In 'physical' (real) pitch regulated wind turbines, pitch actuators are motors that pitch (i.e. rotate) the blades to get the desired pitch. In a pitch regulated wind turbine, the actuators are active also when the pitch shall not change to keep the blade from rotating. Rotation is accomplished by applying torque at the blade root. The magnitude of the torque is calculated by a control system (software). Although there are typically as many pitch motors as there are blades, they typically have the same control system. In ASHES, a Rotor has one Pitch actuator part per blade. A Pitch actuator part represents the control system for the actuator torque and the torque that is being applied to the root of the blade to get the correct pitch. The correct pitch is set by another control system: Demanded pitch system.

The Pitch actuator scheme is available for every Demanded pitch scheme, including Fixed. When it is set to No structural pitch, no Pitch actuator parts are created and the blade structure keeps its initial pitch orientation (in a physical (real) wind turbine this is like the blades being bolted to the hub so they cannot rotate). When it is set to PID controller or Python script, one Pitch actuator part per blade applies a root torque to follow the demanded pitch with a finite stiffness. This means that even a Fixed demanded pitch is actively held by the actuator, rather than the blades being rigidly fixed.