Pitch Angle Misalignment Correction Based on Benchmarking and Laser Scanner Measurement in Wind Farms

Unai Elosegui, Igor Egana, Alain Ulazia and Gabriel Ibarra-Berastegi
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Unai Elosegui: Maxwind, Portuetxe 83, 3, 20018 Donostia, Spain
Igor Egana: Maxwind, Portuetxe 83, 3, 20018 Donostia, Spain
Alain Ulazia: Department of NE and Fluid Mechanics, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Otaola 29, 20600 Eibar, Spain
Gabriel Ibarra-Berastegi: Department of NE and Fluid Mechanics, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Alda, Urkijo, 48013 Bilbao, Spain

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-20

Abstract: In addition to human error, manufacturing tolerances for blades and hubs cause pitch angle misalignment in wind turbines. As a consequence, a significant number of turbines used by existing wind farms experience power production loss and a reduced turbine lifetime. Existing techniques, such as photometric technology and laser-based methods, have been used in the wind industry for on-field pitch measurements. However, in some cases, regular techniques have difficulty achieving good and accurate measurements of pitch angle settings, resulting in pitch angle errors that require cost-effective correction on wind farms. Here, the authors present a novel patented method based on laser scanner measurements. The authors applied this new method and achieved successful improvements in the Annual Energy Production of various wind farms. This technique is a benchmarking-based approach for pitch angle calibration. Two case studies are introduced to demonstrate the effectiveness of the pitch angle calibration method to yield Annual Energy Production increase.

Keywords: wind turbine; laser technology; diagnosis; pitch angle misalignment; efficiency; durability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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