Laser-based wind sensor lets turbines grab more power

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Excerpt: For decades, large utility scale wind turbines have been forced to rely on mechanical wind sensing devices that are mounted on the nacelles of the turbines to measure the wind speed and direction. These signals are fed into the wind turbine control system to adjust the turbine nacelle to …

Motion sensors for wind turbines

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Excerpt: Optipact motion sensors measure velocity by calculating the rate at which markers on a moving surface travel across an optical sensor. With no contact between sensor and the moving surface, dust or surface contaminates will not cause problems. The sensors provide an ideal way to determine …

Heated anemometer works in freezing weather

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Excerpt: Cup anemometers can generate inaccurate wind-speed values in gusty periods, and should one freeze, its turbine may have to shut down. One solution is an ultrasonic anemometer, like the Ventus UMB 8371 with a 240W heater. This unit provides precise and maintenance-free measurements of wind velocity a …

Pressure and temperature transmitters 101

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Excerpt: Joe Arena/Director, Industrial Automation, North America Kevin Liekweg/Sensors Application Manager, Industrial Automation, North America Danfoss/Baltimore, Md. / www.danfoss.com/ia The harsh conditions in a turbine nacelle give pressure and temperature sensors a critical role ensuring equipment …

Many high-voltage controls for wind plants

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Excerpt: Eaton Corporation’s electrical and hydraulic wind-power equipment help transform wind into reliable power and will be on display in Booth #11462. Company products and services span a spectrum of requirements, from small scale to utility-grade needs. Equipment on display at WINDPOWER 2010 includes: …

Automated weather station can come with datalogger

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Excerpt: The WS line of weather stations (including the economical WS200 ultrasonic anemometer) are now available with built in SDI-12 communication protocol, says LUFFT USA. Its weather stations and anemometers are now plug and play with any SDI-12 ready datalogger.  Lufft Intelligent Weather Stations …

Compact Ethernet switches added to line

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Excerpt: N-TRON Corp., an industrial networking company, has added six models to its family of fully managed Industrial Ethernet switches. Housed in compact, hardened enclosures, the 709FX, 710FX2, 711FX3, 712FX4, 714FX6 and 7010TX provide maximum performance in harsh industrial environments. A few highlight …

Position transducer tracks yaw and more

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Excerpt: MR200W series Yaw Position Transducers monitor yaw, direction, speed, and cable twist while providing feedback to the wind turbine's yaw directional motor drive and brakes. The units, from Micronor Inc, Newbury Park, Calif , can be multifunctional and work with any combination of electromecha …

Position sensor gives rotors perfect pitch

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Excerpt: Wind power is big in Spain. As of April 2008, up to 40% of the country’s total power was generated by wind turbines. Credit goes to the efficiency of the turbines which glean more energy from the wind thanks to a small blade-pitch sensor, the Vert-X 22 from Swiss-based Contelec, a division of …

Sensor detects fluid properties

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Excerpt: The FPS2800B12C4 is a fluid property sensor that directly and simultaneously measures viscosity, density, dielectric constant, and temperature of a fluid. The sensor, from Visyx Technologies Inc, Freemont, Calif., monitors the direct and dynamic relationship between several physical properties to de …