How ADEX Technology can influence the purchasing decision of Wind Turbine Generators

The latest ADEX patent applied in Wind Turbines to increase AEP and extend life equipment

ADEX patented control on wind turbine generators

Competition in the wind turbine market has a technological attribute, not only because the most advanced technologies are necessary to battle the complexity of the processes involved, but also because of comparative advantages in the operation, maintenance, performance, or lifecycles of the wind turbine generators (WTGs) can have a significant influence on purchasing decisions.

ADEX patented technology can increase the Annual Energy Produced (AEP) and decrease structural loads during operation, generally reducing O&M costs, and particularly drastically reducing the cost of extending the life of a WTG. This can be done simply by adding a new SW component to the existing hardware and equipment, creating an enhanced version of the same WTG.

The control system is a masterpiece in achieving the expected behavior of the WTG. Even though there are important technological gaps in this area, the competitive playing field is pretty leveled, and differentiators have been searched in other areas.

This is because control systems currently being applied to wind turbines are based on conventional PID controllers, whose parameters are set through predefined tables for the different operating conditions. The global dynamics of a wind turbine are reproduced in a simulator, where the control system is designed and massive tables with those PID parameters are adjusted. The control system is approved once it demonstrates satisfactory control performance on the simulator.

The performance achieved by the control system on the simulator will always be satisfactory since the dynamics of the simulator are known to designers, and they can perform the necessary tests to adjust parameters to be preset in the tables. However, when the approved control system is applied to the wind turbine in the field, the simulator dynamics are never exactly the same as that of the real wind turbine and, consequently, the lack of precise adjustments in the new operating context of PID controller parameters introduces instabilities. Over time, the wear and tear of equipment increase the dynamic differences and thus the instability problems, which deteriorates the performance, maintenance, and lifetime of the wind turbine.

There is therefore an opportunity, and indeed a need, to eliminate the instability induced by the control systems currently applied to wind turbines, as this would minimize loads acting on the wind turbine structure and equipment wear, significantly reducing current maintenance and repair costs. In addition, stable wind turbine operation over larger ranges of wind variation can safely allow for increased annual energy production. In addition, there is a need to create new advanced wind turbines that are free of instabilities and ready for challenging operating scenarios, such as offshore.

The ADEX Self-tuning AI solution, based on the patented Adaptive Predictive Expert Control technology, can address these needs because parameters self-adjust in real time to always adapt to process operating conditions.

This is the very first time this kind of technology has been applied to WTGs. ADEX is collaborating with INOX Wind to develop the integration of the ADEX control into their wind turbines in an international project co-funded by the Spanish R&D Agency (CDTI) and the Indian Department of Science and Technology.

The first part of the project has already finished with very promising results, showing the advantages of ADEX control and enabling the creation of an enhanced version of the WTG.

If you want to know how ADEX control might be integrated into your WTG, please contact us to arrange a call.

ADEX Artificial Intelligence digital cube