Improvements relating to the determination of rotor imbalances in a wind turbine

US10480486B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Vestas Wind Systems A/S · DK

Inventors

• Martin Brødsgaard · Aarhus, DK
• Thomas Krüger · Leverkusen, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 12, 2015
• Grant date: Nov 19, 2019
• Expiry date: Jun 7, 2036

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02E10/72
• WIPO field: Engines, pumps, turbines
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

A wind turbine comprising a tower, a rotor including a plurality of blades, an electrical generator operatively coupled to the rotor, and a control system including an active damping module configured to monitor oscillatory motion of the wind turbine and to output a damping demand signal to damp the oscillatory motion. The control system is configured to perform a rotor imbalance determination process including: controlling the rotating frequency of the rotor so that it substantially coincides with the natural frequency of the tower, determining rotor imbalance data based on the damping demand signal and evaluating said rotor imbalance data to determine the presence of a rotor imbalance condition, and correcting the rotor imbalance condition by applying pitch control inputs to one or more of the plurality of blades so as to reduce the severity of the rotor imbalance. The invention may also be expressed as a method.