4 ms·
Just a random shot in the dark but I imagine that you need variable pitch blades (in addition to or instead of gears) because gears would only regulate the spee
by eximius 8y ago
Just a random shot in the dark but I imagine that you need variable pitch blades (in addition to or instead of gears) because gears would only regulate the speed of the turbine, but not the force exerted by the wind on the blade.
Put it into a high gear in a high wind, it may not rotate fast and fly off due to angular momentum, but it might just snap off.
- gomox 8y agoGenerally speaking a stopped turbine's blades are mostly stalled and under much lower stress than when rotating (albeit in different direction). The angle of attack of the blades is designed for moving blades. The surprising result of this is that the brake force needed to keep the turbine stopped is much smaller than the one needed to stop it, despite the relatively low mass of the blades.