Company of the Day - SSB Wind Systems GmbH & Co. KG - BladeVision and PerfectPitch

SSB Wind Systems GmbH & Co. KG's new BladeVision system (click on link for more information) makes it possible to perform full-field wind measurements almost in real time. It allows the efficiency of a wind turbine to be determined more precisely, yield forecasts to be more accurate and also improves pitch-tracking precision.

The basis of the new development is a technology that measures the deformation of rotor blades. In combination with a signal analysis and evaluation unit, the real wind conditions can be calculated from this data.

Reflectors are installed inside of the rotor blades. A digital camera captures the blade deformation by recording the displacement of the reflectors. Since the movements have been determined in advance using a practical test with a reference rotor blade, the system can use this information to determine the real wind conditions.

The evaluation and processing of these signals is performed by a PC in the turbine nacelle. Averaged over the swept area of the rotor blades, the system can measure the wind speed with an accuracy that is comparable to a hub-mounted lidar, according to SSB Wind Systems.

The measurements include wind speed, wind direction, rotation of the wind direction, vertical and horizontal wind shear, vertical wind speeds, and turbulence up to 0.03 Hz. The wind signals are averaged for a period of 15 seconds. The bending moments of the rotor blades are calculated every 50 milliseconds.

In addition to this quite surprising new development, SSB also presented a new pitch system, which was to be expected. The product, which is called PerfectPitch, integrates a number of functions in the inverter. The following functions are now integrated into the inverter: DC intermediate circuit charge, control / monitoring of the engine brake, power adapter, charger for backup storage, grid voltage monitor, backup voltage monitor, engine temperature monitor, temperature control of the switch cabinet, and direct 24V contactor control.

By integrating previously decentralised functions in the PerfectPitch Drive, the amount of required space in the axis cabinets could be reduced, which not only ensures space savings in the control cabinet itself but also in the rotor hub. The total number of components has also been reduced, thus reducing the system cost.

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