Wind Farm Control System for Weather Risk Mitigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wind farms are vulnerable to damage from sudden changes in weather conditions such as windstorms, tornadoes, and sandstorms, as existing control methods can only react after damage has occurred, failing to anticipate and prevent damage to wind power generation units.
Innovation Solution
A wind farm system equipped with sensing parts that detect external environment risk elements, such as wind, dust, or sand, and a controlling part that receives signals to proactively adjust the operation conditions of wind power generation units, including pitch control, yawing control, and brake systems to prevent damage by reducing rotational speed or stopping blades.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional individual wind power generation units use local weather observation and control, then each unit can maintain normal operation based on measured weather data, but all units remain vulnerable to sudden unforecasted weather changes that cause damage before control can be carried out
Solution Approach 1:
The patent deploys sensing parts at multiple locations including external positions surrounding the wind farm to detect risk elements such as windstorms, tornadoes, and sandstorms before they reach the wind power generation units. This preliminary detection enables advance warning and preventive control actions to be taken on all units before the harmful weather arrives, resolving the vulnerability to sudden unforecasted changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a central controller that receives detection results from multiple sensing parts and coordinates control signals to all wind power generation units. This intermediary system enables centralized predictive control based on environmental risk detection, allowing the farm to respond collectively to sudden weather changes rather than relying on individual unit reactions.
2Productivity
If wind power generation units operate with normal pitch and yawing control, then optimal aerodynamic performance is achieved, but units suffer damage from excessive rotational speed and vibration when sudden wind direction and speed changes occur
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing parts detect risk elements such as sudden wind direction changes and windstorms before they affect the wind power generation units. The central controller receives these detections and issues advance control signals to adjust pitch angles and activate braking systems, creating preliminary counter-actions that prevent excessive rotational speed and vibration damage before the harmful weather conditions arrive.
3Productivity
If wind power generation units operate during windstorm conditions, then energy generation continues, but sand particles collide against rotating blades causing surface coating damage and aerodynamic performance deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing parts detect sandstorms and windstorms containing sand particles before they reach the wind power generation units. The central controller receives these detections and issues advance control signals to stop or slow down blade rotation, preventing sand particle collisions that would damage surface coatings and deteriorate aerodynamic performance before the harmful conditions arrive.
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 system effectively anticipates and mitigates damage to wind power generation units by predicting changes in weather conditions, reducing the risk of damage from external environment risk elements, enhancing the safety and efficiency of wind power generation.
Implementation Method 1
a sensing part that senses an external environment risk element
Implementation Method 2
a blade-hub assembly which is located at one side of the front of the nacelle that converts kinetic energy of wind into rotary energy
Data Source
AI summary
A wind farm that includes a plurality of wind power generation units. The wind farm further includes a sensing part and a controlling part. The sensing part is configured to sense an external environment risk element. The controlling part is configured to receive a risk signal from the sensing part and to control the wind power generation units in the wind farm.