阅读说明：本技术 用于执行对象的测量和监视的方法和装置 (Method and device for performing measurement and monitoring of an object ) 是由 E·纳格尔 J·纽文豪生 于 2020-03-17 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种测量和监视设备(10)包括：至少一个漏泄馈线(20)；至少一个电磁发射机(30),连接到所述至少一个漏泄馈线(20),以用于向着目标对象(12)发射第一电磁信号(100)；至少一个电磁接收机(40),连接到所述至少一个漏泄馈线(20),以用于当第一电磁信号(100)碰撞目标对象(12)时从目标对象反射的第二电磁信号(200)；硬件电路(400),包括：处理电路(300),用于确定目标对象(12)的性质；信号处理模块(315),作为输入而接收第一电磁信号(100)和/或第二电磁信号(200),以用于在第一电磁信号(100)和/或第二电磁信号(200)的频域和/或时域中生成谱信息；储存单元(310),连接到处理单元(300)。(A measuring and monitoring device (10) comprising: at least one leakage feed line (20); at least one electromagnetic transmitter (30) connected to said at least one leaky feeder (20) for transmitting a first electromagnetic signal (100) towards a target object (12); at least one electromagnetic receiver (40) connected to the at least one leaky feeder (20) for a second electromagnetic signal (200) reflected from the target object (12) when the first electromagnetic signal (100) hits the target object; hardware circuit (400) comprising: a processing circuit (300) for determining a property of a target object (12); a signal processing module (315) receiving as input the first electromagnetic signal (100) and/or the second electromagnetic signal (200) for generating spectral information in the frequency domain and/or the time domain of the first electromagnetic signal (100) and/or the second electromagnetic signal (200); a storage unit (310) connected to the processing unit (300).)

1. Measuring and monitoring device (10) comprising:

at least one leakage feed line (20);

at least one electromagnetic transmitter (30) connected to said at least one leaky feeder (20) for transmitting a first electromagnetic signal (100) along said at least one leaky feeder (20) towards a target object (4, 12);

at least one electromagnetic receiver (40) connected to said at least one leaky feeder (20) for receiving a second electromagnetic signal (200) from said at least one leaky feeder (20), said second electromagnetic signal (200) being reflected from said target object (4, 12) when said first electromagnetic signal (100) hits said target object;

hardware circuit (400) comprising:

-a processing circuit (300) connected to the electromagnetic transmitter (30) and the electromagnetic receiver (40) and configured to analyze the first electromagnetic signal (100) and the second electromagnetic signal (200) for determining a property of the target object (4, 12);

a signal processing module (315) receiving as input the first electromagnetic signal (100) and/or the second electromagnetic signal (200) for generating spectral information in the frequency domain and/or the time domain of the first electromagnetic signal (100) and/or the second electromagnetic signal (200);

a storage unit (310) connected to the processing unit (300).

2. The measurement and monitoring device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the hardware circuit (400) comprises: an analysis module (317) configured for searching for deviations between the data generated by the FFT module (315) and data previously stored in the storage unit (310).

3. The measurement and monitoring device (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein any one of the FFT module (315) and the analysis module (317) is integrated in the processing unit (300).

4. Wind turbine (1) comprising a measuring and monitoring device (10) according to any of claims 1 to 3, the target object being a rotatable blade (4) of the wind turbine (1).

5. Security scanner comprising a measurement and monitoring device (10) according to any of claims 1 to 3.

6. Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising a measurement and monitoring device (10) according to any of claims 1 to 3, the measurement and monitoring device (10) comprising an advanced image processing module (390) connected to the processing unit (300).

7. Method for monitoring a blade (4) of a wind turbine (1), the method comprising the steps of:

providing at least one leakage feeder (20) in a region comprising the wind turbine (1);

-transmitting a first electromagnetic signal (100) along said at least one leaky feeder (20) towards said blade (4);

measuring a second electromagnetic signal (200) received from the at least one leaky feeder (20), the second electromagnetic signal (200) being reflected from the target object when the first electromagnetic signal (100) impinges the blade (4);

generating spectral and/or amplitude information in the frequency and/or time domain of any of the first electromagnetic signal (100) and the second electromagnetic signal (200);

storing the spectrum and/or amplitude information;

the spectral and/or amplitude information is monitored over time and deviations in spectral information are correlated to changes in the properties of the blade (4).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein deviations in spectral information are correlated to changes in structural properties of the blade (4).

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for performing measurements and monitoring of an object. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention may be used for monitoring blades of a wind turbine.

Background

In the technical field defined above, devices are known which can be used to perform long-term measurements of wind turbine blades. The purpose of such measurements is to monitor the blades and identify faults or damage, which may be caused, for example, by lighting or bird strikes.

It is known, for example, to use drones or helicopters for the inspection of blades of wind turbines. It is also known to use a rope system to access and inspect the inner and outer surfaces of the blade. A possible inconvenience of these methods is the fact that: they require stopping the turbine and thus stopping energy production.

Disclosure of Invention

The scope of the invention is: by solving the inconveniences mentioned with reference to the above cited prior art, a simple, efficient and cost-effective method and apparatus for performing measurements and monitoring of wind turbine blades is provided.

A further scope is a scope that generally allows measurement and monitoring of objects that may not include wind turbine components.

This scope is met by the subject matter according to the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described by the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a measuring and monitoring device comprising:

at least one leaky feeder;

at least one electromagnetic transmitter connected to said at least one leaky feeder for transmitting a first electromagnetic signal along said at least one leaky feeder towards a target object;

at least one electromagnetic receiver connected to said at least one leaky feeder for receiving a second electromagnetic signal from said at least one leaky feeder, said second electromagnetic signal being reflected from said target object when said first electromagnetic signal impinges on said target object;

a hardware circuit, comprising:

processing circuitry connected to the electromagnetic transmitter and the electromagnetic receiver and configured to analyze the first electromagnetic signal and the second electromagnetic signal for determining a property of the target object;

a signal processing module receiving as input the first and/or second electromagnetic signal for generating spectral information in a frequency and/or time domain of the first and/or second electromagnetic signal;

a storage unit connected to the processing unit.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a method for monitoring a blade of a wind turbine, the method comprising the steps of:

providing at least one leaky feeder in a region including the wind turbine;

transmitting a first electromagnetic signal along said at least one leaky feeder towards said blade;

measuring a second electromagnetic signal received from the at least one leaky feeder, the second electromagnetic signal being reflected from the target object when the first electromagnetic signal impinges the blade;

generating spectral and/or amplitude information in the frequency and/or time domain of any of the first and second electromagnetic signals;

storing the spectrum and/or amplitude information, monitoring the spectrum information over time, and correlating deviations in the spectrum and/or amplitude information to changes in properties of the blade.

According to an embodiment of the invention, structural properties of the blade, such as the presence of cracks, may be identified.

The measurement and monitoring device of the present invention allows monitoring of the blades of a wind turbine without stopping the wind turbine and energy production, thereby determining an improvement in the efficiency of the wind turbine.

The measuring and monitoring device of the invention can be advantageously implemented in security scanners and magnetic resonance imaging apparatuses. This may solve the known inconveniences of a security scanner and a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, which do not work properly when a metal object is present inside the human body.

Drawings

The aspects defined above and further aspects of the invention are apparent from the examples of embodiment to be described hereinafter and are explained with reference to the examples of embodiment. The invention will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to an example of embodiment but to which the invention is not limited.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross section of a wind turbine comprising an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of a measuring and monitoring device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows another schematic view of the measurement and monitoring device of FIG. 2 associated with a wind turbine.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of a measuring and monitoring device according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic view of a measuring and monitoring device according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a hardware circuit included in the wind turbine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a hardware circuit included in the wind turbine of FIG. 1.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic view of a measuring and monitoring device according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a hardware circuit for managing the fourth exemplary embodiment of fig. 8.

Detailed Description

The illustration in the drawings is schematically. It should be noted that in different figures, similar or identical elements are provided with the same reference numerals.

Fig. 1 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a wind turbine 1 comprising a measuring and monitoring device 10 according to the invention.

The wind turbine 1 comprises a tower 2, the tower 2 being mounted on a not depicted base. A nacelle 3 is arranged atop the tower 2. Intermediate the tower 2 and the nacelle 3, a yaw angle adjustment device (not shown) is provided, which is capable of rotating the nacelle about a vertical yaw axis Z. The wind turbine 1 further comprises a wind rotor 5 with one or more rotating blades 4 (in the perspective of fig. 1, only two blades 4 are visible). The wind rotor 5 is rotatable about a rotation axis Y for transferring rotational energy to a generator of the nacelle 3. The generation of electric power by the present invention is not a specific object of the present invention and is therefore not described in further detail. In general, the following terms "axial", "radial" and "circumferential" are made with reference to the axis of rotation Y, when not otherwise specified. The blades 4 extend radially with respect to the rotation axis Y. Each rotor blade 4 is pivotally mounted to the wind rotor 5 so as to be pitched about a respective pitch axis X. This improves the control of the wind turbine 1 and in particular the control of the rotor blades 4 by modifying the possibility of the wind hitting the direction of the rotor blades 4.

The measuring and monitoring device 10 according to the invention comprises:

at least one leaky feeder 20;

at least one electromagnetic transmitter 30 connected to the at least one leaky feeder 20;

at least one electromagnetic receiver 40 connected to the at least one leaky feeder 20;

at least one final resistor 50 or terminal connected to the at least one leakage feed line 20;

a processing unit 300 connected to the electromagnetic transmitter 30 and the electromagnetic receiver 40.

The leaky feeder 20 is a communication elongate member that leaks electromagnetic waves transmitted along the member. The leaky feeder 20 may be constituted by a leaky coaxial cable or a leaky waveguide or a leaky stripline. The leaky feeder is connected to an electromagnetic transmitter 30 for transmitting a first electromagnetic signal 100 along the leaky feeder 20 towards the target object. Leaky feeder 20 comprises a plurality of slits to allow first electromagnetic signal 100 to leak out of leaky feeder 20 along the entire length of leaky feeder 20 towards the target object. According to a possible embodiment, the slits may be regularly distributed along the length of the leaky feeder line 20.

According to other possible embodiments of the invention, the leaky feeder 20 is a normal coaxial cable with low optical coverage of the outer conductor (mesh or slit/hole), which also leaks electromagnetic waves. In the event severe over-icing conditions are possible, a heating system (not shown) may be provided to the leaky feeder 20. Heating may be provided by air flowing in and out of the conductor or by current running in the inner or outer conductor of the leaky feeder. According to a possible embodiment, the first electromagnetic signal 100 may be a radar signal or an ultrasonic signal. In case the first electromagnetic signal 100 is a radar signal or an ultrasonic signal, the leaky feeder 20 is preferably configured as a coaxial leaky cable.

According to other embodiments, the leaky feeder 20 is preferably configured as a leaky waveguide, in particular in case the first electromagnetic signal 100 belongs to a higher frequency. In general, first electromagnetic signal 100 may be of any frequency, so long as it can be transmitted to and reflected by a target object, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. When the first electromagnetic signal 100 hits the target object, the reflected second electromagnetic signal 200 is emitted towards the leaky feeder. The plurality of slits of leaky feeder line 20 allow second electromagnetic signal 200 to leak into leaky feeder line 20 towards electromagnetic receiver 40.

As shown in fig. 2, the first embodiment of the measuring and monitoring device 10 comprises only one leaky feeder line 20. A leaky feeder 20 extends between a first end 21 and a second end 22. The first end 21 is connected to an electromagnetic transceiver 45 comprising an electromagnetic transmitter 30 and an electromagnetic receiver 40. The second terminal 22 is connected to a final resistor 50. The measuring and monitoring device 10 is used for detecting properties of at least the rotating blades 4 of the wind turbine 1. According to the invention, each rotating blade 4 of the wind turbine 1 may be monitored separately.

According to an embodiment of the invention, both the electromagnetic transmitter 30 and the electromagnetic receiver 40 may be connected to the first terminal 21 or the second terminal 22 via a signal splitter or a y-adapter. According to other embodiments of the present invention, the electromagnetic transmitter 30 is connected to the first terminal 21 and the electromagnetic receiver 40 is connected to the second terminal 22. The leaky feeder 20 must not be directly connected to the electromagnetic transmitter 30 and the electromagnetic receiver 40, e.g. a non-leaky feeder cable (i.e. a normal coaxial cable) may be inserted between the leaky feeder 20 and the electromagnetic transmitter 30 and/or the electromagnetic receiver 40. The normal coaxial cable may be directly connected to electromagnetic transmitter 30 and electromagnetic receiver 40, or it may be used for interconnection. According to an embodiment of the invention, the target object is the nacelle 2 for detecting the position of the nacelle with respect to the vertical yaw axis Z. According to an embodiment of the invention, other target objects, such as animals or intruders or altered waves (in offshore applications) may be detected in the area comprising the wind turbine 1. The leaky feeder 20 of fig. 2 is geometrically configured as a straight line. According to other embodiments of the invention, the leaky feeder 20 may be geometrically configured as an arc.

Referring to fig. 3, the leaky feeder 20 is geometrically configured as a circular ring around the tower 2. According to other embodiments of the present invention, any other geometrical configuration is possible as long as the first electromagnetic signal 100 may be emitted towards the target object and the second electromagnetic signal 200 may be reflected by the target object towards the leaky feeder line 20. The leaky feeder 20, the electromagnetic transmitter 30 and the electromagnetic receiver 40 are mounted on the tower 2. According to other embodiments of the invention, the leaky feeder 20, the electromagnetic transmitter 30 and the electromagnetic receiver 40 may not be mounted directly on the wind turbine 1, i.e. be distanced from the wind turbine 1.

According to other embodiments of the present invention, multiple leaky feeders 20 may be used. As shown in fig. 4, the second embodiment of the measuring and monitoring device 10 comprises two leaky feeder lines 20, which two leaky feeder lines 20 are parallel to each other and extend between respective first and second ends 21, 22, respectively, which are adjacent to each other. The two leaky feeders 20 are configured according to an anti-parallel configuration, wherein the first leaky feeder 20 extends between:

an electromagnetic transmitter 30 connected to the first terminal 21, an

A final resistor 50 connected to the second terminal 22;

and the second leaky feeder 20 extends between:

a final resistor 50 connected to the first terminal 21, an

An electromagnetic receiver 40 connected to the second end 22.

In such an embodiment, one first leaky feeder 20 connected to the electromagnetic transmitter 30 is dedicated to transmitting the first electromagnetic signal 100, while another second leaky feeder 20 connected to the electromagnetic receiver 40 is dedicated to receiving the first electromagnetic signal 200.

Fig. 5 shows a third embodiment of the measuring and monitoring device 10, the measuring and monitoring device 10 comprising, like the embodiment of fig. 4, two leaky feeders 20. The third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the first leaky feeder 20 extends between:

an electromagnetic transmitter 30 connected to the first terminal 21, an

A final resistance 50 connected to the second end 22;

and a second leaky feeder 20 extends between two electromagnetic receivers 40 connected to the first terminal 21 and the second terminal 22, respectively. The use of two receivers allows to derive phase/time information which can be used, for example, to determine the position of one blade 4 with reference to the vertical yaw axis Z.

According to other embodiments of the invention (not shown), the measurement and monitoring device 10 comprises a plurality of leaky feeders 20 having more than two leaky feeders 20. Such a plurality of leaky feeders 20 comprises a first and a second set of leaky feeders 20 connected to one or more electromagnetic transmitters 30 and one or more electromagnetic receivers 40, respectively. Each of the plurality of leaky feeders 20 may conveniently be geometrically configured to optimally follow the trajectory of the target object or objects.

Fig. 6 shows a hardware circuit 400 comprised in the wind turbine 1. The hardware circuit 400 comprises a processing unit 300. The processing unit 300 may be a digital control (NC) unit or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). A bus connection 301 is provided between processing unit 300 and electromagnetic transmitter(s) 30 and electromagnetic receiver(s) 40. The processing unit 300 receives the first electromagnetic signal 100 and the second electromagnetic signal 200 via a bus connection 301. The hardware circuit 400 further comprises a storage unit 310, a Random Access Module (RAM) 320, a graphical user interface 330 and a turbine control system 340, all connected to the processing unit 300 via respective bus connections 311, 321, 331, 341. The storage unit 310 is used for storing data transmitted by the processing unit 300, and comprises the first electromagnetic signal 100 and the second electromagnetic signal 200. The graphical user interface 330 is used to display data or alerts sent by the processing unit 300. The turbine control system 340 is connected to:

a pitch drive 350 for pitching the blades 4 about respective pitch axes X;

a wind sensor 360 for measuring the speed at which wind hits the blades 4;

a yaw drive 370 for commanding the position of the nacelle 3 about the yaw axis Z; and

the weather information unit 380 receives a plurality of information 382 from the environment, such as temperature, pressure, weather forecast, etc.

Information 319 from any of pitch drive 350, wind sensor 360, yaw drive 370, and weather information unit 380 may also be sent and stored in storage unit 310. Turbine control system 340, pitch drive 350, wind sensor 360, yaw drive 370, and weather information unit 380 are conventional, not unique to the present invention, and therefore not described in further detail.

The system can be cost optimized by having only the minimum configuration required for RF and signal conditioning of the relevant signals, the analysis of which is done remotely.

Fig. 7 shows a block diagram depicting the operational relationships between the components of the hardware 400. The "blocks" in FIG. 7 may be implemented as one or more modules that implement these operational relationships. These modules are logic circuits and/or programmable logic circuits configured and arranged in hardware 400 to implement these operational relationships, as described in detail below. The processing unit 300 includes: an FFT ("fast fourier transform") module 315 receives as input raw data corresponding to the first electromagnetic signal 100 and/or the second electromagnetic signal 200. The FFT module 315 generates an output representing spectral information in the frequency domain of the raw measurement data provided as input to the FFT module 315. The output data generated by the FFT module 315 is stored in the storage unit 310, and the storage unit 310 may also receive further information 319 from any of the pitch drive 350, the wind sensor 360, the yaw drive 370, and the weather information unit 380. The processing unit 300 further comprises: a comparator 316 for comparing the output data generated by the FFT module 315 with similar data previously stored in the storage unit 310. The comparator 316 may, for example, generate a difference between actual and previously stored data. The processing unit 300 further comprises: an analysis module 317 which searches for deviations in the data provided by the comparator 316, i.e. deviations between the data generated by the FFT module 315 and similar data previously stored in the storage unit 310. In particular, the deviations may be searched in the frequency domain of the second electromagnetic signal 200. The deviation detected by the analysis module 317 reveals a change in a property of the blade 4 (e.g., in a structural property of the blade 4). For example, the deviation detected by the analysis module 317 may reveal a fault condition in one of the blades 4, which may be, for example, a crack in the blade 4. Such cracks may be caused by collisions with lightning or birds or other external objects. The analysis module 317 generates output that is sent to the graphical user interface 330 for display or printing. The output generated by the analysis module 317 may include an alert. The processing unit 300 may further include: a filter function 318 to be connected to the FFT module 315 for filtering the spectral information generated by the FFT module 315. The filter function 318 may be adjusted depending on the output of the analysis module 317. According to other embodiments of the present invention, the signal processing module may be implemented for frequency and/or time domain analysis in addition to the FFT module 315 or as an alternative to the FFT module 315. According to such an embodiment, the amplitude information generated by the signal processing module operating in the time domain may be generated and monitored in addition to or as an alternative to the spectral information generated by the FFT module.

A variety of radar techniques may be used to determine the desired information about the blade 4 whose properties are to be detected. For example, UWB (ultra wide band) or pulsed or FMCW (frequency modulated continuous wave) radar may be implemented. Additional SAR (synthetic aperture radar) and ISAR (inverse synthetic aperture radar) techniques may be used. Analysis in the time domain with respect to amplitude and doppler shift (frequency domain) changes are used. A preferred software defined radar is to be used that dynamically switches between the modulation scheme and the dynamic adjustment of the output power. These adjustments depend on the position of the rotor 5, and the rotational speed and bending of the blades 4, as well as optional parameters from the main wind turbine controller.

Fig. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of a measuring and monitoring device 10 not used in a wind turbine. Such an embodiment includes an arrangement of two leaky feeders 20 in an anti-parallel configuration, like the arrangement of the embodiment of fig. 4. Two leaky feeders 20 are arranged on the ring-shaped support 11 and form two complete concentric circles covering approximately 360 degrees on the plane. The leaky feeder line 20 connected to the transmitter 30 is arranged on the ring-shaped support 11 in a circle having a smaller diameter than the circle formed by the leaky feeder line 20 connected to the receiver 40. The measurement and monitoring device 10 of the present embodiment may be used to analyze an object 12 moving towards and/or through the circle formed by the leaky feeder line 20. Alternatively, according to other embodiments of the invention (not shown), the same object may be achieved by arranging only one leaky feeder line 20 on a support 11 shaped in one circle of approximately 360 degrees on the coverage plane. Based on the different material properties of the object 12, the radar signal sent through the leaky feeder line(s) 20 on the annular support 11 is reflected back as a second electromagnetic signal 200 depending on such properties. Metallic elements or moving parts inside the object 12 can be identified. Advanced image processing can be done from the raw data, which provides the possibility of medical analysis for the human body. Thus, such an embodiment may be used as an alternative to a safety scan or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Alternatively, a receiving antenna 55 may be provided inside the circle formed by the leaky feeder 20, which provides a single point transmission source. The receive antenna 55 may be centered or off-center. According to other embodiments of the present invention (not shown), the leaky feeder 20 connected to the transmitter 30 is arranged on the annular support 11 in a circle having a larger diameter than the circle formed by the leaky feeder 20 connected to the computer 40, and a transmitting antenna is provided inside the circle formed by the leaky feeder 20, which provides a single point transmission source.

Fig. 9 shows an embodiment of a hardware circuit 400 for managing the measurement and monitoring device 10 of fig. 8. Similar to the embodiment of fig. 6, the hardware circuit 400 comprises a processing unit 300. The processing unit 300 may be a digital control (NC) unit or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The processing unit 300 comprises an FFT ("fast fourier transform") module 315, a Random Access Module (RAM) 320 and a filter function 318, the filter function 318 being to be connected to the FFT module 315 for filtering spectral information generated by the FFT module 315. Processing unit 300 is connected to electromagnetic transmitter(s) 30 and electromagnetic receiver(s) 40. The electromagnetic receiver(s) 40 are directly connected to the filter function 318 in order to transmit the second electromagnetic signal 200 as an input to the filter function 318. The processing unit 300 is further connected to a storage unit 310 and a high-level image processing module 390. According to other embodiments of the present invention, the signal processing module may be implemented for frequency and/or time domain analysis in addition to the FFT module 315 or as an alternative to the FFT module 315.