System and method for actively monitoring an air gap in a wind turbine brake assembly

A yaw drive assembly for a wind turbine, the yaw drive assembly comprising:

• a yaw drive mechanism;
• a brake assembly arranged with the yaw drive mechanism, the brake assembly comprising a movable pressure plate disposed between a stationary brake housing and a friction surface, a spring set disposed between the brake housing and the pressure plate that biases the pressure plate into the friction surface, wherein an air gap is defined between the pressure plate and the brake housing;
• at least one sensor arranged adjacent to the air gap, the sensor disposed to look directly across or axially into the air gap;
• and
• a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor, the controller configured to perform a plurality operations, the plurality of operations comprising:
• receiving one or more sensor signals from the at least one sensor indicative of one or more changes associated with a change in an axial length of the air gap;
• comparing the one or more changes associated with the change in the axial length of the air gap to one or more thresholds;
• and
• implementing a control action based on the comparison of the one or more changes associated with the change in the axial length of the air gap to the one or more thresholds so as to prevent or minimize damage to the yaw drive assembly.

A system for monitoring components of a brake assembly of a yaw drive assembly of a wind turbine, the system comprising:

• at least one sensor arranged to look directly across or axially into an air gap defined between a movable pressure plate and a stationary brake housing, wherein a spring set disposed between the brake housing and the pressure plate biases the pressure plate into a friction plate;
• and
• a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor, the controller configured to perform a plurality operations, the plurality of operations comprising:
• receiving one or more sensor signals from the at least one sensor indicative of one or more changes associated with a change in an axial length of the air gap;
• comparing the one or more changes associated with the change in the axial length of the air gap to one or more thresholds;
• and
• implementing a control action based on the comparison of the one or more changes associated with the change in the axial length of the air gap to the one or more thresholds so as to prevent or minimize damage to the brake assembly of the yaw drive assembly.