CN103711642A - System and method for determining wind turbine operation parameters - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for determining wind turbine operating parameters. The system includes a pressure sensor and a processing unit. The pressure sensor is arranged on the wind turbine to sense wind pressure and generate a wind pressure signal. The processing unit receives and processes the wind pressure signal to obtain a wind speed profile. Further, the processing unit may process the wind speed profile and the physical parameters of the wind turbine stored therein, so as to obtain the operating parameters of the wind turbine.

Description

Systems and methods for determining wind turbine operating parameters

technical field

The present invention relates to a system and method that can be used to determine wind turbine (Wind Turbine) operating parameters (Operating Parameters), in particular to a system and method that can be used to determine wind turbine operating parameters in a real wind field.

Background technique

With growing concerns about the environment and climate change, wind turbines have been widely used to convert wind energy into other forms of usable energy, such as electricity. In particular, the wind turbine is provided with blades, which can capture the kinetic energy of the wind and convert the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy through its rotation.

Usually, under a certain wind load (Wind Load), the wind turbine is often designed to have a series of theoretical parameters, for example, the blades of the wind turbine are designed to have corresponding theoretical deflection curves (Deflection Curves). However, in real wind farms, the operating conditions of wind turbines are variable and complex. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the operating parameters of the wind turbine, so that not only the design of the wind turbine can be verified through real wind field data, but also the health status of the wind turbine can be evaluated during its operation.

The operating parameters of the wind turbine may include wind speed (Wind Speed), blade deflection (BladeDeflection), blade bending moment (Bending Moment), wind turbine rotor asymmetric load (Asymmetric Load), thrust (Thrust), yaw (Yaw ), Rotor Speed, Generator Speed, Structural Vibration, etc.

At present, there have been some attempts to determine the operating parameters of the wind turbine, such as installing sensors on the wind turbine to determine its operating parameters. However, since different sensors have different characteristics, different sensors need to be installed to determine different operating parameters, which increases the difficulty of installation and maintenance of the wind turbine. Moreover, even if a variety of sensors are installed, it cannot determine all operating parameters.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a new system and method for determining wind turbine operating parameters.

Contents of the invention

One embodiment of the invention provides a system for determining wind turbine operating parameters. The system includes a pressure sensor and a processing unit. The pressure sensor is arranged on the wind turbine to sense wind pressure and generate a wind pressure signal. The processing unit receives and processes the wind pressure signal to obtain a wind speed profile. Further, the processing unit may process the wind speed profile and the physical parameters of the wind turbine stored therein, so as to obtain the operating parameters of the wind turbine.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a method for determining an operating parameter of a wind turbine. The method includes using a pressure sensor installed on the wind turbine to sense wind pressure to generate a wind pressure signal; processing the wind pressure signal to obtain a wind speed profile; and using a processing unit to analyze the wind speed profile and the predetermined wind force The physical parameters of the turbine are processed to determine the operating parameters.

Description of drawings

By describing the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the present invention can be better understood. In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a wind turbine provided with a system of the present invention for determining wind turbine operating parameters;

Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of an embodiment of the wind turbine shown in Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a system of the present invention for determining wind turbine operating parameters; and

Fig. 4 is a schematic flow diagram of an embodiment of the method of the present invention for determining operating parameters of a wind turbine.

Detailed ways

Specific implementations of the present invention will be described below. It should be noted that in the process of specific descriptions of these implementations, for the sake of concise description, it is impossible for this specification to describe all the features of the actual implementations in detail. It should be understood that, in the actual implementation process of any embodiment, just like in the process of any engineering project or design project, in order to achieve the developer's specific goals and to meet system-related or business-related constraints, Often a variety of specific decisions are made, and this can vary from one implementation to another. In addition, it will be appreciated that while such development efforts may be complex and lengthy, the technology disclosed in this disclosure will be Some design, manufacturing or production changes based on the content are just conventional technical means, and should not be interpreted as insufficient content of the present disclosure.

Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the claims and the description shall have the ordinary meanings understood by those skilled in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. "First", "second" and similar words used in the patent application specification and claims of the present invention do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. "A" or "one" and similar words do not indicate a limitation of number, but mean that there is at least one. Words such as "comprises" or "comprises" and similar terms mean that the elements or items listed before "comprises" or "comprises" include the elements or items listed after "comprises" or "comprises" and their equivalent elements, and do not exclude other components or objects. "Connected" or "connected" and similar terms are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, nor are they limited to direct or indirect connections.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a wind turbine 10 provided with a system 11 of the present invention for determining wind turbine operating parameters. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of one embodiment of the wind turbine 10 shown in FIG. 1 . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a wind turbine 10 includes a tower (Tower) 12 , a nacelle (Nacelle) 13 and a rotor (Rotor) 14 arranged on the upper end of the tower 12 . The tower 12 extends upwardly from a support device 100 , such as a ground or platform, which has a suitable height and shape and defines a cavity (not shown) between the nacelle 13 and the support device 100 . The rotor 14 is provided with a rotatable hub 15 and at least one blade 16 . A rotatable hub 15 adjoins the nacelle 13 , and blades 16 are arranged on the hub 15 and extend outward from the hub 15 .

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, the wind turbine 10 is provided with a plurality of blades 16, such as three blades. The blades 16 are arranged around the hub 15 and are spaced apart from each other at a certain distance, so that the blades 16 can rotate with the rotation of the hub 15 of the rotor 14, thereby capturing the kinetic energy (Kinetic Energy) of wind force and converting the kinetic energy into other components through rotation. A form of energy, such as electricity.

In some embodiments, the length of each blade 16 may range from 15 meters to 91 meters. In other embodiments, each blade 16 has other suitable lengths to capture the kinetic energy of the wind. Thus, during operation of the wind turbine 10 , wind force may strike the blades 16 in the direction 17 , and the rotor 14 rotates along the rotation axis 102 to rotate the blades 16 to capture and transmit wind energy.

In this embodiment, although the wind turbine 12 is a horizontal axis wind turbine (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine), in other examples, the wind turbine 12 may also be a vertical axis wind turbine (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine). For ease of illustration, some elements of wind turbine 12 are not shown.

In one embodiment, during operation of wind turbine 10, blades 16 may be subjected to wind loads or other forces, such as centrifugal forces, which may cause blades 16 to deflect from a neutral or non-deflected position. to the deflected position. Therefore, in order to ensure the safe and stable operation of the wind turbine 10, it is necessary to determine or monitor the operating parameters of the wind turbine, so as to evaluate the health status of the wind turbine 10 and use the monitored field data to verify the design of the wind turbine. The so-called "operating parameters" here may include the parameters of the wind turbine during operation, and may also refer to the parameters when it is in a static state.

In a non-limiting example, the operating parameters of the wind turbine may include wind speed (Wind Speed), blade deflection (Blade Deflection), blade bending moment (Bending Moment), blade speed (RotatingSpeed), rotor asymmetric load (Asymmetric Load), thrust (Thrust), yaw (Yaw), rotor speed (Rotor Speed), generator speed (Generator Speed), structural vibration (Structural Vibration). In certain examples, the system 11 of the present invention may determine or monitor all operating parameters of the wind turbine 10 .

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a system 11 of the present invention for determining operating parameters of a wind turbine 10 . As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the system 11 includes a pressure sensor 18 , a processing unit 19 and a monitoring device 20 .

In this embodiment, the pressure sensor 18 is arranged on the wind turbine 10, which can be used to sense the wind pressure and generate a wind pressure signal to facilitate the determination of the wind speed profile (Wind Profile) or wind speed distribution (Wind Speed Distribution) . In an embodiment of the present invention, the pressure sensor 18 may include an absolute pressure sensor and/or a differential pressure sensor. In one non-limiting example, pressure sensor 18 includes a differential pressure sensor. A wind speed profile may include wind speed data.

In this embodiment, the pressure sensor 18 is arranged on the tower 12, the hub 15 and the blade 16 to measure the wind speed profile at different positions. In this example, five pressure sensors 18 are provided, so one each on the tower 12 , the hub 15 and the three blades 16 . The five pressure sensors 18 are respectively arranged on the middle parts 21 , 22 of the corresponding blade 16 and the tower 12 and on the center part (not marked) of the hub 15 . The so-called middle portion here may refer to the transverse or longitudinal middle region of the element along its length direction. The so-called central portion may refer to the central area of the circumference of the hub 15 .

In other embodiments, more than one pressure sensor 18 may be provided on each of the tower 12 , the hub 15 and the three blades 16 . In certain examples, more than one pressure sensor disposed on the tower 13 and the three blades 16 may be disposed along the length thereof.

For example, three pressure sensors 18 are sequentially arranged on the top 23 , the middle 22 and the bottom 24 of each blade 16 . As used herein, "end" may refer to an end region of an element. The top end 23 is arranged on the free end of the blade 16 and the bottom end 24 is adjacent to the hub 15 . In certain applications, more than one pressure sensor 18 may be provided along the circumference of the hub 15 . Pressure sensors 18 may be located at any suitable location on tower 12 , hub 15 and blade 16 based on the particular application.

In some examples, a pressure sensor 18 may be provided on one or more of the tower 12 , the hub 15 and the three blades 16 . Although a plurality of pressure sensors 18 are provided in this embodiment, in a specific example, only one pressure sensor 18 may be provided for sensing. For example, the one pressure sensor 18 is provided at the center of the hub 15 or at the center of one of the blades 16 .

In a non-limiting example, pressure sensor 18 is exposed to wind striking wind turbine 10 , such as blade 16 , in order to measure wind pressure. In some applications, pressure sensor 18 is disposed on an exterior surface 101 of wind turbine 10 that faces the wind striking wind turbine 10 . In certain applications, the pressure sensor 18 may also be disposed on an interior surface of the wind turbine 10 and exposed to the wind.

The processing unit 19 is operable to receive and process wind pressure signals from pressure sensors 18 located at desired locations on the wind turbine 19 to determine a wind speed profile. For example, the pressure sensor 18 monitors the total wind pressure Pt and the static wind pressure Ps, and transmits them to the processing unit 19 for processing. The processing unit 19 obtains the wind speed V at different locations according to the formula V ² =2(Pt-Ps)/ρ. Here, ρ may refer to wind density (WindDensity), which may be determined according to the sensing of the pressure sensor 18 . Further, the processing unit 19 may analyze and process the obtained wind profile and the predetermined physical parameters of the wind turbine set therein to determine the operating parameters of the wind turbine.

In some embodiments, processing device 19 is not limited to any particular processing device that may be used to perform the processing tasks of the present invention. In the embodiments of the present invention, a processing device may refer to any device capable of performing operations or calculations, which is necessary for performing the tasks of the present invention. As understood by those skilled in the art, a processing device may also refer to any device capable of receiving an input and processing the input according to prescribed rules, thereby generating an output.

As shown in FIG. 3 , in a non-limiting example, the processing unit 19 may include a first module 25 for receiving and processing the wind pressure signal from the pressure sensor 18 to determine the wind speed profile and store predetermined physical parameters of the wind turbine 10 The second module 26. Usually, when a wind turbine is manufactured, its physical parameters can be determined. The physical parameters may include, but are not limited to, material parameters, aerodynamic parameters, and geometric parameters. The geometric parameters may include, for example, shape, length, width of the blade, and blade pitch, among others.

In this embodiment, the processing unit 19 may further include a processing module 27 , which may receive and process the wind speed profile from the first module 25 and the physical parameters from the second module 26 to determine the operating parameters of the wind turbine 10 . For example, the processing module 27 analyzes the wind profile from different positions of a blade 16 and the physical parameters of the blade, so as to obtain real-time blade deflection information at the corresponding position of the blade 16 . Based on the comparison of the deflection information at different positions of the blade, the position information of the blade 16 relative to the tower 12 can be determined.

In other examples, the processing module 27 can analyze the wind speed profile from the hub 15 and the physical parameters of the wind turbine, so as to obtain the deviation (Deviation) information of the hub 15 relative to the rotation axis 102, which is helpful for the wind turbine 10. The operating status is monitored.

In some embodiments, the processing module 27 may include a wind turbine modeling program that may determine the operating parameters of the wind turbine based on the analysis of the wind profile and the physical parameters of the wind turbine. In a non-limiting example, the processing module 27 may include a finite element modeling program to obtain operating parameters in real time.

For example, during the processing of the processing unit 19, the finite element model program uses the Runge-Kutta-Nystrom method to solve the motion dynamic equations inputting the wind profile and physical parameters , so as to obtain the operating parameters. In one example, the motion dynamic equation can be obtained based on a Dynamic Beam-bending Model (Dynamic Beam-bending Model) for the blade's lateral deflection (Transverse Deflection). Based on different applications, the processing unit 19 can use other motion dynamic equations to obtain the operating parameters of the wind turbine in real time.

The monitoring device 20 is connected with the processing unit 19, and it may include a display device, such as a liquid crystal display device, to display the analysis results, which is convenient for users to observe. In addition, a control device (not shown) may also be provided, which may be connected to the processing unit 19 so as to receive determined operating parameters from the processing unit 19 for controlling the wind turbine 10 . The embodiments shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 are only illustrative, and the first and second modules 25 , 26 and the processing module 27 can be set separately or integrated.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 28 of the present invention for determining operating parameters of a wind turbine 10 . As shown in FIG. 4 , during operation, in step 29 , the pressure sensor 18 is used to sense wind pressure and generate a wind pressure signal. Then, in step 30, the wind pressure signal is analyzed to obtain a wind speed profile. Subsequently, in step 31 , the wind speed profile and the physical parameters of the wind turbine are analyzed to determine the operating parameters of the wind turbine. In a non-limiting example, both steps 30 and 31 can be performed in the processing unit 19 .

In the embodiment of the present invention, the system 11 is provided with a pressure sensor 18 and a processing unit 19 to determine the operating parameters of the wind turbine 10, which helps to ensure the safe and stable operation of the wind turbine. In conventional systems, since there is no real wind field data, the processing unit 19 is often used to simulate the operating parameters of the wind turbine. However, the data obtained from such simulations usually cannot accurately reflect the operating parameters in actual operation. In the system 11 of the present invention, due to the use of the pressure sensor 18, the real-time wind profile in the actual wind field can be accurately obtained, which is very beneficial for obtaining accurate operating parameters of the wind turbine. At the same time, through the processing of the processing unit 19 , the system 11 of the present invention can determine or monitor all operating parameters of the wind turbine 10 .

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications and variations can be made to the present invention. It is, therefore, to be realized that the intent of the appended claims is to cover all such modifications and variations as are within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (19)

1. for a system for definite wind turbine Operational Limits, comprising:

Pressure transducer, it is arranged on wind turbine sensing blast and produces wind pressure signal; And

Processing unit, its reception is also processed described wind pressure signal to obtain wind speed profile, this processing unit further can be to described wind speed profile and the physical parameter that stores in advance described wind turbine within it process, thereby obtain the Operational Limits of described wind turbine.

2. the system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wind turbine comprises pylon, is arranged on the cabin on described pylon, the rotating wheel hub being connected with described cabin, and the plurality of vanes of joining with described wheel hub, described pressure transducer is arranged at least one in described pylon, wheel hub and plurality of vanes.

3. system as claimed in claim 2, wherein described in each, the middle part of blade is provided with a described pressure transducer.

4. system as claimed in claim 2, the central part of wherein said wheel hub is provided with a described pressure transducer.

5. system as claimed in claim 2, the middle part of wherein said pylon is provided with a described pressure transducer.

6. system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said pressure transducer is arranged on the outer surface of the described described wind turbine towards wind.

7. system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said pressure transducer comprises differential pressure transducer.

8. the system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wind speed profile comprises air speed data.

9. the system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said processing unit comprises puocessing module, it can receive and process described wind speed profile and described physical parameter to determine the Operational Limits of described wind turbine.

10. system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said puocessing module comprises FEM (finite element) model.

11. systems as claimed in claim 9, wherein said processing unit further comprises can receive and process described wind pressure signal to produce the first module of described wind speed profile and to store the second module of described physical parameter.

12. the system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said Operational Limits comprise the deflection of wind speed, blade, the rotating speed of the moment of flexure of blade, blade, one or more in the asymmtric load of rotor, thrust, driftage, spinner velocity, alternator speed and structural vibration.

13. 1 kinds of methods for definite wind turbine Operational Limits, comprising:

The pressure transducer that utilization is arranged on wind turbine comes sensing blast to produce wind pressure signal;

Described wind pressure signal is processed to obtain wind speed profile; And

Utilize processing unit to process to determine described Operational Limits to the physical parameter of described wind speed profile and predetermined wind turbine.

14. methods as claimed in claim 13, wherein carry out in described processing unit the processing of described wind pressure signal, and described pressure transducer comprises differential pressure transducer.

15. methods as claimed in claim 13, wherein said wind speed profile comprises air speed data.

16. methods as claimed in claim 13, wherein said Operational Limits comprise the deflection of wind speed, blade, the rotating speed of the moment of flexure of blade, blade, one or more in the asymmtric load of rotor, thrust, driftage, spinner velocity, alternator speed and structural vibration.

17. methods as claimed in claim 13, wherein said processing unit comprises puocessing module, and described puocessing module comprises FEM (finite element) model, and it can receive and process described wind speed profile and described physical parameter.

18. methods as claimed in claim 13, described pressure transducer towards and be exposed to and in the wind that impacts described wind turbine, carry out sensing blast.

19. methods as claimed in claim 18, wherein said pressure transducer is arranged on the outer surface of described wind turbine.

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