Computer-aided design and engineering: A study of windmills in la Mancha (Spain)

This article presents a detailed study, of the Manchegan windmill. This type of windmill is a central symbol in the story of Don Quijote de la Mancha, by Cervantes, which this year celebrates its 4th centenary, and to which this article pays homage. There exist no publications dealing with the technical aspects of these windmills. Studies have been carried out on windmills in the south of Spain, but no comparison has been made between the two types of windmill. This paper studies the technological conditions of the original Manchegan windmills. We carry out a wind evaluation of the region, calculate the power and momentum of the windmills and discuss the results obtained with a comparison with the type of Southern Spanish windmill.