Wind Turbine Workshop

Compare blade angle, wind speed and generator load using a bounded power budget.

Grades 3–5 · Physics

Explore one idea

Wind Turbine Workshop

Your goal

At 4 meters per second, test blade angle and generator load to deliver at least 46 watts in this model.

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Wind turbine with 4 meter per second wind, blade setting 0 and generator load 0GeneratorPower budget in wattsAvailable wind untestedCaptured untestedUseful output untestedWind 4 m/s · Rotor area 4 m² · Each test represents one steady setting

Reduced motion is on. The controls still update the scene.

Set the blade angle and generator load, then test. A freely spinning turbine with no useful load delivers zero electrical power in this model.

m/s
Blade angle
Generator load

An illustrative steady power model using air density 1.2 kg/m³ and a 4 m² swept area. Angle coefficients and load efficiencies are teaching assumptions, not turbine specifications. Useful output always stays below the available wind power. This scene shows a test snapshot without animation.

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Learn with Wind Turbine Workshop

Wind Turbine Workshop invites elementary students to compare available wind power with useful generator output. They set wind speed, choose a blade angle, connect a generator load, and test a steady operating condition. Three bars make the energy budget visible, from power passing through the rotor area to captured power and delivered electricity. Guided goals hold wind speed fixed while learners change their design. A disconnected load delivers no useful output, and every tested setting keeps electrical power below the energy available in the wind.

What to look for

Fix the wind

Compare blade angles at the same requested wind speed.

Match the generator

A disconnected generator receives no useful electrical output.

Track the budget

Available, captured and useful power are different quantities.

For teachers and curious learners

Connect wind energy capture with useful generator output. Ask students to predict what will happen, change one setting, and explain what they observe. Learn gives a starting point. Practice and Challenge offer new goals with the same scene.

Steady illustrative coefficients with a 4 square meter rotor; not real turbine specifications.

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