Velocity feedfoward control of a hydraulic pitch system
AssigneeVestas Wind Systems A/S
InventorsChristian Jeppesen, Fabio Caponetti
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments herein describe a hydraulic pitch system where a velocity (e.g., the velocity of a hydraulic cylinder or the piston rod in the cylinder) is fed forward and combined with a setting outputted by a pitch controller. The velocity of the hydraulic cylinder is derived from the reference pitch angle or a continuous pitch signal (e.g., a cyclic pitch or ramp rate) in the control system. In either case, the velocity can be determined by monitoring the change in the reference pitch angle or the continuous pitch signal. Using a gain control, the velocity is converted into a position setting of the hydraulic pitch system (e.g., a spool setting in a valve) which is combined with another position setting generated by the pitch controller.
Claims20
A method of controlling a pitch of a blade in a wind turbine, comprising:
- receiving a reference pitch angle;
- comparing at least one of the reference pitch angle and a signal derived therefrom to a hydraulic actuator position of the wind turbine to output a pitch error signal;
- generating, based on the pitch error signal, a first setting for the hydraulic actuator, wherein the hydraulic actuator controls the pitch of the blade;
- generating a second setting for the hydraulic actuator based on at least one of a reference velocity and a reference acceleration of the hydraulic actuator;
- combining the first and second settings to output a combined setting;
- and
- controlling the hydraulic actuator based on the combined setting.
A control system for controlling a pitch of a blade in a wind turbine, the control system comprising:
- a hydraulic actuator configured to control the pitch of the blade;
- a first summation module configured to compare at least one of a reference pitch angle and a signal derived therefrom to a hydraulic actuator position of the wind turbine to output a pitch error signal;
- a pitch controller configured to generate, based on the pitch error signal, a first setting for the hydraulic actuator;
- a feed-forward path configured to generate a second setting for the hydraulic actuator, wherein the second setting is based on at least one of a reference velocity and a reference acceleration of the hydraulic actuator;
- a second summation module configured to combine the first and second settings to output a combined setting;
- and
- hydraulic controls configured to control the hydraulic actuator based on the combined setting.
A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on a processor, perform an operation for controlling a pitch of a blade in a wind turbine, the operation comprising:
- receiving a reference pitch angle;
- comparing at least one of the reference pitch angle and a signal derived therefrom to a hydraulic actuator position of the wind turbine to output a pitch error signal;
- generating, based on the pitch error signal, a first setting for the hydraulic actuator, wherein the hydraulic actuator controls the pitch of the blade;
- generating a second setting for the hydraulic actuator based on at least one of a reference velocity and a reference acceleration of the hydraulic actuator;
- combining the first and second settings to output a combined setting;
- and
- controlling the hydraulic actuator based on the combined setting.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.