Parts of Windmill
Foundation
-concrete blocks called footing
-keep tower from rocking during
winds and earthquake
Blades
-wind blows over them causing rotor to spin
-most of them 3 blades
Controller
-used for power management
-initiate or shut down the turbine
Yaw Drive
-minimize the yaw angle error
-aligns turbine's nacelle with wind direction
Nacelle
-transforms wind's kinetic energy to mechanical energy
-transfers the energy to generator
Rotor
-connects the propeller blades and generator
-makes generator spin to create electricity
Wind Vane
-measures the wind direction
-communicates with the yaw drive to orient
Anemometer
-measures wind speed
-measures wind direction
Brakes
-make blades to rotate at a safe speed
-can stop rotor for maintenance
Gear Box
-connects the shafts to electrical generator
-increases the rotational speed
Generator
-it is connected to the main shaft through rotor
-converts mechanical energy to electrical
Pitch
-monitors and adjust wind turbine's rotor blade angle
-also effects turbine's rotational speed
Tower
-supports the structure of the turbine
-taller tower enable turbine to capture more energy
Yaw Motor
-it is used to turn the nacelle
-it makes the rotor to face the wind
