Fault ride-through capability of DFIG wind turbines

This paper concentrates on the fault ride-through capability of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbines. The main attention in the paper is, therefore, drawn to the control of the DFIG wind turbine and of its power converter and to the ability to protect itself without disconnection during grid faults. The paper provides also an overview on the interaction between variable-speed DFIG wind turbines and the power system subjected to disturbances, such as short circuit faults. The dynamic model of DFIG wind turbine includes models for both mechanical components as well as for all electrical components, controllers and for the protection device of DFIG necessary during grid faults. The viewpoint of the paper is to carry out different simulations to provide insight and understanding of the grid fault impact on both DFIG wind turbines and on the power system itself. The dynamic behaviour of DFIG wind turbines during grid faults is simulated and assessed by using a transmission power system generic model developed and delivered by the Danish Transmission System Operator Energinet.dk in the power system simulation toolbox PowerFactory DIgSILENT. The data for the wind turbines are not linked to a specific manufacturer, but are representative for the turbine and generator type used in variable-speed DFIG wind turbines with pitch control.     

Direct power control of wind‐turbine‐driven DFIG during transient grid voltage unbalance

In this paper, a direct power control (DPC) of a wind‐turbine‐driven doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs) under unbalanced network voltage conditions is studied. Variations of the stator output active, reactive and electromagnetic powers are fully deduced in the presence of negative sequence supply voltage. The rotor side converter is controlled on the basis of DPC to eliminate the electromagnetic torque oscillations at double supply frequency under unbalanced stator supply. The rotor voltage references estimation requires only simple calculations without any integral operation. The proposed control scheme removes rotor current regulators and the decomposition processing of positive and negative sequence rotor currents. The performance of the proposed and conventional DPC schemes is compared under the same operating conditions. Simulation results using Matlab/Simulink are carried out for a 1.5 MW DFIG wind generation system to show the validity of the proposed scheme during unbalanced voltage supply. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Grid support of a wind farm with active stall wind turbines and AC grid connection

One of the main concerns in the grid integration of large wind farms is their ability to behave as active controllable components in the power system. This article presents the design of a new integrated power control system for a wind farm made up exclusively of active stall wind turbines with AC grid connection. The designed control system has the task of enabling such a wind farm to provide the best grid support. It is based on two control levels: a supervisory control level, which controls the power production of the whole farm by sending out reference signals to each individual wind turbine, and a local control level, which ensures that the reference power signals at the wind turbine level are reached. The ability of active stall wind farms with AC grid connection to control the power production to the reference power ordered by the operators is assessed and discussed by means of simulations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Active current control in wind power plants during grid faults

Modern wind power plants are required and designed to ride through faults in electrical networks, subject to fault clearing. Wind turbine fault current contribution is required from most countries with a high amount of wind power penetration. In order to comply with such grid code requirements, wind turbines usually have solutions that enable the turbines to control the generation of reactive power during faults. This paper addresses the importance of using an optimal injection of active current during faults in order to fulfil these grid codes. This is of relevant importance for severe faults, causing low voltages at the point of common coupling. As a consequence, a new wind turbine current controller for operation during faults is proposed. It is shown that to achieve the maximum transfer of reactive current at the point of common coupling, a strategy for optimal setting of the active current is needed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative study on the performance of control systems for doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbines operating with power regulation

As a result of the increasing wind power penetration on power systems, the wind farms are today required to participate actively in grid operation by an appropriate generation control. This paper presents a comparative study on the performance of three control strategies for DFIG wind turbines. The study focuses on the regulation of the active and reactive power to a set point ordered by the wind farm control system. Two of them (control systems 1 and 2) are based on existing strategies, whereas the third control system (control system 3) presents a novel control strategy, which is actually a variation of the control system 2. The control strategies are evaluated through simulations of DFIG wind turbines, under normal operating conditions, integrated in a wind farm with centralized control system controlling the wind farm generation at the connection point and computing the power reference for each wind turbine according to a proportional distribution of the available power. The three control systems present similar performance when they operate with power optimization and power limitation strategies. However, the control system 3 with down power regulation presents a better response with respect to the reactive power production, achieving a higher available reactive power as compared with the other two. This is a very important aspect to maintain an appropriate voltage control at the wind farm bus.     

Field tests of wind turbines submitted to real voltage dips under the new Spanish grid code requirements

This paper adds the new Spanish grid code to the previously published works about the comparison of international regulations for connection of wind turbines to the network. All the electrical magnitudes—currents and active and reactive power—regulated in the Spanish grid code are studied when the wind turbines are submitted to real voltage dips. Because grid codes and, specifically, the Spanish grid code do not fix the reactive power definition to be applied, four definitions commonly used have also been studied. Taking advantage of the voltage dips field tests carried out to the Gamesa G80 wind turbines, the results obtained for two representative voltage dip tests are presented: a three‐phase and a phase‐to‐phase voltage dip. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Behaviour improvement during faults of fixed speed stall control induction generator wind turbines

This paper describes a simple and economical way to improve the behaviour of a stall control wind turbine with fixed speed induction generator during faults. It proposes using the existing thyristor bridge and capacitors in combination with new resistors, to create a self‐exciting system isolated from the grid during faults, controlling the terminal voltage and speed generator in order to reduce the reactive consumption and peak speed. This is possible as a result of the thyristor bridge and resistor acting as a variable load. Dynamic simulations show that fault ride‐through capability for symmetrical and asymmetrical faults of a stall wind turbine can be achieved by using this proposal. A comparison between this solution and the standard static compensator solution demonstrates that the proposed solution works better, mainly because of the absence of overspeed problems when the overspeed protection is set at around 1.04 p.u. (a typical level for these wind turbines). Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling and control of synchronous generators for wide‐range variable‐speed wind turbines

The modelling and control of a wide‐range variable speed wind turbine based on a synchronous generator are presented. Two different methods to control the operation of the synchronous generator are investigated, i.e. load angle control and instantaneous vector control. The dynamic performance characteristics of these control strategies are evaluated and compared using three model representations of the generator: a non‐reduced order model including both stator and rotor transients, a reduced order model with stator transients neglected, and a steady‐state model that neglects generator electrical dynamics. Assessment on the performance of grid‐side controller is shown during network fault and frequency variation. A simplified wind turbine model representation is also developed and proposed for large‐scale power system studies. Simulation results in Matlab/Simulink are presented and discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison and testing of power reserve control strategies for grid‐connected wind turbines

The stability of the electrical grid depends on enough generators being able to provide appropriate responses to sudden losses in generation capacity, increases in power demand or similar events. Within the United States, wind turbines largely do not provide such generation support, which has been acceptable because the penetration of wind energy into the grid has been relatively low. However, frequency support capabilities may need to be built into future generations of wind turbines to enable high penetration levels over approximately 20%. In this paper, we describe control strategies that can enable power reserve by leaving some wind energy uncaptured. Our focus is on the control strategies used by an operating turbine, where the turbine is asked to track a power reference signal supplied by the wind farm operator. We compare the strategies in terms of their control performance as well as their effects on the turbine itself, such as the possibility for increased loads on turbine components. It is assumed that the wind farm operator has access to the necessary grid information to generate the power reference provided to the turbine, and we do not simulate the electrical interaction between the turbine and the utility grid. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Initialization of DFIG wind turbines with a phasor‐based approach

The objective of this paper is to propose a simple approach to solve the steady state of a wind turbine (WT) equipped with a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), which can be used to initialize dynamic studies of the machine. The idea is to model the rotor‐side converter (RSC) as a constant current source connected to the rotor of the DFIG. The resulting equivalent circuit consists of a voltage source in series with a reactance, which makes it possible to obtain simple phasor expressions that can be used to obtain the Park components of the variables. The proposed method is compared with the traditional Newton–Raphson algorithm, showing that it is easier and faster to implement, as it makes use of the phasor expressions and it does not require an iterative process to obtain the final solution. Finally, the results of the proposed method are used to simulate a 2‐MW DFIG‐based WT under three‐phase faults, considering three different WT‐operating points. In these simulations, the idea of constant rotor current is extrapolated to the entire event. The simulated results show that both current at torque peaks are reduced. The analytical study and the simulations have been carried out in Matlab ?.     

电网故障条件下风储联合系统无功自适应控制

针对电网三相对称故障条件下风电场电压不稳定的问题,文章提出了一种基于神经元的风储联合系统无功功率自适应控制策略,该策略以风储联合系统公共耦合点(Point of Common Coupling,PCC)的电压和电流为控制器的输入,采用Hebb学习算法作为自适应律,以获得准确的无功补偿。通过动态调整控制器的参数,使储能系统协调风电达到自适应输出无功功率的效果,提高系统在电网故障下的电压稳定性和风电故障穿越能力。最后,利用Matlab/Simulink仿真验证了该控制策略的有效性和正确性,与常规PI控制策略相比,文章所提出的控制策略可使风储系统迅速提供无功功率,PCC点的电压得到明显上升。     

Prediction of flicker produced by wind turbines

Electrical flicker is a measure of voltage variations which may cause disturbances to consumers. Flicker is caused by both generators and loads connected to the network. This paper discusses the various issues which affect electrical flicker from wind turbines, and describes the development of a software tool capable of predicting, at the design stage, the flicker which would be produced by a wind turbine, or by a wind farm of similar turbines, on a particular network. The paper describes the modelling of the physical dynamics of the wind turbine and the turbulence in the wind which drives it, the electrical dynamics of the generator, and the network itself with various types of embedded consumer loads. Measurements carried out on two different 1 MW wind turbines have been used to validate the models. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of intermittent voltage source converter faults on the overall performance of wind energy conversion system

The doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) is interfaced to the AC network through voltage source converters (VSCs) which are considered to be the core of the DFIG system. This paper investigates the impact of different intermittent VSC faults on the overall performance of a DFIG-based wind energy conversion system (WECS). The fault ride through capability of the DFIG under various VSC faults is also investigated. Faults such as open circuit and short circuit across the switches, when they occur within the grid side converter (GSC) and rotor side converter (RSC), are considered and compared in this paper. Short circuit and open circuit across the DC-link capacitor are also considered in this study as common VSC problems. Simulation results indicate that the short circuit faults have a severe impact on the overall performance of the DFIG, especially when they occur within the GSC. This is attributed to the fact that the GSC directly regulates the point of common coupling voltage. The open circuit faults have less impact on the performance of the DFIG-based WECS. A proper controller along with flexible AC transmission device should be available to compensate the required active and reactive power during these faults. A protection technique is necessary to detect these faults in advance to protect the VSC switches and the machine winding from any catastrophic failure.     

基于风电机组无功裕度预测的风电场无功分层控制策略

针对风电电压波动的问题,文章基于风电机组无功裕度预测,提出了一种风电场无功分层控制策略.该策略首先以并网点电压偏差和线路有功损耗最小为目标,使用二次规划算法在线实时求解最优并网电压,进而求解风电场无功参考值;其次,采用EWT-LSSVM预测算法进行风电功率预测,并提出预测功率校正方法实时修正预测功率,精确求解风电机组的...     

Adjustment of wind farm power output through flexible turbine operation using wind farm control

When the installed capacity of wind power becomes high, the power generated by wind farms can no longer simply be that dictated by the wind speed. With sufficiently high penetration, it will be necessary for wind farms to provide assistance with supply‐demand matching. The work presented here introduces a wind farm controller that regulates the power generated by the wind farm to match the grid requirements by causing the power generated by each turbine to be adjusted. Further, benefits include fast response to reach the wind farm power demanded, flexibility, little fluctuation in the wind farm power output and provision of synthetic inertia. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis and stabilization control of a voltage source controlled wind farm under weak grid conditions

This paper investigates and discusses the interaction stability issues of a wind farm with weak grid connections, where the wind turbines (WTs) are controlled by a new type of converter control strategy referred to as the voltage source (VS) control. The primary intention of the VS control method is to achieve the high-quality inertial response capability of a single WT. However, when it is applied to multiple WTs within a wind farm, its weak-grid performance regarding the stability remains concealed and needs to be clarified. To this end, a frequency domain model of the wind farm under the VS control is first developed. Based on this model and the application of a stability margin quantification index, not only the interactions between the wind farm and the weak grid but also those among WTs will be systematically assessed in this paper. A crucial finding is that the inertial response of VS control has negative impacts on the stability margin of the system, and the dominant instability mode is more related to the interactions among the WTs rather than the typical grid-wind farm interaction. Based on this knowledge, a stabilization control strategy is then proposed, aiming for stability improvements of VS control while fulfilling the demand of inertial responses. Finally, all the results are verified by time-domain simulations in power systems computer aided design/electromagnetic transients including DC(PSCAD/EMTDC).     

DFIG sliding mode control fed by back-to-back PWM converter with DC-link voltage control for variable speed wind turbine

This paper proposes an indirect power control of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) with the rotor connected to the electric grid through a back-to-back pulse width modulation (PWM) converter for variable speed wind power generation. Appropriate state space model of the DFIG is deduced. An original control strategy based on a variable structure control theory, also called sliding mode control, is applied to achieve the control of the active and reactive power exchanged between the stator of the DFIG and the grid. A proportional-integral-(PI) controller is used to keep the DC-link voltage constant for a back-to-back PWM converter. Simulations are conducted for validation of the digital controller operation using Matlab/Simulink software.     

Model‐based control addition to prescribe DFIG wind turbine fast frequency response

This paper investigates the physical capability of double‐fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbines for inertial support of frequency response. Frequency stability is modeled using the DFIG electromechanical and generator controller dynamics, and a destabilizing effect is demonstrated in low‐inertia systems. To improve response, a synchronous reference frame DFIG controller is proposed that acts by following low‐frequency grid dynamics and adds a fast acting proportional plus integral (PI)‐controlled frequency‐responsive component to existing qd current commands. The proposed controller is derived in a straightforward manner using only the DFIG dynamic equations and is designed using pole/zero placement techniques. Laboratory experiments using a micro‐scale DFIG wind turbine with hub‐emulating flywheel prove better capability for transient frequency regulation even under extreme load change. The result is a DFIG controller that balances the appearance of transients in electrical and mechanical systems. Value is achieved in providing immediate continuous inertial response to support load change. The proposed frequency response can improve the use of existing physical inertia from wind turbines.     

Unbalanced voltage faults: the impact on structural loads of doubly fed asynchronous generator wind turbines

This paper investigates the impact that unbalanced voltage faults have on wind turbine structural loads. In such cases, electromagnetic torque oscillations occur at two times the supply voltage frequency. The objectives of this work are to quantify wind turbine structural loads induced by unbalanced voltage faults relative to those during normal operation; and to evaluate the potential for reducing structural loads with the control of the generator. The method applied is integrated dynamic analysis. Namely, dynamic analysis with models that consider the most important aeroelastic, electrical, and control dynamics in an integrated simulation environment based on an aeroelastic code (HAWC2) and software for control design (Matlab/Simulink). In the present analysis, 1 Hz equivalent loads are used to compare fatigue loads, whereas maximum–minimum values are used to compare extreme loads. A control concept based on resonant filters demonstrates reduction of the structural loads (shaft torsion and tower top side‐to‐side moment) induced by an unbalanced voltage fault.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Detection of nacelle anemometer faults in a wind farm minimizing the uncertainty

The performance assessment of wind farms requires the acquisition of accurate power and wind speed data of each turbine. Nowadays, the nacelle anemometry is widely studied as an option for power performance verification. Therefore, systems to detect the nacelle anemometer faults in a wind farm in operation are necessary for maintenance purposes. In this paper, we propose a method to detect wind speed deviations of the nacelle anemometers by comparing them with the nearby anemometers. This comparison is made through an approach to estimate the wind speed in each nacelle. The approach is based on the discretization of wind speed data using the bin method. The key issue of this proposal is the estimation of the anemometer deviations considering the range of data with lower uncertainty. To this end, an average uncertainty model per bin and direction sector has been integrated into the method. The tests show that using wind speeds higher than 4.5 m s ^{? 1} gives the lowest uncertainty. Data from two wind farms have been used to test this method, and the obtained results have allowed the detection of problematic anemometers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.