Fluid system for a wind turbine
AssigneeVestas Wind Systems A/S
InventorsJan Hove Pedersen, Thomas Korsgaard Nielsen, Morten Aalbæk Kristensen
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Abstract
A fluid system for a wind turbine, which is particularly beneficial when the wind turbine is operating at low power, such as during idling operational mode. Fluid accumulates in a fluid storage device before being released intermittently, for example by fluid bursts or pulses, to one or more consumer units, including but not limited to bearings. The fluid system advantageously enables fluid, such as lubricant, to be sufficiently distributed to the one or more consuming units even if the pump used to supply fluid to the consuming units is operating at low power.
Claims17
A fluid system for a wind turbine, configured to supply fluid to a lubrication point of one or more consumer units, the fluid system including:
- a fluid storage device configured to receive fluid from a pump;
- wherein the pump has a normal operation mode in which it operates at a first speed and a low power operation mode at which it runs at a second speed that is lower than the first speed,
- a fluid release system configured to operate when the pump is operating in the low power operation mode to release fluid intermittently from the fluid storage device to the lubrication point of the one or more consumer units, wherein fluid is configured to flow from the fluid release system to the lubrication point of the one or more consumer units before flowing back through the pump.
A fluid system for a wind turbine, configured to supply fluid to one or more consumer units, the fluid system including:
- a fluid storage device configured to receive fluid from a pump;
- wherein the pump has a normal operation mode in which it operates at a first speed and a low power operation mode at which it runs at a second speed that is lower than the first speed,
- a fluid release system configured to operate when the pump is operating in the low power operation mode to release fluid intermittently from the fluid storage device to the one or more consumer units;
- and
- a hysteresis means configured to define a delivery interval of the fluid release system, the hysteresis means being responsive to fluid pressure,
- wherein the hysteresis means is configured such that fluid is released from the fluid storage device to the consumer units when the fluid pressure reaches a first pressure threshold, and
- wherein the hysteresis means is configured to prevent fluid being released from the fluid storage device to the consumer units when the fluid pressure reaches a second pressure threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.