Patent Description:
The wind turbine blade deflection monitoring system comprises two or more sensors mounted in the wind turbine blade.

Wind turbines have long been used to generate electricity from the wind. The most common type of wind turbine is the horizontal axis turbine. Horizontal axis wind turbines typically have a rotor comprising two or three wind turbine blades attached to a hub. The hub is mounted on a shaft that rotates about an approximately horizontal axis. The shaft is connected to a generator, either directly or through a gearbox, and when the rotor is set in motion by the wind the generator rotates and generates electricity. The hub is provided at a nacelle being arranged at the top of a wind turbine tower.

In the following the feature wind turbine blade will be denoted as blade and the feature wind turbine tower will be denoted as tower.

As the turbine size and blade length increase, blade deflection becomes a more important issue. In particular, the tip of the blade is typically lighter and more deformable than the rest of the blade body, and will bend more than the blade body itself. As the blade rotates past the tower at its lowest point, there is a risk that bending of the tip will cause it to come into contact with the tower, causing damage both to the tower and the blade, and some large wind turbines have been known to experience tower strikes in which a blade deflects to the point that it strikes the tower and is destroyed.

Additionally, as blades are constructed to withstand bending of the blade up to a design limit, if the bending exceeds this limit, damage to the blade could ensue as the blade is exposed to excessive strains.

Furthermore, many wind turbine manufacturers are reducing the cost of their wind turbines by making the blades lighter weight. This results in a more flexible blade, which leads to a higher risk of large deflections and potentially tower strikes, and higher risk of structural damage to the blades as a result of excessive strains.

Modern wind turbines have several means of regulation, including adjustment of the blade pitch angle and adjustment of the rotor speed.

The forces acting on an operational wind turbine blade are a function of wind speed, wind direction relative to the rotor axis, blade pitch angle and rotor speed.

Based on aerodynamic and structural calculations it is possible to estimate the average forces at different radial positions of the blade and thereby the average blade deflection at different wind speeds, but due to the turbulent nature of the wind and the dynamic response of the wind turbine it is generally not possible to estimate the actual blade deflection at any given point in time.

Therefore, in order to have sufficient safety margin against tower strikes, blades are generally dimensioned based on "worst case" combinations of mean wind, turbulence, off-axis wind direction, etc..

Since the blade pitch angle and the rotor speed can be adjusted freely, it is possible to implement control systems that limit the blade deflection, provided that the actual blade deflection at a given point in time can be determined.

Various sensor types have been suggested to provide the sensor input for the determination of blade deflection at a given point in time. Such sensors tend to have each their advantages and disadvantages.

Classical resistive strain gauges provide information about blade strain from which deformation can be derived. However, resistive strain gauges tend to have limited lifetime in wind turbine applications and are prone to drifting.

Optical strain gauges can be made with longer lifetime, but tend to be vulnerable to handling damage.

Accelerometers are very robust but in order to provide position information the sensor output needs to be integrated twice, which unavoidably introduces drift.

GPS sensors can provide direct position information but require antennas and are therefore vulnerable to lightning damage.

<CIT> relates to a wind turbine including at least one global positioning sensor for determining a deflection of a component of the wind turbine.

<CIT> relates to a wind turbine with a sensor that measures the out - of - plane deflection of the blades and a controller that uses the signal from the sensor to determine the risk of a tower strike.

<CIT> relates to a method for reducing loads acting on a wind turbine in response to transient wind conditions.

Magnetic sensors can also provide direct position information but require regular calibration.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a system and a method for the monitoring of wind turbine blade deflection in which overcomes the above drawbacks and make it possible to provide a possible to estimate the actual blade deflection at a given point in time in order to make it possible to provide for a control action to be taken to avoid a strike between the wind turbine blade and a wind turbine tower, while not being vulnerable to lightning damage.

According to the present invention this object is obtained with a wind turbine blade deflection monitoring system comprising two or more sensors mounted in the wind turbine blade as mentioned by way of introduction and which is peculiar in that the sensors are located at different radial positions along the blade, that each sensor comprises an accelerometer and/or a magnetic transducer in addition to any other transducers included in the sensor, that the sensors are provided with connectors, that the sensors and their connectors are jointly encapsulated in a joint encapsulation and that the sensors, their connectors and a joint encapsulation are covered with a metallic shield.

The method according to the present invention for the monitoring of wind turbine blade deflection, is peculiar in that it comprises the steps of.

The sensors are provided as a set of sensors which are mounted in the blade in order to detect variations in the blade deflection.

The set of sensors and its conductors, preferably in a protective cover, is mounted within an electrically shielding encapsulation I n form of a metallic shield.

This encapsulation may act as a primary or secondary down-conductor in the lightning protection system of the blade, or it may simply ensure a protected environment for the sensors.

The sensor signals may be converted to provide position information. In case of accelerometer signals this may be carried out by double integration.

Due to the tendency of doubly integrated accelerometer signals to drift, the position information derived from the sensor will typically only lead to an estimate of the variations around an average position value, e.g. a deflection relative to an unloaded position of the blade.

Combining the estimate of the variations around an average deflection with an estimated average value of the blade deflection based on wind speed and/or power output, blade pitch angle, rotor speed and possibly other parameters will yield an estimate of the absolute blade deflection.

The estimated absolute blade deflection may be compared to the desired operating envelope in which a tower strike and/or excessive strains in the blade will not occur. If the blade deflection approaches the edge of the operating envelope and a tower strike or an overloading of the blade becomes possible, then a control action may be taken to avoid the strike. This control action is controlled by a control system which is connected with the sensors and is based on signals from the sensors.

According to a further aspect the invention is peculiar in that the set of sensors mounted in a blade comprises one or more accelerometers, one or more gyros, and/or one or more magnetic field sensors.

According to a further aspect the invention is peculiar in that the sensors also comprises sensors for the measurement of temperature, pressure, etc. which supplement the set of sensors.

According to a further aspect the invention is peculiar in that the set of sensors is combined with a set of electrical conductors being connected to the connectors of the sensors to form a long strip or belt of roughly uniform width. This long strip can be placed inside the blade, either during manufacturing or as a retrofit.

According to a further aspect the invention is peculiar in that the individual sensors are be manufactured as integrated units comprising the desired types of sensors, e.g. an accelerometer, a magnetic sensor, a gyro, a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor, mounted in a common housing. The housing may be fitted with leads that are readily connected to single conductors.

According to a further aspect the invention is peculiar in that the conductors are be in the form of a twisted pair of power supply leads and a twisted pair of signal transmission leads. The conductors may be arranged with the twisted pair of power supply leads on one side of the sensor and the twisted pair of signal transmission leads on the other side of the sensor.

The sensors may be fitted to conductors in a manufacturing process that positions the sensors at pre-determined intervals along the conductors.

The intervals between the sensors may be adjusted to fit a particular type of blade, or they may simply be entirely regular, allowing for continuous manufacturing of "endless" belts of conductors fitted with sensors at regular intervals.

According to a further aspect the invention is peculiar in that the set of sensors and its conductors are encapsulated in a protective cover. The protective cover may provide the set of sensors with robustness and/or protection against moisture. The protective cover may be a fiber reinforced plastic, e.g. in the form of one or more prepreg tapes that are pressed and cured on both sides of the sensor system comprising the sensors and the conductors to form a strip or belt.

The sensor arrangement may in combination with the control system include means for the automatic calibration of the sensors.

According to a further aspect the invention is peculiar in that the sensor signals are sampled at regular intervals. The signals are converted to provide a physical representation of the accelerations, gyroscopic forces and/or magnetic fields experienced by the sensors.

According to a further aspect the invention is peculiar in that the acceleration signals are converted by double integration to provide position information. Due to the tendency of doubly integrated accelerometer signals to drift, the position information derived from the sensor will typically only lead to an estimate of the variations around an average position value, e.g. a deflection relative to an unloaded position of the blade. These estimates of the position variations around an average position value, e.g. a deflection relative to an unloaded position of the blade, are then combined with estimated average value of the blade deflection based on wind speed and/or power output, blade pitch angle, rotor speed and possibly other parameters to yield an estimate of the absolute blade deflection.

According to a further aspect the invention is peculiar in that the estimated absolute blade deflection is compared to the desired operating envelope in which a tower strike and/or excessive strains in the blade will not occur.

In case the blade deflection approaches the edge of the operating envelope and a tower strike or an overloading of the blade becomes possible, a control action is taken to avoid the strike and/or prevent the overloading.

According to a further aspect the invention is peculiar in that the sensor signals are automatically calibrated. This calibration may take place when the wind turbine is rotating slowly, when idling in low wind or after shutdown in high wind.

The invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawing in which.

An example of a system for determining the blade deflection of a wind turbine blade will now be described for the purposes of illustration.

<FIG> shows a horizontal-axis wind turbine. A blade <NUM> is mounted to a rotor hub <NUM>, which is supported by a bearing in a nacelle <NUM>. The whole rotor-nacelle-assembly is mounted on a tower <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a wind turbine blade <NUM> with a sensor set according to the invention. The sensor set <NUM> is mounted in the longitudinal axis of the blade <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a preferred embodiment of the sensor set <NUM> mounting in the blade <NUM>. The sensor set <NUM> comprises a series of sensors <NUM> located at intervals along the length of the sensor set. The sensors <NUM> may comprise one or more accelerometers, one or more gyros, and/or one or more magnetic field sensors, possibly supplemented with sensors for the measurement of temperature, pressure, etc..

The sensor set <NUM> is located roughly in parallel to a lightning conductor <NUM> of the blade <NUM>. At a tip end <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the blade the lightning conductor is connected to a tip receptor <NUM>. Moving inboards towards the hub <NUM>, the lightning conductor <NUM> has a number of inboard receptors <NUM>. At the hub <NUM> the lightning conductor is connected to an earth connection <NUM>. At its hub end, the sensor set <NUM> is connected to a bus <NUM> which provides both the power supply for the sensors <NUM> and the data connection for the signals recorded by the sensors <NUM>.

The sensors <NUM> are via the bus <NUM> connected to a control unit <NUM> (see <FIG>) being part of a control system for effecting a control action based on signals from the sensors <NUM>.

The sensor set may preferably be covered with a braided screen <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a detailed view of a sensor <NUM> located in the sensor set <NUM>. The sensor is provided with a power supply <NUM> through a set of twisted wires <NUM>, and it is connected to a data collection system through another set of twisted wires <NUM>.

The sensor set is totally encapsulated in a fiberglass strip <NUM> to protect the sensors against the environment. The braided screen <NUM> is not shown in <FIG>. The fiberglass strip may have a cross section being 3x15 mm.

The fiberglass strip is in the embodiment illustrated provided in two layers <NUM> of glass fiber being pultruded with armored wires and sensors.

The sensor set <NUM> may be mounted inside the blade <NUM> either during manufacturing or as a retrofit.

In a preferred embodiment the sensors <NUM> are placed at predefined, equidistant intervals along the longitudinal axis of the sensor set <NUM>. As a consequence, the sensors will be located at different radial intervals along the longitudinal axis of the blade <NUM>.

Claim 1:
Wind turbine blade deflection monitoring system comprising two or more sensors (<NUM>) mounted in the wind turbine blade, characterized in that the sensors are located at different radial positions along the blade, that each sensor comprises an accelerometer and/or a magnetic transducer in addition to any other transducers included in the sensor, that the sensors are provided with connectors, that the sensors and their connectors are jointly encapsulated in a joint encapsulation and that the sensors, their connectors and their joint encapsulation are covered with a metallic shield, and wherein the set of sensors (<NUM>) are combined with a set of electrical conductors being connected to the connectors of the sensors to form a long strip or belt of roughly uniform width.