The present disclosure is directed to a method for detecting a mass imbalance in a rotor of a wind turbine. The method includes receiving, with a computing device, sensor data indicative of an operating characteristic of the wind turbine. The method also includes determining, with the computing device, a mean amplitude of a designated frequency component of the operating characteristic. Furthermore, the method includes determining, with the computing device, when a mass imbalance is present within the rotor based on the mean amplitude of the designated frequency component.

A method for reducing loads acting on a wind turbine includes determining, via a processor, at least one loading condition of the wind turbine resulting from a wind shear condition below a design threshold, determining, via the processor, a rotor speed setpoint of the wind turbine to cause an increase in thrust when the at least one loading condition exceeds a loading threshold; operating the wind turbine based on the rotor speed, and operating a rotor imbalance control module of the wind turbine to at least partially compensate for the at least one loading condition of the wind turbine resulting from the wind shear condition below the design threshold.

The present disclosure is related to methods for detecting an imbalance in a wind turbine. The methods comprise receiving one or more movement signals from one or more sensors on the wind turbine. Further, the methods include determining an energy level of the movement signals at a rotor rotational speed frequency, and determining a rotor imbalance at least partially based on the determined energy level. The methods may also include comparing the energy level of the movement signals at the rotor rotational speed frequency with energy levels at the first natural frequency of the tower. A control system suitable for carrying out such methods and a wind turbine comprising such a control system are also provided.