Wind Turbine Tower Oscillation Damping for Power Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cyclic tower oscillations in wind turbines lead to power instabilities and metal fatigue, which affect the structural integrity and longevity of wind turbines.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize active tower damping systems (ATD) equipped with adjustable damping factors, where the damping factors are setpoints that are calculated and updated based on measured tower oscillations to minimize aggregated power variations across a fleet of wind turbines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If active tower damping systems are applied to reduce tower oscillations, then structural integrity and longevity are improved, but power output stability deteriorates due to cyclic power variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the control of multiple wind turbines into a coordinated fleet-level system. By combining the tower damping actions of multiple turbines and exploiting phase differences in their oscillations, the system achieves both structural protection and power stability simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between individual turbine damping benefits and fleet-level power variability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the damping factors of individual turbines based on real-time oscillation measurements and phase relationships. By making the damping characteristics adaptive rather than fixed, the system can optimize both structural integrity and power output stability under varying operating conditions, resolving the static contradiction between these two objectives.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If damping factors are increased to reduce tower oscillations, then metal fatigue is mitigated, but cyclic power variations are enhanced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of individual turbine power variations into a beneficial effect at the fleet level. By exploiting the phase differences between turbines, the cyclic power variations generated by damping actions on individual turbines cancel each other out in aggregation, transforming the harm into a benefit while still achieving fatigue mitigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the fleet into individual controllable units, each with its own damping factor adjustments. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each turbine's structural protection while the collective behavior of all segments achieves power stability, resolving the contradiction between individual damping intensity and aggregate power quality.
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 method effectively reduces cyclic power variations and mitigates metal fatigue by optimizing the damping of tower oscillations across the wind turbine fleet, leading to improved power output stability and extended operational lifetime.
Implementation Method 1
Damping mechanisms play a crucial role in mitigating excessive vibrations and ensuring the wind turbine's stability. Damping dissipates the energy associated with vibrations, reducing the amplitude of oscillations over time.
Implementation Method 2
Aerodynamic damping arises from the interaction between the wind turbine's motion and the surrounding airflow. As the wind turbine support structure oscillates, it generates aerodynamic forces that oppose the motion, leading to energy dissipation.
Implementation Method 3
Material damping is a result of energy loss due to internal friction within the wind turbine's materials. This form of damping is influenced by material properties, such as stiffness and damping coefficients.
Implementation Method 4
Active control systems use sensors to detect wind turbine support structure vibrations and adjust various wind turbine generator parameters, such as blade pitch, rotor speed, and generator torque. By continuously adapting the wind turbine generator's operating conditions, active control can suppress resonant vibrations and enhance the wind turbine's stability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention generally relates to a method and a system to optimize the stability of the power output of a wind farm or fleet of wind turbines. Tower oscillations cause a cyclic instability of the aggregated power output of a group of wind turbines. The method analyses the oscillations for each wind turbine and determines the setpoints for tower damping for each wind turbine to reduce the aggregated power output variations.