Method for operating a wind energy installation

• US 8,487,461 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2009
• Issued: 07/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KK Wind Solutions A/S (A.P. Møller Holding A/S)
• Original Assignee: Woodward Kempen
• Inventors: Engelhardt, Stephan, Geniusz, Andrzej
• Primary Examiner(s): Duverne, Jean F
• Application Number:
  US12/811,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20100277134A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,652 Days
• Field of Search: 290 43- 44, 290 54- 55
• US Class Current: 290/44
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/08 Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 2101/15 for wind-driven turbines
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/68 based on the temperature of a drive component or a semiconductor component
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 9/007 Control circuits for doubly fed generators

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a wind energy plant having a double-fed asynchronous machine, at least one inverter and at least one control device, wherein electrical energy is at least partly supplied into a grid via the inverter, the inverter comprises per phase at least one power semi-conductor module with at least two transistor circuits and at least two free-wheeling diodes and the inverter by using the control device is actuated at least at times via a pulse width modulation (PWM). The object, namely of providing a generic method for operating a wind energy plant in which an improved power output is effected even in the low-noise rotational speed range of the rotors, is achieved in that, at frequencies of the current to be impressed by the inverter on the machine side of less than 10 Hz, preferably less than 6 Hz, the switching-on duration and/or the switching frequency of the transistor circuits and/or of the free-wheeling diodes of the inverter are altered via the control device by taking their thermal heating into account.

Claims

1. A method for operating a wind energy plant having a double-fed asynchronous machine, at least one inverter and at least one control device, wherein electrical energy is at least partly supplied to a grid via the inverter, wherein the inverter comprises per phase at least one power semi-conductor module having at least two transistor circuits and at least two free-wheeling diodes as components, and wherein the control device actuates the inverter at least at times via a pulse width modulation (PWM), the method comprising:

altering, at frequencies of currents to be impressed by the inverter on a machine side of less than 10 Hz, the switching frequency of the transistor circuits and/or of the free-wheeling diodes of the inverter via the control device depending upon the thermal heating of the respective components such that the number of switching operations in the power semi-conductor module is reduced.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the inverter is used on the rotor side.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

altering, at frequencies of the currents to be impressed by the inverter on the machine side of less than 10 Hz, the switching-on duration of the transistor circuits and/or of the free-wheeling diodes of the inverter via the control device depending upon the thermal heating of the respective components such that the number of switching operations in the power semi-conductor module is reduced.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the switching-on duration and/or the switching frequency of the transistor circuits and/or of the free-wheeling diodes is/are selected at least dependent in each case on a relationship between a temperature of the respective components and a maximum junction temperature.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the switching-on duration of the transistor circuits and of the free-wheeling diodes is selected such that a temperature of the respective component in each case is proportionate to a maximum junction temperature of the respective component.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the dependency of the switching-on duration and/or of the switching frequency of the transistor circuits and/or of the free-wheeling diode on the respective component temperature is pre-determined by means of simulating the thermal behaviour of the components.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein temperatures of the components are determined via sensors.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein, during the altering step, the power semi-conductor modules are actuated by using a flat top process or via pre-calculated pulse patterns in order to reduce the switching operations.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein at frequencies of the currents to be impressed by the inverter on a machine side of less than 6 Hz, the switching-on duration and/or the switching frequency of the transistor circuits and/or of the free-wheeling diodes of the inverter is/are altered via the control device by taking their thermal heating into account in that the number of switching operations in the power semi-conductor module is reduced.

10. A computer program with commands, the execution of which causes a processor to carry out the method according to claim 1.

11. A computer program product which contains a computer program with commands, the execution of which causes a processor to carry out the method according to claim 1.

12. A control device of a double-fed asynchronous machine of a wind energy plant, wherein the control device controls an inverter of a double-fed asynchronous machine for supplying electrical energy to a grid and means are provided for actuating the inverter according to a method according to claim 1.

13. A wind energy plant comprising a double-fed asynchronous machine, at least one inverter and a control device for carrying out a method according to claim 1.