Experimental application of a pragmatic method to design control strategy for low power wind energy conversion system

Abstract

This paper proposes a method for designing, implementation and experimental validation of a control strategy dedicated to a low power wind generator. It was developed theoretically then applied to a low speed wind generator prototype. The proposed wind energy conversion system control structure is briefly described, including its subsystems and components, respectively the wind turbine, permanent magnets synchronous generator, electronic converters and brake system. There were taken into consideration the components characteristics determined theoretically and experimentally obtained from components manufacturers or a dedicated laboratory model. The control law for the optimal operation regime of the wind turbine was designed considering the wind speed and the individual characteristics of the wind energy conversion system components and their operating restrictions. Also, there were determined the start and stop conditions, the allowed turbine speed ranges and the consequent braking regimes. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.