I think this idea of a more or less cylindrical profile with fans has been investigated by Jacques-Yves Cousteau with the Alcyone on which two turbosails has been implemented. A Turbosail does not rotate.
It consists of an airfoil, vertical and grossly ovoidal tube, with a mobile flap which improves the separation between the intrados and extrados. An aspiration system pulls air into the tubes, and is used to increase the depression on one side of the sail; a reaction force occurs as the result of the pressure difference. In this way, the sails act as wings, creating both lift and drag.
A movable, flap-like trailing-edge shutter and a fan-drawn aspiration system are used for control and increase the magnitude of the maximum reaction force.
As a result of this design, the turbosail provides a reaction force, a component of which, thrust, is available for the direction of travel. Just like an unpowered sail, thrust cannot be obtained when making headway directly into a headwind, nor can it be obtained without wind. However, the use of fan-drawn aspiration, which requires engine power, increases the generated reaction force compared to the unpowered device.
http://www.thiiink.com/history-of-flettner-rotor/history-of-windpower/
