Wind turbine with a rotor positioning system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10240582-B2
Application number	US-201514968150-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 14, 2015
Priority date	Dec 24, 2014
Publication date	Mar 26, 2019
Grant date	Mar 26, 2019

Abstract

The invention provides a wind turbine having a system for positioning the rotor in an azimuthal reference position Azref and for maintaining it therein for a predetermined period of time, the wind turbine being arranged in test mode. Said rotor positioning system comprises a first controller (31) configured to generate a generator speed reference Ωref from the difference between the rotor azimuthal reference position Azref and the rotor azimuthal measured position Azmeas and a second controller (35) configured to generate a generator torque reference Tref from the difference between said generator speed reference Ωref and the generator speed measured Ωmeas.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A wind turbine ( 11 ) comprising:
(a) a tower ( 13 ) and a nacelle ( 21 ) housing a generator ( 19 ) connected to a rotor comprising a rotor hub ( 15 ) and at least one blade ( 17 ), wherein the generator is configured to act as a motor;
(b) measuring devices of, at least, wind speed V, generator speed Ω and rotor azimuthal position Az;
(c) a control system connected to said measuring devices and to at least pitch and torque control actuators;
(d) a system for positioning the rotor in an azimuthal reference position Az ref and for maintaining it therein during a predetermined period of time when the wind turbine is in a test mode, the system comprising:
(i) a first controller ( 31 ) configured to generate a generator speed reference Ω ref from a difference between the azimuthal reference position Az ref and a rotor azimuthal measured position Az meas and proportional and integral gains Kp 1 and Ki 1 that are dependent on the wind speed V measured at a height of the rotor hub; and
(ii) a second controller ( 35 ) configured to generate a generator torque reference T ref from a difference between said generator speed reference Ω ref and a generator speed measured position Ω meas and proportional and integral gains Kp 2 and Ki 2 that are dependent on the wind speed V measured at the height of the rotor hub,

wherein the first and second controllers, when activated, maintain a torque that keeps the rotor in the azimuthal reference position Az ref during the test period.

2. The wind turbine ( 11 ) according to claim 1 , wherein:
the proportional gain Kp 1 , expressed in rpm/deg, is obtained in a first module ( 43 ) configured to calculate it from a variable gain value Δ v1 that is dependent on the wind speed V meas measured at the height of the rotor hub ( 15 ), and a first parameter defining the proportional gain of the first controller ( 31 );
the integral gain Ki 1 is obtained in a second module ( 45 ) configured to calculate it from the proportional gain Kp 1 and a second parameter that defines the integral time of the first controller ( 31 );
the proportional gain Kp 2 , is obtained in a third module ( 53 ) configured to calculate it from a variable gain value Δ v2 dependent on the measured wind speed V meas at the height of the rotor hub ( 15 ) and a third parameter defining the proportional gain of the second controller ( 35 ); and
the integral gain Ki 2 is obtained in a fourth module ( 55 ) configured to calculate it from the proportional gain Kp 2 and a fourth parameter that defines the integral time of the second controller ( 35 ).

3. The wind turbine ( 11 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second controller ( 31 , 35 ) are proportional, integral and derivative controllers and their proportional, integral and derivative gains are dependent variables of the wind speed V meas measured at the height of the rotor hub ( 15 ).

4. The wind turbine ( 11 ) according to claim 1 , further comprising an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) device for providing energy to the generator ( 19 ) when the wind turbine is in the test mode and the generator ( 19 ) acts as a motor.

5. The wind turbine ( 11 ) according to claim 1 , further comprising a connection to an electricity grid to power the generator ( 19 ) when the wind turbine is in a test mode and the generator ( 19 ) acts as a motor.

Assignees

• Gamesa Innovation & Tech Sl

Inventors

• Plano Morillo Eugenio
• Fernandez Romero Ignacio

Classifications

• F03D7/0272

  by measures acting on the electrical generator · CPC title

• F03D7/0268

  Parking or storm protection · CPC title

• F05B2270/1032

  Torque · CPC title

• F03D7/0276 Primary

  controlling rotor speed, e.g. variable speed · CPC title

• F05B2270/706

  proportional-integral-differential · CPC title