System and method for controlling a wind turbine in response to a blade liberation event

A wind turbine, comprising:

• a tower;
• a nacelle mounted atop the tower;
• a rotor mounted to the nacelle, the rotor comprising a rotatable hub having a plurality rotor blades secured thereto via a pitch drive mechanism;
• a generator disposed within the nacelle and operably coupled to the rotor via a gearbox and a high-speed shaft;
• and,
• a controller communicatively coupled to a plurality of sensors, the generator, and the pitch drive mechanism, the controller comprising at least one processor configured to perform a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations comprising:
• collecting sensor data via the plurality sensors during operation of the wind turbine, the sensor data being indicative of a response of a component of the wind turbine to a rotor loading,
• identifying at least two actual response signatures within the sensor data,
• determining whether the at least two actual response signatures equal or exceed two or more corresponding estimated response signatures of a plurality of estimated response signatures so as to determine the presence of a blade liberation event, wherein the plurality of estimated response signatures correspond to a plurality of different blade liberation events, and
• in response to detecting the blade liberation event, initiating a rapid shutdown control logic to protect the wind turbine, wherein the rapid shutdown control logic comprises overriding a nominal operational limit of the component of the wind turbine and establishing a rapid shutdown setpoint for the component of the wind turbine, wherein the rapid shutdown setpoint has a value greater than the nominal operational limit such that excessive loading or damage of the component is permitted.