A Blade Deflection Monitoring System
AssigneeLm Wp Patent Holding A/S
InventorsShuai ZHANG, Claus BYSKOV, Gert FRØLUND PEDERSEN
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Abstract
A wind turbine blade comprising a system for monitoring the deflection of a wind turbine blade is described. The system comprises a wireless range-measurement system, having at least one wireless communication device located towards the root end of the blade and at least one wireless communication device located towards the tip end of the blade, the communication devices comprising antennas polarized substantially perpendicular to the suction side of the blade and substantially parallel to the leading edge of the wind turbine blade.
Claims15
A wind turbine blade (10) comprising an airfoil profile body 50 having a pressure side (52) and a suction side (54), and a leading edge (18) and a trailing edge (20) with a chord length extending there between, the blade having a tip end (14) and a root end (16), the wind turbine blade (10) being defined in a XYZ coordinate system having a X-axis parallel to the chord length in the direction from the trailing towards the leading edge, a Y-axis perpendicular to the X-axis and in the direction from the pressure side to the suction side and a Z-axis perpendicular to an XY plane and in the longitudinal direction of the blade from the root end to the tip end, the wind turbine blade further comprising:
- at least one tip communication device (72) located towards said tip end,
- at least one root communication device (70) located towards said root end, said at least one root communication device being in wireless radio communication with said at least one tip communication device via a wireless communication path, to monitor the distance between said at least one tip communication device and said at least one root communication device to determine a movement of said at least one tip communication device relative to said at least one root communication device indicative of a blade deflection, wherein
- said at least one tip- and at least one root communication devices comprise antennas polarized substantially along the Y-axis of the XYZ coordinate system.
A blade deflection monitoring system for installation on a wind turbine blade, the wind turbine blade comprising an airfoil profile body having a pressure side and a suction side, and a leading edge and a trailing edge with a chord length extending there between, the blade having a tip end and a root end, the wind turbine blade being defined in a XYZ coordinate system having a X-axis parallel to the chord length in the direction from the trailing towards the leading edge, a Y-axis perpendicular to the X-axis and in the direction from the pressure side to the suction side and a Z-axis perpendicular to an XY plane and in the longitudinal direction of the blade from the root end to the tip end, the blade deflection monitoring system comprising:
- at least one tip communication device located towards said tip end,
- at least one root communication device located towards said root end,
- said at least one root communication device being in wireless radio communication with said at least one tip communication device via a wireless communication path, to monitor the distance between said at least one tip communication device and said at least one root communication device to determine a movement of said at least one tip communication device relative to said at least one root communication device indicative of a blade deflection,
- wherein said at least one tip- and at least one root communication devices comprise antennas polarized substantially along the Y-axis of the XYZ coordinate system.
A method of monitoring the deflection of a wind turbine blade comprising an airfoil profile body having a pressure side and a suction side, and a leading edge and a trailing edge with a chord length extending there between, the blade having a tip end and a root end, the wind turbine blade being defined in a XYZ coordinate system having a X-axis parallel to the chord length in the direction from the trailing towards the leading edge, a Y-axis perpendicular to the X-axis and in the direction from the pressure side to the suction side and a Z-axis perpendicular to an XY plane and in the longitudinal direction of the blade from the root end to the tip end, at least one tip communication device located towards said tip end,
- at least one root communication device located towards said root end, the method comprising the steps of:
- establishing wireless communication via a wireless communication path between said at least one tip communication device and said at least one root communication device by sending a pulsed radio signal from said at least one tip communication device to said at least one root communication device, said at least one tip communication device comprising an antenna being polarized along the Y-axis of the XYZ coordinate system and said at least one root communication device comprising an antenna being polarized along the Y-axis of the XYZ coordinate system,
- detecting a rising edge of a first pulse of said radio signal received at the root communication device,
- estimating the time-of-flight of said pulsed radio signals based on said detecting a rising edge,
- estimating the deflection of the tip end of the wind turbine blade based on said time-of-flight estimation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.