Patents by Inventor Uffe C. MERRILD

Uffe C. MERRILD has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 12051907
    Abstract: Controlling a current injected to a power grid from a renewable power plant, in response to a voltage event in the power grid. At least a current at a point of common coupling between the renewable power plant and the power grid is determined and provided to a power plant controller (PPC). The PPC derives individual current setpoint corrections for at least some wind turbines, based on the determined current, and dispatches each derived current setpoint correction to wind turbine controllers of the corresponding wind turbines. The wind turbine controllers control a current output of the respective wind turbines, based on measurements of current and/or voltage at a point of connection between the wind turbine and an internal grid of the renewable power plant, and by taking into account the dispatched current setpoint correction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2024
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Dan Wu, Germán Claudio Tarnowski, Torsten Lund, Kouroush Nayebi, Mu Wei, Uffe C Merrild
  • Publication number: 20230089279
    Abstract: Controlling a current injected to a power grid from a renewable power plant, in response to a voltage event in the power grid At least a current at a point of common coupling between the renewable power plant and the power grid is determined and provided to a power plant controller (PPC). The power PPC derives individual current setpoint corrections for at least some wind turbines, based on the determined current, and dispatches each derived current setpoint correction to wind turbine controllers of the corresponding wind turbines. The wind turbine controllers control a current output of the respective wind turbines, based on measurements of current and/or voltage at a point of connection between the wind turbine and an internal grid of the renewable power plant, and by taking into account the dispatched current setpoint correction .
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2021
    Publication date: March 23, 2023
    Inventors: Dan WU, Germán TARNOWSKI, Torsten LUND, Kouroush NAYEBI, Mu WEI, Uffe C. MERRILD
  • Patent number: 11233400
    Abstract: Aspects of the present invention relate to a method for controlling an amount of reactive current provided from a wind turbine generator to a power grid during an abnormal power grid event, said wind turbine generator comprising a doubly-fed induction generator having a rotor and a stator, and a power converter coupling the rotor to the power grid, the power converter comprising a grid-side inverter, wherein the method comprises the step of balancing the reactive current provided to the power grid between a reactive stator current and a reactive grid-side inverter current, wherein the reactive grid-side inverter current is controlled in accordance with a reactive current capacity of a grid breaker receiving the reactive current provided by the grid-side inverter. Aspects of the present invention also relate to a wind turbine generator being capable of performing the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Ciprian Biris, Uffe C. Merrild, Leif Svinth Christensen, Gert Karmisholt Andersen
  • Patent number: 10855082
    Abstract: Aspects of the present invention relate to a method for controlling an amount of power to be delivered from a wind turbine generator to a power grid during an abnormal power grid event, the method comprising the steps of detecting an abnormal power grid event; controlling an active current delivered to the power grid in response to a measured or determined total active current; and controlling a reactive current delivered to the power grid in response to a measured or determined total reactive current. Aspects of the present invention further relate to a computer program product for carrying out the method as well as a wind turbine generator being capable of carrying out embodiments of the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Ciprian Biris, Gert Karmisholt Andersen, Uffe C. Merrild, Leif Svinth Christensen
  • Publication number: 20200274360
    Abstract: Aspects of the present invention relate to a method for controlling an amount of reactive current provided from a wind turbine generator to a power grid during an abnormal power grid event, said wind turbine generator comprising a doubly-fed induction generator having a rotor and a stator, and a power converter coupling the rotor to the power grid, the power converter comprising a grid-side inverter, wherein the method comprises the step of balancing the reactive current provided to the power grid between a reactive stator current and a reactive grid-side inverter current, wherein the reactive grid-side inverter current is controlled in accordance with a reactive current capacity of a grid breaker receiving the reactive current provided by the grid-side inverter. Aspects of the present invention also relate to a wind turbine generator being capable of performing the method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2017
    Publication date: August 27, 2020
    Inventors: Ciprian BIRIS, Uffe C. MERRILD, Leif Svinth CHRISTENSEN, Gert Karmisholt ANDERSEN
  • Patent number: 10704534
    Abstract: Controlling a wind turbine during a grid fault where the grid voltage drops below a nominal grid voltage. After detection of a grid fault, the total current limit for the power converter output is increased to a total maximum overload current limit. Depending on whether active or reactive current generation is prioritized, an active or reactive current reference is determined. The active current reference is determined in a way so that a reduction in active power production due to the grid voltage drop is minimized and based on the condition that the vector-sum of the active output current and the reactive output current is limited according to the total maximum overload current limit, and a maximum period of time is determined in which the power converter can be controlled based on the active/reactive current references. Afterwards the power converter is controlled based on the active and reactive current references.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Ciprian Biris, Uffe C. Merrild, Leif Svinth Christensen, Martin Ansbjerg Kjær
  • Patent number: 10622923
    Abstract: A method is provided of controlling a doubly fed induction generator—(DFIG) wind turbine converter system if a sub-synchronous resonance event acts on the wind turbine. According to the method a sub-synchronous resonance event is detected. Thereupon, a switch from a non-SSR-control mode to a SSR-control mode is performed. At least one of the following activities is performed in the SSR-control mode, namely: (i) freezing rotor AC voltages in magnitude and phase, (ii) altering at least one rotor-current-controller gain (iii) altering at least one rotor-current-controller time constant, to dampen the effect of the SSR-event on the wind turbine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Gert Karmisholt Andersen, Ciprian Biris, Yi Zhou, Manoj Gupta, Vajira Suminda Ganepola, Uffe C. Merrild
  • Patent number: 10570885
    Abstract: Controlling a wind turbine during a grid fault where the grid voltage drops below a nominal grid voltage. After detection of a grid fault, the total current limit for the power converter output is increased to a total maximum overload current limit. Depending on whether active or reactive current generation is prioritized, an active or reactive current reference is determined. The active current reference is determined in a way so that a reduction in active power production due to the grid voltage drop is minimized and based on the condition that the vector-sum of the active output current and the reactive output current is limited according to the total maximum overload current limit, and a maximum period of time is determined in which the power converter can be controlled based on the active/reactive current references. Afterwards the power converter is controlled based on the active and reactive current references.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Ciprian Biris, Uffe C. Merrild, Leif Svinth Christensen, Martin Ansbjerg Kjær
  • Publication number: 20190148949
    Abstract: Aspects of the present invention relate to a method for controlling an amount of power to be delivered from a wind turbine generator to a power grid during an abnormal power grid event, the method comprising the steps of detecting an abnormal power grid event; controlling an active current delivered to the power grid in response to a measured or determined total active current; and controlling a reactive current delivered to the power grid in response to a measured or determined total reactive current. Aspects of the present invention further relate to a computer program product for carrying out the method as well as a wind turbine generator being capable of carrying out embodiments of the invention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2017
    Publication date: May 16, 2019
    Inventors: Ciprian BIRIS, Gert Karmisholt ANDERSEN, Uffe C. MERRILD, Leif Svinth CHRISTENSEN
  • Publication number: 20190093634
    Abstract: Controlling a wind turbine during a grid fault where the grid voltage drops below a nominal grid voltage. After detection of a grid fault, the total current limit for the power converter output is increased to a total maximum overload current limit. Depending on whether active or reactive current generation is prioritized, an active or reactive current reference is determined. The active current reference is determined in a way so that a reduction in active power production due to the grid voltage drop is minimized and based on the condition that the vector-sum of the active output current and the reactive output current is limited according to the total maximum overload current limit, and a maximum period of time is determined in which the power converter can be controlled based on the active/reactive current references. Afterwards the power converter is controlled based on the active and reactive current references.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Publication date: March 28, 2019
    Inventors: Ciprian BIRIS, Uffe C. MERRILD, Leif Svinth CHRISTENSEN, Martin Ansbjerg KJÆR
  • Patent number: 10199970
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for operating a doubly fed induction generator wind power facility during an OVRT event, said the wind turbine facility being adapted to inject active and/or reactive current into an associated grid, the method comprising the steps of determining the occurrence of an over voltage grid event, and maintaining a grid-side inverter of the doubly fed induction generator wind power facility fully operable during the over voltage ride though event so as to maintain a controllable active and/or reactive current capability during the over voltage grid event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Gert Karmisholt Andersen, Leif Svinth Christensen, Ciprian Biris, Uffe C. Merrild
  • Publication number: 20180159453
    Abstract: A method is provided of controlling a doubly fed induction generator—(DFIG) wind turbine converter system if a sub-synchronous resonance event acts on the wind turbine. According to the method a sub-synchronous resonance event is detected. Thereupon, a switch from a non-SSR-current/voltage control mode to a SSR-control mode is performed. At least one of the following activities is performed in the SSR-control mode, namely: (i) freezing rotor AC voltages in magnitude and phase, (ii) altering at least one rotor-current-controller gain (iii) altering at least one rotor-current-controller time constant, to dampen the effect of the SSR-event on the wind turbine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 9, 2016
    Publication date: June 7, 2018
    Inventors: Gert Karmisholt ANDERSEN, Ciprian BIRIS, Yi ZHOU, Manoj GUPTA, Vajira Suminda GANEPOLA, Uffe C. MERRILD
  • Publication number: 20180091077
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for operating a doubly fed induction generator wind power facility during an OVRT event, said the wind turbine facility being adapted to inject active and/or reactive current into an associated grid, the method comprising the steps of determining the occurrence of an over voltage grid event, and maintaining a grid-side inverter of the doubly fed induction generator wind power facility fully operable during the over voltage ride though event so as to maintain a controllable active and/or reactive current capability during the over voltage grid event,?
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2016
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Applicant: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Gert Karmisholt ANDERSEN, Leif Svinth CHRISTENSEN, Ciprian BIRIS, Uffe C. MERRILD