Automatic detection and correction of aerodynamic and inertial rotor imbalances in wind turbine rotors

Abstract

In this work, a novel rotor rebalancing algorithm is tested in a simulation environment to evaluate its performance when facing both aerodynamic and inertial imbalances. The algorithm, starting from a generic measurement collected on the wind turbine fixed frame, is capable of remotely minimizing once per revolution vibrations, avoiding the need for on-site inspections, and without requiring detailed information about the machine. Indeed, once access to the pitch system is granted, this algorithm simply iteratively computes the pitch angle that needs to be applied to each individual blade in order to rebalance the rotor.Several turbulent time histories, with changing mean inflows, were simulated with the goal of testing the proposed method in realistic field conditions. Overall, the algorithm proved capable of significantly reducing the desired once per revolution vibrations in 3 to 4 iterations, irrespective of the imbalance root cause, its severity and its location. The method also appeared quite robust, showing that the found rebalanced configurations guarantee reduced vibrations no matter the machine operating point.