Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100133831 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING A WIND TURBINE - A control system for a wind turbine, the control system having at least one measurement device configured to measure at least one operating condition of the wind turbine and a first controller. The first controller is configured to calculate an operating limit of the wind turbine based on the measured operating condition and to adjust the operating limit based on a limiting condition of a component of the wind turbine. | 06-03-2010 |
20100133904 | DC BUS VOLTAGE CONTROL FOR TWO STAGE SOLAR CONVERTER - Systems, methods, and apparatus for supplying AC power to an AC power grid from a DC power source, such as a photovoltaic (PV) array are disclosed. The systems and methods can include a converter coupled to the DC power source that provides DC power to a DC bus at a DC bus voltage. The systems and methods can further include an inverter coupled to the DC bus for converting the DC power of the DC bus to an output AC power. The systems and methods can further include a control system configured to regulate the DC bus voltage of the DC bus to operate at a variable DC bus voltage setpoint. The control system can adjust the DC bus voltage setpoint based at least in part on the DC bus voltage and the output AC current of the inverter. | 06-03-2010 |
20110096579 | DC BUS VOLTAGE CONTROL FOR TWO STAGE SOLAR CONVERTER - Systems, methods, and apparatus for supplying AC power to an AC power grid from a DC power source, such as a photovoltaic (PV) array are disclosed. The systems and methods can include a converter coupled to the DC power source that provides DC power to a DC bus at a DC bus voltage. The systems and methods can further include an inverter coupled to the DC bus for converting the DC power of the DC bus to an output AC power. The systems and methods can further include a control system configured to regulate the DC bus voltage of the DC bus to operate at a variable DC bus voltage setpoint. The control system can adjust the DC bus voltage setpoint based at least in part on the DC bus voltage and the output AC current of the inverter. | 04-28-2011 |
20110101689 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING POWER IN A WIND TURBINE - A power converter for a wind turbine including an array of switching devices and a control module having a current damping device. The control module is configured to control a switching behavior of the array of switching devices and to receive a current having a first frequency component from the wind turbine. The current damping device is configured to reduce an amplitude of the first frequency component. | 05-05-2011 |
20110137474 | METHOD AND SYSTEMS FOR OPERATING A WIND TURBINE - A method for controlling operation of a wind turbine included within a power generation and delivery system is described. The method includes measuring at least one operating condition of the power generation and delivery system. The method also includes transmitting, to a power limiter system, an operating condition feedback signal that corresponds to the operating condition. The method also includes analyzing the operating condition feedback signal to identify an occurrence of a grid contingency event and generating a real current command signal corresponding to an occurrence of a grid contingency event. The method also includes transmitting the real current command signal to a controller and applying the real current command signal to power converter performance to facilitate reducing pole-slipping. The method also includes storing, in a memory, at least one variable corresponding to the operating condition upon the occurrence of a grid contingency event. | 06-09-2011 |
20120010759 | METHOD AND SYSTEMS FOR OPERATING A WIND TURBINE - A method for controlling operation of a wind turbine included within a power generation and delivery system is described. The method includes measuring at least one operating condition of the power generation and delivery system. The method also includes transmitting, to a power limiter system, an operating condition feedback signal that corresponds to the operating condition. The method also includes analyzing the operating condition feedback signal to identify an occurrence of a grid contingency event and generating a real current command signal corresponding to an occurrence of a grid contingency event. The method also includes transmitting the real current command signal to a controller and applying the real current command signal to power converter performance to facilitate reducing pole-slipping. The method also includes storing, in a memory, at least one variable corresponding to the operating condition upon the occurrence of a grid contingency event. | 01-12-2012 |
20130054043 | FAULT DETECTION SYSTEM FOR A GENERATOR - A fault detection system is provided, and includes a generator, a power converter, a breaker, a current monitoring device, and a control module. The power converter is selectively connected to the generator and is selectively activated to produce a test voltage. The breaker is located between the generator and the power converter for selectively connecting the generator to the power converter. The breaker includes an open position and a closed position. The current monitoring device is located between the generator and the power converter. The current monitoring device measures a line current between the generator and the power converter. The control module is in communication with the current monitoring device and the power converter. The control module has a memory with a threshold current value. | 02-28-2013 |
20130107586 | SYSTEM FOR IMPROVED WIND TURBINE GENERATOR PERFORMANCE | 05-02-2013 |
20140062085 | VOLTAGE CONTROL FOR WIND TURBINE GENERATORS - A voltage control system for a wind turbine generator may include a reactive power regulator configured to control reactive power production by the wind turbine generator by adjusting a voltage setpoint for the generator. The reactive power regulator may have a first time constant and the voltage setpoint may be defined between an upper limit and a lower limit. The system may also include a voltage limit regulator configured to adjust at least one of the upper limit or the lower limit for the voltage setpoint based on a voltage-related parameter. In addition, the system may include a voltage regulator coupled to the reactive power regulator. The voltage regulator may be configured to control real power production by the wind turbine generator based on the voltage setpoint. The voltage regulator may have a second time constant, wherein the first time constant is numerically greater than the second time constant. | 03-06-2014 |
20140062424 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A DUAL-FED INDUCTION GENERATOR IN RESPONSE TO HIGH-VOLTAGE GRID EVENTS - In one aspect, a method for controlling a dual-fed induction generator (DFIG) during a high-voltage grid event is provided. The method includes setting, by a controller, an output of a closed-loop portion of a rotor current regulator to a fixed value such that a predictive feed-forward path sets an internal voltage for the DFIG; and detecting, by the controller, a condition of high dc voltage on a dc link or a condition predictive of high dc voltage on the dc link, and in response reduce a rotor torque producing current command to approximately zero, wherein the dc link connects a line-side converter connected to a system bus and a rotor-side converter connected to a rotor of the DFIG. | 03-06-2014 |
20140070535 | METHOD AND SYSTEMS FOR OPERATING A WIND TURBINE USING DYNAMIC BRAKING IN RESPONSE TO A GRID EVENT - A method and system for dissipating energy in a direct current (dc) bus of a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) converter during a grid event is described. In one aspect, the method comprises monitoring operating conditions of an electrical system, the electrical system comprising at least a DFIG generator and a line side converter and a rotor side converter connected by a dc bus having a dynamic brake connected thereto; detecting an overvoltage on the dc bus or a condition indicative of an overvoltage on the dc link is detected, the overvoltage on the dc bus or condition indicative of the overvoltage caused by a grid event; and causing energy in the dc link to be dissipated using the dynamic brake. | 03-13-2014 |
20150159625 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A WIND TURBINE SYSTEM - A method for controlling a wind turbine system may generally include controlling a wind turbine to operate at a speed and torque setting within a permissible operating region defined between maximum and minimum operating curves, receiving a speed de-rate request and/or a torque de-rate request to de-rate the wind turbine based on a limiting constraint of the wind turbine system, determining an adjusted speed setting and/or an adjusted torque setting for the wind turbine based on the speed de-rate request and/or the torque de-rate request, determining whether an adjustment of the wind turbine operation to the adjusted speed setting and/or the adjusted torque setting would place the turbine outside the permissible operating region and, if the adjustment would place the operation outside the permissible operating region, adjusting the speed setting and/or the torque setting to a new speed and/or torque setting defined along the maximum or minimum operating curve. | 06-11-2015 |
20150249412 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A POWER GENERATION SYSTEM BASED ON PLL ERRORS - In one aspect, a method for controlling a power generation system may generally include determining a phase angle error associated with the power generation system, determining a scaling factor based on the phase angle error, generating a current command for controlling the operation of a power convertor of the power generation system and applying the scaling factor to the current command such that the current command is reduced when the phase angle error exceeds a predetermined error threshold. | 09-03-2015 |
20150249413 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ADJUSTING CURRENT REGULATOR GAINS APPLIED WITHIN A POWER GENERATION SYSTEM - In one aspect, a method for controlling the operation of a power generation system configured to supply power to an electrical grid may generally include monitoring a rotor speed of a generator of the power generation system and determining a gain scaling factor based on the rotor speed, wherein the gain scaling factor increases with decreases in the rotor speed across a range of rotor speeds. In addition, the method may include adjusting a regulator gain to be applied within a current regulator of the power generation system based on the gain scaling factor and applying the adjusted regulator gain within the current regulator in order to generate a voltage command signal for controlling a power converter of the power generation system. | 09-03-2015 |
20150249414 | WIND TURBINE SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPERATING THE SAME - Wind turbine systems and methods for operating wind turbine systems are provided. A method includes monitoring an operating condition of the wind turbine system, and determining whether the operating condition has exceeded a predetermined threshold. The method further includes switching a plurality of switches devices in a rotor side converter of a power converter of the wind turbine system in a normal switching mode if the operating condition is less than the predetermined threshold. The method further includes switching the plurality of switching devices in a short circuit switching mode if the operating condition is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold. The method further includes switching the plurality of switching devices in the normal switching mode after switching in the short circuit mode if the operating condition decreases below the predetermined threshold and a secondary operating condition is below a secondary predetermined threshold. | 09-03-2015 |
20150249416 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A POWER GENERATION SYSTEM BASED ON A DETECTED ISLANDING EVENT - In one aspect, a method for controlling the operation of a power generation system configured to supply power to an electrical grid may generally include detecting an occurrence of an islanding event associated with the power generation system and adjusting a regulator gain applied within a regulator of the power generation system to an islanding gain value in response to the detection of the islanding event, wherein the islanding gain value exceeds a maximum gain value defined for the regulator in the event of an occurrence of any ride-through transient event. In addition, the method may include controlling a power converter of the power generation system based on a control signal generated by the regulator as the power generation system is being isolated from the electrical grid and shutting down the power generation system upon isolation of the power generation system from the electrical grid. | 09-03-2015 |