Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

APPLIED
ENERGY
Applied Energy 85 (2008) 218227
www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Controller for a small induction-generator based wind-turbine

R. Ahshan *, M.T. Iqbal, George K.I. Mann
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada A1B 3X5
Available online 26 November 2007

Abstract
Design of a low-cost micro-controller for a small induction-generator based grid-connected wind-turbine is presented in
this paper. The controller senses the parameters of the wind-turbine generator and the grid, and makes decisions about grid
connection and disconnection. Low-cost instrumentation circuitry has been developed to measure the generator and grid
parameters. Based on the measurement of voltage and frequency of the wind-turbine generator and the grid side, a control
decision is taken to connect the system to the grid. The controller makes decision to disconnect the system from the grid
based on the power ow measurement between the wind turbine and the grid. The power ow between wind turbine and
the grid depends upon the availability of the wind. The prototype controller has been developed based on a micro-controller PIC16F877 and has been tested in the laboratory.
2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Wind-turbine simulator; Wind-energy conversion system; Wind-turbine control system

1. Introduction
Recently, net-metering laws have been adopted in many parts of North America [1]. After the introduction
of net-metering regulations, public interest in small induction-generator based wind-energy conversions has
increased. One of the key components of a small wind-energy conversion system is its control system. Such
a control system is required for the wind turbine to operate the system safely and deliver clean power to
the grid. The Control system should also be relatively cheap in order to keep the cost of wind energy conversion system low. A typical conguration of a small grid connected wind energy conversion system (WECS) is
shown in Fig. 1. From a literature survey, the following system controllers have been found for small gridconnected induction-generator based wind-turbines.
A controller developed by ENERTECH corporation [2] connects the ENERTECH wind-turbine to the grid
only when the wind is strong enough to make it behave as a generator, and disconnects when the wind speed
decreases to avoid it acting as a motorized fan. The control system consists of an anemometer at the tower top,
a wind averaging unit, a wattmeter, a wind-speed indicator, a solid-state control, a 3-way switch, mercury
relay, and a printed-circuit board in the control box. Measurement of the average wind speed over periods
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 709 737 3472; fax: +1 709 737 4042.
E-mail address: razzaqul@engr.mun.ca (R. Ahshan).

0306-2619/$ - see front matter 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2007.07.005

R. Ahshan et al. / Applied Energy 85 (2008) 218227

219

Nomenclature and Abbreviations

D0
D1
fg
fig
I
P
T1
T2
vg
vig
CB
CT
DC
IG
PC
PLC
RAM
WECS
WTS

Relay driving signal for relay_1

Relay driving signal for relay_2
Frequency at the grid side
Frequency at the generator terminal
Current ow between the generator and grid
Power ow between the generator and grid
Voltage sensor on the generator side
Voltage sensor on the grid side
Voltage at the grid side
Voltage at the generator terminal
Circuit braker
Split-core current transformer
Direct current
Induction generator
Personal computer
Programmable logic controller
Random access memory
Wind-energy conversion system
Wind-turbine simulator

of 2045 s, as sensed by the anemometer, is used to connect/disconnect the wind turbine from the grid. The
main issue with such a wind-speed measurement based controller is the requirement of a calibrated anemometer placed appropriately on or close to the wind turbine. Since the anemometer controls the cut-in and cut-out
of the wind turbine, poor positioning of the anemometer will signicantly aect the performance of the wind
turbine. The ENERTECH wind turbine has not been in production for more than last 20 years.
Another small wind-energy converter named as aeroSmart5 came in to the market in early 2004 [3]. The
system controller unit of aeroSmart5 has been designed by a development rm SMA Technologie. That
microprocessor based system controls both the turbine and the connection to the power grid. The aeroSmart5
has been designed for passive stall operation in high wind-speeds and there is no mechanical fail-safe furling
mechanism. This type of power-output control was widely used during the years 19751995 for large grid-connected wind-turbines [4]. Unfortunately, the main drawback of this technology is that, if the connection
between the generator and the grid trips out, the turbine will very quickly be out of control and reach a run-

Fig. 1. Small grid-connected wind-energy conversion system.

220

R. Ahshan et al. / Applied Energy 85 (2008) 218227

away rotational speed if the passive stall design is insucient. In addition, the aeroSmart5 is stopped by means
of an electromagnetic safety brake if the control unit detects that the average power is too high. So from the
maintenance and cost point of view, this is not a low-cost option for a small grid- connected wind-turbine.
A 20 kW Gazelle wind turbine has been commercialized by Gazelle Wind Turbines Ltd [4]. The control of
this wind turbine is based on the output power and the control is performed using a programmable logic controller. A low-cost induction-generator requires for a simpler control circuitry and such an arrangement [4]
cannot be recommended for a small low-cost induction-generator based wind-turbine.
For a small wind-turbine, with an induction-generator, we propose an economical micro-controller based
controller which is easy to program and highly cost eective. The designed controller operates on the measurement of voltage, frequency and power ow between the generator and grid. This paper describes the controller
concept adopted in the design, the wind turbine simulator used to test the controller, some details of instrumentation, and the nal test results. We assume that the turbine has an independent protection method available, such as a furling mechanism to avoid over speeding of the rotor in situations where the inductiongenerator fails to self-excite or when the grid is not available.
2. Features of the system controller
The developed system-controller performs the connection and disconnection of the wind turbine from the
grid. We considered several alternative options for controlling such as a PC, namely a PLC, a single board
computer, and a micro-controller. However, a PC and a PLC are not cost eective options for a low-cost small
wind-turbine. The proposed controller requires a very low computing-power and therefore a single board
computer is unnecessary. A micro-controller with ash RAM is the cheapest and the most convenient to program as compared with all other options available. Therefore, PIC16F877 micro-controller has been selected
as the proposed controller for small wind-turbines.
The desired features for the system controller are:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)

No wind speed sensor

Grid connection through a soft-starter
Over-voltage and under-voltage detection
Abnormal frequency detection
Monitoring and measurement of generator and grid voltages, frequencies, and power.
The system can be disconnected from the grid within a few milliseconds.

3. Wind-turbine simulator (WTS)

This has been designed and tested at the Energy Systems Laboratory at Memorial University of Newfoundland. In the developed WTS, a separately-excited DC motor is driven to behave as a wind-turbine rotor. The

Fig. 2. Structure of small wind-turbine simulator.

R. Ahshan et al. / Applied Energy 85 (2008) 218227

221

WTS (Fig. 2) consists of a PC where the model and characteristics of the wind turbine are coded in VISUAL
BASIC, an armature controlled DC motor, a three-phase congurable induction-generator, instrumentation
and power electronics to control the motor. The feedback is performed using a USB based I/O card and calibration equations for the speed and torque sensors have been determined.
A discrete PI controller [5] has been designed that makes sure that the torque produced by the DC motor is
the same as the torque of a real wind- turbine rotor running in the wind. The generator can be connected to the
grid or to an isolated dump load.

4. Design of the system controller

Fig. 3 shows a block diagram representation of the designed control- system. The control sequences can be
expressed as follows. At low wind-speed, the generator is disconnected from the grid but rotates at a lowspeed. As the wind speed increases, the generator speed will rise and its output signal frequency also increases.
As the generator is not self-excited yet, it only produces a small voltage due to its residual magnetism. The
system controller senses the generator and grid voltages as well as the frequencies. Excitation capacitors
are permanently connected across the generator and it self-excites above a certain rpm. When the generator
voltage and frequency are about same as the grid voltage and frequency, relays operate and the generator
is connected to the grid through a soft-starter. This consists of two relays and series resistors as shown in
Fig. 5.
While the generator is connected to the grid, the controller keeps monitoring the power ow between the
grid and the wind turbine. Based on the power measurement, the controller can make decisions as to whether
to maintain or not maintain the grid connection. If the power is going to the grid, the controller maintains
the grid connection. If the power goes negative, i.e. the generator switches to motoring mode (say due to a
drop in wind speed), then the controller disconnects the generator from the grid. A hysteresis band is used
in the control algorithm to reduce the frequency of switching. The situation will be dierent if the wind speed
is satisfactory but the grid is not available, or if the wind speed is too high. If the latter occurs, a furling mechanism will protect the turbine from over speeding. On the other hand, on a windy day if the grid is not available, but the turbine can still harness power, the controller can connect the system to a dump load by
operating a solid- state relay. This will help reduce the wind-turbine speed [6]. The controller will connect
and disconnect the dump load as required on the basis of current and voltage measurement to ensure the sys-

Fig. 3. Operational block-diagram of the system controller.

222

R. Ahshan et al. / Applied Energy 85 (2008) 218227

Fig. 4. Flow chart of the systems controller algorithm.

tem operate safely. If the grid becomes available, then the controller will disconnect the dump load and connect the generator back to the grid.
A PIC16F877 micro-controller has been programmed as the system controller to achieve the proposed system operation. The ow chart of the controller algorithm is shown in Fig. 4. In a low-speed wind, the voltage
and frequency at the generator terminal are low. As the wind speed increases (e.g. to more than 4 m/s), the
voltage and frequency at the output of the generator increase. The controller keeps checking conditions. When
suitable, the controller connects the system to the grid through a soft-starter.
Two relays have been used for the system connection/disconnection (see Fig. 5). Relay 1 is connected in
series with the power resistors. Three 10 X/50 W resistors have been used as a soft-starter, which reduces
the initial high inrush current. After 1 s delay, the controller connects the system directly to the grid through
Relay 2. Once it is connected to the grid, the controller monitors the power ow between the generator and

R. Ahshan et al. / Applied Energy 85 (2008) 218227

223

Fig. 5. Schematic of the power electronics-circuitry for instrumentation.

grid. Based on this measurement, whether or not disconnection occurs is decided. Two delays have been used
in the controller algorithm to reduce the impact of transients and allow decisions to be based on steady-state
measurements. After a disconnection from the grid, the controller again goes on checking the grid and generator parameters in order to make the next decision. This process will be repeated as long as the wind turbine
is operational.

224

R. Ahshan et al. / Applied Energy 85 (2008) 218227

5. Measurement of the systems parameters

The schematic of the instrumentation circuitry is shown in Fig. 5. Two voltage sensors T1 and T2 have been
used to sense the generator and grid voltages. The information about the generator and grid frequency has
been derived from the voltage signal using frequency to voltage converter circuits. Based on these measurements, the micro-controller sends a control signal to drive Relay 1 via a relay driving circuit. Relay 1 is connected in series with the resistors of the soft-starter. To limit the input voltage to the PIC micro-controller,
zener diodes have been used in the instrumentation. As the systems disconnection from the grid is decided
upon the power-ow measurement between the generator and grid, instrumentation has been developed to
measure the power. A low cost split-core current transformer (CT) has been used to achieve the required current owing between the generator and grid. A peak detector is used in conjunction with a low-pass lter that
provides the information about the system power. A low pass lter has been used to reduce the noise originating from the circuit components or other sources outside of the circuits. Based on this power measurement,
Relay 2 switches o the micro-controller via the relay driving circuit and it disconnects the system from the
grid.
6. Results
6.1. Wind-turbine: simulator test results
A discrete PI controller has been designed to control the DC motor in such a way that its shaft behaves as a
wind-turbine rotor and provides a controllable torque. The developed WTS produces steady-state characteristics for a given wind-turbine at various wind-conditions. Fig. 6 shows the actual torque and corresponding
reference torque produced by the turbine shaft. Fig. 7 shows the variation in the wind speed that was fed to the
wind-turbine model. A change in the wind speed results in a higher/lower reference torque. The DC motors
actual torque is about same as the reference torque after 2 min following the wind speed change. The change in
the wind speed occurred approximately every 5 min.
6.2. System controller: test results
The above described and tested WTS has been used to assess the designed system controller at the Energy
System Laboratory at the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). The experimental test results are
shown in Figs. 810. Fig. 8 shows the power ow between the generator and the grid. At a wind speed of
7.3 m/s (see Fig. 9), the system is running and the controller is checking the voltage and frequency from
the generator and grid sides. At t = 73.5 s, the system is connected to the grid as the system connection

Fig. 6. Simulated torque-output with the variation in wind speed.

R. Ahshan et al. / Applied Energy 85 (2008) 218227

Fig. 7. Variation in the wind-speed prole fed to the wind-turbine model during WTS testing.

Fig. 8. Power output during grid connection and disconnection.

Fig. 9. Variation in the wind speed used during system controller testing.

225

226

R. Ahshan et al. / Applied Energy 85 (2008) 218227

Fig. 10. Transient power during the systems connection to the grid.

conditions are met. After connection, the power is positive which indicates the generator is in the generating
mode. At t = 300 s, the wind speed drops from 7.3 m/s to 5.5 m/s. In such a case, the power decays. As soon as
the power goes negative (at about t = 400 s), i.e. the generator is the motoring mode, the controller disconnects the system from the grid. During the period 600 to 900 s, the wind speed is about 7 m/s: however the
voltage and frequency from the generator and grid are not matched. Again a similar situations occurs when
wind speed is about 6.4 m/s. At 1200 s, the wind speed again increases to 8 m/s and when the system parameters reach the system connection condition, the controller connects the system to the grid. The same sequence
will be repeated as long as the wind turbine is in operation.
The transient response during the system connection to the grid is shown in Fig. 10. The initial surge in
power is about 2.75 times of the stable power due to the connection through the soft-starter.
The proposed control system is a novel concept for small grid-connected wind-energy conversion-systems.
The designed controller has been tested in a number of wind conditions and it performed as expected. We
believe this simple and low-cost control system for small grid-connected wind- turbines has future potential.
Further testing of designed controller is in progress and its power supply and dump load control issues are
being assessed.
7. Conclusions
This paper describes the design, development, and test results of a low- cost controller for a small induction-generator based wind-energy conversion system. The designed unit controls the system on the basis of
voltage, current, and power measurements. The controller has been tested using MUN WTS. The test results
show the operation of the controller in varying wind-speed conditions. The developed very low- cost controller
and instrumentation performed as expected and controlled the interconnection/disconnection of the system to
the grid. Further testing of the controller and new algorithms are in progress of being developed at the Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Acknowledgement
This work is supported by a research grant from the National Science and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC) of Canada, Atlantic Innovation funds of Canada and Memorial University of Newfoundland.
References
[1] Electricity, electricity feed laws, feed-in taris, and advanced renewable taris <http://www.wind-works.org/articles/feed_laws.html>;
2007 [accessed 6.06.07].

R. Ahshan et al. / Applied Energy 85 (2008) 218227

227

[2] ENERTECH Series 4000 installation and operation. Technical Report, 1980.
[3] Soenke Siegfriedsen. aeroSmart5 The new generation of small wind energy converters (SWEC). Aerodyn Energiesteme GmbH, Provianthausstrasse 9, 24768 Rendsburg, Germany, October 2004.
[4] Small wind energy implementation strategy (SWIIS) consortium. 20 May 2005.
[5] Ahshan R, Iqbal MT, George KI. Mann. Small induction generator based wind turbine simulator. In: IEEE 16th, NECEC conference,
St. Johns, NL, 2006.
[6] Muljadi E, Forsyth T, Buttereld CP. Soft-stall control versus furling control for small wind turbine power regulation. In: Proceedings
of wind power 98, Bakersville, CA, 2730 April 1998.