Method of controlling a wind turbine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12546292-B2
Application number	US-202318840336-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 20, 2023
Priority date	Feb 25, 2022
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

A method of controlling a wind turbine is provided including at least one fan-cooled unit with a fan adapted to circulate air inside a housing of the fan-cooled unit, which method includes operating the fan-cooled unit in a dryout mode by: disabling a thermal energy reduction the fan-cooled unit, which thermal energy reduction means is adapted to reduce thermal energy of air inside the housing during a normal operation mode of the fan-cooled unit; actuating a fan of the fan-cooled unit to circulate the quantity of air contained in the housing; and monitoring a climate parameter until a target climate condition has been reached. A wind turbine configured to execute the steps of the inventive method is also provided.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A method of controlling a wind turbine comprising at least one fan-cooled unit with a fan configured to circulate air inside a housing of the at least one fan-cooled unit, the method comprising:
operating the at least one fan-cooled unit in a dryout mode by:
disabling a thermal energy reduction means of the at least one fan-cooled unit, the thermal energy reduction means configured to reduce thermal energy of air inside the housing during a normal operation mode of the at least one fan-cooled unit;
intentionally generating heat inside the housing by operating a fan of the at least one fan-cooled unit at an increased rotational speed compared to a normal cooling operation mode to circulate a quantity of air contained in the housing; and
monitoring a climate parameter until a target climate condition has been reached.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the disabling the thermal energy reduction comprises closing an air exit opening in the housing of the at least one fan-cooled unit.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the disabling the thermal energy reduction comprises deactivating a fluid-to-air cooling circuit of the at least one fan-cooled unit.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fan is operated at a maximum rotational speed during a dry-out procedure of the dry-out mode.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the target climate condition is a maximum relative humidity and/or a minimum temperature.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising operating the at least one fan-cooled unit in the normal cooling operation mode when the target climate parameter has been reached.

7 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein the operating the at least one fan-cooled unit in the normal cooling operation mode comprises: re-opening an air exit opening, activating a fluid-to-air cooling circuit, and/or reducing the rotational speed of the fan compared to the dryout mode.

8 . A wind turbine comprising:
at least one fan-cooled unit comprising a fan arranged in an interior of a unit housing and a thermal energy reduction means configured to reduce thermal energy in air in the interior during a normal cooling operation mode of the at least one fan-cooled unit; a sensor arrangement configured to monitor a climate parameter in a wind turbine nacelle; and a dry-out management module configured to receive a dry-out command, and to execute the method according to claim 1 to perform a dry-out procedure.

9 . The wind turbine according to claim 8 , wherein the thermal energy reduction comprises an air exit opening in the unit housing, and wherein the dry-out management module is configured to close the air exit opening during the dry-out procedure.

10 . The wind turbine according to claim 9 , wherein a cover of the air exit opening comprises an electromagnetic lock configured to engage with the unit housing of the at least one fan-cooled unit, and wherein the dry-out management module is configured to actuate the electromagnetic lock.

11 . The wind turbine according to claim 8 , wherein the at least one fan-cooled unit is an air-to-liquid heat-exchanger.

12 . The wind turbine according to claim 11 , wherein the thermal energy reduction means of the heat-exchanger comprises a fluid cooling circuit, and wherein the dry-out management module is configured to deactivate the fluid cooling circuit during the dry-out procedure.

13 . The wind turbine according to claim 8 , wherein the at least one fan-cooled unit is a ventilation unit.

14 . The wind turbine according to claim 13 , wherein the thermal energy reduction the ventilation unit comprises louvers, and wherein the dry-out management module is configured to close the louvers during the dry-out procedure.

15 . A computer program product, comprising a computer readable hardware storage device having computer readable program code stored therein, the program code executable by a processor of a computer system to implement a method according to claim 1 .

16 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the actuated fan heats the quantity of air inside the housing through electrical losses of the fan and kinetic energy from agitated air molecules, thereby reducing relative humidity towards an acceptable level.

17 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the operating the at least one fan-cooled unit in the dryout mode occurs after an off-grid state.

Assignees

• Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy As

Inventors

• Hawkins Samuel
• Krogh Christian Joachim

Classifications

• F05B2260/232

  characterised by the cooling medium · CPC title

• F05B2260/64

  Aeration, ventilation, dehumidification or moisture removal of closed spaces · CPC title

• F05B2270/325

  Air temperature · CPC title

• Y02E10/72

  Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction · CPC title

• F03D80/602 Primary

  Heat transfer circuits; Refrigeration circuits · CPC title