Individual pitch control of windturbine based on blade element theory

Wind shear and tower shadow makes wind speed in the rotor rotating plane changing differently. It affects the corrective pitch control greatly and increases the fatigue load. This paper model 1.5MW wind turbine for individual pitch control, and analyze the main reason of periodic load fluctuation. Then individual pitch control based on blade element theory was researched combining the actual of the load is difficult to measure. Pitch angle was distributed by weight number to realize individual pitch control. The weight number was computed according to the wind speed with consideration of wind shear and tower shadow. Simulations indicate that the proposed individual pitch control method not only meet the basic power control request but also reduce fluctuation of load, so it can solve the problem of fatigue load and prolong the lifetime of wind turbine in process of development to large-scale.