Wind turbine blade with integrated stall sensor and associated method of detecting stall of a wind turbine blade
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorMurray Fisher
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wind turbine includes an electrical stall sensor configured on a pressure surface of at least one turbine blade at a location to detect backflow in a stall condition. The stall sensor includes a flap pivotally configured on the respective pressure surface so as to be moved from a first position towards a second position by backflow over the pressure surface during a stall condition. A sensor circuit responds to movement of the flap between the first and second positions and generates a corresponding electrical signal that indicates the stall condition.
Claims19
A wind turbine, comprising:
- a turbine blade connected to a rotor hub, said turbine blade comprising a low pressure surface and a high pressure surface;
- an electrical stall sensor configured on at least one of said low pressure surface or said high pressure surface at a location to detect backflow in a stall condition at said respective pressure surface, said stall sensor further comprising:
- a power supply;
- a flap pivotally configured relative to said respective pressure surface so as to be moved from a first position towards a second position by backflow over said respective pressure surface;
- and
- a sensor circuit that responds to movement of said flap between said first and second positions and generates a corresponding electrical signal that indicates a stall condition.
A method for detecting stall of a wind turbine blade, comprising mounting an electronic stall sensor on a turbine blade surface at a location so as to be exposed to backflow in a stall condition of the blade, the stall sensor configured to produce an electrical signal upon being exposed to the backflow;
- transmitting the electrical signal from the stall sensor to a remote receiver;
- and monitoring the remote receiver for indications of stall.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.