High Performance Reefable Wingsail Feasibility Study

翼帆的襟翼类似于客机机翼在起飞和着陆时使用的襟翼，以在相对较低的空速下增加可用的升力，与类似尺寸的传统帆相比，它可以产生显著更大的驱动力，并且可以更接近于风。这允许使用较小的帆和较低的桅杆高度，使其对港口装卸作业的阻碍较小，并增强了航行性能。目前具有整体桅杆的高性能刚性框架翼帆，如F50双体船，每次使用时都需要起重机来操纵/操纵船只，因为翼帆不能安全地放置很长时间，并由机库存储。目前更实用的替代翼帆可以：*可以类似于可折叠的纸灯的方式降下，在这种方式下，帆的下半部分只需简单地折叠起来，有效地禁止使用由增强聚酯薄膜或*等薄板材料制成的高效现代帆布的工艺通常由两个帆面组成，每个帆面实际上是一个传统的软帆，它们依靠没有内部框架支撑的板条的刚性来保持帆的形状。这会导致帆在被强风变形时具有更大的曲率，而在这种情况下，为了减少驱动力以保持对船的控制，需要相反的情况。本项目研究使用基于刚性横向框架的高性能可折叠/可折叠翼帆的实用和经济可行性，该框架可以拉直，允许两边的风帆覆盖被剥落或折叠。帆布/薄膜面板始终是单一的曲率，除了靠近桅杆底部的过渡区，那里的曲率过渡足够柔和，以避免褶皱。这使得刚性翼帆与薄膜帆布/覆盖的性能优势得以保留，同时允许帆覆盖膜完全收紧或移除，同时保留桅杆，这是大多数海滩猫和巡航游艇的典型做法。将该平台用作三艘多壳船、一艘适合残疾(和健全)船员的6.5米日间航行三体船、一艘15米双体渡轮和一艘远洋邮轮的主要推进手段的经济可行性，以及将其改装为现有机动船舶的技术可行性。

Wingsails with flaps analogous to the flaps used by an airliner wing when taking off and landing to increase the lift available at relatively low airspeed can generate significantly more drive than a conventional sail of similar size as well as sailing closer to the wind. This allows the use of a smaller sail with a lower mast height, making it less obstructive to loading/unloading operations in port as well as enhanced sailing performance.Current high performance rigid framed wingsails with integral masts such as the F50 catamarans need a crane to rig/derig the boat every time it is used as the wing sail cannot be safely left up for long and a hangar to store it.Current more practical alternative wingsails either:* Can be lowered in a manner similar to a collapsible paper lantern in which the lowered part of the sail is just simply crumpled up, a process which effectively prohibits the use of efficient modern sailcloth made from sheet materials such as reinforced mylar or* usually consist of double sail surfaces that are effectively each a conventional soft sail and which rely on the stiffness of their battens unsupported by internal framework to maintain the shape of the sail. This results in a sail that tends to have greater curvature as it gets deformed by strong winds, whereas the opposite is required in order to reduce drive to maintain control of the boat in these conditions.This project studies the practical and economic feasibility of using high performance reefable/furlable wingsails based on rigid transverse frames which can straighten out to allow the sail covering on either side to be flaked or furled. The sailcloth/film panels are always in single curvature apart from a transition zone near the base of the mast where the curvature transition is gentle enough to avoid crumpling. This allows the performance advantages of a rigid wing sail with film based sailcloth/covering to be retained while allowing the sail covering film to be reefed or removed altogether while leaving the mast in place as is typically done for most beach cats and cruising yachts.Economic feasibility of using this rig as the primary means of propulsion for three multihull vessels, a 6.5m daysailing trimaran suitable for disabled (and ablebodied) crew, a 15m catamaran ferry and an oceangoing cruise ship is considered as well as the technical feasibility of retrofitting it to existing motor vessels.