Vibration Control in Wind Turbine Operation

Wind turbine blade vibration reduction device to suppress blade vibrations and prevent aeroelastic instability in large wind turbine blades. The device involves a series of vibration damping units arranged inside the blade between the webs. Each unit has two impact dampers in separate cavities separated by partitions. The dampers contain pendulum balls connected by springs and ropes to the blade webs and cavities. The pendulum balls collide as the blade oscillates, dissipating energy and reducing amplitude. Rubber pads isolate the dampers from the blade shell. The one-way energy dissipation device minimizes blade deformation, extends blade life, and prevents instability.

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Damping oscillations in wind turbine towers without moving the tower resonance frequency outside the operating range of the rotor. The method involves defining an exclusion zone around the rotor's natural frequency that induces tower oscillations. Below the exclusion zone, a first damping strategy is applied to push the tower frequency above the resonance. Above the exclusion zone, a different strategy is used to push the tower frequency below the resonance. This prevents tower oscillations at the resonance while avoiding the large exclusion zone required for conventional solutions.

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Passive aerodynamic damping structure for wind turbine blades to suppress blade vibrations under unstable airflow conditions. The damping structure has lobes and a rotary mechanism mounted at the blade tip. The lobes are eccentrically positioned around the rotary mechanism's axis. This offset creates a lever arm that activates the lobes when the blade vibrates. The lobes generate aerodynamic forces that dampen the vibrations. The lobes are positioned near the blade's aerodynamic center to maximize damping effect. The rotary mechanism allows blade rotation under stable airflow.

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Amplified damping transmission system for vibration control of wind turbines to reduce tower vibrations and mitigate fatigue. The system uses a cantilever truss, rocker, cable, U-shaped slots, and dampers to amplify and dissipate tower deformations. The cantilever truss converts rotational deformations at the upper tower into vertical deformations at the end. The rocker rotates with the end using the cable. The dampers at the rocker and ground dissipate energy from tower vibrations. This amplifies and transfers the deformations to the dampers for energy dissipation, reducing tower vibrations.

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Damping arrangement to mitigate oscillations in wind turbine towers when multiple turbines are close together. The arrangement uses damping elements between adjacent towers to counteract oscillations caused by wind and tower movements. The damping elements can be tensioning elements, hydraulic dampers, or rigid elements. Multiple damping elements are used between each pair of towers to dissipate oscillation forces in different directions. This prevents resonance and fatigue damage in the towers.

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Vibration damping system for wind turbines that improves damping capacity as wind direction and force change during operation. The system uses adjustable damping units with movable rings that cooperate to generate resistance to damp vibrations. This provides better damping compared to fixed dampers as the movable rings can adapt to different vibration frequencies and amplitudes caused by changing wind conditions.

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Real-time vibration control system for wind turbines that can actively and accurately mitigate turbine vibrations during operation. The system uses a movable mass block on the tower that can be adjusted by a controller to change the overall mass distribution of the turbine. By moving the mass block to positions with maximum vibration displacement, the natural frequency of the turbine can be altered in real time to break away from resonance frequencies. This allows the turbine to operate farther from vibration frequencies caused by wind load, preventing resonance and reducing overall vibration amplitudes.

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Wind turbine tower damping enhancement to reduce vibrations, loads, and weight compared to traditional dampers. The enhancement involves using magnetorheological dampers in the tower sections and real-time load sensing to adaptively control the dampers. This allows optimized damping for different operating conditions to mitigate tower vibrations and loads.

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Wind turbine tower design with a tiltable vibration damper to reduce fatigue and extend tower life. The tower has an internal vibration damper that can be adjusted to compensate for tower leaning. The damper has a central axis that can be rotated relative to the tower axis. This allows the damper to be optimized for vibration damping when the tower leans, reducing fatigue forces on the tower. The damper is tilted by mechanisms like sliding supports or rotating rods.

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Vibration dampers for wind turbine towers that reduce fatigue damage from tower vibrations without requiring significant tower thickness modifications. The dampers have offset horizontal axes relative to the tower axis and contain movable masses that trace annular arcs. This allows damping of tower vibrations without intersecting the tower longitudinal axis. The dampers are mounted near tower ends and within a certain distance from vibration node points. The offset axis prevents tower interference during mass movement. This configuration enables effective damping of tower vibrations without requiring thicker tower walls.

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A wind turbine blade with an integrated active damping system to reduce blade vibrations and improve blade durability. The damping system uses hydraulic actuators and mass-activated valves to actively counter blade vibrations. The actuators move a mass attached to the blade surface in response to sensed blade acceleration. This generates forces opposite to the vibrations and dissipates energy. The mass-activated valves control hydraulic fluid flow to the actuators based on blade acceleration measurements. The damping system can be retrofitted to existing blades and tuned without blade removal.

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A composite multi-system wind turbine vibration reduction and load reduction mechanism that aims to mitigate vibrations and loads in wind turbines without external energy. The mechanism uses a passive vibration control system that can be integrated into the wind turbine structure. It consists of a composite multi-system that includes a yaw system, a gear system, and a fluid system. The yaw system has wheels and a connecting rod that connects to the gear system. The gear system has a pair of gears with teeth that engage. The fluid system has a tank with liquid that sloshes when the turbine vibrates. The composite multi-system is tuned to the turbine's vibration frequencies. When the turbine vibrates, the fluid sloshing absorbs energy, the gears transmit forces, and the wheels rotate to dampen the vibrations.

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A system to suppress blade vibrations in dual-rotor wind turbines using real-time monitoring and active vortex generators. Multiple sensors on the blades provide data to a server which analyzes it to detect blade vibration like flutter and vortex shedding. If vibration is detected, an alarm is sent and vortex generators along the blade are activated. These generators change the airflow angle to disrupt vortex shedding and suppress vibration.

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Reducing fatigue of wind turbine nacelle structures by attaching tuned mass dampers to the inner support structure and tuning them to target specific low frequency vibration modes below 50 Hz. This allows dissipating energy from those modes, reducing nacelle displacement amplitudes and fatigue loads. The dampers can contain masses, springs, and dampers to match the targeted vibration frequencies.

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A fixed mass damper for offshore wind turbines that reduces tower vibrations and loads. The damper has a double-layer structure with orthogonally arranged damping units and springs. The nacelle sits on the top layer and slides horizontally on the layers. The dampers absorb vibration energy as the nacelle moves. The springs reset the motion and change the vibration frequency. This brakes tower-nacelle motion in multiple directions.

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A two-way negative stiffness damping system for wind turbines to mitigate lateral vibrations and improve efficiency. The system uses a configuration of hinged columns, outrigger trusses, dampers, preloaded springs, and support beams inside the tower. The outrigger trusses are connected to the tower and hinged to the dampers. Preloaded springs connect the hinged column to the support beams. This setup provides bidirectional negative stiffness damping, where the system stiffness decreases during vibrations to absorb energy and dampen oscillations. The preloaded springs provide initial stiffness. The hinges allow free lateral motion. The outrigger trusses and dampers dissipate energy. The configuration synergistically mitigates lateral tower vibrations during wind loads.

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Shear thickening tuned mass damping device for wind turbine towers that actively adjusts its direction to better dampen tower vibrations in response to wind loads. The device has a rotatable box containing shear thickening liquid that can change viscosity. The box is connected to both an X-direction main damping unit and a Y-direction auxiliary damping unit. A positioning component allows the box to rotate and adjust its orientation based on wind direction. This allows the damping force to align with the wind load direction for optimal vibration reduction.

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Optimizing wind turbine performance while mitigating blade vibrations through adaptive control. The method involves continuously monitoring blade vibrations, identifying when they exceed a threshold, and adjusting the wind turbine's operating settings to reduce vibrations. After making a setpoint change, the system keeps monitoring vibrations and makes further adjustments if needed. This allows dynamic adaptation to minimize vibrations without excessive power loss compared to fixed vibration limits.

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Reducing vibrations and loads in wind turbine blades during non-operational conditions like installation or maintenance when the hub is locked or idling. A mass damper is attached to the blades and has a movable mass component. Sensors detect blade vibrations and the damper is tuned electronically to counteract them. The damper can be remotely adjusted based on sensor data to optimize damping for specific blade vibration frequencies. This prevents damage when the turbine isn't generating power.

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Adjustable angle tuned mass damper for wind turbine blades to reduce vibrations and prevent blade failure. The damper is mounted inside the blade and can be adjusted to match the blade's natural frequency. It consists of a mass module, spring damping system, and guide system. The mass module can be customized with multiple mass blocks to find the blade's frequency. The spring damping system converts blade vibration energy into internal energy. The guide system allows angular adjustment to optimize damping.

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