KR101407460B1 - Wind power generator and method for operating the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A wind power generator and a method for operating the same are disclosed. Wind power generators which are installed within a wind farm according to an embodiment of the present invention include: a wind direction and speed sensor which is installed in a nacelle for measuring the wind direction and wind speed; a communications unit for transmitting and receiving the wind direction and wind speed by communicating with neighboring wind power generators; a main control unit for predicting the wind speed inputted from the front of a blade with reference to the wind speed received from the wind power generator in a direction from which main wind blows; and a pitch control unit for controlling a pitch angle of the blade to control output power with reference to the wind speed which is inputted from the front of the blade.

Description

[0001] WIND POWER GENERATOR AND METHOD FOR OPERATING THE SAME [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wind turbine provided in a plurality of wind turbines and a method of operating the same.

Generally, a wind power plant is a place where a wind turbine is installed in a wind turbine to produce energy by turning a generator by wind on land or on the sea. As the size of the wind power generation complex increases, the amount of output power increases and it becomes a facility that greatly affects the operation of the existing power grid.

In the operation of the wind farm, the wind speed is a very important indicator for securing the overall output control and stability of each wind power generator. Therefore, each wind power generator measures the wind direction and wind speed by using the wind direction anemometer installed on the nacelle.

On the other hand, a pitch control method and a generator torque control method are used to control the output of a conventional wind power generator.

First, the pitch control method is a method of adjusting the amount of energy captured by adjusting the pitch angle of the blade.

Wind energy input to a wind turbine correlates with wind speed, blade length, blade pitch angle, and air density. Here, pitch control means adjusting the amount of wind energy by adjusting the angle of the blade.

Normally, the blades are fixed at a pitch angle that allows for maximum wind energy before rated wind speed. After the rated wind speed at which the rated power of the wind turbine generator is available, the pitch angle is varied to control the pitch so that the constant wind energy can be utilized. At this time, the pitch angles of the respective wind speeds are controlled by referring to the data determined in advance through simulation.

Next, the generator torque control method is a control method used before the rated wind speed, and is a control method for operating the used wind energy to a torque value that can be operated with the maximum efficiency in the wind power generator. In this case, since P = TW, it is controlled by torque and RPM that can achieve the best performance in consideration of the performance load according to the input energy value, and values of P (Power), T (Torque) and W In advance.

In the above two control methods, the most basic input value is the wind speed, which is precisely the wind speed input from the front side of the blade, but the wind speed sensor of the wind power generator is usually installed behind the nacelle.

In other words, the wind speed as a reference for the output control of the wind turbine generator is the wind speed in front of the blade, but actually the measured wind speed at the rear of the nacelle after the wind passes the blade is used, so that the blade input wind speed and the time And a wind speed difference is generated. Here, since the wind speed is measured at the rear of the nacelle, there is a problem that the wind speed difference is further increased by including the wake effect by the blade.

The difference between the wind speed input to the actual blade and the measured wind speed is inevitably inaccurate due to the difference between the preset Cp curve and the torque curve, which causes the performance loss of the wind turbine generator .

Patent Document 1: Korean Published Patent Application No. 2009-0083371 (published on August 3, 2009)

In order to solve the above-described problems, an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a wind turbine generator that accurately predicts wind speed flowing in front of a blade through interlocking between wind turbines in a wind turbine, .

According to an aspect of the present invention, a wind turbine generator installed in a plurality of wind turbines in a wind turbine includes an airfoil anemometer installed on a nacelle and measuring a wind direction and a wind speed; A communication unit for communicating with wind turbines in the vicinity to exchange wind direction information and wind speed information; A main controller for predicting the wind speed inputted from the front side of the blade by referring to the wind speed information received from the wind power generator in the direction of wind blowing wind; And a pitch control unit for adjusting a pitch angle of the blades for output control with reference to a wind speed input in front of the blades

The control unit may further include a nacelle control unit for controlling yawing of the nacelle with reference to the wind direction measured in the wind direction anemometer so that the rotor faces the wind direction.

The main control unit stores the installed position of each of the wind turbines in the wind power generator complex and selects a wind turbine located in the wind direction among neighboring wind turbines with reference to the wind direction measured in the wind direction anemometer, And communication for receiving the wind direction information.

In addition, the main control unit can cancel communication setting with the wind power generator in the existing wind direction when the wind direction is changed, and re-select the wind power generator positioned in front of the changed wind direction as the wind power generator in the wind direction.

The main control unit may divide the distance to the wind turbine generator in the wind direction by the wind speed information and calculate the time required for the wind speed measured by the wind power generator in the wind direction to reach the front side of the blade.

The main control unit compares the wind speed information received from the wind power generator in the wind direction with the wind speed measured in the wind direction anemometer and, when the wind speed difference exceeds a predetermined reference value, controls the wind speed measured in the wind speed anemometer to pitch control For example.

In addition, the main control unit may be used to predict the wind speed only when a valid wind direction section is set in front and the wind speed information measured by the wind power generator in the wind direction is in a valid wind direction section.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a plurality of wind turbines installed in a wind power generation plant, comprising the steps of: a) measuring wind direction and wind speed using a wind direction anemometer installed on a nacelle; b) receiving the wind speed information and the wind direction information measured in the wind power generator in the wind direction in which the wind is blowing; c) calculating a time at which the wind speed information in the direction of the main wind reaches the front of the blade to predict the wind speed input in front of the blade; And d) adjusting the pitch angle of the blade for output control with reference to the wind speed input in front of the blade.

In addition, before step b), the wind turbine generator selects the wind turbine generator in the wind direction with reference to the wind direction measured in the wind direction anemometer, and establishes communication with the wind turbine generator in the direction of the wind direction with respect to the wind speed information and the wind direction information reception . ≪ / RTI >

If the wind speed measured in the wind direction anemometer is compared with the wind speed information between the step b) and the step c), if the wind speed difference exceeds a preset reference value, the wind speed measured by the wind speed anemometer is referred to, Can be adjusted.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, performance loss can be prevented by controlling the accurate output by predicting the wind speed input to the front of the blade in real time by utilizing the wind speed information of the wind power generator located in the direction of the wind, and using it for pitch control.

In addition, the utilization of wind turbines in offshore wind turbines is high, and the life and efficiency of wind turbines can be increased through accurate and stable output control.

1 shows a wind turbine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 schematically shows a configuration of a wind power generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 shows an example of a Cp (Power Coefficient) curve according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 shows a method for re-selecting a wind turbine in the wind direction according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method of operating a wind turbine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise. Also, the terms " part, "" module," and " module ", etc. in the specification mean a unit for processing at least one function or operation and may be implemented by hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software have.

Now, a plurality of wind turbines installed in a wind turbine according to an embodiment of the present invention and a method of operating the same will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 shows a wind turbine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a wind turbine according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of wind turbines 100 installed in a wind turbine.

The wind turbine generator 100 is installed at a distance of several hundred meters or several kilometers from neighboring wind turbines, and can be connected to each other via an internal network to exchange information.

In particular, the wind turbine generator 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention measures the wind direction and the wind speed by using the wind direction anemometer 110 installed on the nacelle and shares it with the surrounding wind turbine generators 100. Then, the wind speed input from the front side of the blade can be predicted by referring to the wind speed information measured by the other wind power generator located in the wind direction.

In other words, the wind turbine generator 100 is inputted from the front side of the blade with reference to the wind speed obtained by interlocking with the wind turbine generator 100 in the wind direction, not the wind speed measured in the wind direction anemometer 110 after the existing wind has passed By predicting the instantaneous wind speed, stable output can be controlled through accurate pitch control.

2 schematically shows a configuration of a wind turbine generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, a wind turbine generator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a wind direction anemometer 110, a pitch controller 120, a yaw control unit 130, a communication unit 140, and a main controller 150 .

The wind direction anemometer 110 is installed on the top of the nacelle to measure the wind direction and wind speed of the outside.

The pitch controller 120 is installed in a rotor that rotates by wind and adjusts the pitch angle of each blade for stable output control with reference to the wind speed input from the front of the blade.

For example, the pitch controller 120 is fixed at a pitch angle at which the input wind energy can be utilized at maximum efficiency under the rated wind speed.

The pitch controller 120 can control the pitch angle of the blades to allow the constant wind energy to be input by controlling the variable pitch after the rated wind speed (or above).

The yaw control unit 130 controls the yawing of the nacelle with reference to the wind direction information so that the rotor installed in front of the nacelle supported by the tower can be directed to the direction of the wind.

The communication unit 140 is an electrical connection device having an input and output interface such as a router and internally connects the wind direction anemometer 110, the pitch control unit 120 and the yaw control unit 130 to a main control unit 150 described later.

In addition, the communication unit 140 can exchange wind speed and direction information by connecting the wind power generators 100 and the main control unit 150 to each other.

In this case, the communication unit 140 may be connected to a wired communication line such as an ICP / IP or a wireless communication module. For example, in offshore wind farms, where infrastructure is more difficult to build than on land, a network is formed through wireless communication, and wind speed and direction information are transmitted to each other to refer to the wind speed calculation in front of the blades.

The main control unit 150 controls the overall operation of the respective units for operating the wind power generator 100, and stores and manages various programs and data for controlling the respective units.

The main control unit 150 stores the installed positions of the respective wind turbines in the wind power generation complex and selects the wind turbine generator 100 located in the wind direction among neighboring wind turbines using the wind direction measured by the wind direction anemometer 110 .

2, the main control unit 150 receives the wind speed information and the wind direction information measured by the wind power generator 100 'in the selected wind direction to predict the wind speed arriving in front of the blade.

At this time, the main control unit 150 can calculate the time required for the wind speed measured by the wind power generator 100 'in the wind direction to reach the front side of the own blade, using the following equation (1).

Meanwhile, FIG. 3 shows an example of a curve Cp (Power Coefficient) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The main control unit 150 transmits the pitch angle value according to the previously simulated Cp curve value to the pitch control unit 120 as shown in FIG. 3 when the wind speed at the timing when the wind arrives at the front side of the blade is estimated. Here, the Cp curve is determined through simulation based on the characteristics of the blades, and is a parameter used for controlling the output of the wind turbine generator 100 with respect to the wind speed.

That is, the main control unit 150 adjusts the pitch angle in real time with the wind speed of the front side of the blade calculated with reference to the wind speed information measured by the wind power generator 100 'in the wind direction to calculate the amount of power output from the wind power generator 100 It can be adjusted accurately and stably.

On the other hand, the main control unit 150 exchanges wind speed information and wind direction information with wind power generators in the vicinity, and can selectively use the wind speed information of the wind power generator selected in the wind direction among them. However, in such a case, .

Therefore, the main control unit 150 separately requests the wind speed information and the wind direction information only in the wind direction generator in the selected wind direction, so that information is exchanged only between the two wind speed generators set in communication (promised). When the wind direction is changed, the wind speed information and the wind direction information are requested to the wind turbine in the changed wind direction and the previously selected setting is canceled, thereby preventing the waste of the radio resources and controlling the efficient communication

The main control unit 150 compares the wind speed information measured and transmitted in the main wind direction of the wind power generator 100 with the wind speed measured in the wind speed anemometer 110 of the nacelle, and when the two wind speed differences exceed a predetermined reference value, The wind speed measured in the wind direction anemometer 110 of the nacelle is used for pitch control.

This is because the wind measured by the wind power generator 100 'in the front wind direction can be changed to an allowable value or more in the middle of reaching the front of the blades of the wind power generator 100.

Meanwhile, FIG. 4 shows a method for re-selecting a wind turbine in the wind direction according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the main controller 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention sets an effective wind direction section in front of the wind turbine because wind direction can be changed due to weather or seasonal factors, Only when the wind speed information is in the effective wind direction section, it is used for wind speed prediction.

For example, when the wind turbines in the wind power generation plant are arranged in a quadrangle, the wind turbine generator 100 controls the wind turbine generator 100 to be directed to the first wind turbine generator when the measured wind direction is the first wind direction. That is, when the wind blows in the first wind direction, communication with the first wind power generator 100-1 located at the front side is established and wind speed information transmitted is used for pitch control (i.e., output control). When the wind direction changes in the diagonal direction and the wind direction changes in the second wind direction, the wind speed information of the second wind power generator 100-2 located at the diagonal front can be utilized for pitch control.

At this time, the main control unit 150 re-selects the second wind power generator 100-2 in the second wind direction to set the communication for receiving the wind speed information and the wind direction information, Communication setting for information reception can be canceled.

A method of operating a wind turbine based on the configuration of a wind turbine operating system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

5 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method of operating a wind turbine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5, the wind turbine 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention measures the wind direction and the wind speed using the wind direction anemometer 110 installed on its own nacelle (S101).

The wind turbine generator 100 receives the wind speed information and the wind direction information measured by the wind power generator in the wind direction (S102).

At this time, the wind turbine generator 100 selects the wind turbine generator located in the front wind direction in the direction of the main wind by referring to the measured wind direction, sets the communication with the wind turbine generator in the wind direction to receive the wind speed information and the wind direction information .

Also, the wind turbine generator 100 on the side opposite to the wind turbine generator 100 can be selected as a wind turbine generator in the wind direction from the wind turbine generator located in the rear side of the wind turbine generator 100, And wind direction information to the rear wind turbine generator.

The wind turbine generator 100 determines whether or not the wind speed in the wind direction is within a valid wind direction section of a predetermined angle (S103; YES) . If the two wind speed differences are less than a predetermined reference value (S104; Yes), the time when the wind speed in the direction of the wind reaches the front of the blade is calculated to predict the blade front wind speed (S105, S106).

The wind power generator 100 performs accurate and stable output control by performing pitch control using the predicted blade front wind speed (S107).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S103 that the wind speed in the wind direction is not in the valid wind direction section (S103: NO), the wind power generator 100 determines that the wind direction is changed, And the wind turbine generator in the wind direction is re-determined (S108).

If it is determined in step S104 that the difference between the two wind speeds exceeds a preset reference value (S104: NO), it is determined that the wind speed has suddenly changed in the middle of arrival of the wind and the wind speed information measured in the wind direction anemometer 110 (S109). ≪ / RTI >

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the wind speed inputted to the front of the blade is predicted in real time by utilizing the wind speed information of the wind turbine located in the wind direction, and it is used to control the pitch, .

In addition, the utilization of the wind turbines in the offshore wind turbine having a high height is high, and the lifetime and efficiency of the wind turbine can be increased by accurately predicting the wind speed inputted to the blades.

The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described apparatuses and / or methods, but may be implemented through a program for realizing functions corresponding to the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention, a recording medium on which the program is recorded And such an embodiment can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art from the description of the embodiments described above.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, It belongs to the scope of right.

100: Wind power generator 110: Wind direction anemometer
120: pitch control unit 130:
140: communication unit 150:

Claims (10)

A wind turbine generator comprising a plurality of wind turbines installed in a wind turbine,
A wind direction anemometer installed on a nacelle to measure wind direction and wind speed;
A communication unit for communicating with wind turbines in the vicinity to exchange wind direction information and wind speed information;
A main controller for predicting the wind speed inputted from the front side of the blade by referring to the wind speed information received from the wind power generator in the direction of wind blowing wind; And
And a pitch control unit for adjusting a pitch angle of the blade for output control with reference to a wind speed input from the front side of the blade. The method according to claim 1,
And a yaw control section for controlling yawing of the nacelle with reference to the wind direction measured in the wind direction anemometer so that the rotor faces the wind direction. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The main control unit,
A wind turbine generator for generating a wind turbine generator for generating a wind turbine generator for generating a wind turbine generator and a wind turbine generator for generating wind turbines, A wind turbine that establishes communications. The method of claim 3,
The main control unit,
The wind power generator releasing communication setting with the wind power generator in the existing wind direction when the wind direction is changed and re-selecting the wind power generator located in the front of the changed wind direction as the wind power generator in the wind direction. The method according to claim 1,
The main control unit,
Wherein the distance between the wind power generator in the wind direction and the wind power generator in the wind direction is divided by the wind speed information and the time when the wind speed measured by the wind power generator in the wind direction reaches the front side of the blade is calculated. The method according to claim 1,
The main control unit,
A wind turbine generator that compares the wind speed information received from the wind turbine generator in the wind direction with the wind speed measured in the wind direction anemometer and controls the wind speed measured in the wind speed anemometer to be used for pitch control when the wind speed difference exceeds a preset reference value . The method according to claim 1,
The main control unit,
Wherein the effective wind direction section is set in the front direction and the wind speed information measured in the wind direction generator in the direction of the wind direction is used only in the wind direction section where the wind direction information is valid. A method for operating a wind turbine generator installed in a plurality of wind turbine generators,
a) measuring wind direction and wind speed using a wind direction anemometer installed on a nacelle;
b) receiving the wind speed information and the wind direction information measured in the wind power generator in the wind direction in which the wind is blowing;
c) calculating a time at which the wind speed information in the direction of the main wind reaches the front of the blade to predict the wind speed input in front of the blade; And
d) adjusting the pitch angle of the blades for output control with reference to the wind speed input in front of the blades. 9. The method of claim 8,
Prior to step b)
And selecting a wind turbine generator in the direction of the wind with reference to the wind direction measured in the wind direction anemometer and setting communication for receiving the wind speed information and the wind direction information with the wind turbine generator in the wind direction. The method of claim 8, wherein
Between the steps b) and c)
And comparing the wind speed measured in the wind direction anemometer with the wind speed information to adjust the pitch angle with reference to the wind speed measured in the wind speed anemometer when the wind speed difference exceeds a preset reference value.

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