Patent Application
20120303277
Wind turbines are complex machines, which convert kinetic energy in wind into electrical power energy. When a wind turbine is operated, some parameters of the wind turbine, such as blade pitch, blade rotating speed, yaw, rotor speed, generator speed, and structural vibration, need to be monitored for controlling the wind turbine be more reliable.
In order to monitor the parameters of the wind turbine, different kinds of sensors are mounted to the wind turbine. For example, a rotary encoder is used to detect the blade pitch, blade rotating speed, yaw, rotor speed, and generator speed; an accelerometer is used to monitor the wind turbine vibration; while other sensors, such as ultrasonic sensors, laser sensors, radar sensors, are used to measure other kinds of parameters. Thus, numerous kinds of sensors or meters need to be installed on the wind turbine to monitor the various parameters, which makes the wind turbine be very complicated and very expensive.
Furthermore, the conventional wind turbine can only monitor limited parameters. Parameters, such as torque, thrust, blade bending moment, blade twisting moment, tip displacement, lower bending moment, and three-dimensional motion track, cannot be monitored.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for embodiments of the invention.
A wind turbine and method are provided that includes a plurality of blades where each blade includes a plurality of Micro Inertial Measurement Units (MIMUs) to sense parameter signals of the blades. A parameter processing unit receives the sensed parameter signals from the MIMUs and determines parameters of the blades according to the sensed parameter signals.
These and other features and aspects of embodiments of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
Embodiments of the invention relate to a wind turbine including multiple Micro Inertial Measurement Units (MIMUs) mounted at various locations of the wind turbine to monitor the status of the wind turbine. For example, MIMUs mounted on each of the blades of the wind turbine sense parameter signals of the blades, and supply these signals to a parameter processing unit. The parameter processing unit determines parameters of the blades according to the sensed parameter signals.
Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terms “first”, “second”, and the like, as used herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another. Also, the terms “a” and “an” do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items, and terms such as “front”, “bad”, “bottom”, and/or “top”, unless otherwise noted, are merely used for convenience of description, and are not limited to any one position or spatial orientation. Moreover, the terms “coupled” and “connected” are not intended to distinguish between a direct or indirect coupling/connection between two components. Rather, such components may be directly or indirectly coupled/connected unless otherwise indicated.
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The MIMUs 18 are used to sense parameter signals of the corresponding mounted position of the wind turbine 10. The MIMU is a comprehensive motion capture sensing apparatus, which can sense three dimensional (3D) orientation (pitch, roll, yaw) signals, as well as 3D acceleration signals, 3D rate of turn signals, 3D magnetic field signals, and other related parameter signals in real time according to different kinds of MIMUs. In certain embodiments, the MIMU 18 may include a 3D accelerometer, a 3D gyroscope, and a 3D magnetometer at the same time, or include two kinds of them, or include one kind of them. The parameter processing unit 19 receives the sensed parameter signals from all of the MIMUs 18 and determines parameters of the wind turbine 10 by implementing an embedded model-based estimation program therein.
According to an embodiment, the determined parameters can include blade pitch, blade rotating speed, structural vibration, blade bending moment, blade twisting moment, tip displacement, three dimensional motion track, tower bending moment, yaw, rotor speed, generator speed, torque, thrust, and load. Each MIMU can sense different types of parameter signals, such as 3D rate of turn signals (Wx, Wy, Wz), 3D acceleration signals (ax, ay, az), 3D earth magnetic field signals (mx, my, mz), and 3D orientation signals (θ, γ, ψ), for example.
In detail, during the determining process, the above sensed parameter signals together with a coordinate parameter (xn, yn, zn) of the corresponding MIMU 18 are processed into a vector Tn, where “n” stands for the number of MIMU 18. For example, “n” may be 1, 2, 3 . . . , etc. The vector Tn can be noted as the following equation:
Tn=[Wx,nWy,nWz,nax,nay,naz,nmx,nmy,nmz,nθnγnψyxnynzn]
Furthermore, the sensed signals from all of the MIMUs 18 can be noted as a matrix S, whose row and column are equal to N and 15 respectively. Wherein, “N” stands for the total number of MIMUs 18, for example N=10. The matrix S can be noted as the following equation:
S=[T1 . . . T2 . . . TN]T
There is also a matrix S0 to denote the initial data of all parameter signals. The matrix S0 can be determined by processing the data into the matrix S when the wind turbine 10 is in a static status. Subsequently, the real time data in the matrix S and the initial data in the matrix S0 will be used to determine the mentioned parameters. In other embodiments, the parameters also can be determined by other algorithm processed by the parameter processing unit 19.
In
In the embodiments disclosed herein, MIMUs 18 are utilized to monitor different parameters of different parts of the wind turbines 10 and 20, which makes the parameter monitoring system simpler, cost efficient, and comprehensive.
While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art than various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201110141198.1 | May 2011 | CN | national |
