STTR Phase I: Triboluminescent sensor system for quasi-distributed load sensing on wind blades for active control of wind turbines

STTR 第一阶段：用于风力叶片准分布式负载传感的摩擦发光传感器系统，用于风力涡轮机的主动控制

• 批准号: 1549716
• 负责人: David Olawale
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 依托单位: Nanotechnology Patronas Group Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1549716&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Triboluminescent; sensor; system

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project is for the development of a triboluminescent sensor system (ITOFPress) for quasi-distributed load sensing along the length of a wind blade for active control of wind turbines. According to experts, this innovation could result in a 20% increase in wind turbine power generation through enhanced inputs for active turbine control and better understanding of the load profile along the span of a blade. Such knowledge is critical as wind blades become larger and are installed higher. This new system will also help to protect the blades and other expensive components from damage and overload, thereby reducing operation & maintenance (O&M) costs and making wind energy more attractive to investors. The installation of the ITOFPress system would increase the initial capital costs of a large wind turbine by a very small amount (about a half a percent), creating a strong value proposition for turbine manufacturers and operators. The estimated market potential for this system is expected to be $1.5 billion in 2018. The intellectual merit of this project addresses the technical hurdles in developing the proposed sensor system. The ITOFPress technology is highly sensitive to deformation-induced excitation and can withstand high loading cycles. The sensor combines the light-emitting property of ZnS:Mn with the highly desirable features of optical fibers (i.e. they are lightweight, smaller, immune to electromagnetic interference, and have the capacity for distributed sensing). The ITOFPress does not require external power at the sensing location or for signal transmission to the blade's hub, which makes it very attractive for use in wind turbines. The sensor can accurately detect loads that are not anticipated by models which rely on inputs from inflow sensors like anemometers. In this effort, increased sensor sensitivity will be achieved through experimental design studies involving critical design factors. The sensor's long term stability will be studied by subjecting samples to flexural and compressive load cycles. Finite element analysis will be performed to establish relationships between sensor response, sensor deformation and applied load. Strain gages and load sensors will be used for sensor calibration. A lab-sized wind blade will also be instrumented and tested under compressive cyclic loading to demonstrate quasi-distributed load sensing with the new sensor system.

该小型企业技术转让第一阶段项目旨在开发一种摩擦发光传感器系统（ITOFPress），用于沿着风力叶片长度的准分布式负载感测，以实现风力涡轮机的主动控制。据专家介绍，这项创新可以通过增强对主动涡轮机控制的输入和更好地了解叶片沿着跨度的负载分布，使风力涡轮机发电量增加20%。随着风力叶片变得更大并且安装得更高，这种知识至关重要。这一新系统还将有助于保护叶片和其他昂贵部件免受损坏和过载，从而降低运营维护（O M）成本，使风能对投资者更具吸引力。安装ITOFPress系统将使大型风力涡轮机的初始资本成本增加非常小的数量（约0.5%），为涡轮机制造商和运营商创造强大的价值主张。 预计该系统的市场潜力在2018年将达到15亿美元。 该项目的智力价值解决了开发拟议的传感器系统的技术障碍。 ITOFPress技术对变形引起的激励高度敏感，可承受高负载循环。该传感器结合了ZnS：Mn的发光特性和光纤的高度理想特性（即它们重量轻、体积小、不受电磁干扰，并具有分布式传感能力）。ITOFPress不需要在传感位置提供外部电源，也不需要将信号传输到叶片轮毂，这使得它对于风力涡轮机的使用非常有吸引力。 该传感器可以准确地检测模型无法预测的负载，这些模型依赖于风速计等流入传感器的输入。在这项工作中，将通过涉及关键设计因素的实验设计研究来提高传感器的灵敏度。传感器的长期稳定性将通过使样品经受弯曲和压缩负载循环来研究。将进行有限元分析，以建立传感器响应、传感器变形和施加载荷之间的关系。应变计和载荷传感器将用于传感器校准。一个实验室大小的风力叶片也将在压缩循环载荷下进行测试和测试，以证明新传感器系统的准分布载荷传感。