, he and de Montfort had come across
one another once more.
Hugo de Montfort was a self-possessed young man, with sleek black
hair and a pair of curiously unreadable grey eyes: an idler about
town—clever, crafty, unscrupulous, and much given to cards and
racing.
He welcomed his old pal Wynyard with enthusiasm—and secretly
marked him for his own. Wynyard—so said report—was a nailing
rider, a good sort, popular, and known to be the nephew and heir of a
rich, unmarried uncle; so he played the rôle of old schoolfellow and
best pal for all it was worth.
The plausible, insidious scoundrel, who lived by his wits, was on his
last legs—though he kept the fact a secret—was seen everywhere,
carried a bold front, and owned a magnificent 60 h.p. motor, which
was useful in more ways than one. He was staying at the Métropôle
at Folkestone, and, struck by a bright idea—so he declared—
motored over to Canterbury one fine Sunday morning, and carried
off his friend to lunch.
As they sat smoking and discussing recent race meetings, weights,
and jockeys, de Montfort suddenly put down his cigar and said—
“I say, look here, Owen, old man. I’m in rather a tight fix this week. I
want two thousand to square a bookie—and, like the real sporting
chap you are—will you back my name on a bill?”
Owen’s expression became unusually grave; backing a bill was an
iniquity hitherto unknown to him. Uncle Dick had recently paid up
handsomely, and he had given certain promises; and, indeed, had
curtailed his expenses, sold two of his ponies, and had made up his
mind to keep strictly within his allowance.
“Of course it’s a mere form,” pursued de Montfort, in his swaggering,
off-hand way, “I swear to you. Do you think I’d ask you, if it was not
safe as a church! I’ll have the coin in a fortnight; but just at the
moment I’m terribly short, and you know yourself what racing debts
mean. So I come to you, my old pal, before any one; you are such a
rare, good, generous, open-handed sort! Don’t for a moment
suppose that you will be responsible,” declared this liar; “I’ll take up
the bill when it falls due; I’d as soon let in my own mother as a pal
like you.”
In short, Hugo was so urgent and so plausible, that his victim was
persuaded and carried away by eloquence and old memories,
accompanied de Montfort to a writing-table, where he signed O. St.
J. Wynyard—and repented himself before his signature had been
blotted!
Two days later Owen received a beautiful silver cigarette-case,
inscribed, as a token of friendship from de Montfort, and this was
succeeded by an alarming silence. When the time approached for
the bill to fall due, Wynyard wrote anxious epistles to his old
schoolfellow—who appeared to be one of the crowd who believe that
letters answer themselves! Then he went up to town and sought him
at his rooms and club; no one could give him any tidings of Hugo
beyond the fact that he was abroad—a wide and unsatisfactory
address. He sent distracted telegrams to some of the runaway’s
former haunts; there was no reply. The fatal day arrived, and Owen
was compelled to interview his uncle and make a clean breast of the
whole business; and his uncle was furious to the verge of apoplexy.
“They used to say,” he shouted, “put the fool of the family into the
army; but my fool shall not remain in the Service! I’ll pay up the two
thousand you’ve been robbed of for the sake of my name—and out
you go! Send in your papers to-day!”

Lady Kesters was contemplating her face in the overmantle, which


also reflected her brother’s unusually grave visage.
“Owen,” she said, “what a pity it is that I hadn’t your looks and you
my brains.”
They presented a contrast, as they examined one another in the
glass. The woman’s dark, irregular face, her keen, concentrated
expression; the man with clear-cut features, sleepy, deep-set grey
eyes, and close-cropped light brown hair.
“I think you are all right as you are, Sis,” he remarked, after a
reflective pause.
“But you are not,” she snapped. “Now, if you had my head. Oh, how I
long to be a man! I’d have gone into Parliament. I’d have helped to
manage the affairs of a nation instead of the affairs of a family. I’d
have worked and slaved and made myself a name—yes, and gone
far!”
“What’s the good of going far?” he asked, in a lazy voice.
“Ah,” she exclaimed, with a touch of passion, “you have no ambition;
you don’t even know what the word means! Look at the men in the
Commons, who have worked themselves up from nothing to be
powers in the land, whose influence is far-reaching, whose voices
are heard at the ends of the earth. What would be your ambition,
come now?” and she surveyed him with sparkling eyes.
“Certainly not to go into Parliament,” he answered, “and sit in the
worst atmosphere in London for eight months of the year.”
“Well, at least it’s an electrical atmosphere, charged with vitality! And
your ambition?” she persisted.
“To win the Grand National, riding my own horse, since you must
know.”
“Pooh!” she exclaimed, snapping her fingers with a gesture of scorn,
“and what a paltry aim!—the yells of a raving mob, a ‘para’ in the
papers, and the chance of breaking your neck.”
“Better than breaking something else! I’m told that a political career,
with its incessant work, crushing disappointments, worry, and fag,
has broken many a fellow’s heart.”
“Heart! Nonsense; I don’t believe you have one. Well, now, as we
are dining early, you had better see about your things from Ryder
Street, and I will go and ’phone for stalls for The Giddy Girl.”
CHAPTER III
THE LAST WORD GOES BEGGING

Sir Richard Wynyard, aged fifty-six, was a little, grey, square-


shouldered man, with a good heart and bad temper. His father, the
notorious Sir Fulke, had put his two sons into the army, given them
small and irregularly paid allowances, and then abandoned them to
their own devices, whilst he squandered the family patrimony on
horses and cards. When Richard, his heir, was quartered in Dublin,
he fell desperately in love with a beautiful Irish girl; but, painfully
aware of his own empty purse, he was too prudent to marry—unlike
his reckless younger brother, who adventured a runaway match on a
captain’s pay and debts. Major Wynyard made no sign, much as this
silence cost him, and when, after his father’s death, he had at last a
roof to offer—Wynyard, a stately old place, although somewhat
dismantled—he sought his lady-love in haste, but, alas! he was
months too late; she had already been summoned to another home,
—the beautiful Rose O’Hara, his heart’s desire, was dead.
This was said to have been Sir Richard’s sole love-affair, and the
one grief of his life. The late baronet’s reckless extravagance had
shattered the fortunes of his descendants; his heir found himself
compelled to let the land, close the Hall, sell off the horses, and take
up his abode with his mother in the town house in Queen’s Gate;
where he lived and how, was indifferent to him, he seemed to have
no heart for anything. This was attributed to his supreme disgust at
inheriting such a legacy of debt; but the real truth was that the loss of
the beautiful Rose had temporarily stunned her lover.
Lady Wynyard, once a celebrated beauty, was now a weak and
withered old dowager, tyrannically ruled by her servants. When she,
too, was carried to the ancestral vault, her son still remained in the
gloomy family abode, and, more from apathy than anything else, fell
under the thrall of her retainers.
Between his father’s and his mother’s debts, Sir Richard found
himself sorely pressed, and he took Martin Kesters, his schoolfellow
and friend, into his confidence.
“I shall be a crippled man all my life,” he declared; “it will take years
to nurse the property into anything like what it was in my
grandfather’s day; and, by that time, that young chap, Owen, will
step into my shoes.”
“Well, Dick, if you don’t mind a bit of risk,” said his companion, “I
know a thing that will set you on your legs and make your fortune;
but it’s not absolutely certain. Still, if it comes off, you get five
hundred per cent. for your money, and become a semi-millionaire.
It’s an Australian gold-mine, and I believe it’s going to boom!”
“Anything is better than this half-and-half existence,” said Sir Richard
impatiently. “You have a long head, Martin, and I’ll take your tip and
put on all I can scrape. I’ll mortgage some outlying land, sell some of
the good pictures and the library, and be either a man or a mouse.
For once in my life I’ll do a big gamble. If I win, you say it’s a big
thing; if I lose, it means a few hundreds a year and a bedroom near
my club for the rest of my days. I take no middle course—I’ll be a
rich man or a pauper.”
And Sir Richard was as good as his word; he scraped up fifteen
thousand pounds, staked the whole sum on his venture—and won.
Subsequently, he cleared the property, invested in some securities,
began to feel at ease in the world, and travelled widely. Having
known the pinch and humiliation of genteel poverty and practised
stern self-denial in his youth, Sir Richard was naturally the last man
to have any sympathy with a nephew—a restless, reckless scatter-
brain—who was following in the footsteps of his squandering
forefathers. The good-looking young scapegrace must have a sharp
lesson, and learn the value of money and independence.
Lady Kesters’ promised interview with her uncle took place. He was
fond of Leila in his own brusque fashion, and secretly plumed himself
on having manœuvred her marriage.
“Well, Leila, I suppose you have come about this precious brother of
yours?” he began, as she was ushered into the smoking-room.
“Of course I have, Uncle Dick,” she replied, as she imprinted a kiss
upon his cheek and swept into a chair. “Something must be done!”
and she looked at him with speculative eagerness.
“There I agree with you,” he answered. “And Owen is the man to do
it. God helps those who help themselves!”
“Owen is most anxious to make another start; but it is not easy for a
soldier man, brought up as he has been.”
“Brought up as a rich man’s heir,” broke in her uncle, with a quick,
impatient movement; “more fool the rich man! I gave the fellow a
good education, good allowance, good send-off. I got him into his
father’s old regiment, and made him a decent allowance; he did fairly
well in India, I admit; but as soon as he came home to the depôt, he
seemed to have lost his head. Why, I believe the young scamp
actually kept racers, and as for his hunters, I never saw finer cattle in
my life! One day, when I happened to run down to Canterbury to visit
him, I noticed a servant exercising a couple of horses—such a pair! I
was bound to stop and admire them, and the groom informed me
that they belonged to Lieutenant Wynyard of the Red Hussars; and
Mr. Wynyard’s uncle hadn’t as much as a donkey to his name!”
“But could have thousands if he chose,” interposed Leila. “As for
racing, it was only his hunters Owen put into regimental
steeplechases and that sort of thing.”
“And that sort of thing came devilish expensive!” snapped Sir
Richard, who was now pacing the room. “I had to pay his debts. I
paid them twice, and he promised on his word of honour to turn over
a new leaf. The next thing he did was to back a bill for an infernal
young swindler, and let me in for two thousand pounds—that was the
last straw!”
“Yes, I know it was,” assented his niece; “but really, Uncle Dick,
Owen was not so much to blame as you believe. He was very steady
out in India for four years; coming home, as you say, went to his
head; he did not realise that money does not go nearly as far here—
especially in an expensive cavalry regiment. He kept polo ponies
and racing ponies in Lucknow, and could not understand that he
could not do the same at home. As to the bill, he is not suspicious, or
sharp at reading character, and is staunch to old friends—or those
he mistakes for friends—as in the case of young de Montfort. He had
never heard what a ‘wrong un’ he turned out; they were at Eton——”
“Yes, I know—same house—same puppy-hole!” growled her uncle.
“And when Mr. de Montfort looked up Owen and told him a pathetic
and plausible tale about his affairs, and swore on his word of honour
that his signature was a mere formality—and——”
“Cleared off to Spain and left me to pay!” interposed Sir Richard,
coming to a halt.
“Owen had to pay too,” retorted his sister, with a touch of bitterness.
“You mean that I made him leave the Service? Yes, I could not afford
to go on supporting an extravagant young ass.”
“Owen is not brilliant, Uncle Dick, but he is no fool.”
“A fool and another man’s money are soon parted. Life was made
too easy for the chap—very different to what I found it at his age. I
had no hunters, no dozens of silk shirts, and rows of polo boots; I
never was to be met lounging down Piccadilly as if the whole earth
belonged to me.”
“Well, at least, Uncle Dick, you were never compelled to give up a
profession you adored, when you were barely five-and-twenty.”
“I’ve given up a lot,” he answered forcibly, “and when I was older
than him; but never mind me; we are talking of Owen. After leaving
the Hussars, Kesters took him on, and got him a capital billet in the
City—a nice soft berth, ten to four, but my gentleman could not stand
an office stool and tall hat, and in five months he had chucked——”
Leila nodded. It was impossible to deny this indictment.
“So then it was my turn again; and I thought a little touch of real work
would be good for the future Sir Owen Wynyard, and, after some
trouble, I heard of a likely opening in the Argentine on the Valencia
Estancia, well out of the way of towns and temptation—a horse-
breeding ranch, too. You see I studied the fellow’s tastes, eh?” And
Sir Richard twirled his eyeglasses by the string—a trick of his when
he considered that he had scored a point.
“I gave him his passage and outfit, and put a few hundreds into the
concern as a spec. and to insure him an interest, and within twelve
months here he is back again on my hands—the proverbial rolling
stone!” He cleared his throat, and continued: “Now, Leila, my girl,
you have a head on your shoulders, and you know that these rolling
stones find their way to the bottom, and I am going to block my
specimen in good time. I suppose he told you what I said to him
yesterday?”
“Yes; he came straight to Mount Street from seeing you.”
“He has got to shift for himself for two years, to earn his bread, with
or without butter, to guarantee that he does not take a penny he has
not worked for, that he does not get into debt or any matrimonial
engagement; should he marry a chorus-girl, by Jove I’ll burn down
Wynyard! If, by the end of that time, he turns up a steady,
industrious, independent member of society, I will make him my
agent—he shall have an adequate allowance, the house to live in,
and most of my money when I am dead!”
Lady Kesters was about to speak, but with a hasty gesture her uncle
interposed.
“I may as well add that I think myself safe in offering this prize, for it’s
my belief that Owen will never win it. He has the family fever in his
veins—the rage for gambling—and he is like the patriarch Reuben,
‘unstable as water and cannot excel.’ At the end of six months he will
be penniless, and you and Kesters will have to come to his rescue;
for my part I wash my hands of him.”
“Uncle Dick,” she said, rising, “I think you are too hard on Owen; he
would not have come back from South America if he had not had a
row with the manager of the Estancia: surely you could not expect an
English gentleman—an Englishman—to stand by and see a poor
woman nearly beaten to death?”

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