Wind Turbine Ice Detection Using Predictive Indicator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for detecting ice accretion on wind power installations are unreliable at low wind speeds or when the turbines are stopped, leading to safety concerns and inefficiencies due to inadequate sensitivity and inability to accurately assess ice formation in varying conditions.
Innovation Solution
A method that uses an ice predictive indicator, implemented as a counter, to assess the probability of ice accretion based on operating parameters and ambient conditions, allowing for time-delayed stoppage or restart of wind power installations to ensure safety and minimize yield losses, even outside the usual detection range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If operating parameters are compared to reference values for ice accretion detection, then ice detection is possible under steady operating conditions, but detection reliability deteriorates at low wind speeds or when the turbine is stopped
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by stopping the wind power installation before ice accretion becomes critical, based on predictive indicators. The control system proactively halts operation when temperature and wind speed conditions suggest icing risk, preventing the need to detect already-formed ice and enabling safer operation resumption after conditions improve.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention dynamically adapts the detection and response strategy based on operating conditions. The system transitions from steady-state parameter comparison to predictive temperature-based stoppage decisions, and implements time-delayed restart protocols that adapt to current conditions, making the detection system reliable across varying wind speeds and operational states.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the wind power installation is stopped to prevent ice hazards, then safety is improved, but energy yield is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial stoppage action by halting operation only when predictive indicators show icing risk, rather than continuous stoppage. The time-delayed restart approach allows the system to resume operation as soon as conditions permit, minimizing yield loss while maintaining adequate safety margins through the predictive indicator threshold.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system continuously monitors temperature, wind speed, and operational status to update the predictive indicator. This feedback loop enables dynamic decision-making about when to stop and restart the installation, optimizing the balance between safety and yield by responding only when conditions warrant intervention and resuming operation when conditions improve.
3Reliability
If a time delay is introduced before stopping or restarting the installation, then detection reliability is improved, but response time is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The time delay serves as a preliminary assessment period that allows the predictive indicator to stabilize and confirm icing conditions before triggering stoppage or restart. This preliminary action ensures that transient fluctuations don't trigger false decisions, improving reliability while the delay duration is optimized to minimize unnecessary yield loss.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention concerns a method of operating a wind power installation comprising a pod with an electric generator for generating electric current and an aerodynamic rotor coupled to the generator and having one or more rotor blades, including the steps: operating the wind power installation when ice accretion on the rotor blades can be certainly excluded, and stopping the wind power installation when ice accretion on the rotor blades is detected, and time-delayed stoppage or prevention of restarting of the wind power installation when an ice accretion was not detected but is to be expected, and/or time-delayed resumption of operation of the wind power installation when a stoppage condition which led to stoppage of the wind power installation has disappeared again and ice accretion was not detected and ice accretion or the formation of an ice accretion is not to be expected.