Device and method for preventing wind driven generator blades from sweeping tower

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of wind driven generators, and provides a device and method for preventing wind driven generator blades from sweeping a tower, and the device comprises a jet device, tower frame clearance monitoring equipment and a control unit; the jet device is arranged on the outer wall of a tower of the wind driven generator and is in an equal-height area swept by blade tips; the tower frame clearance monitoring equipment is used for monitoring the clearance distance between the blades and the tower drum in real time; and the control unit is in signal connection with the jet device and the tower clearance monitoring equipment, and is used for starting the jet device to jet airflow to push the blades to be far away from the tower drum when the clearance distance is monitored to be lower than a preset threshold value. According to the device, the jet device is combined with a clearance monitoring strategy to carry out flow control on the instantaneous state where the blades possibly sweep the tower, the jet device jets high-speed airflow to generate airflow force to push the blades to be away from the outer wall of the tower barrel, the blades are effectively prevented from sweeping the tower, the limited power triggering frequency is reduced, and the reliability and the generating capacity of the whole machine are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wind turbine technology, and in particular to a device and method for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping against the tower. Background Technology

[0002] The wind power industry is developing rapidly, with the size of the turbine and rotor constantly increasing. The increase in blade length leads to a decrease in blade stiffness, and long, flexible blades undergo greater deformation throughout the wind turbine's lifespan. When the blade deforms excessively in the direction of the incoming flow, the gap between it and the outer wall of the tower gradually decreases, potentially even causing tower swiping.

[0003] Traditional tower clearance protection strategies are based on threshold protection logic. By monitoring the tower clearance in real time, when the monitored value is less than the tower clearance protection threshold, an alarm is immediately triggered through the main control system and the unit control logic is activated. The blade aerodynamic unloading is achieved by adjusting the pitch angle power limit or shutting down the unit to prevent blade swiping on the tower.

[0004] However, due to the low response rate of pitch control, the tower clearance protection threshold is generally set high (between 5m and 10m). This threshold setting causes wind turbine generators to frequently trigger power limiting, resulting in a loss of power generation. In addition, due to the slow response, a small number of units still fail to form effective protection and may experience tower sweeping, leading to blade breakage and failure, or even the collapse of the entire unit.

[0005] Therefore, how to effectively prevent blade sweeping and reduce the frequency of power limiting triggering has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention provides a device and method for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping the tower, which solves the shortcomings of the prior art where slow pitch response forces the setting of excessively high clearance thresholds, resulting in frequent power limiting and power generation loss of the unit, and still makes it difficult to completely avoid tower swiping accidents. It effectively prevents blades from swiping the tower, reduces the frequency of power limiting triggering, and thus improves the reliability of the whole machine and the power generation.

[0007] This invention provides a device for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping against the tower, comprising: Jet device, tower clearance monitoring equipment and control unit; The jet device is installed on the outer wall of the wind turbine tower, at the same height as the area swept by the blade tip. The tower clearance monitoring equipment is used to monitor the clearance distance between the blades and the tower in real time. The control unit is connected to the jet device and the tower clearance monitoring equipment via a signal connection. When the clearance distance is detected to be lower than a preset threshold, the jet device is activated to spray airflow and push the blades away from the tower.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the jet device is arranged continuously or in segments along the outer wall of the tower at 360°, covering the entire circumferential area swept by the blade tip.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the jet device includes multiple independently controllable injection units, and the control unit selectively activates the injection unit in the corresponding azimuth according to the real-time blade azimuth angle.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the control unit is configured to activate the injection unit corresponding to the azimuth angle when the blade azimuth angle is within the range of 150° to 180° and the clearance distance is lower than the preset threshold.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the control unit is further configured to trigger the jet device to inject airflow again if the clearance distance is still detected to be lower than the preset threshold in the next cycle of blade rotation.

[0012] The present invention also provides a method for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping the tower, comprising: Real-time monitoring of the clearance distance between the wind turbine blades and the tower; When the clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold, the jet device is activated to spray airflow, pushing the blades away from the tower to prevent the blades from sweeping the tower.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: Obtain the real-time azimuth angle of the blade when the clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold; The jet unit controls the airflow within the target azimuth angle range.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: The airflow force is controlled by adjusting the velocity of the jet airflow, and the deformation of the blade tip is controlled by the airflow force. The airflow force is calculated using a first formula, which is: ; Where F represents airflow force, The value represents air density, and A represents the area of ​​the blade exposed to airflow. Indicates airflow velocity. Indicates the kinetic pressure of the air. This indicates the atmospheric pressure of the external environment.

[0015] The present invention also provides an electronic device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to implement the method for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping the tower as described above.

[0016] The present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method for preventing wind turbine blades from sweeping the tower as described above.

[0017] The present invention also provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method for preventing wind turbine blades from sweeping the tower as described above.

[0018] The present invention provides a device and method for preventing wind turbine blades from sweeping against the tower, comprising: a jetting device, a tower clearance monitoring device, and a control unit; the jetting device is disposed on the outer wall of the wind turbine tower, at the same height as the area swept by the blade tip; the tower clearance monitoring device is used to monitor the clearance distance between the blade and the tower in real time; the control unit is signal-connected to the jetting device and the tower clearance monitoring device, and is used to activate the jetting device to spray airflow when the monitored clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold, thereby pushing the blade away from the tower. By monitoring the clearance distance between the wind turbine blade and the tower in real time; and activating the jetting device to spray airflow when the clearance distance is lower than the preset threshold, the blade sweeping against the tower is prevented. Compared to existing technologies that force excessively high clearance thresholds due to slow pitch response, leading to frequent power cuts and power generation losses, and still struggling to completely prevent tower sweep accidents, this solution addresses these issues by deploying jet devices at high points on the tower's outer wall, such as blade tip sweep, and combining this with clearance monitoring strategies to control flow in the instantaneous state where blade sweep might occur. These jet devices spray high-speed airflow, generating airflow force that pushes the blades away from the tower's outer wall, thus preventing tower sweep. This effectively prevents blade sweep, reduces the frequency of power cut triggers, and ultimately improves overall unit reliability and power generation. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the installation of the jetting device on the outer wall of the tower provided by the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the working process of the device for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping the tower provided by the present invention.

[0022] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the method for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping against the tower provided by the present invention.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device provided by the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0024] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0025] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, further explanations and descriptions will be provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. These embodiments do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the installation of the jetting device on the outer wall of the tower provided by the present invention, as shown below. Figure 1 As shown, the jetting units of the jetting device are arranged at the same height as the blade tips on the outer wall of the tower, covering an appropriate height, and are arranged 360° around the tower. The power supply system has holes on the tower surface to guide the lead wires through the inside of the tower to the main power supply of the unit. Figure 1 As shown, the gray area represents the deployment area of ​​the jet device.

[0027] The tower outer wall jetting device provided by the present invention includes: a jetting device, a tower clearance monitoring device, and a control unit.

[0028] The jetting device is installed on the outer wall of the wind turbine tower, at the same height as the area swept by the blade tip; the tower clearance monitoring equipment is used to monitor the clearance distance between the blade and the tower in real time; the control unit is connected to the jetting device and the tower clearance monitoring equipment by signal, and is used to activate the jetting device to spray airflow when the clearance distance is detected to be lower than a preset threshold, so as to push the blade away from the tower.

[0029] Optionally, the jet device can be arranged continuously or in segments along the outer wall of the tower at 360° to cover the entire circumferential area swept by the blade tip.

[0030] Optionally, the jet device includes multiple independently controllable injection units, and the control unit selectively activates the injection unit in the corresponding azimuth according to the real-time blade azimuth angle.

[0031] Optionally, the control unit is configured to activate the injection unit corresponding to the azimuth angle when the blade azimuth angle is within the range of 150° to 180° and the clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold.

[0032] Optionally, the control unit is also configured to trigger the jetting device to eject airflow again if the clearance distance is still detected to be lower than a preset threshold in the next cycle of blade rotation.

[0033] Furthermore, a control strategy is deployed. The clearance monitoring signal and current control signal are connected to the main control system. When the tower clearance is detected to be less than the protection threshold, the anti-sweeping tower protection function is triggered. The main control system sends a command to the power supply system to provide current to the jet device for continuous spraying. To reduce energy loss, the jet device can operate within a 60-degree radius around the tower at the trigger threshold protection position. If the tower clearance is still detected to be less than the protection threshold when the next blade passes through the tower, the anti-sweeping tower function will be triggered again.

[0034] like Figure 2 The diagram shows the working process of the device to prevent wind turbine blades from swiping the tower. The clearance monitoring device at the top of the tower is positioned directly opposite the blade tip to detect the distance between them in real time. The control unit receives the monitoring signal, compares it with a preset threshold, and decides whether to activate the protection. When the clearance is insufficient, the jetting device on the outer wall of the tower immediately sprays a high-speed airflow to push the blade tip away from the tower, completing one anti-swiping protection cycle.

[0035] The present invention provides a device for preventing wind turbine blades from sweeping against the tower, comprising: a jetting device, a tower clearance monitoring device, and a control unit; the jetting device is disposed on the outer wall of the wind turbine tower, at the same height as the area swept by the blade tip; the tower clearance monitoring device is used to monitor the clearance distance between the blade and the tower in real time; the control unit is signal-connected to the jetting device and the tower clearance monitoring device, and is used to activate the jetting device to spray airflow when the monitored clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold, thereby pushing the blade away from the tower. By monitoring the clearance distance between the wind turbine blade and the tower in real time; when the clearance distance is lower than the preset threshold, the jetting device is activated to spray airflow, pushing the blade away from the tower, thus preventing blade sweeping against the tower. Compared to existing technologies that force excessively high clearance thresholds due to slow pitch response, leading to frequent power cuts and power generation losses, and still struggling to completely prevent tower sweep accidents, this device addresses these issues by deploying jet devices at heights such as blade tip sweeping on the tower's outer wall. Combined with clearance monitoring strategies, it controls the flow in the instantaneous state where blade sweeping might occur. The jet devices spray high-speed airflow, generating airflow force that pushes the blades away from the tower's outer wall, thus preventing tower sweep. This effectively prevents blade sweeping, reduces the frequency of power cut triggers, and ultimately improves overall unit reliability and power generation.

[0036] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the method for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping against the tower provided by the present invention, as shown below. Figure 3 As shown, the method includes the following: S31. Real-time monitoring of the clearance distance between the wind turbine blades and the tower.

[0037] At least one set of non-contact clearance monitoring sensors (such as millimeter-wave radar, laser ranging, or a visual stereo imaging system) is deployed at the same height as the blade tip sweep on the outer wall of the tower. The sampling frequency is no less than 20 Hz, ensuring that 40 to 80 sets of effective distance measurement data can be obtained within 2 to 4 seconds of one high-speed rotation of the blade. After the sensor output is averaged and outlier is removed, a "clearance distance-time" sequence is generated, and a timestamp and unit main control cycle count are added simultaneously to provide a benchmark for subsequent azimuth angle matching. The monitoring range covers the impeller azimuth angle range of 150 to 210 degrees. In key sections of 150° to 180° (downwind direction of the blades, the area with the most dangerous deformation), redundant dual sensors are used for cross-verification to ensure distance measurement accuracy within 0.05 m.

[0038] S32. Obtain the real-time azimuth angle of the blade when the clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold.

[0039] The main programmable logic controller (PLC) aligns the clearance distance sequence with the azimuth encoder signal (resolution ≤ 0.5°) recorded concurrently. When the clearance value at any sampling point is less than the "trigger threshold curve," the azimuth angle at that moment is immediately latched. The trigger threshold curve dynamically changes with the azimuth angle; for example, it is 0.40 m at 150° and 0.20 m at 180°, with linear interpolation used in between to account for the smaller deformation margin of the blades closer to the tower center. The latching operation is completed within 5 ms to avoid azimuth drift errors caused by impeller rotation.

[0040] S33. Control the jetting airflow of the injection unit within the target azimuth angle range to push the blades away from the tower and prevent the blades from sweeping the tower.

[0041] N high-speed jet units (N≥12) are arranged around the outer wall of the tower in a 360° configuration. Each unit corresponds to a 30° sector, with a nozzle width of 8 mm and a length of 300 mm, generating a pulsed airflow of 0–200 m / s. Based on the locked azimuth angle, the main controller activates only two adjacent units within the 60° sector that the blade is about to enter or is currently in, keeping the remaining units closed to reduce energy consumption. The activation command is issued 100 ms before the blade reaches the sector, ensuring the airflow field is established; the jet duration is the time required for the blade to sweep across the sector (approximately 0.3 s). The high-speed airflow creates a localized high-pressure zone on the lower surface of the blade tip, generating an instantaneous lift-type lateral force perpendicular to the tower surface, with a magnitude of 300–800 N, sufficient to lift the blade an additional 0.15–0.25 m, thereby instantly increasing the headroom.

[0042] S34. The airflow force is controlled by adjusting the flow rate of the jet airflow, and the deformation of the blade tip is controlled by the airflow force.

[0043] During the injection duration, the main controller uses proportional-integral-derivative closed-loop control to finely adjust the airflow force.

[0044] Specifically, when the jetting device is activated, a high-speed airflow is ejected from the outer wall of the tower, pushing the blade tips away from the outer wall of the tower. The magnitude of this propulsion is related to the airflow velocity, air density, cross-sectional area, etc., and the specific relationship is shown in the following formula: Where F represents airflow force, in N; The value represents air density, in kg / m³; A represents the area of ​​the blade exposed to airflow, in m². This indicates airflow velocity, measured in m / s. This indicates the kinetic pressure of the gas, in Pa. This indicates the atmospheric pressure of the external environment, measured in Pa.

[0045] Blade tip deformation is affected by the applied forces and the blade's structural stiffness, where the blade flapping stiffness can be expressed as: Where K represents blade stiffness in Nm², E represents blade elastic modulus in N / m², and I represents blade moment of inertia in m⁴. Where c represents the chord length of the blade section, in meters; h represents the absolute thickness of the blade section, in meters. Blade tip deformation can be represented as: in, The deformation force corresponding to different cross-sectional positions, in N; The stiffness corresponds to different interface locations, in Nm^2. The length along the blade span representing the airflow action, in meters (m). By controlling the airflow velocity, the airflow force is controlled, thereby controlling the blade deformation.

[0046] If the monitored value is still below the threshold after one rotation, the system immediately repeats S31-S34 to achieve periodic protection until the wind speed decreases or the unit actively adjusts the pitch to restore the airspace to normal.

[0047] The present invention provides a method for preventing wind turbine blades from sweeping the tower. This method monitors the clearance distance between the wind turbine blades and the tower in real time. When the clearance distance falls below a preset threshold, a jet device is activated to spray airflow, pushing the blades away from the tower and preventing blade sweeping. Compared to existing technologies where slow pitch response forces the setting of excessively high clearance thresholds, leading to frequent power limiting and power generation loss, and still making it difficult to completely avoid sweeping accidents, this method, by arranging jet devices at heights such as the blade tip sweeping point on the tower's outer wall, and combining this with a clearance monitoring strategy to control the flow in the instantaneous state where blade sweeping may occur, uses the jet device to spray high-speed airflow, generating airflow force to push the blades away from the tower's outer wall, achieving the purpose of preventing sweeping. This avoids frequent triggering of power limiting or shutdown, increasing overall power generation by 2% in typical scenarios. Compared to traditional clearance monitoring equipment, it can reduce the probability of blade sweeping by 90%, effectively preventing blade sweeping, reducing the frequency of power limiting triggers, and thus improving overall reliability and power generation.

[0048] Figure 4 An example is a schematic diagram of the physical structure of an electronic device, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the electronic device may include a processor 410, a communications interface 420, a memory 430, and a communication bus 440. The processor 410, communications interface 420, and memory 430 communicate with each other via the communication bus 440. The processor 410 can call logical instructions in the memory 430 to execute a method for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping the tower. This method includes: real-time monitoring of the clearance distance between the wind turbine blades and the tower; and when the clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold, activating a jetting device to spray airflow, pushing the blades away from the tower to prevent blade swiping.

[0049] Furthermore, the logical instructions in the aforementioned memory 430 can be implemented as software functional units and, when sold or used as independent products, can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0050] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program that can be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer can execute the methods provided above for preventing wind turbine blades from sweeping the tower. The method includes: real-time monitoring of the clearance distance between the wind turbine blades and the tower; when the clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold, activating a jetting device to spray airflow to push the blades away from the tower and prevent the blades from sweeping the tower.

[0051] In another aspect, the present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon. When executed by a processor, the computer program implements a method for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping against the tower provided by the above methods. The method includes: real-time monitoring of the clearance distance between the wind turbine blades and the tower; and when the clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold, activating a jetting device to spray airflow to push the blades away from the tower, thereby preventing blades from swiping against the tower.

[0052] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without any creative effort.

[0053] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, it can also be implemented by hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solutions, in essence or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments.

[0054] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A device for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping the tower, characterized in that, include: Jet device, tower clearance monitoring equipment and control unit; The jet device is installed on the outer wall of the wind turbine tower, at the same height as the area swept by the blade tip. The tower clearance monitoring equipment is used to monitor the clearance distance between the blades and the tower in real time. The control unit is connected to the jet device and the tower clearance monitoring equipment via a signal connection. When the clearance distance is detected to be lower than a preset threshold, the jet device is activated to spray airflow and push the blades away from the tower.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The jetting device is arranged continuously or in segments along the outer wall of the tower at 360°, covering the entire circumferential area swept by the blade tip.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The jet device includes multiple independently controllable injection units, and the control unit selectively activates the injection unit in the corresponding azimuth according to the real-time blade azimuth angle.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The control unit is configured to activate the injection unit corresponding to the azimuth angle when the blade azimuth angle is within the range of 150° to 180° and the clearance distance is lower than the preset threshold.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The control unit is also configured to trigger the jet device to spray airflow again if the clearance distance is still detected to be lower than the preset threshold in the next cycle of blade rotation.

6. A method for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping against a tower, applied to the device for preventing wind turbine blades from swiping against a tower as described in any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, include: Real-time monitoring of the clearance distance between the wind turbine blades and the tower; When the clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold, the jet device is activated to spray airflow, pushing the blades away from the tower to prevent the blades from sweeping the tower.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, When the clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold, the jet device is activated to spray airflow, including: Obtain the real-time azimuth angle of the blade when the clearance distance is lower than a preset threshold; The jet unit controls the airflow within the target azimuth angle range.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: The airflow force is controlled by adjusting the velocity of the jet airflow, and the deformation of the blade tip is controlled by the airflow force. The airflow force is calculated using a first formula, which is: ; Where F represents airflow force, The value represents air density, and A represents the area of ​​the blade exposed to airflow. Indicates airflow velocity. Indicates the kinetic pressure of the air. This indicates the atmospheric pressure of the external environment.

9. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and running on the processor, characterized in that, When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the method for preventing wind turbine blades from sweeping the tower as described in any one of claims 6 to 8.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the method for preventing wind turbine blades from sweeping the tower as described in any one of claims 6 to 8.

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