Fan blade health monitoring system, method and sensor network

Abstract

This application discloses a health monitoring system, method, and sensor network for wind turbine blades, including a multi-core optical cable and several silicon photonic triaxial accelerometers fixedly installed at different positions on the wind turbine blade. This application feeds the detection optical signal from the silicon photonic demodulation and control unit to the optical fiber and the silicon photonic triaxial accelerometers connected to its ends via a rotating optical fiber connector located at the blade root. Based on the reflection of the detection light by each silicon photonic triaxial accelerometer, the angular and vibration state changes in the time domain along the three orthogonal directions at various positions on the wind turbine blade are obtained, thereby monitoring the health status of the wind turbine blade and enabling ice accretion and crack detection. This application is passive, does not attract lightning, is resistant to electromagnetic interference, requires no on-site power supply, achieves high-frequency response and possesses 0Hz low-frequency characteristics, can perform absolute tilt and attitude measurements, has high data synchronization, is safe, reliable, easily expandable, and suitable for marine salt spray corrosion environments.

Images