HomeCalculatorsRigid Wing Sail - Thrust Estimate

Rigid Wing Sail - Thrust Estimate

Along-ship thrust of a rigid wing sail given sail area, lift coefficient, relative wind and angle - Oceanbird/WindWings design principle.

SailWingWind
Along-ship thrust
119.4kN
Formula, assumptions, and limits

Typical WindWings (BAR) saves 1.5 t fuel/day on a kamsarmax - ~3–5 % voyage fuel. Optimal apparent angle 80–110° for wing sails. Multiple rigs on one ship can scale linearly.

Symbol legend

SymbolMeaningUnitSource
Sail areasail geometry
Lift coefficient - wind-tunnel test
Apparent wind speedm/sanemometer