Self-generating device for monitoring fan blade

Abstract

A self-generating device for fan blade monitoring is characterized in that a permanent magnet is arranged in an inner cavity of a section of plastic pipe, two sides of the permanent magnet are respectively adsorbed with a spring, two sides of the plastic pipe are respectively provided with a plug and a coil, and the whole blade self-generating device is mounted in a blade. When fan blades rotate, kinetic energy generated when the permanent magnet continuously falls from a high position is stored in the spring. Alternating current generated by the two coils is converted into direct current electric energy through the two bridge rectifier circuits to be stored in the super capacitor; according to the utility model, the micro-energy power generation is carried out by utilizing the potential energy change of the permanent magnet generated by the rotation of the blade, and if a subsequent micro-power-consumption blade data acquisition device is equipped, a brand new blade monitoring scheme can be provided. Compared with a traditional hub electricity taking mode, the defects that the sheath of the cable is abraded, the cable is broken, the hidden danger of poor contact of a connector is large, troubleshooting is difficult, a sensor, the cable and acquisition equipment are damaged due to lightning stroke, and the labor cost is too high can be overcome.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of wind turbine blade monitoring technology, specifically relating to a self-generating device for wind turbine blade monitoring. Background Technology

[0002] As mentioned in the prior art patent publication number "CN114474792B", the blade is one of the key components of a wind turbine generator. Its main function is to capture wind power and convert it into torque to drive the generator's rotation. Currently, most wind turbines are made of composite materials. During operation, wind turbines experience complex stress conditions, bearing wind loads, sand erosion, atmospheric oxidation, and corrosion from humid air. This inevitably leads to problems such as porosity, cracks, wear, and corrosion. Blade failure causing accidental breakage seriously threatens the operation of wind turbine generators and personal safety. Therefore, timely and effective detection of structural damage to wind turbine blades is of great significance for ensuring the reliable operation of wind power equipment.

[0003] In recent years, blade monitoring has received increasing attention. Wind turbine operators and research institutions have developed various blade monitoring methods, such as acoustic emission, vibration, resistance strain, fiber optic strain measurement, and laser ultrasound, to identify faults such as blade cracking, surface icing, and loose blade root bolts from different perspectives. These methods all draw power from the turbine hub, connecting to sensors inside the blade via cables. Powering the sensors simultaneously transmits their signals to a data acquisition unit mounted on the hub. The data acquisition unit wirelessly connects the collected data to a data receiving device in the nacelle, ultimately communicating with the factory server via the nacelle's local area network. However, this design scheme has several problems in practical use:

[0004] 1. The blades and hub are connected by pitch bearings. Under different operating conditions, the blades frequently perform pitch opening and closing actions, inevitably pulling on the fixed cable routing. In engineering, it is common practice to center-align the hub and blades, and use tension springs to tighten the cable routing. However, improper tension spring control or loosening of the cable ties after a period of operation can still frequently lead to problems such as cable sheath wear and cable breakage.

[0005] 2. The cable running from the blade to the hub is typically 20-40 meters long. When it exits from inside the blade cavity, holes need to be drilled in the bottom cover plate. There is no dedicated cable channel when running the cable inside the hub. The cable is secured using adhesive and cable ties. Designing the sensor-to-blade cable as a single continuous piece results in a large workload for replacing the entire cable during after-sales maintenance. Designing the sensor-to-blade cable as a multi-segment connection leads to numerous connectors, increasing the risk of poor contact during operation and making troubleshooting difficult.

[0006] 3. The blades operate at high altitudes and are extremely vulnerable to lightning strikes during the rainy season. When a blade is struck by lightning, the long cable connects the high-voltage area of ​​the blade to the low-voltage area at the hub. The strong voltage difference causes some of the lightning current, which should have flowed through the blade's down conductor, to be released through the cables of the blade monitoring equipment, resulting in damage to the sensors, cables, and data acquisition equipment.

[0007] Therefore, traditional blade-based data acquisition solutions inevitably suffer from construction difficulties, high equipment failure rates, and heavy maintenance workloads. If power could be drawn from the blade itself instead of the hub, the cabling distance for blade monitoring could be significantly shortened, eliminating the cumbersome work of drilling holes in the blade's bottom cover plate and stringing cables using the pitch bearing's tension springs. Furthermore, the cables would be confined to the isobaric zone inside the blade, greatly reducing the probability of high-current damage to the blade acquisition equipment during lightning strikes. However, the blade itself does not carry any power source; blades from different manufacturers do not have access to mains power or 24V. The blade's internal design is completely enclosed, making solar power unsuitable. Using battery power would necessitate periodic battery replacements, resulting in excessively high labor costs. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To address the aforementioned problems, this invention provides a self-generating device for monitoring wind turbine blades. A permanent magnet is installed inside the cavity of a plastic tube, with a spring attached to each side of the magnet. A plug and a coil are located on each side of the plastic tube, and the entire self-generating device is installed at the root of the blade. When the wind turbine blade rotates, the kinetic energy generated by the permanent magnet falling from a height is stored in the springs and moves back and forth near the coils at both ends of the plastic tube. The alternating current generated by the two coils is converted into direct current by two bridge rectifier circuits and stored in a supercapacitor. This effectively avoids the drawbacks of traditional hub power supply solutions, such as cable sheath wear, cable breakage, poor connector contact, difficulty in troubleshooting, damage to sensors, cables, and data acquisition equipment due to lightning strikes, and high labor costs.

[0009] To overcome the shortcomings of existing technologies, this utility model provides a solution for a self-generating power generation device for wind turbine blade monitoring, as detailed below:

[0010] A self-generating power generation device for monitoring wind turbine blades, comprising:

[0011] A plastic tube is installed inside the wind turbine blade. A permanent magnet is placed in the cavity of the plastic tube. A spring is attracted to each side of the permanent magnet. There is a plug and a coil on each side of the plastic tube.

[0012] Furthermore, the coil, bridge rectifier circuit, and supercapacitor are connected in series.

[0013] Furthermore, one end of each of the two springs is connected to one side of the permanent magnet.

[0014] Furthermore, two springs are symmetrically positioned on both sides of the permanent magnet.

[0015] Furthermore, two coils are symmetrically positioned on both sides of the plastic tube.

[0016] A self-generating power generation device for monitoring wind turbine blades may further include:

[0017] A plastic tube 4 is installed inside the fan blade. A permanent magnet 1 is installed in the cavity inside the plastic tube 4. A plug 5 and a coil 3 are respectively installed on both sides of the plastic tube 4. Two springs 2 are respectively fixed on the plugs 5 on both sides of the plastic tube 4.

[0018] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows:

[0019] A plastic tube is installed inside the wind turbine blade. A permanent magnet is placed in the cavity of the plastic tube. Two springs are connected to each side of the permanent magnet. Two coils are placed on the two sides of the springs away from the permanent magnet. The coils, bridge rectifier circuit and supercapacitor are connected in series. This effectively avoids the defects of traditional hub power supply method, such as cable sheath wear, cable breakage, poor joint contact, difficulty in troubleshooting, damage to sensors, cables and data acquisition equipment, and high labor costs. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is an overall schematic diagram of a self-generating device for monitoring wind turbine blades according to this utility model;

[0021] Figure 2 This is an overall schematic diagram of another self-generating device for monitoring wind turbine blades according to this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0022] A self-generating device for monitoring wind turbine blades includes a permanent magnet housed within the internal cavity of a plastic tube. A spring is attached to each side of the permanent magnet. A plug and a coil are located on each side of the plastic tube, and the entire device is installed inside the blade. As the wind turbine blade rotates, the kinetic energy generated by the permanent magnet falling from a height is stored in the springs and moves back and forth near the coils at both ends of the plastic tube. The alternating current generated by the two coils is converted into direct current by two bridge rectifier circuits and stored in a supercapacitor. This solution utilizes the potential energy changes of the permanent magnet generated by the blade's rotation to generate micro-energy. If equipped with a subsequent low-power blade data acquisition device, it can provide a completely new blade monitoring solution. Compared to traditional hub power extraction methods, this solution avoids the drawbacks of cable sheath wear, cable breakage, poor connector contact, difficult troubleshooting, damage to sensors, cables, and acquisition equipment due to lightning strikes, and high labor costs.

[0023] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0024] like Figure 1 As shown, the self-generating device for monitoring wind turbine blades according to this utility model includes:

[0025] A plastic tube is installed inside the fan blade. A permanent magnet 1 is installed in the cavity inside the plastic tube 4. Two springs 2 are connected to the two sides of the permanent magnet 1. A plug 5 and a coil 3 are respectively installed on the two sides of the plastic tube 4.

[0026] In a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of this invention, coil 3, bridge rectifier circuit and supercapacitor are connected in series.

[0027] In a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of this utility model, one end of each of the two springs 2 is connected to one side of the permanent magnet 1.

[0028] In a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of this utility model, two springs 2 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the permanent magnet 1.

[0029] In a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of this utility model, the self-generating device for monitoring wind turbine blades is installed at the root of the blade, with the plastic tube pointing in the direction of the centrifugal force of the permanent magnet. When the blade rotates, the gravity of the permanent magnet can overcome the centrifugal force and complete the fall. Alternatively, the self-generating device for monitoring wind turbine blades can be installed at a position far from the root of the blade, but the plastic tube needs to be installed in a direction perpendicular to the centrifugal force of the permanent magnet.

[0030] In a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of this invention, the two coils 3 are fixed on both sides of the plastic tube 4.

[0031] In a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of this invention, the plastic tube 4 is fixed inside the blade and rotates with the blade.

[0032] This is a power generation scheme that utilizes the change in gravitational potential energy during blade rotation, developed after extensive research and experimentation. A permanent magnet continuously and rapidly falls from a height as the blade rotates; its kinetic energy is converted into alternating current (AC) by a coil at the bottom, and then stored as DC power in a supercapacitor via a bridge rectifier circuit. The prototype weighs 320g and can generate 3.7V 8mA of continuous power at 12rpm, with an energy conversion efficiency approaching 50%! It boasts advantages such as simple structure, low production cost, and reliable operation. If equipped with a subsequent low-power blade data acquisition device, it could provide a completely new blade monitoring solution.

[0033] A self-generating power generation device for monitoring wind turbine blades may further include:

[0034] A plastic tube 4 is installed inside the fan blade. A permanent magnet 1 is installed in the cavity inside the plastic tube 4. A plug 5 and a coil 3 are respectively installed on both sides of the plastic tube 4. Two springs 2 are respectively fixed on the plugs 5 on both sides of the plastic tube 4.

[0035] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows:

[0036] A permanent magnet is installed inside the cavity of the plastic tube, with a spring attached to each side of the magnet. A plug and a coil are located on each side of the plastic tube. The coil, bridge rectifier circuit, and supercapacitor are connected in series. The entire blade self-generating device is installed at the blade root. This device effectively avoids the drawbacks of existing hub power generation technology, such as cable sheath wear, cable breakage, poor connector contact, difficulty in troubleshooting, damage to sensors, cables, and data acquisition equipment, and high labor costs.

[0037] The present invention has been described above by way of example. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes, modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A self-generating power generation device for monitoring wind turbine blades, characterized in that, include: A plastic tube is installed inside the fan blade. A permanent magnet is placed in the cavity inside the plastic tube. A spring is attracted to each side of the permanent magnet. There is a plug and a coil on each side of the plastic tube.

2. The self-generating power device for monitoring wind turbine blades according to claim 1, characterized in that, The coil is connected to the supercapacitor via a bridge rectifier circuit.

3. The self-generating power device for monitoring wind turbine blades according to claim 2, characterized in that, One end of each of the two springs is connected to one side of the permanent magnet.

4. The self-generating power device for monitoring wind turbine blades according to claim 3, characterized in that, The self-generating device for wind turbine blade monitoring is installed at the root of the blade, with the plastic tube pointing in the direction of the centrifugal force of the permanent magnet. When the blade rotates, the gravity of the permanent magnet can overcome the centrifugal force and complete the fall. Alternatively, the self-generating device for wind turbine blade monitoring can be installed at a position far from the blade root, but the plastic tube needs to be installed in a direction perpendicular to the centrifugal force of the permanent magnet.

5. The self-generating power device for monitoring wind turbine blades according to claim 4, characterized in that, Two springs are symmetrically positioned on either side of the permanent magnet.

6. The self-generating power device for monitoring wind turbine blades according to claim 5, characterized in that, Two coils are symmetrically positioned on both sides of the plastic tube.

7. A self-generating power generation device for monitoring wind turbine blades, characterized in that, It may also include: A plastic tube is installed inside the wind turbine blade. A permanent magnet is placed in the cavity inside the plastic tube. A plug and a coil are respectively placed on both sides of the plastic tube, and two springs are fixed to the plugs on both sides.

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