Robust design of a passive wind turbine system

The effectiveness of full passive Wind Turbine (WT) systems has been recently demonstrated. Such low cost and reliable structures without active control and with a minimum number of sensors can be efficient only if the system design parameters are mutually adapted through an integrated optimal design approach. Even if there is a good agreement between theoretical design models and an experimental prototype, it is relevant to evaluate the WT efficiency with respect to design variable variations. Thus, this work is devoted more specifically to the sensitivity analysis of a passive WT system according to electrical variable variations of the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG). It also investigates the interest of a robust design approach for reducing the sensitivity of the WT efficiency to specific variable variations

Model simplification and optimization of a passive wind turbine generator

In this paper, the design of a "low cost full passive structure" of wind turbine system without active electronic part (power and control) is investigated. The efficiency of such device can be obtained only if the design parameters are mutually adapted through an optimization design approach. For this purpose, sizing and simulating models are developed to characterize the behavior and the efficiency of the wind turbine system. A model simplification approach is presented, allowing the reduction of computational times and the investigation of multiple Pareto-optimal solutions with a multiobjective genetic algorithm. Results show that the optimized wind turbine configurations are capable of matching very closely the behavior of active wind turbine systems which operate at optimal wind powers by using a MPPT control device

Operation and control of a current source converter series tapping of an LCC-HVDC link for integration of offshore wind power plants

This work presents a series tapping station for integrating Offshore Wind Power Plants (OWPP) into a (Line Commutated Converter High Voltage Direct Current) LCC-HVDC transmission system. The tapping station allows to integrate wind power resources without building a new HVDC link and it is based on a Current Source Converter (CSC). However, the CSC requires a minimum DC current to extract the power coming from the OWPP which may not be guaranteed depending on the power conditions of the HVDC corridor. For this reason, this paper proposes a coordinated operation and control of the CSC and the OWPP. A steady-state analysis is performed to determine the appropriate AC voltage level of the CSC. A power reduction algorithm is presented to limit power extraction during a reduction in the current of the HVDC transmission system and under loss of communications between the CSC and the OWPP. The proposed algorithm and the performance of the system are validated through simulation results.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Integrated Optimal Design of a Passive Wind Turbine System: An Experimental Validation

This work presents design and experimentation of a full passive wind turbine system without active electronic part(power and control). The efficiency of such device can be obtained only if the system design parameters are mutually adapted through an Integrated Optimal Design (IOD) method. This approach based on multiobjective optimization, aims at concurrently optimizing the wind power extraction and the global system losses for a given wind speed profile while reducing the weight of the wind turbine generator. It allows us to obtain the main characteristics (geometric and energetic features) of the optimal Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) for the passive wind turbine. Finally, experiments on the PMSG prototype built from this work show a good agreement with theoretical predictions. This validates the design approach and confirms the effectiveness of such passive device

Optimization of a small passive wind turbine generator with multiobjective genetic algorithms

In this paper Multiobjective Genetic Algorithms (MOGAs) are used for the design of a small wind turbine generator (WTG) coupled to a DC bus through a diode bridge. The originality of the considered system resides in the suppression of the Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT). The poor efficiency of the corresponding passive structure is considerably improved by optimizing the generator characteristics associated with the wind turbine in relation to the wind cycle. The optimized configurations are capable of matching very closely the behavior of active wind turbine systems which operate at optimal wind powers by using a MPPT control device

Generator Systems for Marine Current Turbine Applications: A Comparative Study

Emerging technologies for marine current turbines are mainly related to works that have been carried out on wind turbines and ship propellers. It is then obvious that many electric generator topologies could be used for marine current turbines. As in the wind turbine context, doubly-fed induction generators and permanent magnet generators seem to be attractive solutions for harnessing the tidal current energy. In this paper, a comparative study between these two generator types is presented and fully analyzed in terms of generated power, maintenance, and operation constraints. This comparison is done for the Raz de Sein site (Brittany, France) using a multiphysics modeling simulation tool. This tool integrates, in a modular environment, the resource model, the turbine hydrodynamicmodel, and generator models. Experiments have also been carried out to confirm the simulation results.Financement de thèse de Brest Métropole Océan

New controller design for PMSG based wind generator with LCL-filter considered

In this paper design and analysis of the grid side converter controller for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) based variable speed wind generator connected to a grid through LCL filter are presented. Since utilization of the LCL filter in output of the converter can lead to stability problem due to resonance at high frequency, determination of the controller parameters should be carefully designed. In this study, a simple dynamic model of the LCL filter is developed in order to analyze the performance of the control system easily. By using the bode diagram and step response of the system, the combination of gain controller and damping resistance parameters can be selected. The proposed method has been implemented on the grid side controller design for 2.5 MW PMSG based variable speed wind generator. The simulation results show that the proposed method is very useful and good response performance of the control system can be achieved

Development and Control of Generator-Converter Topology for Direct-Drive Wind Turbines

In this chapter, a new topology for Direct-Drive Wind Turbines (DDWTs) with a low-voltage generator design is presented in order to eliminate the required dc-bus capacitors or dc-link inductors. In the presented topology, the grid-side converter is replaced by a boost Current Source Inverter (CSI) therefore removing the need for the dc-bus electrolytic capacitors which results in increasing the system lifetime. In the developed topology, the synchronous inductance of the generator is utilized. This facilitates the elimination of the intrinsically required dc-link inductor in the CSI which further contributes to a reduction in the overall system weight and size. The boost CSI is capable of converting a low dc voltage to a higher line-to-line voltage. This results in the implementation of a low-voltage generator for DDWTs. The feasibility of the presented low-voltage generator is investigated through Finite Element (FE) computations. In this chapter, a modified 1.5 MW low-voltage generator for the proposed topology is compared with an existing 1.5 MW Permanent Magnet (PM) synchronous generator for DDWTs. The feasibility of the presented topology of generator-converter for DDWTs is verified through simulations and laboratory tests. Furthermore, the controls developed for the developed wind turbine topology is also presented in this chapter

Modern Control Approaches for a Wind Energy Conversion System based on a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) Fed by a Matrix Converter

This “paper proposes a super-twisting adaptive Control Approaches for a Wind Energy Conversion System Based on a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) Fed by a matrix sliding mode for tracking the maximum power point of wind energy conversion systems using permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs). As the adaptive control algorithm employed retains the robustness properties of classical wind energy conversion system control methods when perturbations and parameter uncertainties are present, it can be considered an effective solution; at the same time, it reduces chattering by adjusting gain and generating second-order adaptive control methods. The Egyptian power system (EPS), a three-zone interconnected microgrid (MG), and a single machine linked to the grid are only a few examples of the power systems for which this article introduces the concept of direct adaptive control (SMIB).The goal of our work is to maximize the captured power by solving a multi-input multi-output tracking control problem. In the presence of variations in stator resistance, stator inductance, and magnetic flux linkage, simulation results are presented using real wind speed data and discussed for the proposed controller and four other sliding mode control solutions for the same problem. The proposed controller achieves the best trade-off between tracking performance and chattering reduction among the five considered solutions: compared to a standard sliding mode control algorithm, it reduces chattering by two to five orders of magnitude, and steadystate errors on PMSG rotor velocity by one order of magnitude”. The purpose of this article is to examine wind turbine control system techniques and controller trends related to permanent magnet synchronous generators. The article presents an overview of the most popular control strategies for PMSG wind power conversion systems. There are several kinds of nonlinear sliding modes, such as direct power, backstepping, and predictive currents. To determine the performance of each control under variable wind conditions, a description of each control is presented, followed by a simulation performed in MATLAB /Simulink. This simulation evaluates the performance of each control in terms of reference tracking, response times, stability, and signal quality. Finally, this work was concluded with a comparison of the four controls to gain a better understanding of their effects. “Moreover, it reduces the above-mentioned steady-state error by four orders of magnitude compared to a previously-proposed linear quadratic regulator based integral sliding mode control law.  A dynamic model is simulated under both variable step and random wind speeds using the DEV-C++ software, and the results are plotted using MATLAB. The obtained results demonstrate the robustness of the proposed controller in spite of the presence of different uncertainties when compared to the classical direct torque control technique