WindTurbines

Zephyrville, a small community, wants to become energy-independent and create new jobs. After doing some research, they determined that the strong, consistent winds in their area would be perfect to operate wind turbines. The town requested that your firm present wind turbine design proposals at their next community meeting. The design proposal should include a model so that the community can envision what wind turbines might look like in the community.

It is your first day as an intern at AllAbout Design, an engineering design firm. You are really excited to flex your design muscles and help the team. Everyone in the office is talking enthusiastically about a new project. The firm has just been hired to create a wind turbine design solution for the Zephyrville community.

The project caught the attention of the host of a popular podcast called FindOut. The latest episode highlights the Zephyrville community.

Check out the podcast!

Your first project! All of the interns at the firm are being asked to design a model wind turbine. The top designs will be shared with the Zephyrville community. To get started, you need to learn more about wind turbines.

Move on to learn a little more background information on wind turbines.

Wind turbines use wind, a renewable energy source, to make electricity. The wind turns the turbine blades around a rotator that spins a generator. The spinning generator is what creates electricity.

Wind turbine blades spin around a horizontal axis (left) or a vertical axis (right).

Let's explore an example of a horizontal wind turbine.

a.) anemometer - device used to measure wind speed

b.) nacelle- outer housing of a wind turbine

c.) generator - converts mechanical energy into electrical energy

d.) yaw system - rotates the nacelle to adjust for the changing wind direction

e.) gears - increase the rotational speed to the speed needed to drive the generator

f.) rotor hub - holds the blades in position as they turn

g.) rotor blade - converts kinetic energy of the wind into rotary motion

6

Which item determines the direction of the wind?

How long can a rotor blade be?

At what wind speed do the rotor blades begin to spin?

Where are the rotor blades attached?

Look at the area highlighted yellow. There is a bigger gear connected to a smaller gear. What does this do with the speed of the wind turbine?

In your own words, summarize the article "How turbines generate electricity."