General Electric Company

Parag Rameshchandra Dharmadhikari

Robert Roesner

Darren John Danielsen

Jeffrey Alan Melius

Harold Robert Schnetzka

Christopher Lee Tschappatt

Ryan Michael Sunyak

Systems and methods for providing power to a blade pitch system in a wind turbine are provided. A blade pitch system can include one or more motors configured to pitch one or more blades of a wind turbine and a power source. The power source can include a plurality of energy storage devices coupled in series. The plurality of energy storage devices can be configured to provide power to the one or more motors during a power loss event. The power source can further include at least one bypass current device configured to allow a bypass current to provide power from at least one energy storage device to the one or more motors. The bypass current can be a current that bypasses one or more failed energy storage devices in the plurality of energy storage devices.

Blade pitch system including power source for wind turbine

The present disclosure is directed to an energy storage system including a power source and a power converter coupled to the power source. The power converter is configured to output power suitable for consumption in a utility grid. The energy storage system also includes an energy storage device configured to receive the power output from the power converter and a charge discharge converter coupled between the power converter and the energy storage device. The charge discharge converter is configured to control at least one of charging or discharging the energy storage device. Furthermore, the energy storage device includes a transformer coupled between the charge discharge converter and the power converter.

Energy storage system

Apparatus, systems, and methods are provided for determining remaining lifetime of a battery, such as a battery used to power a pitch drive system in a wind turbine. In one example implementation, a method can include controlling a discharge of the battery through a load. The method can include obtaining data indicative of a discharge voltage and a discharge current of the battery during discharge through the load. The method can include obtaining data indicative of a temperature associated with the battery during discharge through the load. The method can include determining data indicative of remaining lifetime of the battery as a function of the discharge voltage, discharge current, and the temperature. The method can include performing at least one control action based at least in part on the data indicative of remaining lifetime of the battery.

Predictive battery test systems and methods

A yaw system of a wind turbine having contingency autonomous control capabilities includes a plurality of yaw system components configured to change an angle of a nacelle of the wind turbine relative to an incoming wind direction. The plurality of yaw system components includes an auxiliary power supply comprising a brake power control device, a braking unit coupled to the brake power control device, at least two energy storage devices coupled to the braking unit, a plurality of yaw drive mechanisms communicatively coupled to the auxiliary power supply via a communication link, and a controller configured to implement a protective control strategy for the yaw system in response to one of the yaw system components experiencing a failure. Each of the yaw drive mechanisms includes a yaw power control device.

Contingency autonomous yaw control for a wind turbine

Systems and methods for operating an energy storage system in a doubly fed induction generator wind turbine system are provided. An energy storage system can include a transformer configured to transform AC power from a first voltage to AC power at a second voltage and a bi-directional AC to DC power converter coupled to the transformer. The bi-directional AC to DC power converter can be configured to convert the AC power at the second voltage to a DC power. The energy storage system can further include an energy storage device coupled to the bi-directional AC to DC power converter. The energy storage system can be configured to receive power generated by a rotor of the DFIG via an AC line bus. The energy storage device can be configured to store the power received by the energy storage system.

Energy storage system for doubly fed induction generator

Systems and methods for operating an energy storage system in a wind turbine system are provided. A wind turbine system can include a wind turbine, a power conversion system operably coupled to the wind turbine and an AC line bus, and an energy storage system coupled to the AC line bus. The energy storage system can include a transformer, a power converter, and an energy storage device and can be configured to store and provide power generated by the wind turbine. The method can include operating the wind turbine system to generate power, determining one or more operating parameters for the wind turbine system, determining an operating mode based on the one or more operating parameters, and controlling the wind turbine system based at least in part on the operating mode. Controlling the wind turbine can control a power flow into or out of the energy storage system.

Method of operating a wind turbine system including an energy storage system

Systems and methods to provide for the controlled braking of a generator (e.g., a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG)) in a wind power system are provided. In one example implementation, a method for braking a wind-driven doubly fed induction generator can include: receiving, by one or more control devices, a command to brake a wind-driven doubly fed induction generator; and generating, by the one or more control devices, a pulse width modulation scheme for the rotor side converter to provide a rotor side output to a rotor of the doubly-fed induction generator. The rotor side output includes a non-zero DC component and an AC component. The method includes controlling, by the one or more control devices, the rotor side converter in accordance with the pulse width modulation scheme. The non-zero DC component of the rotor side output can reduce a speed of rotation of the wind-driven doubly fed induction generator.

Growing community of inventors

Neufahrn b. Freising, Germany

Parag Rameshchandra Dharmadhikari