Wind Turbine Asymmetric Icing Detection via Rotor Acceleration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for detecting asymmetric icing on wind turbine rotor blades require additional hardware, increasing installation and operational costs, and are impractical for areas with average yearly temperatures above freezing.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize existing wind turbine hardware, specifically rotorspeed data, to detect asymmetric icing without the need for additional sensors, by monitoring rotorspeed acceleration and tower vibration to identify potential icing conditions and notify operators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If additional hardware such as sensors, anemometers, or piezoelectric transducers is installed to detect asymmetric icing, then detection capability is improved, but installation and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes existing wind turbine hardware (rotorspeed sensors, vibration sensors, SCADA systems) perform the additional function of asymmetric icing detection. Instead of adding dedicated icing detection hardware, the system utilizes the multi-functionality of existing components to detect icing conditions through analysis of rotorspeed acceleration and vibration patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The wind turbine's existing monitoring systems serve themselves by detecting icing conditions. The rotorspeed and vibration sensors, already installed for other purposes, automatically provide data for icing detection without requiring separate dedicated sensors or additional operational overhead.
2Measurement precision
If additional hardware is installed for asymmetric icing detection, then detection accuracy is improved, but the system becomes impractical for areas with average yearly temperatures above freezing
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses existing wind turbine hardware that operates in all climates, making the icing detection solution universally applicable. By leveraging rotorspeed and vibration data from standard turbine components rather than climate-specific sensors, the system can detect asymmetric icing in both freezing and non-freezing environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent detects icing through changes in rotorspeed acceleration parameters and vibration characteristics rather than relying on temperature thresholds. This parameter-based detection approach allows the system to identify asymmetric icing conditions based on mechanical response changes, making it adaptable to various climatic conditions including areas with average yearly temperatures above freezing.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method 200 for detecting asymmetric utilizing longitudinal tower acceleration data may include: providing a rotorspeed acceleration monitoring system; determining from the rotorspeed acceleration monitoring system whether a rotorspeed acceleration is above a rotorspeed acceleration limit 215; determining whether a rotor-mass imbalance condition exists 235,245; and determining whether a longitudinal tower acceleration coincides with icing on a rotor.