LICOREIM - LIdar-assited COntrol for REliability IMprovement
The objective of the LICOREIM project is to demonstrate lidar-assisted wind turbine control strategies for robust and reliable improvements on both currently operating (i.e. retro-fit solutions) and new wind turbines. Regarding the latter, the project will set basis for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy to include lidar-assisted control for new wind turbine designs with particular emphasis on the next generation of large-scale offshore machines. The project will use the Windar Photonics lidar technology to detect strong wind gusts and rain events, which potentially induce high loads and blade leading edge erosion, respectively, and subsequently adapt turbine control behavior and mitigate the impacts of those events. This in turn results in increased reliability, reduced down time and lower operation and maintenance costs over the ligetime of the wind turbine.
A reliable, feed-forward lidar-assisted control (LAC) represents a significant shift in wind turbine control strategies which moves from reactive control to proactive control strategies. In LICOREIM, the project team seeks to demonstrate a robust implementation of LAC to address two key issues that degrade performance and reliability of offshore wind turbines: 1) fatigue and extreme loads induced by wind gusts and 2) leading-edge erosion (LEE) from rain events.
Regarding gusts, the ability to detect large changes in wind speed in advance will allow a wind controller to de-rate the turbine operation and reduce the loads on the turbine. This will reduce the turbine maintenance costs over its lifetime or even to extend the turbine operating life.
Regarding rain, LEE is influenced strongly by the interaction of higher operating speeds and larger rain droplets (creating higher
impact events) – a problem particularly acute in offshore environments. Windar photonics has recently developed the Wind*Eye lidar capable of measuring both wind and precipitation that allows turbines to modify performance (de-rate or curtail) in the presence of significant combined wind and rain. This helps avoid performance degradation caused by LEE and reduces blade maintenance requirements. For large-scale offshore wind turbines, being able to mitigate the impacts of gusts and rain are particularly important, since access to these turbines is more difficult and maintenance costs are a much more significant portion of overall project costs.
In this project, two strategies are considered for implementation of LAC: 1) retro-fit and 2) integrated-controller solutions.
The retro-fit control strategy of the project is based on a recently filed patent concept by DTU - Lidar assisted rotor speed de-rating method for extreme load reduction - which enables the use of lidar-assisted control as an add-on to existing wind turbines without changing existing wind turbine controller. By doing so, the existing wind turbine does not need to be recertified, which is a major advantage. WHPO and DTU Wind Energy will investigate the potential of the retro-fit approach in this project through a field-campaign that demonstrates the technology. The potential of the retro-fit 'philosophy' is examined in detail through a full-scale experimental campaign with the purpose of validating the developed technology.
Key figures
Participants
| Partner | Subsidy | Auto financing |
|---|---|---|
| Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) | 6,40 mio. DKK | 0,71 mio. DKK |
| WINDAR PHOTONICS A/S | 3,80 mio. DKK | 3,80 mio. DKK |
Contact
Frederiksborgvej 399
Roskilde
Postnr.: 4000
Telefon: +45 2132 6943/+45 4677 5056
