Determining loads using various sensor locations
AssigneeFrontier Wind, LLC
InventorsJonathon P. Baker, Edward A. Mayda
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for pressure based load measurement are provided. The system and method measure at least one pressure differential on an airfoil and determine at least one aerodynamic load associated with the at least one pressure differential. The determined at least one load is used to modify characteristics of the airfoil to increase efficiency and/or avoid damage. The determined at least one aerodynamic load may be further utilized to balance and/or optimize loads at the airfoil, estimate a load distribution along the airfoil used to derive other metrics about the airfoil, and/or used in a distributed control system to increase efficiency and/or reduce damage to, e.g., one or more wind turbines.
Claims20
A method for determining an aerodynamic force associated with an airfoil, the method comprising:
- determining, by an airfoil control device, a pressure differential between a first pressure location and a second pressure location on an airfoil;
- determining, by the airfoil control device, at least two of:
- a rotation speed of the airfoil, an ambient air pressure, an ambient air temperature, and a pitch angle of the airfoil;
- and
- determining, by the airfoil control device, an aerodynamic force associated with the airfoil based on the pressure differential, and the at least two of:
- the rotation speed of the airfoil, the ambient air pressure, the ambient air temperature, and the pitch angle of the airfoil.
A wind turbine comprising:
- a hub;
- a controller;
- and
- a plurality of wind turbine blades connected to and arranged about the hub, wherein at least one wind turbine blade of the plurality of wind turbine blades comprises:
- a first pressure sensing orifice arranged on a bottom surface of the at least one wind turbine blade;
- and
- a second pressure sensing orifice arranged on a top surface of the at least one wind turbine blade, wherein the first pressure sensing orifice and the second pressure sensing orifice are configured to enable the controller to determine an aerodynamic load generated by the at least one wind turbine blade based on a difference in pressure between a location of the first pressure sensing orifice and a location of the second pressure sensing orifice, a rotation speed of the hub, an ambient air pressure, an ambient air temperature, and a pitch angle of the at least one wind turbine blade.
A method for relating a pressure differential to an aerodynamic force at an airfoil, the method comprising:
- determining, by a controller, a local air pressure at an airfoil's surface;
- determining, by the controller, an ambient air pressure away from the airfoil's surface;
- determining, by the controller, a pressure differential, wherein the pressure differential is a difference between the local air pressure and the ambient air pressure;
- determining, by the controller, an aerodynamic force associated with the airfoil;
- and
- determining, by the controller, a relationship between the aerodynamic force and the pressure differential.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.