Method and system for registering events in wind turbines of a wind power system

• US 8,090,972 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
• Original Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
• Inventors: Bengtson, John, Lovmand, Bo, Danielsen, Niels Erik, Kristensen, Tage
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, VINCENT HUY
• Application Number:
  US12/744,166
• Publication Number:
  US 20100268849A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,133 Days
• Field of Search: 713/400, 702/1, 702/2, 702/178, 702/187
• US Class Current: 713/400
• 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: G01R 19/2513 Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/42 AC power supplies
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0237 based on parallel systems, e.g. comparing signals produced at the same time by same type systems and detect faulty ones by noticing differences among their responses
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0667 Bidirectional timestamps, e.g. NTP or PTP for compensation of clock drift and for compensation of propagation delays arrangements for monitoring round trip delays in packet switching networks H04L43/0864

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of registering events in a wind power system comprising at least two data processors, wherein the data processors of said wind power system are mutually time synchronized, wherein events are registered in said at least two data processors, wherein the timing of said events registered in different of said at least two data processors is established according to said time synchronization. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, events may be registered and preferably analyzed according to a common timing. This analyzing makes it possible to establish an analysis where events of different wind turbines are basically interrelated and where information regarding such interrelation is important or crucial for establishment of control or fault detection based on correctly timed events from different wind turbines.

Claims

1. A method for registering events in a wind power system, said method comprising:

mutually time synchronizing first and second data processors of said wind power system;

registering a first event in said first data processor;

registering a second event in said second data processor;

establishing a relative timing of said first and second events registered in said first and second data processors according to said time synchronization;

correlating said first and second events in the time domain based at least in part on said relative timing; and

determining whether said first and second events are related to a common triggering event based on a result of said correlation; and

controlling at least part of the wind power system based on the determination of whether said first and second events are related to the common triggering event.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said first and second data processors are comprised in a wind turbine.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said first and second data processors are distributed in a plurality of wind turbines.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said first and second data processors include at least one wind turbine controller.

5. The method claim 1, wherein said time synchronization includes a synchronization to a master clock.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of said first and second data processors comprises a time synchronization device that is configured to establish the time synchronization.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said time synchronization device synchronizes to a master clock and establishes a synchronized clock on the basis of said master clock and a local clock, and the local clock is comprised in or communicating with said time synchronization device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wind power system includes a plurality of wind turbines, and the wind turbines comprise a local clock.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said time synchronization is established on the basis of an internal clock of the wind power system, or on the basis of an external clock transmitted from an external time synchronization arrangement comprising a master clock.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said time synchronization of said first and second data processors in the wind power system is established by using an existing communication network within the wind power system, a dedicated line, or an earth satellite system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the wind power system includes a wind turbine comprising said first data processor and a substation comprising said second data processor.

12. The method claim 1, wherein the wind power system is controlled at least partly by predictive control based on said time synchronization.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein event information is transmitted as time stamped events according to said time synchronization of said first and second data processors, said time stamped events are transmitted to an event information analyzer, and said event information analyzer analyses the event information on the basis of said time synchronization.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said event information analyzer analyzes the event information on the basis of said time synchronization by establishment of a relative timing based on the receipt of the event information.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the accuracy of the time stamp of the time stamped event is better than 500 μ

s, or better than 200 μ

s, or better than 10 μ

s, or better than 2 μ

s.

15. A method for analyzing events of or controlling at least part of a wind power system comprising first and second data processors, said method comprising:

mutually synchronizing said first and second data processors of said wind power system according to a synchronized time;

registering a first event in said first data processor;

registering a second event in said second data processor;

time stamping said first and second registered events;

correlating said first and second registered and time stamped events in the time domain to determine if said first and second registered and time stamped events are related to a common triggering event; and

controlling at least part of the wind power system based on said first and second registered and time stamped events.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said time synchronization enables defining a set-point in a time domain, and said set-point is a global set-point common in respect of all synchronized data processors.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said wind power system is at least partly controlled in relation to said set-point.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein said wind power system includes an earth satellite system receiver.

19. A wind power system comprising:

a master clock;

first and second data processors each including a slave clock;

means for mutually synchronizing said slave clock of each of said first and second data processors according to said master clock;

one or more sensors for registering one or more events occurring in said wind power system;

means for creating one or more event data based on said one or more registered events;

means for time stamping, in said first and second data processors, of said one or more event data, in accordance with said slave clock; and

means for analysing the said event based on said time stamped event data or means for controlling at least part of said wind power system based on said time stamped event data,

wherein said time stamped data in said first data processor is correlated with said time stamped data in said second data processor in the time domain to determine if said one or more events are related to a common triggering event.