Controller arrangement of an electrical power transfer system of a wind turbine

• US 8,631,275 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2010
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
• Original Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
• Inventors: Opina, Gil Lampong Jr., Fonn, Swee Yee, Tripathi, Anshuman, Liaw, Tze Yang, Gupta, Amit Kumar
• Primary Examiner(s): CONNOLLY, MARK A
• Application Number:
  US12/979,918
• Publication Number:
  US 20110106325A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,113 Days
• Field of Search: 714/10, 714/13
• US Class Current: 714/13
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/28 The renewable source being wind energy wind motors F03D
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/381 Dispersed generators
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/40 Synchronising a generator for connection to a network or to another generator
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/76 Power conversion electric or electronic aspects

Abstract

A controller arrangement of an electrical power transfer system (1) of a wind turbine is described. The wind turbine has an electrical generator and is connected to an electrical power grid, wherein the power transfer system (1) is arranged to transfer electrical power from the generator to the grid. The power transfer system (1) has at least two electrical elements (2-6), e.g. converters, and at least two controllers (15-17) each arranged to control at least one element (2-6).

Claims

1. A controller arrangement of an electrical power transfer system of a wind turbine, wherein the wind turbine comprises an electrical generator and is connected to an electrical power grid, wherein the power transfer system is arranged to transfer electrical power from the generator to the grid;

wherein the power transfer system comprises at least two electrical power converters and at least two converter controllers;

wherein the at least two electrical power converters are electrically connected in parallel providing at least two power paths of the power transfer system, and both of the at least two power paths are arranged to transport electrical energy from the electrical generator to the electrical power grid in a normal operation mode of the electrical power transfer system;

wherein the at least two converter controllers are each arranged to control one of the at least two electrical power converters as well as at least two of the electrical power converters;

wherein the controller arrangement enables a first one of the at least two electrical power converters to be controlled by a first one of the at least two converter controllers and a second one of the at least two electrical power converters to be controlled by a second one of the at least two converter controllers, as well as the first and the second electrical power converters to be controlled by the first converter controller while the first or the second electrical power converter is not controlled by the second converter controller; and

wherein the electrical generator is divided into a plurality of generator segments, which produce a plurality of independent AC power outputs and represent separate power sources, wherein at least two of the electrical power converters are coupled to different power sources.

2. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein the power transfer system comprises at least one AC/DC-converter and at least one DC/AC-converter, and at least one DC-link arranged to couple the at least one AC/DC-converter and the at least one DC/AC-converter.

3. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein the power transfer system further comprises a power dissipation unit having an input, and at least one of the electrical power converters further comprises a DC link selectively coupleable to the input of the power dissipation unit.

4. The controller arrangement of claim 3, wherein the first converter controller is arranged to decide in a stand-alone manner whether to control only one of the electrical power converters or to control at least two of the electrical power converters at the same time.

5. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein at least one of the generator and the grid provides at least two sources and at least two loads respectively, and wherein the power transfer system further comprises at least two source-load-management-controllers each arranged to monitor at least one of the source and the load.

6. The controller arrangement of claim 5, wherein the power transfer system further comprises at least two of power dissipation units and at least two power dissipation unit controllers.

7. The controller arrangement of claim 5, wherein the first converter controller is arranged to decide in a stand-alone manner whether to control only one of the electrical power converters or to control at least two of the electrical power converters at the same time.

8. The controller arrangement of claim 7, wherein the power transfer system further comprises at least one power dissipation unit controller, wherein the converter controllers are arranged to provide at least one of information about themselves and information about at least one the electrical power converters to the at least one power dissipation unit controller.

9. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first converter controller is arranged to control the at least two electrical power converters in unison.

10. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first converter controller is arranged to control the at least two electrical power converters independently.

11. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein the second converter controller is arranged to generate a signal targeted to the first converter controller to provide at least one of information about itself and information about at least one of the electrical power converters controlled by it.

12. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein the second converter controller is arranged to generate a broadcast signal to provide at least one of information about itself and information about at least one of the electrical power converters controlled by it.

13. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein the first converter controller is arranged to decide in a stand-alone manner whether to control only one of the electrical power converters or to control at least two of the electrical power converters at the same time.

14. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein the power transfer system further comprises at least one power dissipation unit controller, wherein the converter controllers are arranged to provide at least one of information about themselves and information about at least one of the electrical power converters to the power dissipation unit controller.

15. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein the power transfer system further comprises at least one power dissipation unit controller, wherein at least one of the converter controllers is arranged to provide at least one of information about itself and information about at least one of the electrical power converters to the at least one power dissipation unit controller.

16. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein the power sources are three-phase AC power sources.

17. The controller of claim 1, wherein at least one of the electrical power converters is selectively coupleable to at least two of the plurality of separate power sources.

18. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein

the first one of the at least two electrical power converters includes a first AC/DC converter and a first DC/AC converter;

the second one of the at least two electrical power converters includes a second AC/DC converter and a second DC/AC converter; and

one of the first and second AC/DC converters is selectively coupleable to one of the first and second DC/AC converters.

19. The controller arrangement of claim 18, wherein the one of the first and second AC/DC converters is selectively coupled to the other of the first and second DC/AC converters in response to a failure in the one of the first and second DC/AC converters.

20. The controller arrangement of claim 18, wherein the one of the first and second DC/AC converters is selectively coupled to the other of the first and second AC/DC converters in response to a failure in the other of the first and second AC/DC converters.

21. The controller arrangement of claim 1, wherein each of the at least two electrical power converters comprises a source side converter and a load side converter, the load side converter of the first of the at least two power converters being configured to handle the power supplied by the source side converter of the second of the at least two the power converters, and the load side converter of the second of the at least two power converters being configured to handle the power supplied by the source side converter of the first of the at least two the power converters.

22. The controller arrangement of claim 1, further comprising:

a power dissipation unit,

wherein the first one of the at least two converter controllers is configured to disconnect the second one of the at least two electrical power converters from one of the at least two power paths and connect the second one of the at least two electrical power converters to the power dissipation unit in response to a fault condition caused by the second one of the at least two converter controllers.

23. The controller arrangement of claim 22, wherein the first one of the at least two converter controllers is further configured to disconnect the second one of the at least two electrical power converters from the power dissipation unit and reconnect the second one of the at least two electrical power converters to the one power path in response to the first one of the at least two converter controllers assuming control of the second one of the at least two electrical power converters.

24. A method of controlling a controller arrangement of an electrical power transfer system of a wind turbine, wherein the wind turbine comprises an electrical generator and is connected to an electrical power grid, wherein the power transfer system is arranged to transfer electrical power from the generator to the grid, and wherein the electrical generator and the grid provide at least one source and load respectively;

wherein the power transfer system comprises at least two electrical power converters, at least two converter controllers, at least one power dissipation unit, at least one dissipation unit controller, and a power path arranged to transfer electrical power to the load,

wherein the at least two electrical power converters are electrically connected in parallel providing at least two power paths of the power transfer system, wherein both of the at least two power paths transport electrical energy from the electrical generator to the electrical power grid in a normal operation mode of the electrical power transfer system, and

wherein the at least two converter controllers are each arranged to control one of the at least two electrical power converters as well as at least two of the electrical power converters;

the method comprising;

switching between controlling a first one of the at least two electrical power converters with a first converter controller of the at least two converter controllers and a second one of the at least two electrical power converters with a second converter controller of the at least two converter controllers, and controlling the first one and the second one of the at least two electrical power converters with the first converter controller while not controlling the first one or the second one of the at least two electrical power converters with the second converter controller, wherein both the first one and the second one of the at least two electrical power converters are connected to the power path; and

while controlling the first one of the at least two electrical power converters with the first converter controller and the second one of the at least two electrical power converters with the second converter controller, and in response to a fault condition caused by the second converter controller;

disconnecting the second electrical power converter from the power path and connecting the second power converter to the power dissipation unit controlled by the at least one power dissipation unit controller,

handing over control of the second electrical power converter to the first converter controller, and

disconnecting the second electrical power converter from the power dissipation unit and reconnecting the second electrical power converter to the power path.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the switching is triggered by a fault condition.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the generator is divided into a plurality of generator segments, which produce a plurality of independent AC power outputs and represent separate power sources, wherein at least two of the electrical power converters are coupled to different power sources.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the power sources are three-phase AC power sources.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the generator and the grid provide a source and a load respectively, and the power transfer system further comprises a power dissipation unit, a power dissipation unit controller, and a power path arranged to transfer electrical power to the load, the method comprising:

controlling a first electrical power converter of the at least two electrical power converters with a first converter controller of the at least two converter controllers and a second electrical power converter of the at least two electrical power converters with a second converter controller of the at least two converter controllers with both the first and the second electrical power converters being connected to the power path; and

in response to a fault condition caused by the second converter controller, disconnecting the second electrical power converter from the power path and connecting the second power converter to the power dissipation unit controlled by the power dissipation unit controller.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising handing over control of the second electrical power converter to the first converter controller.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising disconnecting the second electrical power converter from the power dissipation unit and reconnecting the second electrical power converter to the power path.

31. A controller arrangement of an electrical power transfer system of a wind turbine, wherein the wind turbine comprises an electrical generator and is connected to an electrical power grid, wherein the power transfer system is arranged to transfer electrical power from the generator to the grid, the controller arrangement comprising:

at least two electrical power converters electrically connected in parallel providing at least two power paths of the power transfer system, and both of the at least two power paths are arranged to transport electrical energy from the electrical generator to the electrical power grid in a normal operation mode of the electrical power transfer system

a first converter controller and a second converter controller, each converter controller arranged to selectively control only one of the power converters or at least two of the power converters, wherein, when the first converter controller is controlling at least two of the power converters, the second controller does not control the at least two power converters; and

a power dissipation unit,

wherein, in response to a fault condition caused by the second converter controller when controlling one of the power converters, the first converter controller is configured to disconnect the one power converter from one of the at least two power paths and connect the one power converter to the power dissipation unit.

32. A controller arrangement of an electrical power transfer system of a wind turbine, wherein the wind turbine comprises an electrical generator and is connected to an electrical power grid, wherein the power transfer system is arranged to transfer electrical power from the generator to the grid;

wherein the power transfer system comprises at least two electrical power converters and at least two converter controllers;

wherein the at least two electrical power converters are electrically connected in parallel providing at least two power paths of the power transfer system, and both of the at least two power paths are arranged to transport electrical energy from the electrical generator to the electrical power grid in a normal operation mode of the electrical power transfer system;

wherein the at least two converter controllers are each arranged to control one of the at least two electrical power converters as well as at least two of the electrical power converters;

wherein the controller arrangement enables a first one of the at least two electrical power converters to be controlled by a first one of the at least two converter controllers and a second one of the at least two electrical power converters to be controlled by a second one of the at least two converter controllers, as well as the first and the second electrical power converters to be controlled by the first converter controller while the first or the second electrical power converter is not controlled by the second converter controller; and

wherein;

the first one of the at least two electrical power converters includes a first AC/DC converter and a first DC/AC converter;

the second one of the at least two electrical power converters includes a second AC/DC converter and a second DC/AC converter; and

one of the first and second AC/DC converters is selectively coupleable to one of the first and second DC/AC converters.

33. A controller arrangement of an electrical power transfer system of a wind turbine, wherein the wind turbine comprises an electrical generator and is connected to an electrical power grid, wherein the power transfer system is arranged to transfer electrical power from the generator to the grid;

wherein the power transfer system comprises at least two electrical power converters and at least two converter controllers;

wherein the at least two electrical power converters are electrically connected in parallel providing at least two power paths of the power transfer system, and both of the at least two power paths are arranged to transport electrical energy from the electrical generator to the electrical power grid in a normal operation mode of the electrical power transfer system;

wherein the at least two converter controllers are each arranged to control one of the at least two electrical power converters as well as at least two of the electrical power converters;

wherein the controller arrangement enables a first one of the at least two electrical power converters to be controlled by a first one of the at least two converter controllers and a second one of the at least two electrical power converters to be controlled by a second one of the at least two converter controllers, as well as the first and the second electrical power converters to be controlled by the first converter controller while the first or the second electrical power converter is not controlled by the second converter controller; and

wherein each of the at least two electrical power converters comprises a source side converter and a load side converter, the load side converter of the first of the at least two power converters being configured to handle the power supplied by the source side converter of the second of the at least two the power converters, and the load side converter of the second of the at least two power converters being configured to handle the power supplied by the source side converter of the first of the at least two power converters.

34. A method of controlling a controller arrangement of an electrical power transfer system of a wind turbine,

wherein the wind turbine comprises an electrical generator and is connected to an electrical power grid and wherein the power transfer system is arranged to transfer electrical power from the generator to the grid,

wherein the power transfer system comprises at least two electrical power converters and at least two converter controllers,

wherein the at least two electrical power converters are electrically connected in parallel providing at least two power paths of the power transfer system, wherein both of the at least two power paths transport electrical energy from the electrical generator to the electrical power grid in a normal operation mode of the electrical power transfer system, and

wherein the at least two converter controllers are each arranged to control one of the at least two electrical power converters as well as at least two of the electrical power converters;

the method comprising;

switching between

controlling a first one of the at least two electrical power converters with a first converter controller of the at least two converter controllers and a second one of the at least two electrical power converters with a second converter controller of the at least two converter controllers; and

controlling the first and the second electrical power converter with the first converter controller while not controlling the first or the second electrical power converter with the second converter controller,

wherein the generator and the grid provide a source and a load respectively, and the power transfer system further comprises a power dissipation unit, a power dissipation unit controller, and a power path arranged to transfer electrical power to the load, the method further comprising;

controlling a first electrical power converter of the at least two electrical power converters with a first converter controller of the at least two converter controllers and a second electrical power converter of the at least two electrical power converters with a second converter controller of the at least two converter controllers with both the first and the second electrical power converters being connected to the power path; and

in response to a fault condition caused by the second converter controller, disconnecting the second electrical power converter from the power path and connecting the second power converter to the power dissipation unit controlled by the power dissipation unit controller.