Vestas Wind Systems A/s

Christopher John Spruce

Robert Bowyer

Thomas Steiniche Bjertrup Nielsen

Justin Creaby

Martin Evans

Judith Turner

Bo Juul Pedersen

Ian Couchman

A wind turbine has a Lidar device to sense wind conditions upstream of the wind turbine. Signals from the wind turbine are processed to detect an extreme change in wind direction. The detection is performed by differentiating the rate of change of wind direction and filtering for a period of time. On detection of extreme change the system controller takes the necessary evasive action which may include shutting down the turbine, commencing an immediate yawing action, and de-rating the turbine until the yawing action is complete.

Method and apparatus for protecting wind turbines from extreme events

A wind turbine power plant comprises a plurality of wind turbines, each having a rated output and under the control of a power plant controller. The power plant also has a rated output which may be over-rated in response to one or more electricity pricing data, power plant age and operator demand. This may comprise a schedule of output set point changes which effect seasonal or intraday changes in electricity prices or which reflect aging of the power plant. It may also reflect the price of electricity on spot or futures markets. Once the over-rating of the power plant has been set, the output may be increased by over-rating individual turbines or operating turbines at rated power if the sum of the rated outputs of the turbines exceeds or is equal to the new power plant output set point.

Over-rating control of wind turbines and power plants

The application describes a wind turbine having a control method and controller for performing predictive control of a wind turbine generator. Based on the measured instantaneous wind speed, it is known to provide control signals to a wind turbine in order to control the pitch of the wind turbine rotor blades and the speed of the generator. However, it is difficult using instantaneous wind speed measurements to achieve smooth control, due to finite response speeds of the associated electro-mechanical systems, as well as the constantly changing control system inputs. The predictive control system described in the application assumes a model of generator speed based on the values of the incident wind speed v(t) and the values of a control signal u(t) output to the wind turbine in a feed forward loop. Here, the control signal can be for one or more of controlling either the power setting of the generator, or the pitch angle of the rotor blades. The predictive controller uses a rolling time series of values for v(t) and u(t) and based on a predicted response of the generator speed w(t) optimizes the time series control signal u(t). The predicted response of the generator speed w(t) is based on model, that can be refined in real time as the wind turbine operates.

Wind turbine having a control method and controller for performing predictive control of a wind turbine generator

Wind turbines of a wind power plant may be selectively over-rated by measuring the difference between the nominal and actual power plant outputs and deriving an over-rating request signal based on that difference which is sent to each turbine. The same value may be sent to each turbine. Alternatively, each turbine may be given its own over-rating amount based on an optimization of the turbine. Over-rating may also be used when external economic factors such as energy costs are sufficiently high to out-weigh any potential harmful effect of over-rating. The fatigue lifetime of turbines and their critical components may also be taken into account when deciding whether and to what extent to implement an over-rating command.

Over-rating control in wind turbines and wind power plants

A wind turbine has a Lidar device to sense wind conditions upstream of the wind turbine including wind speed, direction and turbulence. Signals from the Lidar are processed to detect an event which could give rise to low cycle fatigue loading on one or more components of the wind turbine. On detection the system controller takes the necessary evasive action depending on the nature and severity of the extreme condition detected. This may include a significant reduction in power generated through reduction in rotor speed or torque, complete shutdown of the generator and yawing of the nacelle and rotor in response to a change in wind direction.

Method and apparatus for protecting wind turbines from fatigue damage

A method for damping edgewise oscillations in one or more blades of a wind turbine includes the steps of detecting if one or more of the blades oscillates edgewise during operation of the wind turbine, and substantially cyclically generating a pitch angle difference between at least two of the blades. Further provided is an active stall controlled wind turbine and use hereof.

Method for damping edgewise oscillations in one or more blades of a wind turbine, an active stall controlled wind turbine and use hereof

The invention relates to a method for damping tower oscillations in the tower of an active stall controlled wind turbine. The method comprises the steps of operating two or more blades of the wind turbine in a stall condition, detecting if the tower oscillates beyond a predefined level, and establishing different stall conditions between at least two of the blades, wherein the different stall conditions are established by offsetting the pitch angle of at least a first blade in relation to the pitch angle of one further blade. The invention further relates to an active stall controlled wind turbine and use hereof.

Method for damping tower oscillations, an active stall controlled wind turbine and use hereof

The invention relates to a wind turbine comprising a rotor including one or more pitchable blades, and detection means for detecting edgewise oscillations in one or more of said blades. The wind turbine is characterized in that the wind turbine comprises control means for changing the pitch angle of one or more of the blades if the detection means detects edgewise oscillations in one or more of the blades, hereby damping or eliminating the edgewise oscillations. The invention further relates to a method for damping edgewise oscillations in one or more blades of a wind turbine and use hereof.

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Surrey, United Kingdom

Christopher John Spruce