GCSE - Engineering Support Project 1 Wind Turbines SEP Publication Support
Designing efficient wind turbines often involves effects that can seem counterintuitive. For example, many students predict that blades with a deep pitch should work better than those that are flatter to the direction of the wind.
Experiments confirm that with a deep pitch, the turbine starts to rotate more quickly, but what can surprise students is that with a shallower pitch the turbine eventually turns faster and produces a greater output.
TEP has developed a 'workshop' engineering version of the ‘mini-turbine’ using commercially available materials. The mini-turbine can be used for simple introductory work on wind power, as well as more advanced work on the performance of more complex blade shapes. There are additional computer-based activities to complement the practical work.
Understanding how a wind turbine works involves pupils in using some challenging concepts,
such as energy and power, the conservation of energy and the efficiency of energy transfers.
This publication is ideal as extra support to practical activities undertaken in engineering and
to help explain the science behind wind power.
