For some years now, wind energy has played an essential role in the energy mix of the future. It is therefore essential that WTGs work with greater reliability and availability. Wind energy is certainly on the right path. However, it has yet to reach its goal of creating a solid foundation with measurable results capable of competing against conventional power plants. Additional measures are necessary in order to increase energy yields while simultaneously lowering the cost of ownership. This paper will demonstrate how factors such as energy yield and cost of ownership can be influenced by the development of blade adjustment systems (pitch systems) for WTGs. Pitch systems (Figure 1) are critical to the safety and performance of today's wind turbines because they function as the main brake system, but pitch systems are also performance critical because the optimal blade pitch influences energy yield and system reliability influences up-time. In view of this fact, the pitch system design must begin with comprehensive simulations in order to ensure the necessary drive performance in regulated and unregulated modes of operation.
展开▼
