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.
Claims19
A method for determining an aerodynamic force associated with an airfoil of an aerodynamic blade, the method comprising:
- detecting, by an airfoil control device using a pressure sensor, a first pressure at a first pressure location and a second pressure at a second pressure location on the airfoil;
- determining, by the 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;
- 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;
- and
- controlling, by the airfoil control device, at least one physical characteristic of the aerodynamic blade based on the determined aerodynamic force.
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 of a turbine blade, the method comprising:
- determining, by a wind turbine blade controller using at least one pressure sensor, a local air pressure at a surface of the airfoil of the turbine blade;
- determining, by the wind turbine blade controller, an ambient air pressure away from the airfoil's surface;
- determining, by the wind turbine blade controller, a pressure differential, wherein the pressure differential is a difference between the determined local air pressure and the determined ambient air pressure;
- determining, by the wind turbine blade controller using at least one sensor other than the pressure sensor, an aerodynamic force associated with the airfoil;
- and
- generating and storing, by the wind turbine blade controller, a relationship between the aerodynamic force and the pressure differential.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.