Vestas Wind Systems A/s

Mita-teknik A/s

Ogin, Inc.

Søren Dalsgaard

Julio Xavier Vianna Neto

Anders Yde Wollesen

Kim Hylling Sørensen

Jesper Lykkegaard Neubauer

Peter Bøttcher

Jesper Sandberg Thomsen

Per Brath

Torben Petersen

Torben Ladegaard Baun

Martin Ansbjerg Kjær

Bo Lovmand

Lars Risager

Brian Jørgensen

Julio Xavier Vianna Netø

Fabio Caponetti

Keld Hammerum

Erik Carl Lehnskov Miranda

Germán Claudio Tarnowski

Poul Brandt Christensen

Thomas S Bjertrup Nielsen

Ian Couchman

Jacob Krogh Kristoffersen

Søren Hove Sørensen

Mogens Blanke

Anders Nyborg

Asger Svenning Andersen

Jon Sowman

Niels Henrik Pedersen

Jens-Kristian Egsgaard Langkjær

Alex Pericleous

Jesper Bønding

Ove Styhm Kristensen

Jacob Brøchner

Jonathan Samson

Claus Sejdelin Schrøder

Mads Blumensaat

Søren Sørensen

Kim Hylling SØRENSEN

Anders Yde

Morgens Blanke

Systems, methods, and computer program products for controlling a yaw system of a wind turbine. The yaw system includes mechanical brakes that provide a first amount of braking torque when closed. The yaw system is configured to transition from a yawing state to a parked by brake state by closing mechanical brakes in a first subset of the mechanical brakes and opening each mechanical brake in a second subset of the mechanical brakes. The second subset provides a second amount of braking torque that is less than the first amount of braking torque. In response to detecting a rotation of the nacelle while in the parked by brake state, the yaw system is configured to transition from the parked by brake state to a parked by motor state in which yaw drives are activated to provide a counter acting torque in opposition to the detected rotation of the nacelle.

Wind turbine yawing system with multiple mechanical braking levels

A method for controlling a multirotor wind turbine comprising two or more energy generating units is disclosed. At least one load carrying structure is connected to a foundation or to a tower via a yaw arrangement, and the load carrying structure carries the at least two energy generating units. A requirement to a change in operation of at least a first of the energy generating units is detected. Control commands for the first energy generating unit and for at least a second energy generating unit, mounted on the same load carrying structure, are generated. The control commands cause the required change in operation, and the control commands cause coordinated operation of at least the first energy generating unit and the second energy generating unit. The control commands are generated under the constraint that a yaw moment of the yaw arrangement is maintained below a predefined threshold level.

Method for controlling a multirotor wind turbine

A method of charging an energy storage system, such as a battery, a capacitor, or a super capacitor, using a wind turbine is described. The method comprises establishing if turbine power production can be increased and establishing if the energy storage system is capable of taking a charge. If both conditions are met, the power generated by the wind turbine is increased above a rated power of the wind turbine and the additional power is used to charge the energy storage systems. A method of control is also disclosed.

Method for charging an energy storage system using a wind turbine

The present invention relates to a multirotor wind turbine comprising at least two rotor nacelle assemblies mounted to a support arrangement via respective yawing systems, and a toe angle control system for controlling the toe angles of the rotor nacelle assemblies with respect to the support arrangement; wherein the toe angle control system is configured to operate in a first mode in which the rotor nacelle assemblies are held at positive toe angles while the wind turbine is generating power in a main production mode; wherein the toe angle control system is further configured to monitor the operating mode of the wind turbine, and to switch to a second mode in which the yawing systems of the rotor nacelle assemblies are operated to reduce the toe angles of the rotor nacelle assemblies if an operating mode-based trigger condition has been met.

Toe angle control for multirotor wind turbines

A method of damping oscillations in a multi-rotor wind turbine and a wind turbine are provided. The wind turbine comprises a wind turbine support structure and at least a first nacelle with a first rotor and a second nacelle with a second rotor, at least one of the nacelles being located at a position away from a central longitudinal axis of the wind turbine support structure. The method comprises the steps of receiving and processing motion data, selecting a damping algorithm and generating a pitch control signal. The processing comprises determining at least one prominent oscillation mode of the wind turbine support structure and selecting a corresponding damping algorithm.

Multi-rotor wind turbine oscillation damping

A wind turbine comprising one or more wind turbine blades arranged to perform pivot movements between a minimum pivot angle and a maximum pivot angle, each wind turbine blade extending between an outer tip and an inner tip, wherein each wind turbine blade has an outer portion extending between the hinge and the outer tip and having a first length, and inner portion extending between the hinge and the inner tip and having a second length, wherein a coning angle of the blade carrying structure is larger than zero and/or a tilt angle of the rotor axis is larger than zero, and wherein a horizontal distance from the tower at a vertical position defined by a position of the hinge at tower passage to a point of connection between the blade carrying structure and the hub is equal to or less than the second length.

Hinged blade wind turbine with tilted axis and/or coned rotor

Embodiments herein describe in-plane vibration damping techniques for MR turbines. The MR turbines can include arms that extend from a common tower and support multiple rotors. Because the rotors are disposed laterally away from the tower, side-to-side motion of the tower causes the rotors to have an angled trajectory that includes both lateral and vertical displacement. In addition, a rotor disposed on one side of the tower in MR turbine can have a very different trajectory than a rotor disposed on the opposite side of the tower. To account for the vertical displacement and the different trajectories, in one embodiment, a controller can use different phase offsets for each rotor when calculating pitch offsets for performing in-plane vibration damping. In another embodiment, the controller can use both the lateral and vertical accelerations of the rotors to identify the pitch offsets for the rotors to perform in-plane vibration damping.

Damping of in-plane vibrations in multi-rotor structures

A method and a device for dampening movement in a multiple rotor (MR) wind turbine located at sea and comprising a tower () extending in an upwards direction, a load carrying structure () forming a first section () and a second section (), the first and second sections extending in different directions away from the tower (). To provide efficient dampening of the movement, the method comprises tethering a first body () to the first section (), the first body being at least partly submerged into the sea.

Method and a device for dampening movement in a multiple rotor wind turbine located at sea

A first aspect of the invention provides a method of testing a yaw system () of a wind turbine, the wind turbine comprising a rotor; the yaw system () comprising a yaw gear () coupled to the rotor so that rotation of the yaw gear () causes yaw rotation of the rotor, and first and second sub-systems (), the first sub-system () comprising a first pinion gear () and a first drive motor () coupled to the yaw gear () by the first pinion gear (), the second sub-system () comprising a second pinion gear () and a second drive motor () coupled to the yaw gear () by the second pinion gear (). The method comprises the steps of: testing the first sub-system () by: applying a first yaw moment to the yaw gear () with the second drive motor () via the second pinion gear (), reacting the first yaw moment with the first pinion gear (), monitoring a yaw motion parameter indicative of rotation of the yaw gear (), and determining a condition of the first sub-system () based on the monitored yaw motion parameter.

Method and apparatus for testing a yaw system

A method of operating a wind turbine during a service, wherein the wind turbine comprises at least one rotor-nacelle assembly, the or each rotor-nacelle assembly comprising a rotor; the method comprising: detecting that a service is to be or is being carried out on the wind turbine; and, on detecting that a service is to be or is being carried out on the wind turbine, reducing an operating level of the or each rotor-nacelle assembly.

Operating a wind turbine during service

A method for detecting and controlling whirling oscillations of the blades of a wind turbine is presented. The detection of the whirling oscillations is based on measurement signal indicative of blade oscillations, and a rotation transformation of the measurement signal from a measurement frame into at least one target frame based on the whirling oscillation frequency. The rotation-transformation comprises a backward or forward rotation transformation direction relative to a rotor rotation direction. The control is based on an oscillation component obtained from the rotation-transformed measurement signal where the oscillation component is indicative of the whirling oscillation in the backward and/or forward rotation direction.

Wind turbine method for detection and control of whirling oscillations

A first aspect of the invention provides a method of monitoring the condition of a yaw system of a wind turbine, the wind turbine comprising a rotor, the yaw system arranged to control a yaw rotation of the rotor, the method comprising: providing design datarepresenting an expected relationship between yaw moment and yaw rotation speed; measuring a pair of parameters, the pair of parameters comprising a yaw moment parameter indicative of a yaw moment applied to the yaw system, and a yaw rotation speed parameter indicative of a yaw rotation speed caused by the yaw moment; using the design data to evaluate whether the pair of parameters deviates from the expectedrelationship; and determining a condition of the yaw system on the basis of the evaluation.

Method and apparatus for monitoring the condition of a yaw system

A method for controlling a multirotor wind turbine is disclosed. A first operational state of each of the energy generating units of the wind turbine is obtained. A difference in thrust acting on at least two of the energy generating units is detected. At least one constraint parameter of the set of operational constraints is adjusted in accordance with prevailing operating conditions and in accordance with the detected difference in thrust, and a new operational state for at least one of the energy generating units is derived, based on the at least one adjusted constraint parameter, the new operational state(s) counteracting the detected difference in thrust. Finally, the wind turbine is controlled in accordance with the new operational states for the energy generating units.

Thrust balance control of a multirotor wind turbine based on constraints

A method for controlling a wind turbine is disclosed. During full load operation, a power reference value, Pref, representing a power level to be supplied to the power grid by the wind turbine, is received, and the wind turbine is controlled in order to produce an output power which is at or near the power reference value, Pref, while maintaining a constant torque on the generator. In the case that the produced output power of the wind turbine exceeds the power reference value, Pref, excess produced energy is stored in the energy storage system, and in the case that the produced output power of the wind turbine is below the power reference value, Pref, stored energy is retrieved from the energy storage system. A power level being equal to the power reference value, Pref, is supplied to the power grid.

Constant torque control of a wind turbine using an energy storage system

The present invention relates to a system for dynamic pitch control primarily for wind turbine blades, which system calculates the pitch position of the wind turbine blades independently, which control system performs feedback regulation. The object of the pending patent application is to perform effective pitch regulation and hereby to reduce thrust on the tower and the rotor. This can be achieved if the system performs feed forward regulation of the pitch of the blades, based on the load of the previous blade in substantially the same position. Hereby it can be achieved that the actual load on the previous blade has passed the same position in relation to the wind blowing around the wind turbine. Hereby it can be achieved that measured parameters are used after a short delay to perform a very precise and highly efficient adjustment of the next wind turbine blade passing the same position. The feed forward regulation can be combined with already existing control parameters for pitch control of wind turbine blades.

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Hadsten, Denmark

Søren Dalsgaard