Wind Turbine Master-Slave Drive Torque Coordination
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind turbine rotational systems face challenges in balancing load distribution and redundancy, with complex and costly control systems required for efficient operation, and existing methods either lead to unbalanced stress or system failure if a single driver or motor fails.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a central control system that designates one drive as a master and others as slaves, with the central control system sending speed and torque setpoints to the electronic converters, allowing each motor to be driven based on real-time feedback to achieve balanced torque distribution and redundancy, using estimation or measurement of torque and speed by converters to maintain system operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single driver is used to control all motors, then the control system is cheaper, but the whole system becomes inoperative if the driver fails and load distribution becomes unbalanced
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into multiple independent drivers, each controlling a subset of motors. This segmentation ensures that if one driver fails, the system can continue operating with the remaining drivers, thereby improving reliability while maintaining manageable complexity through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes operational parameters by adjusting the number of active drivers and motors based on system conditions. When a driver fails, the system reconfigures to operate with fewer drivers, changing the operational mode to maintain reliability while adapting to the reduced capacity.
2Reliability
If multiple drivers are used without synchronization, then system reliability improves, but load distribution becomes significantly unbalanced causing stress and fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The control system implements feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor the operational status and load of each driver and motor. This feedback enables real-time adjustment of control signals to balance the load distribution across all active motors, preventing excessive stress and fatigue on individual components while maintaining system reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the operational characteristics of each driver and motor based on real-time conditions. By continuously optimizing the control parameters and load distribution, the system maintains balanced operation across all components, reducing mechanical stress and fatigue while preserving the reliability benefits of multiple independent drivers.
Data Source
AI summary
Method of operating a wind turbine rotational system having a plurality of drives and a central control system (CCS), each drive having a motor and an electronic converter. The CCS sends speed and torque setpoints to the electronic converters, and the electronic converters drive the motors in accordance with said setpoints. The method comprises designating one of the drives as master drive and the other drives as slave drives. The method also comprises the CCS determining a master speed setpoint and a master torque setpoint, and sending said setpoints to the master drive. The method further comprises the CCS obtaining the real torque and speed of the motor of the master drive and sending a slave speed setpoint and a slave torque setpoint to each slave drive, said slave speed setpoint based on the master speed setpoint and said slave torque setpoint equal to the obtained real torque of the master drive.