Patent Grant
10794360
This patent application claims the benefit of and priority to EP Patent Application No. 16382675.3, filed on Dec. 30, 2016, and titled “METHOD OF REDUCING LOADS ACTING ON A WIND TURBINE YAW SYSTEM,” and EP Patent Application No. 17382927.6, filed on Dec. 29, 2017, and titled “METHOD OF REDUCING LOADS ACTING ON A WIND TURBINE YAW SYSTEM.” The disclosure of each of these patent applications is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention is framed in the technical field of wind turbines. Specifically it is described a method of reducing loads acting on a wind turbine yaw system.
Wind turbines of the state of the art comprise a tower, a nacelle mounted on top of the tower and a rotor which is rotatably attached to the nacelle. In order to maximize energy capture from the wind, wind turbines have to orient the nacelle in the wind direction so that the rotor faces the wind.
Wind turbines of the state of the art also include a pitch system which makes the blades rotate about their longitudinal axis, varying the aerodynamic forces acting on the blades, either to obtain the maximum possible power of the wind in certain meteorological conditions, or to limit the mechanical loads produced on the wind turbine. The pitch system is controlled by a pitch control system.
The yaw misalignment is the angle between the wind direction and the longitudinal direction of the nacelle. Yaw misalignment is usually measured by a wind vane or an ultrasonic anemometer mounted on top of the nacelle. In the wind turbines of the state of the art, the yaw system is in charge of aligning the nacelle in the wind direction to maximize the energy capture.
The yaw system comprises two sub-systems:
In wind turbines of the state of the art, the nacelle is fixed by means of the retention sub-system while the yaw misalignment is within an allowable interval, that is, when the yaw misalignment is below a first yaw misalignment threshold. Once the yaw misalignment is over this threshold, a yaw maneuver is performed in order to align the nacelle to the wind direction. This yaw maneuver comprises the following steps:
The yaw system is dimensioned to be able to drive the nacelle to and retain the nacelle in an oriented position in whatever working condition that the wind turbine is expected to have. However, under extreme environmental conditions or wind turbine conditions, the yaw moment acting on the wind turbine can reach such levels that the yaw system may have difficulties in retaining the nacelle in its position and/or driving it to the adequate position.
The yaw moment is a moment in the direction of the axis of the wind turbine tower and is usually induced by aerodynamic forces acting on the blades of the wind turbine.
This effect is nowadays becoming of higher importance as the size of the rotors is increasing in order to get more energy from the wind. Due to the bigger size of the rotors, wind turbines are more sensitive to environmental conditions and therefore, the loads that the yaw system has to bear are bigger.
A method of reducing loads acting on a wind turbine yaw system is described. The wind turbine comprises a nacelle, a yaw system and a rotor which in turn comprises at least one rotor blade with a pitch control system.
In the proposed method, once a yaw misalignment is detected (the yaw misalignment is not within an allowable interval, that is, the yaw misalignment is over a first yaw misalignment threshold) and, prior to starting a yaw maneuver, a blade pitch control is performed in order to reduce a yaw moment acting on the wind turbine which is the moment acting on the yaw system.
The technical effect is that, when the yaw controller commands a yaw movement to reduce the yaw misalignment, the yaw moment due to aerodynamic forces has been reduced by means of the pitch control. Thus, undesired yaw movements are prevented when the brakes are disengaged.
In an embodiment of the invention, the blade pitch control performed in order to reduce a yaw moment acting on the wind turbine is active until the yaw maneuver has finished.
In an embodiment of the invention, the pitch control is a collective pitch actuation that sets the same pitch angle for all the blades of the rotor according to a collective pitch angle set point. The new set point of the pitch angle can be calculated as the actual set point plus an increment value.
In one embodiment, the increment value of the pitch angle can take a predetermined value or a value dependent on several factors such as:
As a result of the pitch control, a pitch angle set point higher than the actual set point is set that will usually result in a loss of energy production. Therefore, it is an important goal of the proposed method to consider not only the yaw moment reduction but also the loss of energy production. Therefore, based on a measured or estimated yaw moment, the pitch angle set point can be determined in order to reduce the initial yaw moment to a point that can be handled by the drive sub-system and at the same time, minimize the loss of energy production.
The moment acting on the yaw system before the yaw maneuver starts, can be measured by different means, among o:
If yaw moment measuring means are not available, yaw moment can be estimated from environmental or operational measurements and/or historic values, such as:
During the resource assessment analysis of the wind farm and based on historic data, the inflow angle is characterized at each wind turbine position and at each wind direction. If no inflow data is available, it can be estimated based on the orography of the wind farm.
The inflow angle, among other conditions like wind speed and yaw misalignment, influences the yaw moment acting on the wind turbine. Therefore, yaw moment can be estimated from mean historic inflow angle values and wind speed and yaw misalignment measurements at a given instant prior to a yaw maneuver. Based on this yaw moment estimation, the pitch control system establishes the pitch set point for reducing the estimated yaw moment to a point that can be handled by the drive sub-system.
If the yaw moment acting on the wind turbine is such that the retention sub-system cannot retain the nacelle in place leading to undesired yaw movements, the amount and direction of the yaw movements is used to estimate the direction and magnitude of the yaw moment acting on the wind turbine.
In an embodiment, the braking applied to the brakes of the retention subsystem is gradually reduced until the start of a yaw movement is detected at a certain remaining braking level of the brakes. Then, when the start of a yaw movement is detected, the remaining braking level of the brakes and the direction of the yaw movement are used to estimate the direction and magnitude of the yaw moment acting on the wind turbine. Additionally, the amount of the yaw movement can also be used in combination with the remaining braking level of the brakes and the direction of the yaw movement to estimate the direction and magnitude of the yaw moment acting on the wind turbine. The start of a yaw movement is detected for example, by means of nacelle vibrations measurements being above a threshold or small yaw movements.
In an embodiment of the invention, the pitch control system calculates the pitch angle set point based on the measured or estimated yaw moment.
The effect of the pitch angle on the yaw moment depends among other characteristics, on the wind speed and yaw misalignment. To account for that, in another embodiment of the invention, the pitch control system calculates the pitch angle set point based on the measured or estimated yaw moment and wind speed and yaw misalignment measurements.
By applying the pitch control prior to enabling a yaw maneuver, the loads in the yaw system are reduced so that undesired movements of the nacelle after releasing the brakes are avoided and the yaw drive sub-system is able to turn the nacelle at the desired speed.
While the collective pitch control only allows reducing the acting yaw moment, the individual pitch control allows generating the desired counteracting yaw moment.
The individual pitch angle set points can be constant values at each azimuthal position of the blades, or can be dependent on the measured or estimated yaw moments and other measurements as explained before for the case of the collective pitch actuation.
In another embodiment of the invention, the pitch angle set points of each blade are calculated based on the determined (measured or estimated) yaw moment. In this way the pitch control system can generate a moment that counteracts the moment acting on the yaw system. That is to say, the aerodynamic forces acting on the rotor generates a counter moment that compensates, at least in part, the initial yaw moment acting on the wind turbine prior to applying the pitch control.
The yaw moment estimation can have a significant error as it is calculated, among others, from historic values that consist usually of mean values for a certain situation. If the real yaw moment acting on the wind turbine is different from the estimated value, the yaw driving sub-system will not be able to turn the nacelle at the yaw speed set point.
In another embodiment of the invention, once the yaw movement has been enabled, the yaw moment estimation is recalculated using, among other factors, the difference between the yaw speed set point and the actual yaw speed. The actual yaw speed is detected, for example, with a sensor. The pitch angle set point is then recalculated based on the new yaw moment estimation.
In another embodiment, the pitch control is performed based on an error calculated between a yaw speed set point and an actual yaw speed once the yaw maneuver has been enabled. Preferably, the pitch control is an individual pitch control that sets different pitch angle set points to each blade according to its azimuthal position.
Alternatively, if the yaw drives are working at a constant speed, the yaw moment is estimated based on the power consumption needed to keep the yaw speed.
Additionally, the retention sub-system can be used to regulate the yaw speed. In this case, once the yaw maneuver has been enabled, and if the actual yaw speed is above the yaw speed set point (or in the case of the yaw drives working at a constant speed, no energy is needed to keep the yaw speed), the method comprises a step of adjusting the pressure of a brake hydraulic system according to the yaw speed.
In another embodiment of the invention, when the yaw misalignment has little or no impact on the energy production of the wind turbine, the method sets a second yaw misalignment threshold, bigger than the first yaw misalignment threshold. By doing so, the number of yaw maneuvers is reduced and therefore, the risk of undesired yaw movements is reduced.
The situations where the yaw misalignment has little or no impact on the energy production of the wind turbine take place at low wind speeds, where there is little available wind power, and at high wind speeds, when the wind turbine is operating at rated power, and therefore there is more available wind power than the power that the wind turbine can generate.
Additionally, when the yaw moment measurement or estimation is over a determined level, the method can set the second yaw misalignment threshold, bigger than the first yaw misalignment threshold in order to minimize the risk of undesired yaw movements, even though it can imply a significant loss of energy production.
In another embodiment of the invention, the method can further comprise the following steps:
Therefore, just when the wind speed value exceeds the wind speed threshold (that indicates a wind speed level above which the wind speed conditions may be harmful for the yaw system), the pitch control will be performed and thus avoid additional energy losses in other wind speed conditions.
In an embodiment of the invention the method of reducing loads acting on a wind turbine yaw system further comprises the following steps:
Therefore, just when the turbulence values exceed the turbulence threshold (that indicates a turbulence level above which the wind speed conditions may be harmful for the yaw system), the pitch control will be performed and thus avoid additional energy losses in other turbulence conditions.
To complement the description being made and in order to aid towards a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with a preferred example of practical embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description wherein, with illustrative and non-limiting character, the following has been represented:
The present invention describes a method of reducing loads acting on a wind turbine yaw system. The wind turbine comprising a nacelle (2) mounted on top of a tower (1), and a rotor, rotatably attached to the nacelle (2). The rotor further comprises three rotor blades (3). The wind turbine comprises also a wind vane (8) or an ultrasonic anemometer mounted on top of the nacelle (2) to measure a yaw misalignment (α) (angle between the wind direction (WD) and the longitudinal direction of the nacelle (ND), shown in
The wind turbine also comprises:
Along the description it is used the expression “to align the nacelle (2) in the wind direction (WD)” which refers to aligning the nacelle direction (ND) to the wind direction (WD).
Part of the yaw drive sub-system has been represented in
Part of the yaw retention sub-system has been represented in
The proposed method comprises at least the following steps:
The step of performing a pitch control is done in order to reduce a yaw moment (MZ) acting on the wind turbine once the yaw misalignment (α) is detected and prior to enabling the yaw maneuver.
The yaw maneuver comprises the steps of:
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the blade pitch control performed in order to reduce a yaw moment acting on the wind turbine is active until the yaw maneuver has finished.
In an embodiment of the invention, the pitch control is performed prior to starting the drive units (5) of the yaw drive sub-system.
In an embodiment of the invention, the pitch control is performed after at least partially releasing the brakes (7) of the yaw retention sub-system, preferably at least partially disengaging the brake calipers (7) of the yaw retention sub-system.
In an embodiment of the invention, the pitch control is a collective pitch actuation that sets a new pitch angle set point that is the same pitch angle set point for all the rotor blades (3). In this case a new set point of the pitch angle can be calculated as the actual set point plus an increment value. The increment value of the pitch angle set point can be a predetermined value. Alternatively, the increment value of the pitch angle set point depends on at least one of the following:
Preferably, the pitch control is an individual pitch control that sets different pitch angle set points (β1, β2, β3) to each blade (3) according to its azimuthal position (θ1, θ2, θ3. The pitch angle set points (β1, β2, β3) of each blade (3) can be predetermined values according to its azimuthal position (θ1, θ2, θ3), as represented in
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a step of determining a yaw moment (MZ) acting on the wind turbine.
The yaw moment (MZ) acting on the wind turbine can be measured by load sensors. Alternatively, the yaw moment (MZ) acting on the wind turbine can be estimated from at least one of:
Regarding the inflow angle,
In the preferred embodiment, the pitch control is an individual pitch control that sets different pitch angle set points to each blade (3) according to its azimuthal position (θ1, θ2, θ3). The pitch angle set points of each blade (3) are calculated based on the determined (measured or estimated) yaw moment (MZ), so that the aerodynamic forces acting on the rotor generates a counter moment that compensates, at least partially, the initial yaw moment (MZ) acting on the wind turbine prior to applying the pitch control.
In addition, once the yaw maneuver has been enabled, the pitch angle set points (β1, β2, β3) of each blade (3) are recalculated using, among other factors, the difference between a yaw speed set point ({dot over (φ)}ref) and an actual yaw speed ({dot over (φ)}). The actual yaw speed ({dot over (φ)}) is detected, for example, with a sensor.
The first step of the method, which is detecting a yaw misalignment (α), further comprises the following sub-steps:
A yaw misalignment (α) is detected when the angle between the wind direction (WD) and the nacelle direction (ND) is not within an allowable interval, that is, the yaw misalignment (α) is over the first yaw misalignment threshold (α1).
When a yaw misalignment (α) is detected which is over the first yaw misalignment threshold (α1), the method further comprises the step of comparing the determined (measured or estimated) yaw moment (MZ) with a yaw moment threshold.
As shown in
As explained before, the yaw moment (MZ) is mainly due to aerodynamic forces acting on the wind turbine. If the estimated yaw moment (MZ) is below a yaw moment threshold, the yaw system of the wind turbine can align the nacelle (2) (i.e. enable the yaw maneuver) without performing the pitch control. If the determined yaw moment (MZ) is over the yaw moment threshold, the method of the invention performs a pitch control in order to reduce the yaw moment (MZ) acting on the wind turbine once the yaw misalignment (α) is detected and prior to enabling the yaw maneuver.
Once the yaw maneuver is finished, the method of the invention further comprises the step of disabling the pitch control that reduces the moment acting on the wind turbine.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, once the yaw maneuver has been enabled, the yaw moment (MZ) estimation is recalculated using, among other factors, the difference between the yaw speed set point ({dot over (φ)}ref) and the actual yaw speed ({dot over (φ)}). The actual yaw speed ({dot over (φ)}) is detected, for example, with a sensor.
Alternatively, once the yaw maneuver has been enabled, if the yaw drives are working at a constant speed, the yaw moment (MZ) is estimated based on the power consumption needed to keep the yaw speed ({dot over (φ)}). The pitch angle set point is then recalculated based on the new yaw moment (MZ) estimation.
Additionally, the retention sub-system can be used to regulate the yaw speed ({dot over (φ)}) once the yaw maneuver has started. In this case, if the actual yaw speed ({dot over (φ)}) is above the yaw speed set point ({dot over (φ)}ref) (or in the case of the yaw drives working at a constant speed, no energy is needed to keep the yaw speed ({dot over (φ)})), the method comprises a step of adjusting the pressure of a brake hydraulic system (comprising the brake disc (6) and the brake caliper (7)) according to the yaw speed ({dot over (φ)}).
In another embodiment of the invention, when the yaw misalignment (α) has little or no impact on the energy production of the wind turbine, the method sets a second yaw misalignment threshold (α2), bigger than the first yaw misalignment threshold (α1). By doing so, the number of yaw maneuvers is reduced and therefore, the risk of undesired yaw movements is reduced. In
The situations where the yaw misalignment (α) has little or no impact on the energy production of the wind turbine take place at low wind speeds, where there is little available wind power, and at high wind speeds, when the wind turbine is operating at rated power, and therefore there is more available wind power than the power that the wind turbine can generate. In
Additionally, when the yaw moment (MZ) measurement or estimation is over a determined level, the method can set the second yaw misalignment threshold (α2), bigger than the first yaw misalignment threshold (α1) in order to minimize the risk of undesired yaw movements, even though it can imply a significant loss of generated energy.
In an embodiment of the invention, the method of reducing loads acting on a wind turbine yaw system further comprises the following steps:
In an embodiment of the invention the method of reducing loads acting on a wind turbine yaw system further comprises the following steps:
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