Wind Farm Performance Validation via Data Normalization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for evaluating wind farm performance improvements after upgrades are inaccurate due to reliance on single sensors and inability to discern benefits from wake minimization technologies, leading to sub-optimal power output and longevity of downwind turbines.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that operate a wind farm in baseline and upgraded modes, collecting and normalizing data using a controller and processor to compare graphical distributions of performance, thereby validating performance improvements by accounting for wind speed distributions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If individual wind turbines maximize their own power output, then each turbine achieves maximum efficiency, but downwind turbines experience wake effects that reduce their power output and increase fatigue loads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the operation of multiple wind turbines into a coordinated wind farm system where turbines operate collectively rather than independently. The controller synchronizes rotor speeds and pitch angles across turbines to minimize wake effects on downwind turbines while maintaining overall farm power output, resolving the contradiction between individual turbine efficiency and farm-wide performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts operating parameters of wind turbines based on real-time conditions. The controller continuously monitors and modifies rotor speeds and pitch angles of turbines in response to changing wind conditions and turbine positions, enabling adaptive optimization that balances individual turbine power output with wake effect mitigation for downwind turbines.
2Measurement precision
If traditional power curve methods are used to assess wind turbine performance, then performance can be baseline against wind speed, but these methods cannot discern the benefit of wake minimization technologies that create more wind for the farm
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specialized controller as an intermediary system that bridges the gap between traditional power curve methods and wake minimization technology assessment. This controller collects and analyzes operational data from multiple turbines, applying normalization techniques that isolate and quantify the specific benefits of wake minimization technologies, thereby enabling accurate measurement of performance improvements that traditional methods miss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces traditional mechanical power curve assessment methods with a data-driven computational approach. By substituting physical measurement limitations with digital data collection, normalization algorithms, and computational analysis, the system can accurately discern wake minimization benefits that were previously undetectable by conventional mechanical measurement systems.
3Productivity
If control technologies optimize wind farm power output rather than individual turbine output, then overall farm efficiency improves, but it requires complex coordination and control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The controller is designed as a universal system that performs multiple functions: it monitors operational parameters, coordinates turbine operation, optimizes power output, and assesses performance improvements. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate complex systems, achieving wind farm-wide optimization while managing control complexity through a single integrated platform.
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
Provides accurate and robust validation of wind farm performance improvements by normalizing data to accurately assess power output changes, reducing costs and time, and improving the accuracy of upgrade benefits without relying on wind speed or anemometer readings.
Implementation Method 1
The rotor blades capture kinetic energy of wind using known airfoil principles. For example, rotor blades typically have the cross-sectional profile of an airfoil such that, during operation, air flows over the blade producing a pressure difference between the sides. Consequently, a lift force, which is directed from a pressure side towards a suction side, acts on the blade.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for validating wind farm performance improvements so as to optimize wind farm performance. In one embodiment, the method includes operating, via a controller, the wind farm in a first operating mode. Another step includes collecting a first set of operating data, via a processor, during the first operating mode. A further step includes operating, via the controller, the wind farm in a second operating mode. The method also includes collecting a second set of operating data, via the processor, during the second operating mode. Next, the method includes normalizing the first and second sets of operating data based on wind speed distributions. As such, another step includes comparing, via the processor, the normalized first and second sets of operating data so as to validate one or more wind farm performance measurements.