Predictive Control Strategy for DFIG Wind

Turbines with Maximum Power Point Tracking

Using Multilevel Converters
José Sayritupac∗ , Eduardo Albánez∗ , Johnny Rengifo∗ , José M. Aller∗†‡ and José Restrepo∗†‡
∗ UniversidadSimón Bolívar, Caracas–Venezuela
Email: {ealbanez,jwrengifo}@usb.ve
† PROMETEO-SENESCYT, Ecuador
‡ Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Cuenca–Ecuador

Email: jaller@ups.edu.ec

Abstract—This paper proposes a control scheme for a wind ira , irb , irc Phase rotor currents
turbine using a DFIG electromechanical converter, implemented iga , igb , igc Phase grid side currents
through an NPC three-level back to back converter, that keeps a J Moment of inertia
unitary power factor injection to the grid and maximizes the Ls , Lr , Lsr Stator, rotor and mutual inductances
energy harvested from wind, using a maximum power point np Number of pole pairs
tracking algorithm (MPPT). A predictive direct power control
(DPC) strategy drives the grid-side converter, to maintain the p Derivative operator d/dt
DC bus reference voltage. Whereas, a predictive direct torque R Turbine rotor radius
control (DTC) strategy drives the machine-rotor-side converter, Rs , Rr Stator and rotor resistances
to control the power extraction, the power factor and balancing of Rg , Lg Transformer resistance and inductance
the DC bus capacitors. The developed model allows to study the Sa , Sb , Sc Bridge leg states
wind energy conversion system (WECS) for energy harvesting,
rotor dynamics and power quality analysis. Simulation results Sw Switching state vector
endorse the effectiveness of the advanced control techniques for Te , Tm Electrical and mechanical torque
the whole wind spectrum, including the pitch angle control. A Ts Sampling time
sensitivity analysis shows that the predictive DTC control strategy ~vs , ~is Stator voltage and current space vectors
is robust with an uncertainty up to 20% of the induction machine
parameters. I. I NTRODUCTION
Index Terms—WECS, DFIG, DTC, DPC, Predictive control
There is a great interest in the scientific community on
researching wind energy conversion systems (WECS), due to
N OMENCLATURE its sustained growing inclusion in electric power systems in the
last decades [1]. Doubly fed induction generators (DFIG) are
θe Electrical angle among rotor & stator α-axis
the most installed technology used to exploit the wind energy
θp,0 Blade pitch angle
resources [2], mainly because the rated power of the electronic
ρ Air density
converter is a third of the induction generator capacity.
ρT , ρλ , ρv DTC cost function weights
Several strategies based on direct torque control (DTC) [3]
ρp , ρq DPC cost function weights
have been proposed in recent years, including predictive con-
ϕ Angle of relative wind
trol and multilevel converters [4]–[6]. Some DFIG applications
Λ Tip speed ratio
are reported in [1], [7]–[9]. Maximum power point tracking
Λh Tip speed ratio at the hub
(MPPT) algorithms have been presented [10], [11] in order to
Λr Tip speed ratio at a distance r from the hub
optimize the energy extraction from the wind.
ωm Generator shaft angular speed
This paper presents a WECS based on a DFIG topology
ωt Turbine rotor angular speed
controlled by a back to back power converter, build upon two
ωe Electric system synchronous speed
three-level neutral point clamped (NPC) bridges linked by a
a, a0 Axial and angular induction factors
DC bus. The machine-side converter is controlled with the pro-
agb Gear box transformation ratio
posed DTC technique, and the grid-side converter use a direct
A Area swept by the turbine rotor
power control (DPC) strategy proposed by [12]. Both controls
C Capacitance of each DC bus capacitors
minimize cost functions based on the control variables errors
CD Airfoil drag coefficient
at every control cycle to select the switching states of each
CL Airfoil lift coefficient
converter. The DPC references are set to keep constant the DC
Cp Turbine power coefficient
978-1-4673-7652-5/15/$31.00 2015
c IEEE
bus voltage, whereas the DTC references are set to maximize
the power extraction from the wind, control the stator power
factor and guarantee the balance of DC bus capacitors. The
torque reference is established by a maximum power point
tracking (MPPT) algorithm, that takes into account the blade
pitch angle. The WECS model developed allows to study the
rotor dynamics, power quality analysis, and control strategies
for different wind turbine models.
II. W IND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM
The wind energy conversion system studied on this paper Figure 3: Back to back NPC three level converter
is shown in Fig. 1.
A. Wind speed pθe = np ωm (6)
A wind speed measurement that includes wind gust and a
wind ramp was obtained from [13], and provides a global The space-vector transformation used in this paper is,
r 
scenario suitable to analyze the energy conversion system 2 2π 4π

dynamics and the performance of the control strategies. ~x = xa + xb ej 3 + xc ej 3 = xα + jxβ (7)
3
B. Wind turbine and the transformation to refer to the rotor variables to the
The torque developed by the turbine rotor is [14], [15], frame of reference fixed in the stator is,

Pm ρAV 3 ~xsr = ~xr ejθe (8)

=
Tm = Cp (Λ, θp,0 ) (1)
ωt 2ωt
D. Multilevel back to back converter
where the power coefficient in accordance with the Blade
Element Momentum Theory is expressed as [16], The back to back converter is shown in Fig. 3. Each
inverter generates 33 = 27 different valid voltage space vectors
ˆ Λ   in the αβ reference frame. The switching variable S w =
8 CD [Sa , Sb , Sc ]t denotes the converter switching position for each
Cp = Λ3r a0 (1 − a) 1 − cot ϕ dΛr (2)
Λ Λh CL leg, these integer variables are -1, 0 or 1 corresponding to the
The power coefficient surface, as a function of the the tip phase voltages − V2dc , 0, V2dc .
speed ratio and the pitch angle, for the data shown in appendix The NPC topology requires to keep the voltage on each
A, is depicted in Fig. 2. capacitor equal, but these voltages are affected by the connec-
tivity states when Sa , Sb or Sc are zero [18]. The strategy for
balance operation consists in controlling the neutral voltage vn
0.4
around zero volts. The dynamic response of vn is described
0.35
by [19],
0.4
0.3 1 X
0.3 pvn = |Sgm | igm − |Srm | irm (9)
0.25 C
Cp

0.2 m={a,b,c}
0.2
0.1
0.15 III. C ONTROL STRATEGIES
0
0 0.1 A. Predictive direct power control
25
5 20 0.05
10 10
15 The predictive DPC presented in [12], [20] proposes an
5 0
Λ
0
θp,0
algorithm for computing the optimum voltage space vector
that satisfies the active and reactive power references [21].
Figure 2: Cp vs λ curves. This formulation is based on computing the optimum trajec-
tory using Lagrange operators. The system voltage may be
C. Doubly fed induction generator expressed as a function of the grid-side converter voltage as,
The fixed stator reference frame αβ space vector model of ~vsys = Rg~ig + Lg p~ig + ~vg (10)
the induction machine is [17],
Using a first order approximation, an expression for the
~vs = Rs~is + Ls p~is + Lsr p~isr (3) increment of the apparent power for each control cycle k is,
 
~vrs = Rr~isr + Lsr p~is + Lr p~isr − jnp ωm Lsr~is + Lr~isr (4) ∆~sk = ∆pk + j∆qk (11)
  Ts ∗


J pωm = Te − Tm = np Lsr ~isr × ~is − Tm (5) ∆~sk = ∆~s0,k − ~vsys,k+1 ~vg,k (12)
Lg
 m g

Figure 1: WECS topology and system control block diagrams.

Ts  ∗
∆~s0,k = ∆~vsys,k ~i∗g + ~vsys,k+1 ~vsys,k − Rg~ig,k (13) The discrete-time form of the estimated torque is,
Lg
where the electric system voltage ~vsys,k is sinusoidal, and Te,k+1 = Te,k + ∆Te,k (17)
the estimated voltage for the next control cycle ~vsys,k+1 is
Differentiating the electric torque in (5) leads to,
obtained by rotating ~vsys,k
~vsys,k+1 = ~vsys,k ejωe Ts (14)
 
∆Te = Ts np Lsr p~ir,k × ~is,k
r
+ ~ir,k × p~is,k
r
(18)
jωe Ts


∆~vsys,k = ~vsys,k e −1
Replacing p~irs and p~ir from (3) and (4) respectively, in (18),
Given an active and reactive power references, the errors the following expression for the change of the electric torque
are defined as, is obtained,
k = p,k + jq,k = (pref,k+1 − pk ) + j (qref,k+1 − qk ) (15)
np Lsr h
r

~is,k
r

~ir,k +
The cost function Ψ1 follows as, ∆Te,~vs = −Ts ~vs,k × L sr + L r
Ls Lr − L2sr
 
2
Ψ1 = ρp (p,k − ∆pk ) + ρq (q,k − ∆qk )
2
(16) (Ls Rr + Lr Rs ) ~ir,k × ~is,k
r
+
 
ωm Lsr Ls |~is,k
r 2
| + Lr |~ir,k |2 +
B. Predictive direct torque control

n oi
The predictive strategy is based on applying the optimal ωm Ls Lr + L2sr <e ~ir,k~is,k r
(19)
rotor voltage space vector ~vr that best accomplishes the
following targets:
np Lsr h 
~is,k
r ~ir,k
i
1) Maximize the energy harvested from wind, through the ∆Te,~vr = Ts ~vr,k × Ls + Lsr (20)
Ls Lr − L2sr
torque reference obtained from the MPPT algorithm.
2) Control the stator power factor, using a closed-loop PI with,
controller to set the flux reference.
3) Balance each capacitor voltage of the DC bus, by ∆Te = ∆Te,~vs + ∆Te,~vr (21)
computing the ~vr using redundant switching states of
The discrete-time form of the estimated rotor flux amplitude
the back to back converter when possible.
is,
The selection of ~vr is performed by minimizing a cost function      
that takes into account the electric torque, the rotor flux ~
λr,k+1  = ~λr,k  + ∆ ~λr,k 
    
(22)
magnitude and the neutral point voltage of the DC bus, at
the next control cycle. the rotor voltage equation is,
 D. Pitch control
p~λr = ~vr − Rr~ir (23)
   For wind speeds exceeding the turbine rated value, the
  <e ~λr,k ~vr,k − Rr~ir,k blades pitch angle can be controlled to maintain the generator
p ~λr,k  =
  
~ 
 power at its rated capacity. The pitch angle model can be
λr,k  expressed as [22], [23],
then, θref − θp,0
pθp,0 = (31)
τθ
  
<e ~λr,k ~vr,k − Rr~ir,k
∆λr,k = Ts   (24)
~ 
λr,k  where τθ represents the mechanical servomotor time delay.
The angle θref is set to zero when the wind speed is below
The change of the neutral voltage of the DC bus from (9) its rated value, otherwise the reference is obtained from a PI
is, controller to keep the generator operating at rated power.
Ts X
∆vn,k = |Sgm,k | igm,k − |Srm,k | irm,k (25)
C IV. S IMULATION RESULTS
m={a,b,c}

The electric torque, rotor flux and neutral point voltage A detailed analysis of the WECS to evaluate the per-
errors are defined as, formance of the proposed control strategy is presented, the
  simulation data is given in Appendix A. All per units results
T = Tref −Te,k ; λ = λref − ~λr,k  ; v = vref −vn,k (26)
  presented in this section are based on the generator rated
values.
The cost function Ψ2 used in this work is,
A. Case of study
2 2
Ψ2 = ρT (T,k − ∆Te,k ) + ρλ (λ,k − ∆λr,k ) ... The system dynamics are studied within a 50 s window of
2
+ ρv (v,k − ∆vn,k ) (27) incident wind speed. The power delivered to the electric grid
varies accordingly with the wind fluctuations as shown in Fig.
C. Maximum power point tracking
5a. The turbine power is effectively limited to its rated value
The wind turbine has an optimum operating point when the wind gust (12 s < t < 17 s) and the wind ramp
(Cp−opt , λopt ) for a given pitch angle θp,0 and wind speed V , (t > 39 s) take place, as a result of the active blade pitch
as depicted in Fig. 4, where the the power Pm−opt captured angle control. When the wind speed is under its rated value the
from the wind is maximum, pitch angle is set to zero, and the DTC shows a fast response
to the MPPT reference, to keep the optimum turbine power
1 coefficient of 0.42. As the wind speed exceeds its rated value
5 m/s
0.8
7 m/s of 12 m/s, the pitch angle grows reducing the Cp accordingly
9 m/s to Fig. 5b. When the power coefficient differs from zero, the
11 m/s
Pt (pu)

0.6 13 m/s trajectory followed by it, is the crest of the surface depicted
MPPT in Fig. 2.
0.4
The DPC holds the DC bus voltage at its reference value
0.2 of 3 pu, whereas the DTC maintains the capacitors voltage
balanced at 1.5 pu each, as shown in Fig. 6. The rotor flux
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 linkage was set to keep a lagging power factor of 0.95 at the
ωt (pu) electric generator terminals. Table I synthesizes these results.
Figure 4: Wind turbine power extraction vs angular mechani- The variation of the turbine mechanical speed is presented
cal speed, for a fixed pitch angle. in Fig. 7, which varies slowly due to its large inertial time
constant. Lastly, the phase current detail and its frequency
spectrum is depicted Fig. 8, in which the signal harmonic
1 content is kept 40 decades below the fundamental frequency
ρAV 3 Cp−opt
Pm−opt = (28)
2 until the 49th harmonic.
V
ωt−opt = λopt (29) Table I: Power factor results
R
then the torque reference for the DTC is, Mean Median Standard deviation
Pm−opt 0.9455 0.9568 0.0454
Tref = (30)
agb ωt−opt
 1.25 20 Table II: Torque ripple under parameters uncertainty

1 16 Rs Rr Lσs Lσr Lsr

Psys (pu)

+20% 1.5476 1.5476 1.7532 1.7699 3.5431

V (m/s)
0.75 12 0% 1.5474
−20% 1.5483 1.5434 1.5229 1.5287 3.2035
0.5 8

0.25 incident wind 4 1.15

rated speed
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 1.1
time (s)

ωm (pu)
(a) Active power delivered and incident wind speed 1.05
1.25 0.5

1 0.4 1
Pt (pu)

0.75 0.3 0.95

Cp
0 10 20 30 40 50
0.5 0.2 time (s)
0.25 0.1 Figure 7: Angular mechanical speed
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50
1.5
time (s)
(b) Turbine power and power coefficient 1

Figure 5: WECS performance during the study case

is (pu) 0.5

0
vC1

1 −0.5
0 −1
0 10 20 30 40 50
−1.5
40 40.02 40.04 40.06 40.08 40.1
vC2

1
time (s)
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 (a) Detail of stator phase current
0.1
0
vn

0
|Is (jω)| (dB)

−0.1
0 10 20 30 40 50 −20
time (s)
−40
Figure 6: Capacitors and neutral DC voltages
−60

B. Sensitivity analysis −80

The proposed DTC strategy requires knowledge of the 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
machine parameters to predict the optimum operating point f (Hz)
at the next control cycle. Therefore, is of interest to assess (b) Frequency spectrum of the stator current
the robustness of the control under parameter detuning condi- Figure 8: Analysis of the stator phase current
tions. To this purpose, the algorithm was tested varying each
parameter over a range of ±20%. The variable σT is define in
(32) to quantify the torque ripple. The results of the sensitivity under demanding wind speed conditions. The proposed DTC
analysis are presented in Table II, where the control scheme strategy is applied using a three-level NPC converter to control
exhibits a primary dependency with Lsr . For the worst case the electric generator has proven to be effective, with a fast
scenario considered, the torque ripple is kept below 3.5%. tracking MPPT reference that maximizes the harvesting of the
Ni wind energy; greatly reducing the reactive power requirements
1 X 1
q
2
σT = 100 (Tref,k − Te,k ) (32) by keeping the power factor close to unity; and balancing the
Ni Tref,k voltage of the back to back converter DC bus capacitors.
k=1
The proposed control technique was tested for machine-
V. C ONCLUSION parameters detuning, revealing a main dependence with the
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