When the blades of a wind turbine rotate, a circle is formed whose diameter is called the rotor diameter.
Figure 4 illustrates that a wind turbine's effect increases the larger the rotor diameter.
Rotor diameter 27 ma Power 225 kW
Rotor diameter 33 ma Power 300 kW
Rotor diameter 48 ma Power 750 kW
Rotor diameter 54 mi Power 1000 kW
Figure 4
The file Vindmoeller shows a dataset for the correlation between rotor diameter (measured in m) and power (measured in kW) for selected wind turbines.
a) Plot the data in a coordinate system. The relationship between rotor diameter r and power p(r) can be described by a power development of the form p(r)=b.r
b) Determine a and b. A newer wind turbine has a power of 12000 kW.
c) According to your model, what is the rotor diameter of the wind turbine? According to the wind turbine industry, doubling the rotor diameter will quadruple the effect.
d) Decide whether the claim fits your model.