System efficiency of a DC/DC converter-based wind farm

Abstract

In this paper, three DC/DC converter topologies are evaluated from an energy efficiency point of view regarding their suitability for the application in a DC wind farm grid. The three investigated topologies are the fullbridge (FB) converter, the single active bridge (SAB) converter and the series parallel resonant (LCC) converter. The energy efficiency of the three converter topologies is evaluated for different control strategies. It is found that the LCC and FB converters have the lowest losses of the three topologies. It is also shown that the wide range of operation creates problems for all three converters. The SAB converter has the largest increase in losses caused by the wide range of operation. The FB converter also has an increase in losses for this variable operating range, whereas the LCC converter has large stresses for the input and output filters. By considering some further factors, such as the contribution to the energy production cost, the design and the control of the converters, the FB converter is found to be a suitable choice for wind farm application. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.