A device and method for monitoring the thickness of a friction plate

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for monitoring the thickness of a friction plate, the device comprising: a first distance sensor, which is arranged at a component that can rotate relative to a yaw bearing and is aligned with the teeth of a gear ring of the yaw bearing, the first distance sensor being configured to measure the distance from the first distance sensor to the teeth; and a controller, which is configured to determine the thickness of the friction plate according to the measured distance. The present invention also relates to a corresponding monitoring method. By means of the device or the method, the state of the friction plate can be monitored in real time, reliably and accurately, and the yaw angle can also be accurately measured by means of the device or the method.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the field of wind power generation, and more particularly to a device for monitoring the thickness of a friction plate. In addition, the present invention also relates to a method for monitoring the thickness of a friction plate. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the field of clean energy has shown a trend of rapid development. As a representative of clean energy, the application of wind turbines is growing. The blades of wind turbines are the core components of wind turbines to capture wind energy, and the yaw control system in the nacelle is an important component for adjusting the yaw angle of the blades. Its health is directly related to equipment safety and power generation efficiency.

[0003] An important component that determines the health of the yaw control system is the friction plate arranged between the nacelle and the yaw bearing, because the reliable relative sliding between the two mainly depends on the state of the friction plate. However, as the wind turbine runs and the number of yaws increases, the friction plate will gradually wear out. Especially in severe wind conditions, the yaw system may slip and cause increased wear of the friction plate. During on-site operation and maintenance, in order to prevent the safety and power generation performance of the wind turbine from being affected by excessive wear of the friction plate, the state of the friction plate will be regularly checked on-site by the operation and maintenance personnel. However, the regular inspection by on-site personnel cannot determine the wear state of the friction plate in real time and automatically alarm, which may cause potential risks and losses. Summary of the invention

[0004] The task of the present invention is to provide a device for monitoring the thickness of a friction plate and a method for monitoring the thickness of a friction plate. Through the device or the method, the state of the friction plate can be monitored in real time, reliably and accurately. At the same time, the yaw angle can also be accurately measured through the device or the method.

[0005] In a first aspect of the present invention, the aforementioned task is achieved by a device for monitoring the thickness of a friction plate, comprising:

[0006] a first distance sensor arranged at a component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing and aligned with a tooth of a gear ring of the yaw bearing, the first distance sensor being configured to measure a distance from the first distance sensor to the tooth; and

[0007] A controller is configured to determine a thickness of the friction plate based on the measured distance.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing is a nacelle bottom plate, and the controller is configured to determine the thickness L of the friction plate according to the following formula:

[0009] L=H–H1–H2,

[0010] Wherein H is the distance from the nacelle bottom plate to the gear ring of the yaw bearing, H1 is the distance from the first distance sensor to the nacelle bottom plate, and H2 is the measured distance from the first distance sensor to the teeth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing.

[0011] Through this preferred solution, the thickness of the friction plate can be simply determined, and because the distance sensor generates a pulse signal indicating the distance from each tooth, the circumferential thickness of the entire friction plate can be determined according to the pulse signal, thereby more accurately locating the defect or weak part of the friction plate. It should be noted that the distance sensor can also be arranged at other positions that can rotate relative to the gear ring of the yaw bearing, such as the cabin wall. In the case of being arranged at other positions, the fixed values ​​H and H1 in the formula should also be adjusted accordingly to obtain the thickness of the friction plate.

[0012] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the device further comprises a proximity sensor, which is arranged so that the proximity sensor can measure the number of yaw turns of the yaw bearing, and the controller is further configured to determine the yaw angle according to the number of pulses of the pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor and the number of yaw turns measured by the proximity sensor. Through this preferred embodiment, the yaw angle of the nacelle can be simply determined.

[0013] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the proximity sensor is arranged at the brake caliper below the gear ring of the yaw bearing, so that the proximity sensor generates a pulse signal to record the number of yaw turns when passing through a specified bolt. Through this preferred embodiment, the yaw angle can be simply determined. However, it should be noted that the proximity sensor can also be arranged at other positions as long as the number of yaw turns can be determined, wherein the reference object for the pulse signal of the proximity sensor can be, for example, any protrusion on the gear ring or on the bottom plate of the cabin. A person skilled in the art can conceive of such an arrangement under the guidance of the present invention.

[0014] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the device further comprises a second distance sensor, which is arranged at the component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing and the distance between the distance measuring point of the second distance sensor and the distance measuring point of the first distance sensor is n+0.5 teeth, wherein n is an integer, and the controller is further configured to determine the yaw direction according to the pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor and the pulse signal measured by the second distance sensor. Through this preferred embodiment, the yaw direction can be simply determined. Here, the yaw direction includes a defined positive direction and a reverse direction opposite to the positive direction. The distance between the distance measuring point of the second distance sensor and the distance measuring point of the first distance sensor can be any number of teeth + 0.5 teeth, so that the pulse waveforms of the two distance sensors are just staggered by about half a cycle, thereby the yaw direction can be simply determined. In the present invention, the "distance measuring point" refers to the intersection or projection point of the distance measuring line of the distance sensor on the gear ring of the yaw bearing.

[0015] In a second aspect of the invention, the aforementioned object is solved by a method for monitoring the thickness of a friction plate, the method comprising the following steps:

[0016] receiving a first pulse signal from a first distance sensor, the first pulse signal indicating a distance between the first distance sensor and a tooth of a gear ring of the yaw bearing, wherein the first distance sensor is arranged at a component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing and aligned with the tooth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing, the first distance sensor being configured to measure a distance from the first distance sensor to the tooth;

[0017] receiving a second pulse signal from a proximity sensor, the second pulse signal representing the number of yaw revolutions of the yaw bearing, wherein the proximity sensor is arranged such that the proximity sensor can measure the number of yaw revolutions of the yaw bearing;

[0018] receiving a third pulse signal from a second distance sensor, the third pulse signal indicating a distance between the second distance sensor and a tooth of a gear ring of the yaw bearing, wherein the second distance sensor is arranged at the component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing and a distance between a distance measuring point of the second distance sensor and a distance measuring point of the first distance sensor is n+0.5 teeth, wherein n is an integer; and

[0019] The thickness, yaw angle and / or yaw direction of the friction plate are determined according to the first pulse signal, the second pulse signal and the third pulse signal.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that n = 1. With this preferred embodiment, the first and second distance sensors can be arranged close to each other, thereby facilitating accurate arrangement of the sensors.

[0021] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing is a nacelle bottom plate, and determining the thickness L of the friction plate comprises:

[0022] L=H–H1–H2,

[0023] Wherein H is the distance from the nacelle bottom plate to the gear ring of the yaw bearing, H1 is the distance from the first distance sensor to the nacelle bottom plate, and H2 is the measured distance from the first distance sensor to the teeth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing.

[0024] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the yaw angle α is determined by the following formula:

[0025]

[0026] Wherein k is the number of pulses of the pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor, N is the number of teeth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing, and Q is the number of yaw turns.

[0027] By means of this preferred solution, the yaw angle can be determined simply and accurately.

[0028] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that determining the yaw direction comprises:

[0029] determining a change in the second pulse signal when the first pulse signal is at a high level; and

[0030] If the change is a rising edge, the yaw direction is determined to be a positive direction, and if the change is a falling edge, the yaw direction is determined to be a negative direction.

[0031] Through this preferred solution, the yaw direction can be determined simply and accurately.

[0032] The present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: (1) Through the present invention, the thickness of the friction plate and the yaw angle can be determined simply and accurately, wherein the thickness of the friction plate measured by the present invention is the circumferential thickness of the entire friction plate, which is convenient for analyzing the entire friction plate to locate defects or weak parts, and because the cumulative result of the number of gears of multiple circles is used when determining the yaw angle, the determined yaw angle has greater accuracy; (2) Through the present invention, the navigation direction can also be conveniently determined; (3) The present invention uses low-cost devices, simple installation and calculation to achieve the simultaneous calculation of multiple important parameters, without the need for major improvements to the existing fan structure, and is therefore very suitable for application to existing fans. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] The present invention will be further described below with reference to specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing a distance sensor of the device according to the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a proximity sensor of a device according to the present invention;

[0036] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a pulse signal according to the present invention; and

[0037] Figure 4 The flow of the method according to the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] It should be noted that the components in the figures may be shown exaggeratedly for the sake of illustration and are not necessarily true to scale. In the figures, identical or functionally identical components are provided with the same reference numerals.

[0039] In the present invention, unless otherwise specified, “arranged on”, “arranged over” and “arranged over” do not exclude the presence of something in between.

[0040] In the present invention, each embodiment is only intended to illustrate the aspects of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting.

[0041] In the present invention, unless otherwise specified, the quantifiers "a", "an" and "an" do not exclude the presence of a plurality of elements.

[0042] It should also be pointed out that in the embodiments of the present invention, for the sake of clarity and simplicity, only a portion of the parts or components may be shown, but a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that under the teachings of the present invention, required parts or components may be added as needed in specific scenarios.

[0043] It should also be pointed out that within the scope of the present invention, the terms "same", "equal", "equal to" and the like do not mean that the two values ​​are absolutely equal, but allow a certain reasonable error, that is, the terms also cover "substantially the same", "substantially equal", and "substantially equal to".

[0044] In addition, the numbering of the steps of the methods of the present invention does not limit the execution order of the method steps. Unless otherwise specified, the method steps can be executed in different orders.

[0045] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a distance sensor 101 of an apparatus according to the present invention is shown.

[0046] like Figure 1 As shown, the distance sensor 101 is exemplarily mounted on the nacelle bottom plate 103, and the distance sensor 101 is aligned with the teeth 104 on the gear ring 102 of the yaw bearing, so that whenever the teeth 104 and the tooth gap fall into the ranging range of the distance sensor 101, the distance from the ranging surface of the distance sensor 101 to the corresponding teeth 104 and the tooth gap is measured, and as the gear ring 102 rotates, a periodic signal containing multiple distances, that is, a pulse signal, is generated. The pulse signal, for example, Figure 3 , among which Figure 3, pulse signal A is a pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor 101, and pulse signal B is a pulse signal measured by the second distance sensor (not shown), and the distance measuring point of the second distance sensor is 1.5 teeth away from the distance measuring point of the first distance sensor to determine the yaw direction. In this embodiment, the pulse signal is a square wave signal, in which the peak represents the signal when the tooth gap passes through the distance sensor 101, and the trough represents the signal when the tooth 104 passes through the distance sensor. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the distance sensor 101 is arranged so that its distance measuring line is parallel to the axis of the ring gear 102; in another embodiment, the distance sensor 101 can be arranged so that its distance measuring line is perpendicular to the axis of the ring gear 102, in which case the peak also represents the signal when the tooth gap passes through the distance sensor 101, and the trough also represents the signal when the tooth 104 passes through the distance sensor.

[0047] According to the pulse signal, the device determines the thickness L of the friction plate according to the following formula:

[0048] L=H–H1–H2,

[0049] Where H is the distance from the nacelle bottom plate to the gear ring of the yaw bearing, H1 is the distance from the first distance sensor to the nacelle bottom plate, and H2 is the measured distance from the first distance sensor to the teeth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing. Both H and H1 are fixed values ​​that can be measured after the distance sensor is installed.

[0050] It should be pointed out here that the distance sensor 101 can also be arranged at other positions that can rotate relative to the ring gear 102 of the yaw bearing, such as on the cabin wall. When set at other positions, the fixed values ​​H and H1 in the formula should also be adjusted accordingly to obtain the thickness of the friction plate.

[0051] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a proximity sensor 201 of an apparatus according to the present invention is shown.

[0052] like Figure 2 As shown, the proximity sensor 201 is arranged at a brake caliper 203 below the gear ring of the yaw bearing, wherein the proximity sensor 201 generates a pulse signal when approaching the bolt 202 , and the pulse signal can represent the number of rotations of the gear ring.

[0053] In this embodiment, the yaw angle α is determined by the following formula:

[0054]

[0055] Where k is the number of pulses of the pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor 101, N is the number of teeth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing, and Q is the number of yaw circles determined by the pulse signal of the proximity sensor 201, wherein the number of yaw circles is not an integer, and the fraction can be determined by the ratio of the number of pulses to the number of teeth. The number of teeth N of the gear ring of the yaw bearing is a fixed value, which can be determined, for example, by counting teeth or checking the technical manual.

[0056] In another embodiment, it may also be provided that the controller clears the number of pulses of the pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor 101 to zero whenever a pulse signal from the proximity sensor is received, thereby determining the yaw angle α by the following formula:

[0057]

[0058] Wherein k is the number of pulses of the pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor 101 , and N is the number of teeth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing.

[0059] Generally, for large MW wind turbines, the number of teeth on the yaw bearing exceeds 100. The error of the yaw angle measured by this method is less than 360 / 100 = 3.6°, and its accuracy can well meet the power generation and safety requirements of the wind turbine.

[0060] It should be noted here that although the proximity sensor 201 is arranged at the brake caliper 203 in the present embodiment, in other embodiments, the proximity sensor may also be arranged at other positions as long as the number of yaw circles can be determined, wherein the reference object for triggering the pulse signal of the proximity sensor may be, for example, any protrusion on the gear ring or on the bottom plate of the nacelle. Those skilled in the art can conceive of such an arrangement under the guidance of the present invention.

[0061] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a pulse signal according to the present invention is shown.

[0062] exist Figure 3 , pulse signal A is a pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor 101, and pulse signal B is a pulse signal measured by the second distance sensor (not shown), and the distance measuring point of the second distance sensor is 1.5 teeth away from the distance measuring point of the first distance sensor to determine the yaw direction. It should be noted here that other distances are also conceivable, for example, the first distance sensor and the second distance sensor can be arranged so that the distance measuring point of the second distance sensor is n+0.5 teeth away from the distance measuring point of the first distance sensor, where n is an integer.

[0063] The controller can determine the yaw direction in the following ways:

[0064] First, when the first pulse signal A is at a high level, the change of the second pulse signal B is determined, that is, whether it is a rising edge or a falling edge. If the change is a rising edge, the yaw direction of the nacelle is determined to be a positive direction, that is, a calibrated direction, and if the change is a falling edge, the yaw direction of the nacelle is determined to be a reverse direction, that is, a direction opposite to the calibrated direction.

[0065] Figure 4 The flow of the method 300 according to the present invention is shown.

[0066] At step 302, a first pulse signal is received from a first distance sensor, wherein the first pulse signal indicates a distance between the first distance sensor and a tooth of a gear ring of a yaw bearing, wherein the first distance sensor is arranged at a component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing and is aligned with the tooth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing, and the first distance sensor is configured to measure a distance from the first distance sensor to the tooth;

[0067] At step 304, a second pulse signal is received from a proximity sensor, wherein the second pulse signal indicates the number of yaw turns of the yaw bearing, wherein the proximity sensor is arranged such that the proximity sensor can measure the number of yaw turns of the yaw bearing;

[0068] At step 306, a third pulse signal is received from a second distance sensor, the third pulse signal indicating a distance between the second distance sensor and a tooth of a gear ring of the yaw bearing, wherein the second distance sensor is arranged at the component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing and a distance between a distance measuring point of the second distance sensor and a distance measuring point of the first distance sensor is n+0.5 teeth, wherein n is an integer; and

[0069] In step 308 , the thickness, yaw angle and / or yaw direction of the friction plate are determined according to the first pulse signal, the second pulse signal and the third pulse signal.

[0070] The present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: (1) Through the present invention, the thickness of the friction plate and the yaw angle can be determined simply and accurately, wherein the thickness of the friction plate measured by the present invention is the circumferential thickness of the entire friction plate, which is convenient for analyzing the entire friction plate to locate defects or weak parts, and because the cumulative result of the number of gears of multiple circles is used when determining the yaw angle, the determined yaw angle has greater accuracy; (2) Through the present invention, the navigation direction can also be conveniently determined; (3) The present invention uses low-cost devices, simple installation and calculation to achieve the simultaneous calculation of multiple important parameters, without the need for major improvements to the existing fan structure, and is therefore very suitable for application to existing fans.

[0071] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described in this application document, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are merely shown as examples. Those skilled in the art may conceive of numerous variations, alternatives, and improvements under the teachings of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. The appended claims are intended to define the scope of the present invention and thereby cover methods and structures within the scope of these claims themselves and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A device for monitoring the thickness of a friction plate, comprising: a first distance sensor arranged at a component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing and aligned with the teeth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing, the first distance sensor being configured to measure the distance from the first distance sensor to the teeth, wherein the distance sensor is mounted on the nacelle floor, and whenever the teeth and the tooth gaps fall into the ranging range of the distance sensor, the distance from the ranging surface of the distance sensor to the corresponding teeth and the tooth gaps is measured, and a periodic signal containing a plurality of distances is generated as the gear ring rotates; as well as A controller is configured to determine a thickness of the friction plate according to the measured distance, wherein the thickness comprises a circumferential thickness of the entire friction plate, wherein the component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing is a nacelle bottom plate, and determining the thickness L of the friction plate comprises: L=H–H1–H2, Wherein H is the distance from the nacelle bottom plate to the gear ring of the yaw bearing, H1 is the distance from the first distance sensor to the nacelle bottom plate, and H2 is the measured distance from the first distance sensor to the teeth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing.

2. The device according to claim 1 further comprises a proximity sensor, which is arranged so that the proximity sensor can measure the number of yaw turns of the yaw bearing, and the controller is further configured to determine the yaw angle based on the number of pulses of the pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor and the number of yaw turns measured by the proximity sensor.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor is arranged at a brake caliper below the gear ring of the yaw bearing, so that the proximity sensor generates a pulse signal when passing through a designated bolt to record the number of yaw circles.

4. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a second distance sensor, which is arranged at the component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing and a distance measuring point of the second distance sensor is n+0.5 teeth away from a distance measuring point of the first distance sensor, wherein n is an integer, and the controller is further configured to determine the yaw direction according to the pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor and the pulse signal measured by the second distance sensor.

5. A method for monitoring the thickness of a friction plate, comprising the following steps: receiving a first pulse signal from a first distance sensor, the first pulse signal indicating a distance between the first distance sensor and a tooth of a gear ring of the yaw bearing, wherein the first distance sensor is arranged at a component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing and aligned with the tooth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing, the first distance sensor being configured to measure a distance from the first distance sensor to the tooth, wherein the distance sensor is mounted on a bottom plate of the nacelle, and whenever the tooth and the tooth gap fall into a ranging range of the distance sensor, the distance from a ranging surface of the distance sensor to the corresponding tooth and the tooth gap is measured, and as the gear ring rotates, a periodic signal containing a plurality of distances is generated to determine a circumferential thickness of the entire friction plate; receiving a second pulse signal from a proximity sensor, the second pulse signal representing the number of yaw revolutions of the yaw bearing, wherein the proximity sensor is arranged such that the proximity sensor can measure the number of yaw revolutions of the yaw bearing; receiving a third pulse signal from a second distance sensor, the third pulse signal indicating a distance between the second distance sensor and a tooth of a gear ring of the yaw bearing, wherein the second distance sensor is arranged at the component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing and a distance between a distance measuring point of the second distance sensor and a distance measuring point of the first distance sensor is n+0.5 teeth, wherein n is an integer; as well as Determining the thickness, yaw angle and / or yaw direction of the friction plate according to the first pulse signal, the second pulse signal and the third pulse signal, wherein the component rotatable relative to the yaw bearing is a nacelle bottom plate, and determining the thickness L of the friction plate comprises: L=H–H1–H2, Wherein H is the distance from the nacelle bottom plate to the gear ring of the yaw bearing, H1 is the distance from the first distance sensor to the nacelle bottom plate, and H2 is the measured distance from the first distance sensor to the teeth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing. The method according to claim 5 , wherein n=1.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the yaw angle α is determined by the following formula: Wherein k is the number of pulses of the pulse signal measured by the first distance sensor, N is the number of teeth of the gear ring of the yaw bearing, and Q is the number of yaw turns.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein determining the yaw direction comprises: determining a change of the second pulse signal when the first pulse signal is at a high level; as well as If the change is a rising edge, the yaw direction is determined to be a positive direction, and if the change is a falling edge, the yaw direction is determined to be a negative direction.

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