A variable-pressure air pump includes a first cylinder with a first chamber and a second cylinder with a second chamber movably connected with one another. The second chamber fluidly communicable with the outside of the variable-pressure air pump selectively. A discharge device includes a connecting member and a switch movably connected with one another. The connecting member defines at least one discharge hole fluidly connecting with the second chamber. The switch has at least one flow guide portion and at least one blocking portion. The switch is movable between a first position in which the at least one flow guide portion is adjacent and opens to the at least one discharge hole and a second position in which the at least one blocking portion is adjacent to and blocks the at least one discharge hole.

Provided is a method for adapting an operating characteristic of a wind power installation. The installation has a rotor with rotor blades having adjustable blade angles and operable with a variable rotor rotational speed. To control the installation, use is made of an operating characteristic which describes a relationship between the rotor rotational speed and an operating variable. The operating characteristic has a first portion with a first rotational speed range and a second portion with a second rotational speed range. The first rotational speed range has lower rotational speeds than the second rotational speed range, and the operating characteristic is adapted such that values of the operating variable of the first portion are increased values of the variable of the second portion are changed toward higher rotational speeds, and an expected total number of revolutions of the rotor over a predetermined lifetime of the installation remains approximately the same.

A system for generating power includes an environmental engine operating on one or more computing devices that determines a wind flowing over a blade of a wind turbine, wherein the wind flowing over the blade of the wind turbine varies based on environmental conditions and operating parameters of the wind turbine. The system also includes an artificial intelligence (AI) ensemble engine operating on the one or more computing devices that generates a plurality of different models for the wind turbine. Each model characterizes a relationship between at least two of a rotor speed, a blade pitch, the wind flowing over the blade, a wind speed and a turbulence intensity for the wind turbine. The AI ensemble engine selects a model with a highest efficiency metric, and simulates execution of the selected model to determine recommended operating parameters.

A method for controlling heating of rotor blades of an aerodynamic rotor of a wind turbine, wherein, the heating of the rotor blades is initiated, if icing of the rotor blades is expected, wherein according to an icing criteria, if icing is expected is evaluated depending on a determined ambient temperature, a determined relative humidity, and a determined wind speed, each defining a determined weather parameter, and further according to the icing criteria, if icing is expected is evaluated depending on a temporal change of at least one of these weather parameters and/or of at least one other weather parameter.

An upwind wind turbine comprising a tower and a rotor is described. The wind turbine additionally includes a pressure-sensing device supported by the tower at a location within the wake of the rotor. The pressure-sensing device is configured to sense air pressure and provide a signal indicative of the sensed air pressure to a wind turbine controller for use in controlling the rotor of the wind turbine.

Provided is a method and a system for computer-implemented determination of a drag coefficient as a control variable for controlling of a wind turbine, by receiving, as a data stream, a set of data from a number of data sources, the set of data consisting, for each data source, of a plurality of time series data values, acquired within a given time period at given points in time, and estimating, by a processing unit, the control variable based on the set of data as input of a machine learning algorithm being trained with training data of simulation time series data containing a number of operating states at different wind conditions and respective number of drag coefficients.

A system for generating power includes an environmental engine that determines performance metrics for a plurality of wind turbines deployed at a plurality of windfarms, such that each windfarm includes a corresponding subset of the plurality of windfarms. The performance metrics for a given wind turbine of the plurality of wind turbines characterizes wind flowing over blades of the given wind turbine. The system includes an artificial intelligence (AI) ensemble engine operating on the one or more computing devices that generates a set of models for each wind turbine of the plurality of wind turbines, wherein each model of each set of models is generated with a different machine learning algorithm and selects, for each respective set of models, a model with a highest efficiency metric. The AI engine provides edge computing systems operating at the plurality of windfarms with a selected model and corresponding recommended operating parameters.

A method for operating a wind turbine, in particular at a location characterized by a cold climate is provided. The method includes, specifying an air density at a location of the wind turbine, setting a blade angle of an adjustable rotor blade based on an output power, torque and/or rotor speed. The method includes setting the blade angle as a function of a at pitch characteristic curve which specifies the blade angle as a function of the output power, the torque and/or the rotor speed and as a function of the air density. According to the pitch characteristic curve, the blade angle has a minimum as a function of the air density in a region of a reference density of an atmosphere at the location which is characterized by a cold climate.

Wind turbine lightning stroke diagnostic apparatus for a wind turbine having conductive blades. A lightning protection system input is provided for receiving measured current data associated with a current conducted by the lightning protection system following a lightning stroke. An air pressure sensor is mounted using a mount within an internal cavity of a conducive wind turbine blade assembly. A sensor monitor monitors the measured current data and the output of the air pressure sensor for identifying a bypass lightning stroke when a measured current increase coincides with the detection of a lightning generated shockwave within the internal cavity by the air pressure sensor.

An assembly for monitoring air flow at a surface of a rotor blade of a wind turbine is provided. The assembly includes (a) a surface module adapted to be arranged at a predetermined location of the rotor blade surface, the surface module including two air inlets facing opposite directions along an axis, (b) a sensor module including two pressure sensors, wherein one of the two pressure sensors is in fluidic communication with one of the two air inlets and the other one of the two pressure sensors is in fluidic communication with the other one of the two air inlets, wherein the sensor module is adapted to output two pressure signals indicative of the pressures sensed by the two pressure sensors, and (c) a processing unit adapted to determine at least one of a flow direction and a flow speed along the axis based on the two pressure signals.