Methods of operating a wind turbine, wind turbines and wind parks

Abstract

Methods of operating a variable speed wind turbine as a function of a wind speed, the wind turbine having a rotor with a plurality of blades, a generator having a rated output power, and one or more pitch mechanisms for rotating the blades around their longitudinal axis, and a system for varying a torque of the generator. The methods comprise a sub-nominal zone of operation for wind speeds below a nominal wind speed and a supra-nominal zone of operation for wind speeds at or above the nominal wind speed, wherein at wind speeds at or near the nominal wind speed, the generator is allowed to generate more than its rated output power for a limited period of time. Also disclosed are wind turbines and wind farms adapted to perform these methods.

Claims

1. A method of operating a variable speed wind turbine as a function of a wind speed, the wind turbine having a rotor with a plurality of blades, a generator having a rated output power, and one or more pitch mechanisms for rotating the blades around their longitudinal axis, and a system for varying a torque of the generator, a sub-nominal zone of operation for wind speeds below a nominal wind speed and a supra-nominal zone of operation for wind speeds at or above the nominal wind speed, the method comprising: at wind speeds at or near the nominal wind speed, allowing the generator to generate an adapted output power that is more than the rated output power for a pre-defined period of time, the adapted output power having a maximum limit; and wherein the adapted output power limit is variable and determined as a function of temperature of a component of the wind turbine and the pre-defined period of time is set by a time constant before generation of the adapted output power such that the adapted output power decays exponentially substantially zero over an entirety of the pre-defined period of time regardless of temperature change of the component of the wind turbine during the pre-defined period of time.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the generator is allowed to generate more than its rated output power only in a predetermined range of wind speeds at or around the nominal wind speed.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined range is approximately from nominal wind speed to 2 m/s above nominal wind speed.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adapted output power limit is a function of the time that the generator has generated more than the rated maximum output power.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the adapted output power limit reduces exponentially as a function of the time that the generator has generated more than its rated maximum output power.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the adapted power output limit is a function of the time that the generator has generated more than the rated maximum output power in a recent period of time, wherein the recent period of time is between 30 seconds and five minutes, or between 1 minute and 3 minutes.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adapted power output limit is a function of the wind speed.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the adapted power output limit is a function of the time that the generator has generated more than the rated maximum output power.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising using model predictive control based on instantaneous wind speeds and/or predicted wind speeds.

10. A wind turbine having a rotor with a plurality of blades, a generator having a rated output power, one or more pitch mechanisms for rotating the blades around their longitudinal axis, a system for varying a torque of the generator, and a wind turbine controller adapted to carry out the method according to claim 1.

11. The wind turbine according to claim 10, wherein the wind turbine is a direct drive wind turbine.

12. A wind farm comprising a plurality of wind turbines according to claim 10.

13. A central control system and the wind farm according to claim 12, wherein the central control system is adapted to command or influence the wind turbine controllers of the plurality of wind turbines to control the electrical output power of the wind farm.

14. The central control system and wind farm according to claim 13, wherein the central control system is adapted to command or influence the wind turbine controllers of the plurality of wind turbines based at least partially on an amount of time that each of the wind turbines has generated more than its rated output power.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Particular embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates a typical power curve of a wind turbine;

(3) FIGS. 2a-2b illustrate respectively a prior art power curve and the phenomenon of wind variability, and an example of an adapted power curve;

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates a further example of a method of operating a wind turbine; and

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates yet another example of a method of operating a wind turbine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(6) The power curve of FIG. 1 has been discussed before. A very similar power curve is shown in FIG. 2a. In this example, the nominal wind speed (typically defined as the free stream wind speed at the height of the hub) is assumed to be approximately 11 m/s.

(7) In FIG. 2a, a second curve shows a typical Gaussian curve of the probability distribution of wind speeds around the nominal wind speed of 11 m/s that may be measured during any given time interval, e.g. 10 minutes. That is, within a 10 minute interval, with an average wind speed of 11 m/s, the measured wind speed will vary.

(8) As explained before, at lower than nominal wind speeds, the power output varies in accordance with the variation of the wind speed. But at higher than nominal wind speeds, the power output does not vary and is capped at the rated output power of the generator.

(9) In FIG. 2b, a typical prior art power curve, and an adapted power curve according to an embodiment are shown. As may be seen, the adapted power curve allows a generator to generate more than rated output power in a range of wind speeds at and above the nominal wind speed.

(10) An adapted power curve may be characterized by the definition of an adapted output power limit which may be a function of the wind speed as illustrated in FIG. 2b. The adapted output power limit may be above the maximum rated output power only in a range of wind speeds that is relatively close to the nominal wind speed, e.g. from the nominal wind speed to e.g. 2 or 3 m/s above the nominal wind speed. The range may be established as a function of local turbulence conditions.

(11) The adapted power output limit may further be a function of the time that the generator has been working above its rated power. The adapted output power limit may be reduced as the situation of “above rated power” prolongs, this being an indication of an actual change of wind speed regime resulting in an increase on the average wind speed instead of a mere fluctuation around the initial average wind speed. This reduction may be linear but may also be exponential. A maximum period of time that the generator may be allowed to work above its rated power may be limited to e.g. 20 seconds or 10 seconds.

(12) Alternatively, an instantaneous adapted power output limit may be based on a measured temperature of a suitable generator component. As currents in the generator increase above their nominal values, the temperature in the generator may rise. In order not to damage the generator, the adapted power output limit may be adapted as a function of the measured temperature.

(13) For a limited period of time, the wind turbine may be overloaded. If the wind speed stays above the nominal wind speed for a longer period of time, the “normal” control strategy will automatically be implemented. The switch over to normal control may be implemented in a variety of ways. In a first example, a simple maximum time limit may be used. Once the wind turbine has been overloaded for a specified maximum time period, the original “steady state” power curve is followed. The maximum time limit may be eg. 10 seconds or 20 seconds.

(14) The switch over may be gradual in that the adapted power limit may be reduced as a function of time and in an exponential manner approach the original power curve.

(15) FIG. 3 illustrates another example of a method of operating a wind turbine. FIG. 3 shown four different curves. The curve 10 is the steady state power curve. The curves 20, 30 and 40 show a plurality of adapted power curves. Curve 20 represents a power curve with an adapted power output limit that is a function of a wind speed. Curves 30 and 40 show additional adapted power curves which show adapted power output limits as a function of the wind speed. Curves 10, 20, 30 and 40 may coincide substantially completely for wind speeds below the nominal wind speed. In a region of wind speeds just above the nominal wind speed, the curves differ.

(16) In order to illustrate an example of operating a wind turbine, let's consider a situation in which the wind speed oscillates around the nominal wind speed. In a first instance, when the wind speed temporarily surpasses the nominal wind speed, the generator is allowed to generate more than its rated power as indicated by curve 20.

(17) As time progresses however, in order to limit loads (e.g. thermal, mechanical, aerodynamic, and other) the adapted power curve may get closer to the normal steady state power curve. One way of implementing this is by determining a temperature of a relevant component of a generator. As the temperature in the generator rises, the adapted output power limit decreases. In this example, as the temperature of the generator rises, the control of the wind turbine passes onto curve 30. The adapted power curve 30 has generally lower values of power than curve 20. Therefore, as the temperature rises, the extent to which the generator may be overloaded is limited.

(18) As the temperature rises further, the control of the wind turbine may pass onto curve 40, which has lower values than curve 30 (but still has power output levels above the steady state curve for wind speeds just above the nominal wind speed). The extent to which the generator may be overloaded is thus further reduced. This process may continue until eventually, the power curve applied is the original steady state curve. An infinity or a relatively large number of adapted power curves could thus be defined, wherein as a function of a relevant temperature in a generator, the control of the wind turbine follows one or another power curve.

(19) Although in this example, the switches from one power curve to another may be based on a temperature in the generator, in another example these switches may be based on e.g. the amount of time that the wind turbine has “recently” been producing more than its rated power. In this sense, a register may be kept that counts the periods of time a wind turbine has been overloaded in the last minute, or last 2 minutes, or e.g. last 3-5 minutes. As an example, if the number of seconds that the turbine has “recently” been overloaded is 5 seconds, then the curve 20 may be followed. If the number of seconds of overloading reaches 10 seconds, then curve 30 may be followed, and so on.

(20) FIG. 4 illustrates yet another example of a method of operating a wind turbine. In the top part of FIG. 4 the development of the wind speed over time is schematically illustrated. In the middle part of FIG. 4, the development of a temperature of (a component of) the generator over time is schematically illustrated. In the bottom part of FIG. 4, an overpower (or “overload”) in the generator over time is illustrated.

(21) In this example, the instantaneous wind speed surpasses the nominal wind speed at t.sub.1. In this instance, since in this example this is the first time that the wind speed surpasses the nominal wind speed, the wind turbine is allowed to generate more than its rated power. The allowed overpower may be a function of time, e.g.:

(22) ${\mathrm{OP}}_{\mathrm{ma}x}\left(t\right)={\mathrm{OP}}_1.Math.e^{\left(\frac{-t}{\tau }\right)},$
wherein OP.sub.max is the maximum allowed overpower, which is allowed at any given moment as a function of time, t. The allowed overpower may be expressed in absolute terms, but in this example the allowed overpower is a percentage of the rated voltage. Herein, τ is the “mean life time” (or the “time constant”) in the exponential decay. And OP.sub.1 corresponds to the maximum overpower allowed. In this example the maximum allowable overpower OP.sub.1 may be a function of a generator temperature.

(23) During the period from t.sub.1 to t.sub.2, the allowed overpower exponentially decays from OP.sub.1 to zero. In this example, OP.sub.1 may for example be 10%. The point in time t.sub.2 corresponds to the moment in time at which the instantaneous wind speed decreases below the value of the nominal wind speed. During this time of overpower, the temperature of the generator may rise as indicated in the middle part of the figure from t.sub.1 to t.sub.2.

(24) In an example, the time constant may be chosen such that after approximately 10 or 15 or 20 seconds, the overpower has decreased to 0%.

(25) From t.sub.2 to t.sub.3, the instantaneous wind speed is below the nominal wind speed. At t.sub.3, the wind speed increases above the nominal wind speed and an overloading of the generator is temporarily allowed. From t.sub.3, the maximum allowed overpower decreases in accordance with:

(26) ${\mathrm{OP}}_{\mathrm{ma}x}\left(t\right)={\mathrm{OP}}_2.Math.e^{\left(\frac{-t}{\tau }\right)}.$
Herein OP.sub.2 is the maximum allowed overpower at t.sub.3. OP.sub.2 may be lower than OP.sub.1 because the temperature T.sub.2 at the moment of beginning the overloading may be higher than T.sub.1. OP.sub.2 may be equal to e.g. 5% and decrease exponentially to almost 0% until t.sub.4. At t.sub.4 the wind speed is below the nominal wind speed again.

(27) When the wind speed increases above the nominal wind speed again, at t.sub.5, depending on the temperature T.sub.3 of the generator, the maximum allowable overpower at this moment OP.sub.3 may be determined. In this example, if T.sub.2 is equal to T.sub.3, then OP.sub.2 may be equal to OP.sub.3.

(28) As illustrated, the 10 minute average wind speed V.sub.avg may be equal to the nominal wind speed V.sub.n (e.g. 10.5 m/s or 11 m/s), but will oscillate around this average. By temporarily allowing overloading, the energy output over these 10 minutes may be equal to or at least closer to the theoretically expected energy output based on the steady state power curve.

(29) Any of the mentioned or illustrated examples of operating wind turbines may be implemented in a wind farm comprising a plurality of wind turbines. A central control system (e.g. SCADA) may then directly or indirectly control one or more of the wind turbines with respect to overloading. E.g. a central control system may send direct commands to the individual wind turbines or may send e.g. boundary conditions to the individual wind turbines within which the individual wind turbines have to perform.

(30) These commands and/or boundary conditions may be coordinated in such a manner that not always the same wind turbine is overloaded, but instead that the overloading is more equally distributed between different wind turbines. The distribution from the central control system may be based e.g. on a temperature of a generator or generator component of the wind turbines. The distribution could also be based on an instantaneous current in the generators of the wind turbines. Yet a further option is to base this distribution at least partially on accumulated loads (e.g. over the life time) of the wind turbines.

(31) Although only a number of particular embodiments and examples of the invention have been disclosed herein, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other alternative embodiments and/or uses of the invention and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof are possible. Furthermore, the present invention covers all possible combinations of the particular embodiments described. Thus, the scope of the present invention should not be limited by particular embodiments, but should be determined only by a fair reading of the claims that follow.