Driving Question
How do Windmills Generate Electricity?
Materials
-NXT Lego parts:
rotor
blades
gears
-camera
-website for project
-background knowledge on operation of windmills
-programming
rotor
blades
gears
-camera
-website for project
-background knowledge on operation of windmills
-programming
Background Research
The earliest windmills date back to 500-900 A.D. created by the Persians. (They are depicted in the photo above.)
These Persian windmills used wind power to mill grains. Modern windmills are now used to create electricity. To quote energy.gov : "The energy in the wind turns two or three propeller-like blades around a rotor. The rotor is connected to the main shaft, which spins a generator to create electricity."
These Persian windmills used wind power to mill grains. Modern windmills are now used to create electricity. To quote energy.gov : "The energy in the wind turns two or three propeller-like blades around a rotor. The rotor is connected to the main shaft, which spins a generator to create electricity."
NXT Windmill Robot
This project was made with lego parts to create a windmill-like robot. The blades will spin as the lever is turned. The robot connects to gears to amplify the power so that the blades will spin.
- wind blows the spinners and make them turn
- the kinetic energy from the spinners powers the rotors, turns the drive shaft
- rotor blades can move about to face wind better
- Within the nacelle, the speed of the drive shaft is powered up through gears
- Connected to the gears is the generator that converts the kinetic energy into electricity
- The tool to measure speed and direction of wind is connected to the nacelle known as the anemometer
- With the measurements collected from the anemometer, the nacelle and rotors are rotated by a motor. It is strategically placed to absorb the most amount of energy from the wind. Brakes prevent the rotors from spinning too quickly.
- The newly generated electricity runs through a cable on the inside of the windmill tower
- A substation transforms the voltage of the electricity so it can be transmitted efficiently to nearby communities. Then the electricty
- Homes enjoy clean, green energy.
- Wind carries on blowing past the turbine, but with lower speed and lower energy (for reasons explained below) and more turbulence (since the turbine has disrupted its flow).
Reflection Questions
What have you learned from this project?
-I learned about the way windmills operate.
How do windmills work?
-The spinners of the windmill are light enough to catch air and spin which in turn spins gears and increases the power to be used in things like grinding grain, generating electricity, pumping water, etc.
What parts in this project did you find harder to understand?
-The hardest was probably understanding the way windmills work, but even that wasn't very hard.
What was your favorite part in the whole project?
-My favorite part was the ELA Component because it gave a unique look on windmills with poetry.
-I learned about the way windmills operate.
How do windmills work?
-The spinners of the windmill are light enough to catch air and spin which in turn spins gears and increases the power to be used in things like grinding grain, generating electricity, pumping water, etc.
What parts in this project did you find harder to understand?
-The hardest was probably understanding the way windmills work, but even that wasn't very hard.
What was your favorite part in the whole project?
-My favorite part was the ELA Component because it gave a unique look on windmills with poetry.
Windmill in Flash
Flash Animation
Flash animation is about clean energy sources, renewable energy, green technology.
Flash Animation
Simple to use, press '-' control to lower wind speed and '+' sign to make windmill rotate faster. Light bulb is glowing according to amount of energy provided by windm
Flash Animation Tutorial
windmill_instructions.pdf | |
File Size: | 199 kb |
File Type: |