Are you looking to maximise the output of your operating wind assets? The software upgrades available under Power Performance Optimisation address the Partial Load Area of a turbine’s power curve and increase the energy capture when the turbine operates below rated power. In practice, we achieve a more effective turbine performance by optimising each wind turbine’s default software settings to its unique site and climatic conditions. The individual software features of Power Performance Optimisation facilitate this in three different ways: Optimise pitch angle, rotor speed and yaw alignment The first two software upgrades, Wind Speed Estimator and Adaptive Wind Sensing, work to optimise the accuracy of wind speed and wind direction measurements. This is achieved through the introduction of smart algorithms that automatically and continuously correct the measurements. In turn, this increases the accuracy of a turbine’s pitch angle, rotor speed and yaw alignment without impacting its loads. Wind Speed Estimator: Wind speed is commonly measured via sensors located on the nacelle behind the rotor. These measurements differ from the wind speed in front of the rotor due to turbulence created by the blades and the nacelle. The software estimates the wind speeds in front of the rotor in order to minimise the impact of the turbulence. This is achieved by calculating the wind speed from the turbine’s blade pitch, rotor speed and power readings. The optimised wind speed measurements allow for setting the optimal pitch angle of the blades and speed of the rotor to the actual wind conditions on the site for a greater power output. Adaptive Wind Sensing: The software evaluates and improves the accuracy of the turbine’s yaw alignment. This is achieved through automatic and continuous self-calibration based on the peak power of the turbine. The software also minimises uncertainties associated with the site and the default settings of the wind sensors. The result is a greater upwind alignment of the turbine according to the specific site and its climatic conditions. Ultimately, this contributes to a greater wind capture and a greater energy production. Optimise operation at higher thrust levels The third software feature, Variable Thrust Limiter, optimises the operational strategy of the turbine according to the site-specific turbulence. Variable Thrust Limiter: The software is an inbuilt control feature in Vestas wind turbines, which allows the turbines to operate at defined thrust levels. During manufacturing, the software settings are predefined according to the turbine variant’s design envelope. The retrofit upgrade to the Variable Thrust Limiter targets operating turbines that exhibit available load margins in their design envelope. The upgrade allows the inbuilt thrust levels to be scaled according to the actual site conditions. De-
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