General Electric Company

Ge Vernova Renovables Espana, S.l.

Ge Infrastructure Technology, LLC

General Electric Renovables Espana, S.l.

Ge Vernova Infrastructure Technology LLC

Leonardo Cesar Kammer

Frederick Wilson Wheeler

Charudatta Subhash Mehendale

Hubert Oing

William E Holley

Arne Koerber

Conner Brooks Shane

Alfred Albert Mancini

Pierino Gianni Bonanni

Mark Edward Cardinal

Ralph Teichmann

Aaron John Avagliano

Enno Ubben

Waseem Ibrahim Faidi

Till Hoffmann

Peggy Lynn Baehmann

Patrick Hammel Hart

Minesh Ashok Shah

Shu Ching Quek

Kirk Gee Pierce

Jeffrey Bernard Fortin

Aaron Jay Knobloch

Steven Wade Sutherland

David Samuel Pesetsky

Hullas Sehgal

Charles Joseph Kosuth

Ruijie Shi

Alina Fatima Moosvi

Vaidhya Nath Venkitanarayanan

Corneliu Barbu

Chukwueloka Obiora Umeh

Alev Akbulut

Axel Braicks

Matthijs Leonardus Gerardus Boerlage

Peter Gauchel

Dhiraj Arora

Francesco Perrone

James Gregory Rotbert

Justin Edwin Barton

Derek Arthur Mangun

Dana Perry Martin

William J Myers

Atinuke Ademola-Idowu

Siyun Wang

William Edwin Holley

Boerlage Matthijs Leonardus Gerardus Gerardus

The present disclosure is directed to a method of compensating for rotor imbalance of a wind turbine. The method includes receiving, via a processor of a controller of the wind turbine, a signal associated with an acceleration of a tower and a signal associated with a position of a rotor. The method also includes estimating a rotor imbalance based on the signal associated with the acceleration of the tower. The method also includes estimating, via an adaptive filter algorithm, components of the rotor imbalance relative to the rotor position. The method also includes calculating a respective pitch angle offset for the rotor blades of the wind turbine based on the estimated components of the rotor imbalance. The method also includes adjusting a pitch angle of each of the rotor blades by the respective pitch angle offset, thereby reducing first excitation magnitude disturbances on the acceleration of the tower.

System and method for compensating for rotor imbalance in a wind turbine

A system and method are provided for controlling a wind farm during low wind speeds. Accordingly, the farm controller designates at least one of the plurality of wind turbines of the wind farm as a designated turbine. The designated turbine is operating in a full auxiliary mode when the speed of the wind acting on the wind farm is below a wind speed threshold. The remaining wind turbines are operated in a reduced auxiliary mode. The reduced auxiliary mode includes the disabling of at least one of pitching and yawing of the remaining wind turbines. When a power output for the designated wind turbine exceeds a power threshold, the farm controller directs at least one group of the remaining wind turbines to transition from the reduced auxiliary mode to the full auxiliary mode. During certain grid conditions, the transition between auxiliary modes may be delayed.

Methods for controlling a wind farm

A method for reducing extreme loads acting on at least one rotor blade of a wind turbine includes calculating, via a processor, a flapwise bending moment of the rotor blade(s). Further, the method includes calculating, via the processor, an edgewise bending moment of the rotor blade(s). The method also includes calculating, via the processor, an average load envelope of a blade root bending moment of the rotor blade(s) as a function of the flapwise bending moment and the edgewise bending moment of the rotor blade(s). Moreover, the method includes calculating, via the processor, an overall load envelope of the blade root bending moment of the rotor blade(s) as a function of the average load envelope and a future load estimation of the blade root bending moment of the rotor blade(s). As such, the method also includes implementing, via the processor, a control action when the overall load envelope is above a certain threshold.

System and method for improved extreme load control for wind turbine rotor blades

A method for reducing loads acting on a wind turbine includes determining, via a processor, at least one loading condition of the wind turbine resulting from a wind shear condition below a design threshold, determining, via the processor, a rotor speed setpoint of the wind turbine to cause an increase in thrust when the at least one loading condition exceeds a loading threshold; operating the wind turbine based on the rotor speed, and operating a rotor imbalance control module of the wind turbine to at least partially compensate for the at least one loading condition of the wind turbine resulting from the wind shear condition below the design threshold.

System and method for reducing wind turbine loads caused by rotor imbalance

A method for damping oscillations in a tower of a wind turbine includes determining a primary rotational frequency of the rotor (fp) that correlates to a tower resonance frequency (fr). The method defines an exclusion zone between a first rotational frequency of the rotor (f) that is less than the primary rotational frequency (fp) and a second rotational frequency of the rotor (f) that is greater than the primary rotational frequency (fp). At rotor frequencies below the exclusion zone, a first tower-damping force strategy is applied. At rotor frequencies above the exclusion zone, a second tower-damping force strategy is applied that is different from the first tower-damping force strategy.

Method and system for damping a wind turbine tower

A method for protecting a wind turbine from overloading during operation caused by a fault includes receiving, via a controller, a plurality of pitch signals from a plurality of pitch control mechanisms of a pitch system of the wind turbine, the pitch system configured to rotate a plurality of rotor blades mounted to a rotatable hub of a rotor of the wind turbine about respective pitch axes. Further, the method includes determining a collective pitch rate of the pitch system as a function of the plurality of pitch signals. The method also includes defining a minimum pitch rate threshold that varies with a speed parameter of the wind turbine. Moreover, the method includes receiving a first speed parameter of the wind turbine. In addition, the method includes comparing the collective pitch rate to the minimum pitch rate threshold for the first speed parameter. Thus, the method includes controlling the wind turbine based on the comparison.

System and method for protecting a wind turbine from overloading due to pitch system fault

A method for operating a wind turbine includes operating, via a controller, the wind turbine according to a speed set point during normal operation of the wind turbine. The method also includes receiving, via the controller, a command to shut down the wind turbine or to curtail operation of the wind turbine. In response to receiving the command, the method includes initiating, via the controller, a shutdown procedure or a curtailment procedure of the wind turbine. During the shutdown procedure or the curtailment procedure of the wind turbine, the method includes dynamically adjusting a rate of change of the speed set point as a function of a speed tracking error, which corresponds to a difference between an actual rotor speed of the wind turbine and the speed set point.

Method of dynamically adjusting a rate of change of a rotor speed set point during wind turbine shutdown

Methods and systems for detecting rotor blade damage in a wind turbine are provided herein. A monitoring system includes a filter module and a damage determination module. The filter module is configured to determine an amplitude of a 1P frequency component of at least one operating condition of the wind turbine. The damage determination module is configured to compare the determined 1P frequency component amplitude to a threshold 1P frequency component amplitude.

Methods and systems for detecting wind turbine rotor blade damage

A method for sensing a position of a lead wire during winding of a wire on a coil form to form a precision coil is provided. The method includes acquiring data representative of at least a portion of the precision coil, identifying portions of the acquired data that represent the wire in the precision coil, and determining a position of the lead wire on the coil form from the identified portions of the acquired data.

Control methods for producing precision coils

Methods are provided for controlling wind turbine loading. In one embodiment, a method includes the steps of determining a current thrust value for the wind turbine, calculating a thrust differential based on the current thrust value and a predetermined maximum thrust value, calculating a desired pitch offset value based on the thrust differential and a thrust sensitivity value, and adjusting a pitch of the wind turbine utilizing the pitch offset value.

Methods for controlling wind turbine loading

Wind turbines and methods for controlling wind turbine loading are provided. In one embodiment, a method includes the steps of determining a current wind speed. The method further includes determining a tip speed ratio and a pitch angle that maximize a power coefficient under at least one of the following conditions: a thrust value is less than or equal to a pre-established maximum thrust, a generator speed value is less than or equal to a pre-established maximum generator speed, or a generator torque is less than or equal to a pre-established maximum generator torque. The method further includes calculating a desired generator speed value based on the current wind speed and a tip speed ratio. The method further includes calculating a desired generator power value based on the desired generator speed value.

Wind turbines and methods for controlling wind turbine loading

An apparatus and method for reducing asymmetric rotor load in a wind turbine includes calculating a time delay for pitching each blade toward feather upon initiation of a shutdown condition. The blades with the larger blade angle begin moving toward feather with an initial pitch rate, while the blade with the smallest blade angle begins moving toward feather with a final pitch rate. Once all the blades have reached approximately an identical blade angle, the blades move simultaneously together to feather at the final pitch rate. By introducing the time delay for pitching the blades having higher blade angles at the final pitch rate, a simple, time-based correction of initial conditions during shutdown reduces the extreme loads on turbine components.

Apparatus and method for reducing asymmetric rotor loads in wind turbines during shutdown

A method, system and computer program product for operating a wind turbine is disclosed. For operating the wind turbine a set of operational data points are sensed via a sensing module. The set of operational data points may include bending stress values. Based on the bending stress values, a load scenario indicator value may be computed. Further, based on the set of operational data points a loading threshold value may be obtained. At least one operating parameter of the wind turbine is changed if the load scenario indicator value exceeds the loading threshold.

Method and system for operating a wind turbine

An Active Combustion Control System and method provides for monitoring combustor pressure and modulating fuel to a gas turbine combustor to prevent combustion dynamics and/or flame extinguishments. The system includes an actuator, wherein the actuator periodically injects pulsed fuel into the combustor. The apparatus also includes a sensor connected to the combustion chamber down stream from an inlet, where the sensor generates a signal detecting the pressure oscillations in the combustor. The apparatus controls the actuator in response to the sensor. The apparatus prompts the actuator to periodically inject pulsed fuel into the combustor at a predetermined sympathetic frequency and magnitude, thereby controlling the amplitude of the pressure oscillations in the combustor by modulating the natural oscillations.

Apparatus and method for gas turbine active combustion control system

A system and method for reducing rotor loads in a wind turbine that includes a brake and one or more rotor blades coupled to a rotor. Upon detection of a loss of counter torque and a blade-pitch failure in at least one rotor blade, a processor reduces a generator overspeed threshold value by a predetermined amount and determines a brake-release threshold value. The brake is applied to slow the rotor if the generator/rotor speed exceeds the reduced generator/rotor overspeed threshold value. In addition, the brake is applied to slow the rotor until the generator/rotor speed is below the brake-release threshold value. The rate of change of the pitch angle of the rotor blade may be varied as the blade moves toward feather in response to the detected blade-pitch failure.

System and method for reducing rotor loads in a wind turbine upon detection of blade-pitch failure and loss of counter-torque

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Niskayuna, NY, United States of America

Leonardo Cesar Kammer