Customized DSP-Based Vibration Measurement for Wind Turbines

    Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

    Abstract

    As part of its Advanced Distributed Monitoring System (ADMS) project funded by NREL, Second Wind Inc. is developing a new vibration measurement system for use with wind turbines. The system uses low-cost accelerometers originally designed for automobile airbag crash-detection coupled with new software executed on a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) device. The system is envisioned as a means tomonitor the mechanical 'health' of the wind turbine over its lifetime. In addition, the system holds promise as a customized emergency vibration detector. This document briefly reviews the development of prototype DSP and accelerometer hardware. More importantly, it reviews our work to design prototype vibration alarm filters. Two-axis accelerometer test data from the experimental FloWindvertical axis wind turbine is analyzed and used as a development guide. Two levels of signal processing are considered. The first uses narrow band pre-processing filters at key fundamental frequencies such as the 1P, 2P and 3P. The total vibration energy in each frequency band is calculated and evaluated as a possible alarm trigger. In the second level of signal processing, the total vibrationenergy in each frequency band is further decomposed using the two-axis directional information. Directional statistics are calculated to differentiate between linear translations and circular translations. After analyzing the acceleration statistics for normal and unusual operating conditions, the acceleration processing system described could be used in automatic early detection of faultconditions.
    Original languageAmerican English
    Pages287-294
    Number of pages8
    StatePublished - 1996
    EventWindpower 1996: American Wind Energy Association Conference - Denver, Colorado
    Duration: 23 Jun 199627 Jun 1996

    Conference

    ConferenceWindpower 1996: American Wind Energy Association Conference
    CityDenver, Colorado
    Period23/06/9627/06/96

    Bibliographical note

    Work performed by Second Wind Inc., Somerville, Massachusetts

    NREL Publication Number

    • NREL/CP-22298

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