Dynamic Wind Turbine Operating Modes for Energy-Lifetime Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind turbine operation methods struggle to optimally balance energy production and lifetime consumption under varying environmental conditions, leading to suboptimal performance in certain situations.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines a sequence of operating modes for a future period, considering both long-term and short-term optimization, allowing for adjustments based on current parameters to better achieve optimization targets such as energy production or revenue, while minimizing lifetime consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the wind turbine is operated in aggressive operating modes to maximize energy production, then energy production is improved, but lifetime consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic operation mode selection that adapts to changing conditions. The control system continuously monitors wind conditions, turbine state, and operational history to dynamically switch between aggressive and conservative operating modes. This allows the turbine to maximize energy production when conditions permit while preserving lifetime when risks are detected, resolving the contradiction between productivity and duration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes operational parameters such as rotor speed, pitch angle, and power output limits based on real-time conditions and accumulated operational data. By adjusting these parameters dynamically, the system can operate at high productivity levels when safe and transition to parameter-conservative modes when lifetime preservation is prioritized, thus balancing energy production with lifetime consumption.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the wind turbine is operated in conservative operating modes to minimize lifetime consumption, then lifetime consumption is reduced, but energy production decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessments of turbine health, wind conditions, and operational history before selecting an operating mode. By evaluating these factors in advance, the control system can confidently select conservative modes when preliminary indicators suggest high risk, and aggressive modes when preliminary checks confirm safety, thus optimizing the balance between lifetime preservation and energy production.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor turbine performance, structural health, and operational outcomes. This feedback loops back into the control system to refine future mode selections. When feedback indicates that conservative modes are preserving lifetime effectively, the system learns to apply them more strategically, balancing lifetime consumption reduction with maintained energy production through intelligent feedback-driven decision-making.
3Measurement precision
If long-term optimization procedures are performed repeatedly to determine optimal operating sequences, then optimization accuracy is improved, but computational time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary optimization calculations and stores results in lookup tables or predictive models. Before making real-time operational decisions, the system queries these pre-computed data structures, avoiding the need to perform extensive long-term optimization procedures repeatedly. This preliminary action approach maintains high optimization accuracy while dramatically reducing computational time during actual operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates simplified copies or representations of the complex optimization problem that can be solved quickly. Instead of repeatedly solving the full complex optimization problem, the system uses simplified models, lookup tables, or machine learning predictions that capture the essential optimization logic. These copies provide sufficient accuracy for operational decisions while requiring minimal computational resources and time.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of operating a wind turbine is provided. The wind turbine is operable in plural different operating modes that differ by at least one of lifetime consumption of the wind turbine and energy production by the wind turbine. A sequence of operating modes is determined for a future period of time, wherein an optimization parameter is estimated based on at least one estimated external parameter. The method further includes obtaining a current value for the at least one external parameter and determining an actual operating mode for the wind turbine for a current point in time, wherein the determining of the actual operating mode comprises estimating an adjusted optimization parameter for plural sequences and for the current value of the at least one external parameter, and selecting the actual operating mode based on the estimated adjusted optimization parameters. The wind turbine is operated in the determined actual operating mode.