System and method for determining an operating condition of a wind turbine
AssigneeThe AES Corporation
InventorsAndrew Brody, Fred Briggs
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An exemplary system for determining an operating condition for a wind turbine having a rotor, generator, and gearbox, includes a plurality of sensors mounted within the nacelle of the wind turbine. The system also includes a pair proximity sensors are mounted adjacent to the rotor for measuring rotor displacement. A first processor is connected to receive sensor data from the pair of proximity sensors and is configured to partition the received sensor data into predefined datasets, and a second processor configured to format the predefined datasets for transmission over a network to a processing computer.
Claims23
A system for determining an operating condition for a wind turbine including a nacelle having therein a rotor, a generator, and a gearbox connected to the generator by a first coupling, the system comprising:
- a first plurality of non-contact proximity sensors that are mounted adjacent to the rotor for measuring rotor displacement in mutually orthogonal directions;
- a second plurality of non-contact proximity sensors that are mounted for measuring gearbox displacement in at least two orthogonal directions;
- a third plurality of non-contact proximity sensors that are mounted for measuring generator displacement in at least two orthogonal directions;
- a plurality of visual image cameras, a first visual image camera of the plurality of visual image cameras having a field of view oriented axially rearward from a main bearing toward a forward side of the gearbox and a second visual image camera of the plurality of visual image cameras having a field of view oriented toward a surface of the first coupling, wherein the first visual image camera monitors vertical movement of the gearbox and the second visual image camera monitors vertical movement of the first coupling;
- and
- at least one of a first thermal camera having a field of view oriented toward the gearbox and optionally, a second thermal camera having a field of view oriented toward a hydraulic station,
- wherein the rotor is attached by a second coupling to a hub to which blades of the wind turbine are attached, and
- wherein the first plurality of non-contact proximity sensors include:
- a first non-contact proximity sensor mounted oriented toward the second coupling to detect movement in an axial direction,
- a second non-contact proximity sensor mounted to a surface of the main bearing and oriented vertically toward the second coupling to detect movement in a vertical direction, and
- a third non-contact proximity sensor mounted oriented horizontally toward the second coupling to detect movement in a horizontal direction.
A system for determining an operating condition for a wind turbine including a nacelle having therein a rotor, a generator, and a gearbox connected to the generator by a first coupling, the system comprising:
- a first plurality of non-contact proximity sensors that are mounted adjacent to the rotor for measuring rotor displacement in mutually orthogonal directions;
- a second plurality of non-contact proximity sensors that are mounted for measuring gearbox displacement in at least two orthogonal directions;
- and
- a third plurality of non-contact proximity sensors that are mounted for measuring generator displacement in at least two orthogonal directions,
- wherein the rotor is attached by a second coupling to a hub to which blades of the wind turbine are attached, and
- wherein the first plurality of non-contact proximity sensors include:
- a first non-contact proximity sensor mounted oriented toward the second coupling to detect movement in an axial direction,
- a second non-contact proximity sensor mounted to a surface of a main bearing and oriented vertically toward the second coupling to detect movement in a vertical direction, and
- a third non-contact proximity sensor mounted oriented horizontally toward the second coupling to detect movement in a horizontal direction.
A method for determining an operating condition for a wind turbine including a nacelle having a rotor, a generator, and a gearbox connected to the generator by a first coupling, the method comprising:
- receiving data by a processor from at least one of a plurality of sensors mounted within the nacelle of the wind turbine, the at least one of the plurality of sensors being a first plurality of non-contact proximity sensors measuring rotor displacement in mutually orthogonal directions;
- partitioning the received sensor data into predefined datasets;
- formatting the predefined datasets for transmission over a network;
- transmitting the formatted predefined datasets from the processor over the network to a processing computer;
- processing in the processing computer the formatted predefined datasets to analyze an operating condition of the wind turbine to determine whether the measured rotor displacement is within an accepted range;
- and
- notifying, by the processing computer, to a user an indication of a defect when the measured rotor displacement is not within an accepted range,
- wherein the rotor is attached by a second coupling to a hub to which blades of the wind turbine are attached, and
- wherein the first plurality of non-contact proximity sensors include:
- a first non-contact proximity sensor mounted oriented toward the second coupling to detect movement in an axial direction,
- a second non-contact proximity sensor mounted to a surface of a main bearing and oriented vertically toward the second coupling to detect movement in a vertical direction, and
- a third non-contact proximity sensor mounted oriented horizontally toward the second coupling to detect movement in a horizontal direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.