BLADE DEFLECTION MONITORING SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A wind turbine blade comprising an airfoil profile body having a pressure side and a suction side, and a leading edge and a trailing edge with a chord length extending therebetween, the blade having a tip end and a root end, the wind turbine blade further comprising:
- at least one tip communication device located towards said tip end,at least one root communication device located towards said root end, said at least one root communication device in wireless radio communication with said at least one tip communication device via a wireless communication path, to monitor the distance between said at least one tip communication device and said at least one root communication device to determine a movement of said at least one tip communication device relative to said at least one root communication device indicative of a blade deflection, whereinsaid at least one root communication device is provided on at least one bracket projecting from an external surface of said wind turbine blade at said root end, wherein said root communication device is spaced from the external surface of said blade to minimize path loss in the communication path between said at least one tip communication device and said at least one root communication device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for monitoring the deflection of a wind turbine blade is described. The system comprises a wireless range-measurement system, having at least one wireless communication device located towards the root end of the blade and at least one wireless communication device located towards the tip end of the blade. The root end device is provided on a bracket projecting from the external surface of the blade, to provide a communication path between the root end and tip end devices which is less susceptible to interference from multipath effects, etc. There is further provided a method to derive tilt and yaw moments from measured deflections. A control method for such a system is also described, wherein the signal gain of the communication path may be varied based at least in part upon the deflection characteristics of the wind turbine blade.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A wind turbine blade comprising an airfoil profile body having a pressure side and a suction side, and a leading edge and a trailing edge with a chord length extending therebetween, the blade having a tip end and a root end, the wind turbine blade further comprising:
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at least one tip communication device located towards said tip end, at least one root communication device located towards said root end, said at least one root communication device in wireless radio communication with said at least one tip communication device via a wireless communication path, to monitor the distance between said at least one tip communication device and said at least one root communication device to determine a movement of said at least one tip communication device relative to said at least one root communication device indicative of a blade deflection, wherein said at least one root communication device is provided on at least one bracket projecting from an external surface of said wind turbine blade at said root end, wherein said root communication device is spaced from the external surface of said blade to minimize path loss in the communication path between said at least one tip communication device and said at least one root communication device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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19. A blade deflection monitoring system for installation on a wind turbine blade, the wind turbine blade comprising an airfoil profile body having a pressure side and a suction side, and a leading edge and a trailing edge with a chord length extending therebetween, the blade having a tip end and a root end, the monitoring system comprising:
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at least one tip communication device for installation towards the tip end of a wind turbine blade, at least one root communication device for installation towards the root end of a wind turbine blade, and a controller to operate said communication devices in wireless communication to monitor the distance between said at least one tip communication device and said at least one root communication device when installed on a wind turbine blade to determine a movement of said at least one tip communication device relative to said at least one root communication device indicative of a blade deflection, wherein said at least one root communication device is arranged to be located spaced from an external surface of the wind turbine blade at said root end. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A method of monitoring the deflection of a wind turbine blade, the wind turbine blade having a pressure side and a suction side, and a leading edge and a trailing edge with a chord length extending therebetween, the blade having a tip end and a root end, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing at least one tip communication device located towards the tip end of a wind turbine blade, providing at least one root communication device located towards the root end of said wind turbine blade, said at least one root communication device in wireless communication with said at least one tip communication device via a wireless communication path, transmitting a signal between said at least one tip communication device and said at least one root communication device along said wireless communication path, calculating a distance measurement between said at least one tip communication device and said at least one root communication device based on said signal, and determining a current blade deflection value based on said distance measurement, wherein the method further comprises the step of adjusting a signal gain level of said signal based on at least one of the following;
the current blade deflection value, a predicted blade deflection value based at least in part upon said current blade deflection value, or a signal strength level of a signal received via said communication path. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification