Wind Turbine Pitch Control via Hub Wind Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wind turbine control systems fail to optimize energy capture and reduce mechanical loads effectively below rated wind speed due to reliance on average wind speed measurements, neglecting effects like windshear, upflow, and misalignment, which require individual blade load sensors for precise control.
Innovation Solution
A control method that adjusts each blade's pitch angle based on its azimuthal position and wind distribution data, using a periodical function dependent on wind distribution values, eliminating the need for blade load sensors and accounting for variations in wind conditions across the rotor area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If individual blade load sensors are installed to precisely control each blade's pitch angle, then energy capture optimization improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the pitch control function from individual blade-level operation to hub-level operation. By installing a single sensor on the hub to measure overall wind conditions and implementing centralized pitch control, the system eliminates the need for complex individual blade sensors while maintaining optimization capability through hub-based wind distribution measurement and coordinated pitch adjustment of all blades
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the hub-based sensor system perform multiple functions: measuring wind speed, determining wind direction, assessing wind distribution across the rotor area, and providing data for pitch control decisions. This multi-functional approach replaces what would otherwise require multiple specialized sensors on individual blades, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive monitoring capability
2Device complexity
If average wind speed measurement is used to control blade pitch angle, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and energy optimization deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using multiple sensors positioned at different locations on the hub to measure wind conditions from different directions and heights. This distributed sensing approach captures spatial variations in wind distribution across the rotor area, providing localized wind information that is then integrated to improve overall measurement precision without requiring individual blade sensors
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from one-dimensional average wind speed measurement to three-dimensional wind distribution characterization by implementing sensors at multiple hub locations that measure wind speed, direction, and spatial variation. This dimensional expansion allows the system to capture windshear, upflow, and misalignment effects that scalar average measurements miss, significantly improving measurement precision while keeping device complexity manageable through strategic sensor placement
3Productivity
If blade pitch angle is adjusted based on azimuthal position and wind distribution, then energy production is maximized, but control system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by using the azimuthal position information to apply periodic pitch angle adjustments to blades as they rotate through different positions in the rotor disk. The control system applies pitch modifications that follow the periodic pattern of blade passage through regions of varying wind conditions, maximizing energy capture during high-wind portions of the rotation while reducing loads during low-wind portions, all coordinated through hub-based control rather than individual blade complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback control by continuously measuring wind distribution characteristics using hub-based sensors and using this information to adjust pitch angles in real-time. The control system processes sensor data about wind speed and direction variations across the rotor area, compares this with desired performance targets, and automatically adjusts pitch angles to optimize energy capture, creating a closed-loop system that improves productivity without requiring complex individual blade sensor arrays
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 maximizes energy production and reduces mechanical loads without the need for individual blade load sensors, enhancing operational efficiency and extending turbine lifespan by adapting pitch angles to specific wind conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the ratio between the blade tip speed and the wind speed at the hub height (Tip Speed Ratio (TSR)) is maintained in an optimum value which maximizes the aerodynamic power capture of the wind
Data Source
AI summary
It describes a control system and method of a wind turbine to operate it in optimum output operation in situations wherein incidents occur. To do this a series of measurements are taken of elements in the surrounding area of the wind turbine which incide it to be able to calculate blade pitch angle set-points to reorientate or move the same until positions designated in accordance with said pitch angle set-point. The method described here is based, among other parameters, on the wind speed; so that it provides for at least two possible control situations in accordance with said speed: one when the speed is less than a rated value and another when said speed is greater than a rated value.