ABNORMAL VIBRATION DETECTION UNIT FOR WIND TURBINE GENERATOR

• US 20120051888A1
• Filed: 12/08/2010
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Inventors: BABA, Mitsuya, MIZOUE, Taketo
• Granted Patent: US 8,840,368 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 415/118
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 17/00 Monitoring or testing of wind motors, e.g. diagnostics testing during commissioning of wind motors F03D13/30
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2270/807 Accelerometers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an abnormal vibration detection unit which is capable of stopping a wind turbine generator in a case of detecting excessive vibration that poses danger and is designed suitably for the failure detection. The abnormal vibration detection unit comprises first and second acceleration detectors, a calculation device which receives a first analog output signal that is outputted from the first acceleration detector, a filtering relay which receives a second analog output signal that is outputted from the second acceleration detector, and a safety system which performs an emergency stop of the wind turbine generator in accordance with a state of an output terminal of the filtering relay. The filtering relay comprises a filter circuit part that performs filtering process to extract a predetermined frequency component from the second analog output signal. The calculation device generates a predicted value of the output signal of the filter circuit part by performing digital calculation of the first analog output signals, and detects a failure of the first acceleration detector, the second acceleration detector, or the filter circuit part by comparing the predicted value of the output signal of the filter circuit part with a measured value of the output signal of the filter circuit part received from the filtering relay.

Claims

1. An abnormal vibration detection unit for detecting an abnormal vibration of a wind turbine generator, comprising:

first and second acceleration detectors each of which detects an acceleration of the wind turbine generator at a specified position of the wind turbine generator;

a calculation device which receives a first analog output signal that is outputted from the first acceleration detector;

a filtering relay which receives a second analog output signal that is outputted from the second acceleration detector; and

a safety system which performs an emergency stop of the wind turbine generator in accordance with a state of an output terminal of the filtering relay,

wherein the filtering relay comprises;

a filter circuit part equipped with an analog circuit that performs filtering process to extract a predetermined frequency component from the second analog output signal;

an output circuit part switching a transition of a state of the output terminal of the filtering relay in response to an output signal of the filter circuit part;

and a monitor output terminal extracting the output signal of the filter circuit part to outside of the filtering relay, and

wherein the calculation device receives the output signal of the filter circuit part from the monitor output terminal, generates a predicted value of the output signal of the filter circuit part by performing digital calculation in which an operation of the filter circuit part is simulated for a value obtained from analog-digital conversion of the first analog output signal, and detects a failure of the first acceleration detector, the second acceleration detector or the filter circuit part by comparing the predicted value of the output signal of the filter circuit part with a measured value of the output signal of the filter circuit part received from the monitor output terminal.

2. The abnormal vibration detection unit according to claim 1,

wherein the filtering relay further comprises a test switch, and

wherein the output circuit comprises an OR circuit having an input connected to an output of the filter circuit part and the test switch, and is constituted like switching the state of the output terminal in response to an output signal of the OR circuit.

3. The abnormal vibration detection unit according to claim 1,

wherein the calculation device monitors an input level of the first analog output signal,

wherein the filtering relay further comprises an input monitor for monitoring an input level of the second analog output signal, and

wherein the calculation device determines an occurrence of a failure in the filter circuit part based on the input levels of the first and second analog output signals.

4. A wind turbine generator, comprising:

first and second acceleration detectors each of which detects an acceleration of the wind turbine generator at a specified position of the wind turbine generator;

a calculation device which receives a first analog output signal that is outputted from the first acceleration detector;

a filtering relay which receives a second analog output signal that is outputted from the second acceleration detector; and

a safety system which performs an emergency stop of the wind turbine generator in accordance with a state of an output terminal of the filtering relay,

wherein the filtering relay comprises;

a filter circuit part equipped with an analog circuit that performs filtering process to extract a predetermined frequency component from the second analog output signal;

an output circuit part switching a state of the output terminal of the filtering relay in response to an output signal of the filter circuit part; and

a monitor output terminal extracting the output signal of the filter circuit part to outside of the filtering relay, and

wherein the calculation device receives the output signal of the filter circuit part from the monitor output terminal, generates a predicted value of the output signal of the filter circuit part by performing digital calculation in which an operation of the filter circuit part is simulated for a value obtained from analog-digital conversion of the first analog output signal, and detects a failure of the first acceleration detector, the second acceleration detector or the filter circuit part by comparing the predicted value of the output signal of the filter circuit part with a measured value of the output signal of the filter circuit part received from the monitor output terminal.

5. The wind turbine generator according to claim 4,

wherein the filtering relay further comprises a test switch, and

wherein the output circuit comprises an OR circuit having an input connected to an output of the filter circuit part and the test switch, and is constituted like switching the state of the output terminal in response to an output signal of the OR circuit.