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WindTurbineControlMethodsNationalInstruments

WindTurbineControlMethods
PublishDate:Dec22,2008

Overview

Thisdocumentexploresthefundamentalconceptsandcontrolmethods/techniquesforwind
turbinecontrolsystems.Windturbinecontrolisnecessarytoensurelowmaintenancecosts
andefficientperformance.Thecontrolsystemalsoguaranteessafeoperation,optimizes
poweroutput,andensureslongstructurallife.Turbinerotationalspeedandthegenerator
speedaretwokeyareasthatyoumustcontrolforpowerlimitationandoptimization.The
ControlMethodsandControlStrategiessectionsofthisdocumentexplainwhich
techniquestouseandhowtomanagetheseareas.
TableofContents

1.KeyConcepts
2.ControlMethods
3.ControlStrategies
4.Summary
1.KeyConcepts

WindTurbineOperation
Awindturbineisarevolvingmachinethatconvertsthekineticenergyfromthewindinto
mechanicalenergy.Thismechanicalenergyisthenconvertedintoelectricitythatissenttoa
powergrid.Theturbinecomponentsresponsiblefortheseenergyconversionsaretherotor
andthegenerator.
Therotoristheareaoftheturbinethatconsistsofboththeturbinehubandblades.Aswind
strikestheturbinesblades,thehubrotatesduetoaerodynamicforces.Thisrotationisthen
sentthroughthetransmissionsystemtodecreasetherevolutionsperminute.The
transmissionsystemconsistsofthemainbearing,highspeedshaft,gearbox,andlowspeed
shaft.Theratioofthegearboxdeterminestherotationdivisionandtherotationspeedthat
thegeneratorsees.Forexample,iftheratioofthegearboxisNto1,thenthegenerator
seestherotorspeeddividedbyN.Thisrotationisfinallysenttothegeneratorfor
mechanicaltoelectricalconversion.
Figure1showsthemajorcomponentsofawindturbine:gearbox,generator,hub,rotor,low
speedshaft,highspeedshaft,andthemainbearing.Thepurposeofthehubistoconnect
thebladesservosthatadjustthebladedirectiontothelowspeedshaft.Therotoristhearea
oftheturbinethatconsistsofboththehubandblades.Thecomponentsareallhoused
togetherinastructurecalledthenacelle.

Figure1.TheMajorComponentsofaWindTurbine
AngleofAttack
Theamountofsurfaceareaavailablefortheincomingwindiskeytoincreasingaerodynamic
forcesontherotorblades.Theangleatwhichthebladeisadjustedisreferredtoasthe
angleofattack,.Thisangleismeasuredwithrespecttotheincomingwinddirectionand
thechordlineoftheblade.Thereisalsoacriticalangleofattack,critical,whereairnolonger
streamssmoothlyoverthebladesuppersurface.Figure2showsthecriticalangleofattack
withrespecttotheblade.

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OK

Figure2.TheCriticalAngleofAttack(critical)withRespecttotheBlade
PowerandEfficiency
Thissectionexplainswhataffectsthepowerextractedfromthewindandtheefficiencyof
thisprocess.ConsiderFigure3asamodeloftheturbinesinteractionwiththewind.This
diagramindicatesthatwindexistsoneithersideoftheturbine,andtheproperbalance
betweenrotationalspeedandthevelocityofwindarecriticaltoregulateperformance.The
balancebetweenrotationalspeedandwindvelocity,referredtoasthetipspeedratio,is
calculatedusingEquation1.

Where: isthebladesfrequencyofrotation(Hz)
isthelengthofablade(m)
Equation1.CalculatingtheTipSpeedRatio

Theefficiencyofawindturbineiscalledthepowercoefficient,or .Theoretically,thepower
coefficientiscalculatedastheratioofactualtoidealextractedpower.Youcanfindthis
calculationinEquation2.Also,youcanadjust bycontrollingtheangleofattack,,and
thetipspeedratio, .ThecalculationforthiscaseisshowninEquation3.InEquation3,c1
c6andxarecoefficientsthatwindturbinemanufacturershouldprovide.Notethatthe
maximumpowercoefficientthatyoucanachievewithanyturbineis.59,ortheBetzlimit.

Equation2.Thepowercoefficientiscalculatedastheratioofactualtoidealextractedpower.

Equation3.Youcanadjustthebycontrollingtheangleofattack,,andthetipspeedratio.
Finally,youcancalculatetheusablepowerfromthewindusingEquation5.Fromthis
equation,youcanseethatthemaindriversforusablepowerarethebladelengthandwind
speed.

Where: =densityofair(1.2929kg/m3)
Equation5.CalculatingUsablePowerfromtheWind

Figure3.ModeloftheTurbinesInteractionwiththeWind
ThePowerCurve
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Itisimportanttounderstandtherelationshipbetweenpowerandwindspeedtodetermine
therequiredcontroltype,optimization,orlimitation.Thepowercurve,aplotyoucanusefor
thispurpose,specifieshowmuchpoweryoucanextractfromtheincomingwind.Figure4
containsanidealwindturbinepowercurve.

OK

Figure4.IdealWindTurbinePowerCurve
Thecutinandcutoutspeedsaretheoperatinglimitsoftheturbine.Bystayinginthisrange,
youensurethattheavailableenergyisabovetheminimumthresholdandstructuralhealthis
maintained.Theratedpower,apointprovidedbythemanufacturer,takesbothenergyand
costintoconsideration.Also,theratedwindspeedischosenbecausespeedsabovethis
pointarerare.Typically,youcanassumethataturbinedesignthatextractsthebulkof
energyabovetheratedwindspeedisnotcosteffective.
FromFigure4,youcanseethatthepowercurveissplitintothreedistinctregions.Because
RegionIconsistsoflowwindspeedsandisbelowtheratedturbinepower,theturbineisrun
atthemaximumefficiencytoextractallpower.Inotherwords,theturbinecontrolswith
optimizationinmind.Ontheotherhand,RegionIIIconsistsofhighwindspeedsandisatthe
ratedturbinepower.Theturbinethencontrolswithlimitationofthegeneratedpowerinmind
whenoperatinginthisregion.Finally,RegionIIisatransitionregionmainlyconcernedwith
keepingrotortorqueandnoiselow.
2.ControlMethods

Youcanusedifferentcontrolmethodstoeitheroptimizeorlimitpoweroutput.Youcan
controlaturbinebycontrollingthegeneratorspeed,bladeangleadjustment,androtationof
theentirewindturbine.Bladeangleadjustmentandturbinerotationarealsoknownaspitch
andyawcontrol,respectively.Avisualrepresentationofpitchandyawadjustmentisshown
inFigures5and6.

Figure5.PitchAdjustmentFigure6.YawAdjustment
Thepurposeofpitchcontrolistomaintaintheoptimumbladeangletoachievecertainrotor
speedsorpoweroutput.Youcanusepitchadjustmenttostallandfurl,twomethodsofpitch
control.Bystallingawindturbine,youincreasetheangleofattack,whichcausestheflat
sideofthebladetofacefurtherintothewind.Furlingdecreasestheangleofattack,causing
theedgeofthebladetofacetheoncomingwind.Pitchangleadjustmentisthemosteffective
waytolimitoutputpowerbychangingaerodynamicforceonthebladeathighwindspeeds.
Yawreferstotherotationoftheentirewindturbineinthehorizontalaxis.Yawcontrol
ensuresthattheturbineisconstantlyfacingintothewindtomaximizetheeffectiverotorarea
and,asaresult,power.Becausewinddirectioncanvaryquickly,theturbinemaymisalign
withtheoncomingwindandcausepoweroutputlosses.Youcanapproximatetheselosses
withthefollowingequation:
EQ6:P=cos()WherePisthelostpowerandistheyawerrorangle
Thefinaltypeofcontroldealswiththeelectricalsubsystem.Youcanachievethisdynamic
controlwithpowerelectronics,or,morespecifically,electronicconvertersthatarecoupledto
thegenerator.Thetwotypesofgeneratorcontrolarestatorandrotor.Thestatorandrotor
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arethestationaryandnonstationarypartsofagenerator,respectively.Ineachcase,you
disconnectthestatororrotorfromthegridtochangethesynchronousspeedofthe
generatorindependentlyofthevoltageorfrequencyofthegrid.Controllingthesynchronous
generatorspeedisthemosteffectivewaytooptimizemaximumpoweroutputatlowwind
speeds.

OK

Figure7showsasystemlevellayoutofawindenergyconversionsystemandthesignals
used.Noticethatcontrolismosteffectivebyadjustingpitchangleandcontrollingthe
synchronousspeedofthegenerator.

Figure7.SystemLevelLayoutofaWindEnergySystem
3.ControlStrategies

Recallthatcontrollingthepitchofthebladeandspeedofthegeneratorarethemost
effectivemethodstoadjustoutputpower.Thefollowingcontrolstrategiesusepitchand
generatorspeedcontroltomanageturbinefunctionalitythroughoutthepowercurve:fixed
speedfixedpitch,fixedspeedvariablepitch,variablespeedfixedpitch,andvariablespeed
variablepitch.Figure8showsthepowercurvesfordifferentcontrolstrategiesexplained
below,withvariablespeedvariablepitch,VSVP,beingtheidealcurve.

Figure8.PowerCurvesforDifferentControlStrategies(Variablespeedvariablepitch,VS
VP,istheidealcurve.)
Fixedspeedfixedpitch(FSFP)istheoneconfigurationwhereitisimpossibletoimprove
performancewithactivecontrol.Inthisdesign,theturbinesgeneratorisdirectlycoupledto
thepowergrid,causingthegeneratorspeedtolocktothepowerlinefrequencyandfixthe
rotationalspeed.Theseturbinesareregulatedusingpassivestallmethodsathighwind
speeds.Thegearboxratioselectionbecomesimportantforthispassivecontrolbecauseit
ensuresthattheratedpowerisnotexceeded.Figure8showsthepowercurveforFSFP
operation.
Fromthefigure,itisapparentthattheactualpowerdoesnotmatchtheidealpower,implying
thatthereislowerenergycapture.Noticethattheturbineoperatesatmaximumefficiency
onlyatonewindspeedinthelowspeedregion.Theratedpoweroftheturbineisachieved
onlyatonewindspeedaswell.Thisimpliespoorpowerregulationasaresultofconstrained
operations.
Fixedspeedvariablepitch(FSVP)configurationoperatesatafixedpitchanglebelowthe
ratedwindspeedandcontinuouslyadjuststheangleabovetheratedwindspeed.Toclarify,
fixedspeedoperationimpliesamaximumoutputpoweratonewindspeed.Youcanuse
bothfeatherandstallpitchcontrolmethodsinthisconfigurationtolimitpower.Keepinmind
thatfeatheringtakesasignificantamountofcontroldesignandstallingincreasesunwanted
thrustforceasstallincreases.Figure8showsthepowercurveforFSVPusingeither
featherorstallcontrol.
Belowtheratedwindspeed,theFSVPturbinehasanearoptimumefficiencyaround
RegionII.Exceedingtheratedwindspeed,thepitchanglesarecontinuouslychanged,
providinglittletonolossinpower.
Variablespeedfixedpitch(VSFP)configurationcontinuouslyadjuststherotorspeed
relativetothewindspeedthroughpowerelectronicscontrollingthesynchronousspeedof
thegenerator.Thistypeofcontrolassumesthatthegeneratorisfromthegridsothatthe
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generatorsrotoranddrivetrainarefreetorotateindependentlyofgridfrequency.Fixed
pitchreliesheavilyonthebladedesigntolimitpowerthroughpassivestalling.Figure8
showsthepowercurveforVSFP.

OK

Figure8showsthatpowerefficiencyismaximizedatlowwindspeeds,andyoucanachieve
ratedturbinepoweronlyatonewindspeed.Passivestallregulationplaysamajorroleinnot
achievingtheratedpowerandcanbeattributedtopoorpowerregulationabovetherated
windspeed.Inlowerwindspeedcases,VSFPcancapturemoreenergyandimprovepower
quality.
Variablespeedvariablepitch(VSVP)configurationisaderivationofVSFPandFSVP.
Operatingbelowtheratedwindspeed,variablespeedandfixedpitchareusedtomaximize
energycaptureandincreasepowerquality.Operatingabovetheratedwindspeed,fixed
speedandvariablepitchpermitefficientpowerregulationattheratedpower.VSVPisthe
onlycontrolstrategythattheoreticallyachievestheidealpowercurveshowninFigure8.
4.Summary

Thisdocumentcoveredsomeessentialwindenergyconcepts,suchastheangleofattack
andthepowercoefficient,aswellasdifferentcontrolmethodsandstrategies.Pitch,Yaw,
andRotationalSpeedControlwerethemaincontrolmethodsusedtooptimizeorlimitthe
powerextractedfromthewind.Windturbinecontrolisessentialforoptimalperformance,
safeoperation,andstructuralstability.

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