Wind Turbine Blade Vibration Control During Standstill
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern wind turbines face significant challenges with aero-elastic instabilities and vibrations, particularly during standstill conditions, which can lead to blade failure and increased fatigue damage due to vortex and stall-induced vibrations, and resonance, especially when control systems are not operational.
Innovation Solution
A method and wind turbine configuration that includes a dedicated controller for an auxiliary drive system, separate from the main wind turbine controller, which measures deformation parameters to determine blade vibrations and generates output signals to operate the auxiliary drive system to reduce vibrations, even when the turbine is not commissioned or in standstill conditions, using sensors to measure strain and adjust pitch or yaw systems autonomously.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If wind turbine blades are made increasingly longer to capture more wind energy, then power generation capacity is improved, but blade flexibility increases and susceptibility to aero-elastic instabilities and vibrations worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies active vibration control by generating counteracting vibrations through actuators mounted on the blade. The control system detects blade vibrations and induces opposing vibrations to cancel them out, thereby stabilizing the blade while maintaining its long, flexible structure for optimal wind energy capture
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the blade by actively adjusting its structural characteristics through actuators. By modifying local stiffness and damping parameters dynamically, the blade can adapt to varying wind conditions and maintain stability despite its increased length and flexibility
2Reliability
If a dedicated controller for auxiliary drive system is added to reduce vibrations during standstill conditions, then blade vibration reduction is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control system into a dedicated controller for the auxiliary drive system, separate from the main wind turbine controller. This dedicated controller specifically manages vibration reduction during standstill conditions, allowing for specialized control logic without complicating the overall turbine control architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The dedicated controller autonomously monitors blade deformation parameters and independently operates the auxiliary drive system to counteract vibrations. The system serves itself by detecting its own operational state and automatically correcting vibration issues without requiring manual intervention or complex coordination with other control systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively reduces blade vibrations and the risk of resonance and fatigue damage during standstill conditions, minimizing the need for manual interventions and reducing costs associated with maintenance and potential failures, even in the absence of active control systems.
Implementation Method 1
measuring one or more deformation parameters indicative of deformation of one or more blades
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods (200) for reducing vibrations in one or more rotor blades (120) of a wind turbine (160), when the wind turbine is in standstill conditions are provided. The method comprises measuring (201) one or more deformation parameters indicative of deformation of one or more blades (120), determining (202), at a dedicated controller (190) for an auxiliary drive system (20, 107), a vibration of one or more of the blades (120) based on the deformation parameters, wherein the dedicated controller (190) for the auxiliary drive system is separate from the wind turbine controller (180), and generating (203), at the dedicated controller (190), an output signal to operate the auxiliary drive system to reduce the vibration. Also disclosed are wind turbines (160) which comprise a dedicated controller (190) configured to determine a vibration and generating an output signal to reduce the vibration, when the wind turbine is in standstill conditions.