Brakeless Electrical Yaw Drive for Wind Turbines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind turbine electrical yaw drives face reliability issues due to the need for regular maintenance of mechanical brake systems and dependency on power converters, which can fail or require continuous power supply.
Innovation Solution
A brakeless electrical yaw drive system utilizing an asynchronous motor with an excitation capacitor bank and dump loads, connected via different configurations (delta or star) and contactors, allowing for reliable operation without mechanical brakes and power converter dependency, with automatic connections to manage speed and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a mechanical brake system is used to limit nacelle rotation speed, then rotational speed control is achieved, but regular maintenance is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical brake system with an electrical braking mechanism using an asynchronous motor connected to the nacelle. The motor's electromagnetic torque controls rotational speed without mechanical contact, eliminating wear and maintenance requirements while maintaining speed limitation functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and removes the mechanical brake components from the yaw drive system, retaining only the essential speed control function through electrical means. This eliminates the maintenance burden of mechanical parts while preserving the critical safety function of limiting nacelle rotation speed.
2Force
If power converters are used to control yaw drive torque, then torque control is achieved, but dependency on continuous power supply and converter reliability issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The asynchronous motor is directly connected to the three-phase grid without requiring power converters or complex control systems. The motor inherently provides torque control through its electromagnetic characteristics, eliminating dependency on external power conversion equipment and simplifying the system to improve reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention removes the power converter and associated control electronics from the yaw drive system. The asynchronous motor directly converts electrical energy to mechanical torque without intermediate conversion stages, eliminating the reliability issues and maintenance requirements of power converters while maintaining torque control capability.
3Ease of repair
If brakeless electrical yaw drive is implemented, then maintenance costs are reduced, but reliability in preventing uncontrolled pivoting must be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical brakes with an electrical braking system using the asynchronous motor's electromagnetic torque. This substitution eliminates mechanical wear components that require maintenance while providing reliable speed control to prevent uncontrolled nacelle pivoting through electrical means.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses passive electrical components (capacitor bank, resistors, contactors) that require minimal maintenance. The asynchronous motor automatically provides braking torque through its inherent electromagnetic characteristics without requiring active control or maintenance, ensuring both low maintenance costs and high reliability.
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
The solution reduces maintenance costs and ensures reliable operation by preventing uncontrolled nacelle pivoting, even in power failures, by using passive components and automatic connections to manage speed and orientation, thus reducing loads on the wind turbine structure.
Implementation Method 1
an excitation capacitor bank and dump loads, which are electrically connectable to windings of the asynchronous motor
Implementation Method 2
an asynchronous motor, an excitation capacitor bank and dump loads, wherein the excitation capacitor bank and the dump loads are electrically connectable to windings of the asynchronous motor
Implementation Method 3
an excitation capacitor bank and dump loads, which are electrically connectable to windings of the asynchronous motor
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
AI summary
It is described an electrical yaw drive (8, 9, 10, 11, 12) for a wind turbine, wherein the wind turbine (1), wherein the wind turbine (1) comprises a wind turbine nacelle (3) and a wind turbine tower (2), wherein the electrical yaw drive (8, 9, 10, 11, 12) comprises an asynchronous motor (14, 20), an excitation capacitor bank (15, 21) and dump loads (16, 22), and wherein the excitation capacitor bank (15, 21) and the dump loads (16, 22) are electrically connectable to windings of the asynchronous motor (14, 20). Furthermore, wind turbines (1) comprising such electrical yaw drives (8, 9, 10, 11, 12) and a method for operating such wind turbines (1) are described.