KR101577308B1 - System for monitoring wind turbine generator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for monitoring a wind turbine generator, which monitors a state in a nacelle of the wind turbine generator. The system for monitoring a wind turbine generator of the present invention includes: a number of sensor parts which sense an emergency situation in the nacelle of the wind turbine generator; a thermo-graphic camera which photographs an object generating heat in the nacelle; a network camera for photographing an image in the nacelle; a communications modem part which receives a signal outputted from the sensor part, the thermo-graphic camera and the network camera and delivers the signal to a first signal combining part, and delivers a signal delivered from the first signal combining part to the sensor part, the thermo-graphic camera or the network camera; the first signal combining part which is connected to a power line to supply electricity generated in a power generator installed in the nacelle to a battery, and delivers the signal outputted from the communication modem part to the power line, and collects a signal delivered through the power line and then delivers the collected signal to the communication modem part; a second signal combining part which is connected to the power line, and collects the signal of the first signal combining part delivered through the power line and then delivers the signal to the outside, and delivers a signal delivered from the outside to the power line; and a management server which monitors a situation in the nacelle using a signal delivered from the second signal combining part, and delivers a control signal as to the sensor part, the thermo-graphic camera or the network camera to the second signal combining part.

Description

SYSTEM FOR MONITORING WIND TURBINE GENERATOR

The present invention relates to a wind turbine generator monitoring system, and more particularly, to a wind turbine generator generator monitoring system that monitors the internal state of a turbine and transmits a status monitoring signal to an external management server through a power line.

There is a growing demand for environmentally friendly next generation power generation facilities due to the exhaustion of fossil fuels and the risk of nuclear power generation. Wind power generation is the fastest growing area among renewable energy sources as a device that converts mechanical kinetic energy into electric energy through a generator to generate electric power. Wind power generation complex, newly constructed, I'm taking it.

In the case of such a wind turbine generator, it is very important to detect the abnormality in the inside early because various power generators are installed inside. Recently, state monitoring technology for wind turbines has been recognized as a key and important factor in the maintenance of wind turbines. This condition monitoring minimizes damage by early detection of the degree of aging and sudden overrun in mechanical and electrical equipment.

However, since the activation and acceptance of wind power generation technologies are slow and the operation data of actual wind power generators are not provided smoothly, the status monitoring and failure prediction techniques in the field of wind power generation are not yet applied.

Conventionally, many techniques for monitoring a wind turbine generator or diagnosing a failure have been disclosed. For example, there is disclosed a technology for detecting rotor asymmetry defects of a wind turbine by detecting the amount of power of a wind turbine generator and vibrations of a nosepiece and comparing them with reference values. As another example, a system in which an acoustic sampler and an optical sensor are installed inside a wind turbine in which an electric or mechanical unit is used to record sound in an acoustic sampler, and an optical sensor can photograph a sound generating position and monitor the position / RTI > As another example, there is disclosed a technique for controlling a wind power generator using a sensing value of a normal sensor when a failure occurs in some sensors among a plurality of sensors.

As described above, the above-described conventional technology provides a technique of detecting the state of a component or a module installed inside the wind turbine using various sensors. However, in this conventional technique, a communication line must be installed in order to transmit the signal detected by the sensor to the management server, and a separate signal line must be additionally connected when the sensor is additionally installed. . In addition, in the case of a large capacity wind turbine generator, since the generated voltage and current are large, it is troublesome to install a component having durability against a large capacity power source.

Korean Patent No. 10-0597815 Korean Patent No. 10-1358397 Korean Patent Publication No. 2014-0054681 Korean Patent Publication No. 2014-0033944

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a wind turbine generator that monitors a state of a nacelle in a plurality of sensors installed in a nacelle of a wind turbine generator and transmits the monitoring signal to an external management server The purpose of the present invention is to provide a wind turbine generator monitoring system.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a wind turbine generator monitoring system for monitoring a nacelle of a wind turbine generator by connecting a signal to a power line and transmitting the signal to an external management server.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a monitoring system for a wind turbine generator having excellent communication characteristics even in a large current by forming an air gap in a signal coupling portion in the transmission of a signal through a power line and inserting a hard magnetic core material between the air gaps have.

In the wind turbine monitoring system according to the embodiment of the present invention,

A plurality of sensor units for detecting an emergency situation inside the nucell of the wind power generator; An infrared camera for photographing an object in which heat is generated in the nacelle; A network camera for capturing an image of the inside of the nacelle; A sensor, a thermal imager, and a network camera, and transmits the signals to the first signal combiner, which will be described later, and the signal transmitted from the first signal combiner, to the sensor, the thermal imager, or the network camera A communication modem unit; And a control unit connected to a power line for supplying electric power generated by a generator installed in the nacelle to a battery, for transmitting a signal output from the communication modem unit to the power line, collecting signals transmitted through the power line, A first signal combining unit; A second signal coupling unit connected to the power line, for collecting a signal of the first signal coupling unit transmitted through the power line, for transferring the signal to the outside, and for transferring the signal transmitted from the outside to the power line; And a management server for monitoring a situation inside the nussel using a signal transmitted from the second signal combiner and transmitting a control signal to the sensor, the thermal imager or the network camera to the second signal combiner, Wherein each of the first and second signal coupling portions includes a cylindrical metal core having a hollow portion at the center thereof and the power line is inserted into the hollow portion in contact or noncontact manner, And a hard magnetic core material is inserted between the air gaps.

In the present invention, the first and second signal coupling parts are respectively connected to the power line in a contact or non-contact manner.

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In the present invention, the magnetic core material includes barium ferrite.

In the present invention, the thermal imaging camera and the network camera are rotated in accordance with the rotation operation control command of the management server.

According to the present invention, since the state of a nacelle of a wind turbine generator is monitored through a plurality of sensors, accurate monitoring of various power generators installed in the nacelle is performed.

In addition, according to the present invention, since a state monitoring signal inside the nugget of a wind turbine generator is transmitted to an external management server through a power line, a communication line for transmitting a state monitoring signal to the outside is not required.

In addition, according to the present invention, when various sensors are installed in the nacelle, since the detection signals of a plurality of sensors are connected to the existing power line, it is not necessary to cut the existing power line.

In addition, according to the present invention, in transmitting various signals through a power line, an air gap is formed in a signal coupling portion and a magnetic core material is inserted between the air gaps to provide excellent communication characteristics even in a large current.

1 is an exemplary view showing a configuration of a wind power generator to which the present invention is applied,
2 is a configuration diagram of a wind turbine generator monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a block diagram of a signal coupling unit according to an embodiment of the present invention,
4 is a graph showing a current characteristic relationship according to an air gap of a signal coupling unit according to an embodiment of the present invention,
5 is a graph showing a communication characteristic relationship according to an air gap of a signal coupling unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that, in adding reference numerals to the constituent elements of the drawings, the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the difference that the embodiments of the present invention are not conclusive.

In describing the components of the embodiment of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. These terms are intended to distinguish the constituent elements from other constituent elements, and the terms do not limit the nature, order or order of the constituent elements. When a component is described as being "connected", "coupled", or "connected" to another component, the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, Quot; may be "connected," "coupled," or "connected. &Quot;

1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wind power generator to which the present invention is applied.

1, a wind turbine 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a rotor 20, a Nacelle 30, and a tower 40. As shown in FIG. The rotor 20 has a plurality of rotor blades 21 rotated by a wind force to convert kinetic energy of air into mechanical energy. The nacelle 30 is mounted on the tower 40 to support the rotor 20 and to convert the mechanical energy resulting from the rotation of the rotor blade 21 of the rotor 20 into electric energy. The tower 40 supports the nacelle 30 coupled with the rotor 20 to be fixed at a predetermined height and rotates the rotor blades 21 of the rotor 30 toward the wind- Adjust the direction.

A generator 31 for generating electric power is installed in the nacelle 30 and the rotor blades 21 of the rotor 20 are rotated to rotate the rotor blades 21 through the shaft 32 connected to the rotation axis of the rotor blades 21 21 is applied to the generator 31 and the generator 31 is designed to produce power using this rotational force. The power produced by the generator 31 is supplied to the battery 41 provided at the lower end of the tower 40 via the power line 33 and stored. The wind turbine monitoring apparatus according to the present invention is installed in the nacelle 30 to monitor the state of various power generators installed in the nacelle 30.

2 is a configuration diagram of a wind turbine generator monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, a wind turbine generator monitoring system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of sensor units 110, a thermal imaging camera 120, a network camera 130, a communication modem unit 140, 1 signal combining unit 150, a second signal combining unit 160, and a management server 170. [

In this embodiment, the wind turbine generator monitoring apparatus 100 is installed inside the nacelle 30 and the tower 40 of the wind turbine described above. In the nacelle 30, there is provided a generator 31 for converting mechanical energy according to rotational force of the rotor 20 into electric energy to produce electric power. The power generated by the generator 31 is stored in the battery 41 via the power line 22 connected to the generator 31.

A plurality of sensor units 110 are installed in the nacelle 30 to detect emergency situations such as a fire or a power failure inside the nacelle 30 and transmit an emergency situation detection signal. The sensor unit 110 includes a sensor device capable of detecting various emergency situations. For example, it may be implemented as a gas detection sensor that detects smoke or gas during a fire, or may be implemented as a sensor capable of detecting various conditions such as temperature, immersion, and power failure. Multiple sensors can be implemented as a single module so that multiple situations can be detected at one time. It is also possible to set the inside of the nacelle 30 to be set in various areas so as to be sensed by one sensor unit 110 or to install the sensor unit 110 in each area so as to detect each area.

The thermal imaging camera 120 is a camera that photographs an object using the temperature difference of an object. The thermal imaging camera 120 senses an object such as a human, an animal, or an engine of an automobile. The thermal imaging camera 120 is capable of rotating in a desired direction. Thereby, it is rotated by the thermal imager 120 in the position or direction to be confirmed so that the image of the position or direction can be photographed. Preferably, the thermal imaging camera 120 allows the user to check images of various generators inside the nacelle 30 or a place where heat is generated over a preset reference value or where a fire occurs at a specific place.

The network camera 130 is a surveillance camera for connecting a communication network to a camera and shooting an image without any additional equipment. And is installed in the nacelle (30) to photograph the inside of the nacelle (30). It is possible to rotate in a desired direction as in the case of the thermal imaging camera 120, and it is possible to photograph the entire area inside the nacelle 30.

The sensor unit 110, the thermal imaging camera 120, and the network camera 130 are each provided with a controller (not shown) to control various operations. In particular, it performs the corresponding operation according to a control signal received from the management server 170, which will be described later. For example, the thermal imaging camera 120 and the network camera 130 may be rotated in accordance with the rotation operation control command of the management server 170. [ This can be useful when intensively photographing or enlarging a specific region.

The communication modem unit 140 transmits various signals output from the sensor unit 110, the thermal imaging camera 120 and the network camera 130 to a first signal combining unit 150, 1 signal combining unit 150 to the sensor unit 110, the thermal imaging camera 120, and the network camera 130. The sensor unit 110, the thermal imaging camera 120, 120 and 130 from a remote location and transmit control signals to these components 110, 120, and 130 from a remote location, To components 110, 120, and 130, respectively. The various signals and control signals are transmitted through the power line 33 using the first signal combining unit 150 and the second signal combining unit 160. [

The first signal coupling unit 150 and the second signal coupling unit 160 are connected to the power line 33, respectively. The first and second signal couplers 150 and 160 are connected to the power line 33 in a contact or non-contact manner. The first signal coupler 150 is connected to the power line 33 in the nacelle 30 to transmit various signals transmitted from the communication modem unit 140 to the power line 33 and conversely to the power line 33, And transmits the signal to the communication modem unit 140. [ The second signal combiner 160 is connected to the opposite side of the first signal combiner 150 on the power line 33 and transmits various signals transmitted through the power line 33 to the management server 170 And transmits the signal transmitted from the management server 170 to the power line 33.

The first signal coupler 150 provided at one end of the power line 33 transmits a signal transmitted from the communication modem unit 140 to the power line 33. [ These signals are transmitted (propagated) along the power line 33. The second signal combining unit 160 installed at the other end of the power line 33 collects signals transmitted along the power line 33 and transmits the collected signals to the management server 170. The second signal combiner 160 transmits the signal output from the management server 180 to the power line 33. These signals are also transmitted along the power line 33 and are collected by the first signal coupler 150 along the power line 33 and transmitted to the communication modem unit 140.

In this embodiment, the first signal coupler 150 and the second signal coupler 160 may be coupled to the power line 33 in a contact or non-contact manner. For example, in the case of the contact type, the connection terminal directly contacts the power line 33 to transmit the signal to the power line 33, and conversely, the signal to be transmitted along the power line 33 is collected through the connection terminal. Further, in the case of the non-contact type, the signal is transmitted to the power line 33 using the electromagnetic induction principle, and conversely, the signal transmitted along the power line 33 is coupled and collected. For this purpose, it is preferable that the power line 33 is formed in a cylindrical shape in which a hollow is formed so as to penetrate the power line 33 when the power line 33 is non-contact type. As described above, in the present embodiment, the power line 33 serves as a power line for the power generated by the generator 31 to be transmitted to the battery 41, and at the same time, the first and second signal combiners 150 and 160 And also serves as a communication line through which various signals are transmitted.

The management server 170 monitors the inside of the nacelle 30 using signals from the sensor unit 110, the thermal imaging camera 120 and the network camera 130 output from the second signal combining unit 160 do. The management server 170 also transmits control signals for the operation of the sensor unit 110, the thermal imaging camera 120 and the network camera 130 to the second signal combining unit 160.

3 is a configuration diagram of the first and second signal combining units in the embodiment of the present invention. Since the first and second signal combiners 150 and 160 according to the present invention have the same configuration, the first signal combiner 150 will be described in FIG. 3 (a) is a perspective view of the first signal coupling unit 150, and FIG. 3 (b) is a plan view as viewed from above.

3, the first signal coupler 150 includes a cylindrical metal core 152 having a hollow 151 formed therein, and a coil (not shown) is connected to the metal core 152 At least one or more times. Both ends of the coil are connected to the external device. That is, both ends of the coil of the first signal coupling unit 150 are connected to the communication modem unit 140, and both ends of the coil of the second signal coupling unit 160 are connected to the management server 170. The metal core 152 is formed of a metal material having high magnetic permeability and magnetic flux density, and the power line 33 is inserted into the hollow portion 151 in contact or non-contact manner. That is, the power line 33 inserted into the hollow portion 151 may be in contact with or in contact with the inner surface of the hollow portion 151. The metal core 152 may be inserted into a cylindrical housing (not shown). In addition, the metal core 152 may be divided into a plurality of parts and stacked inside the housing.

In the present embodiment, when the wind turbine generator produces a large amount of electric power, the non-contact type is preferable. This is because the installation is relatively simple as compared with the contact type and the heat is generated while the electric power is transmitted to the battery 41 through the power line 33, so that the noncontact type is less affected by the heat than the contact type. In the case of such a non-contact signal coupling part, the communication characteristics should be maintained well even with a current of several hundreds of amperes. That is, it is necessary to transmit a large amount of current and to perform communication with various sensors of the sensor unit 110, the thermal imaging camera 120, and the network camera 130 and the control signal from the management server 170 do.

In order to maintain the electrical characteristics and the communication characteristics by the large current as described above, an air gap 153 is formed in the longitudinal direction of the metal core 152 according to the present invention. The larger the interval of the air gap 152 is, the more the current characteristic that can withstand a large current increases. On the contrary, the communication characteristics such as the transmission speed of various signals are reduced, and thus there is a restriction in use. Therefore, in the present invention, the magnetic core material 154 having a hard magnetic property is inserted into the air gap 153. Such a magnetic core material 154 includes, for example, barium ferrite. Barium ferrite has excellent magnetic properties due to its high magnetic density and resistivity.

The magnetic field 155 generated by the magnetic body is offset from the inverse magnetic field 156 due to the bias of the magnetic core material 154 and the magnetic field generated by the magnetic material 154 is saturated The current can be increased. Since the first and second signal couplers 150 and 160 transmit and collect signals to and from the power line 33 using the electromagnetic induction principle, the signal transmission characteristics are varied according to their electrical characteristics. In order to improve current characteristics and communication characteristics, it is preferable to use a magnetic core material having high electric resistance and magnetic flux density.

4 is a graph showing power characteristics according to an air gap of a signal coupling unit in an embodiment of the present invention.

4, when only the air gap 151 is formed while changing the air gap 151 of the first signal coupler 150 from 0.4 mm to 1.2 mm at intervals of 0.2 mm, And shows the magnetic permeability change when the core material 154 of ferrite is inserted. As shown in the figure, even when the magnetic field increases, the permeability remains almost constant, but the permeability decreases as the air gap 151 increases. At this time, it can be seen that the magnetic permeability is higher when the magnetic core material is inserted into the air gap 151 than when the air gap 151 is formed in the signal coupling part 150. The relatively high permeability means that the communication characteristics are better.

5 is a graph illustrating communication characteristics according to an air gap of a signal coupling unit in an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a graph showing the insertion loss indicating the communication characteristics of the first signal coupler 150. In the case where the ferromagnetic magnetic core material 154 is inserted into the air gap 151, only the air gap 151 is formed It can be seen that the insertion loss is smaller than in the case of FIG. This means that the communication characteristic is superior to that of the signal coupling section formed of only the air gap 151. Therefore, in the wind turbine monitoring system 100 according to the present invention, the signal couplers 150 and 160 for transmitting signals to / from the power line 33 in transmitting and receiving various signals through the power line 33 are formed only in the air gap 151 The insertion of the magnetic core material 154 having a hardness inside the air gap 151 is more efficient in terms of communication characteristics.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. That is, within the scope of the present invention, all of the components may be selectively coupled to one or more of them. Furthermore, the terms "comprises", "comprising", or "having" described above mean that a component can be implanted unless otherwise specifically stated, But should be construed as including other elements. All terms, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Commonly used terms, such as predefined terms, should be interpreted to be consistent with the contextual meanings of the related art, and are not to be construed as ideal or overly formal, unless expressly defined to the contrary.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

10: Wind power generator 20: Rotor
21: rotor blade 30: nacelle
31: generator 32: shaft
33: Power line 40: Tower
41: battery 110: sensor part
120: thermal imager 130: network camera
140: communication modem unit 150: first signal combining unit
151: hollow part 152: metal core
153: air gap 154: magnetic core material
160: second signal combiner 170: management server

Claims (6)

A plurality of sensor units for detecting an emergency situation inside the nucell of the wind power generator;
An infrared camera for photographing an object in which heat is generated in the nacelle;
A network camera for capturing an image of the inside of the nacelle;
A sensor, a thermal imager, and a network camera, and transmits the signals to the first signal combiner, which will be described later, and the signal transmitted from the first signal combiner, to the sensor, the thermal imager, or the network camera A communication modem unit;
And a control unit connected to a power line for supplying electric power generated by a generator installed in the nacelle to a battery, for transmitting a signal output from the communication modem unit to the power line, collecting signals transmitted through the power line, A first signal combining unit;
A second signal coupling unit connected to the power line, for collecting a signal of the first signal coupling unit transmitted through the power line, for transferring the signal to the outside, and for transferring the signal transmitted from the outside to the power line;
A management server for monitoring a situation inside the nugget using a signal transmitted from the second signal combiner and transmitting a control signal for the sensor, the thermal imager or the network camera to the second signal combiner; Lt; / RTI >
Wherein each of the first and second signal coupling portions includes a cylindrical metal core having a hollow portion at the center thereof and the power line is inserted into the hollow portion in contact or noncontact manner, And a light magnetic core material is inserted between the air gaps. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first and second signal coupling units are connected to the power line in a contact or non-contact manner, respectively. delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the magnetic core material comprises barium ferrite. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the thermal imaging camera and the network camera are rotated in accordance with a rotation operation control command of the management server.

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