Method for monitoring the temperature of a generator of a wind turbine
A method is provided for monitoring the temperature of an electric generator of a wind turbine, wherein the generator has a stator, a rotor and a temperature monitoring unit. The temperature monitoring unit has a passive control element on the rotor and a receiving unit on the stator. A change in temperature on the rotor leads to a mechanical or optical change in the passive control element. The mechanical or optical change in the passive control element is acquired by the receiving unit on the stator.
1 . A method for monitoring a temperature of an electric generator of a wind turbine, wherein the generator has a stator, a rotor and a temperature monitoring unit, wherein the temperature monitoring unit has a passive control element on the rotor and a receiving unit on the stator, the method comprising:
detecting, by the receiving unit, a mechanical or optical change in the passive control element, wherein the mechanical or optical change is triggered based on a change in a temperature of the rotor;
determining that the mechanical or optical change in the passive control element exceeds a threshold; and
generating a warning sign indicative of the mechanical or optical change in the passive control element, wherein
the passive control element has a movable pin, the movable ping having an associated length that changes as a function of the temperature of the rotor, and
the movable pin comes into contact with a contact surface of the receiving unit when the temperature of the rotor exceeds the threshold.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the movable pin has a magnetic element and the receiving unit has a magnetic sensor contact by the magnetic element of the control element.
3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving unit has an obstacle detection sensor that detects the movable pin using electromagnetic waves.
4 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein the obstacle detection sensor is an infrared sensor.
5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the passive control element has a temperature measuring strip which changes color as a function of the temperature, and
the receiving unit has an optical sensor for detecting a change in the color of the temperature measuring strip.
6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the optical sensor is a camera.
7 . An electric generator for a wind turbine, comprising:
a rotor;
a stator;
a generator gap between the rotor and the stator; and
a temperature monitoring unit having a passive control element on the rotor and a receiving unit on the stator, wherein the temperature monitoring unit is configured to:
detect a mechanical or optical change in the passive control element, wherein the mechanical or optical change is triggered based on a change in a temperature of the rotor;
determine that the mechanical or optical change in the passive control element exceeds a threshold; and
generate a warning sign indicative of the mechanical or optical change in the passive control element, wherein
the passive control element has a movable pin that is configured to change in length as a function of the temperature of the rotor, and
the receiving unit has a mechanical contact detector.
8 . The electric generator according to claim 7 , wherein
the movable pin has a magnetic element that is configured to cause the change in the length of the movable pin, and
the receiving unit has a magnetic sensor configured to magnetically detect a contact by the magnetic element.
9 . The electric generator according to claim 7 , wherein
the receiving unit has an obstacle detection sensor, and
the obstacle detection sensor is configured to detect a contact by the movable pin.
10 . The electric generator according to claim 7 , wherein the generator represents a permanently excited synchronous generator.
11 . The electric generator according to claim 7 , wherein the movable pin comes into contact with a contact surface of the receiving unit when the temperature of the rotor exceeds the threshold.
12 . The electric generator according to claim 7 , wherein
the passive control element has a temperature measuring strip which changes color as a function of the temperature, and
the receiving unit has an optical sensor for detecting a change in the color of the temperature measuring strip.
13 . The electric generator according to claim 12 , wherein the optical sensor is a camera.