Wind turbine having a main power converter and an auxiliary power converter and a method for the control thereof
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorHartmut Scholte-Wassink
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wind turbine comprising a main generator, a main power converter connected to the main generator and adapted to convert the electrical output power of the main generator to an electrical power to be fed into the utility grid up to a first rated converter output power and an auxiliary power converter connected to the main generator and adapted to convert the electrical output power of the main generator to an electrical power up to a second rated converter output power which is lower than the first rated converter output power is provided. Further, a control architecture for controlling the power balance of a wind turbine and a method for operating a wind turbine are provided.
Claims16
A wind turbine comprising:
- a main generator configured to produce electrical output power to be fed into a utility grid up to a rated generator output power;
- a main power converter connected to the main generator and configured to convert the electrical output power of the main generator to an electrical power to be fed into the utility grid up to a first rated converter output power;
- an auxiliary power converter electrically connected to the main generator and configured to convert the electrical output power of the main generator to an electrical power up to a second rated converter output power which is lower than the first rated converter output power;
- and
- an internal supply grid,
- wherein the auxiliary power converter comprises an auxiliary frequency converter which comprises a controller configured to operate the auxiliary frequency converter in a grid-tie mode and in a stand-alone mode;
- wherein, in the grid-tie mode, the auxiliary frequency converter matches at least one phase with a sine wave supplied by the utility grid or the main power converter and maximizes power output;
- and wherein, in the stand-alone mode, the auxiliary frequency converter provides a power supply of the internal supply grid.
A method for operating a wind turbine comprising a main generator configured to produce electrical output power to be fed into a utility grid up to a rated generator output power, and an internal supply grid, the method comprising:
- using a main power converter connected to the main generator to convert the electrical output power of the main generator to an electrical power to be fed into the utility grid up to a first rated converter output power, wherein the main power converter is a frequency converter configured to provide ac electrical power at a frequency of the utility grid;
- using an auxiliary power converter electrically connected to the main generator to convert the electrical output power of the main generator to an electrical power up to a second rated converter output power, the second rated converter output power being lower than the first rated converter output power, wherein the auxiliary power converter is an auxiliary frequency converter configured to provide ac electrical power at the frequency of the utility grid for providing a power supply to the internal grid;
- and
- activating the auxiliary power converter,
- wherein activating the auxiliary power converter comprises at least one of:
- detecting an output voltage of the main generator which is higher than a threshold voltage;
- and
- detecting a state of the utility grid.
A method for operating a wind turbine comprising a main generator configured to produce electrical output power to be fed into a utility grid up to a rated generator output power, the method comprising:
- using a main power converter connected to the main generator to convert the electrical output power of the main generator to an electrical power to be fed into the utility grid up to a first rated converter output power;
- using an auxiliary power converter electrically connected to the main generator to convert the electrical output power of the main generator to an electrical power up to a second rated converter output power, the second rated converter output power being lower than the first rated converter output power;
- and
- activating the auxiliary power converter,
- wherein the main generator further comprises a generator rotor, the method further comprising at least one of:
- deactivating the auxiliary power converter;
- activating the main power converter;
- deactivating the main power converter;
- measuring a generator rotor speed;
- and
- matching a power consumption and a power production of the wind turbine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.