System and method for monitoring a wind turbine gearbox
First Claim
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1. A wind turbine gearbox monitoring system, comprising:
- a plurality of sensors coupled to a wind turbine gearbox outputting at least one of vibration information and shaft speed information; and
a controller coupled to the plurality of sensors and configured to output operating information identifying potential and actual damage within the wind turbine gearbox based on the vibration information and the shaft speed information, the controller converting the shaft speed information and the vibration information into a cycle domain signal, and performing an order analysis on the cycle domain signal, the order analysis providing information that identifies potential and actual damage within the wind turbine gearbox, wherein to convert the equal time vibration information into an equal circumferential position cycle domain signal using a tachometer pulse train signal, the controller is further programmed to divide the tachometer signal into a plurality of segments, each segment representing a different rotational position of a gearbox shaft.
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Abstract
A system and method are provided to monitor the health of a wind turbine gearbox. The system includes a plurality of sensors coupled to the wind turbine gearbox and a controller coupled to the plurality of sensors. The controller is configured to acquire vibration information from a vibration sensor, acquire a tachometer signal, convert the tachometer signal and the vibration information into a cycle domain signal, and perform an order analysis on the cycle domain signal, the order analysis providing information that identifies potential and actual damage within the wind turbine gearbox.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A wind turbine gearbox monitoring system, comprising:
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a plurality of sensors coupled to a wind turbine gearbox outputting at least one of vibration information and shaft speed information; and a controller coupled to the plurality of sensors and configured to output operating information identifying potential and actual damage within the wind turbine gearbox based on the vibration information and the shaft speed information, the controller converting the shaft speed information and the vibration information into a cycle domain signal, and performing an order analysis on the cycle domain signal, the order analysis providing information that identifies potential and actual damage within the wind turbine gearbox, wherein to convert the equal time vibration information into an equal circumferential position cycle domain signal using a tachometer pulse train signal, the controller is further programmed to divide the tachometer signal into a plurality of segments, each segment representing a different rotational position of a gearbox shaft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A wind turbine comprising:
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a rotor including a plurality of blades; a gearbox coupled to the rotor; a generator coupled to the gearbox; a plurality of sensors coupled to the gearbox outputting at least one of vibration information and shaft speed information; and a controller coupled to the plurality of sensors and configured to output operating information identifying potential and actual damage within the wind turbine gearbox based on the vibration information and the shaft speed information, the controller converting the shaft speed information and the vibration information into a cycle domain signal, and performing an order analysis on the cycle domain signal, the order analysis providing information that identifies potential and actual damage within the wind turbine gearbox, wherein to convert the tachometer signal and the vibration information into a cycle domain final, the controller is further programmed to divide the tachometer signal into a plurality of segments, each segment representing a different rotational position of a gearbox shaft. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of monitoring the health of a wind turbine gearbox, said method comprising:
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acquiring vibration information from a vibration sensor coupled to a wind turbine gearbox; acquiring a tachometer signal; converting the tachometer signal and the vibration information into a cycle domain signal using a processor; and performing, using the processor, an order analysis on the cycle domain signal, the order analysis enabling an operator to identify potential damage within the wind turbine gearbox, wherein converting further comprises dividing the tachometer signal into a plurality of segments, each segment representing a different rotational position of a gearbox shaft. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification