Adaptive and Predictive Control Strategies for Wind Turbine Systems: A Survey

The wind turbine(WT) is a renewable energy conversion device for transformation of kinetic energy from the wind to mechanical energy for subsequent use in different forms.This paper focuses on wind turbine control design strategies.The content is divided into the following parts: 1) An overview of the recent advances that have been made in the application of adaptive and model predictive control strategies for wind turbines. 2) Summarizes some important aspects of modeling of wind turbines for control studies. 3) Provides an outlook on the application of adaptive model predictive control for uncertain systems to stimulate new research interests for wind turbine systems. We provide an overall picture of the research results with evaluation of the merits/demerits.

Variable Tension Control for Discontinuous Tape Winding of Composites Based on Constant Extension Ratio

Discontinuous tape winding, which has obvious advantages in large extension ratio winding, is widely used in the molding of composites. Therefore, the research on technological parameters becomes the focus of many scholars. However, how to accomplish the variable tension control is usually not fully considered. Accordingly, the constant extension ratio and the smoothness of winding process cannot be ensured. Aiming at the problem of tension control, this paper first gives a comparatively deep research on the control method and the interaction mechanism of tension, extension ratio, automatic lap and automatic rectification. Then, according to the winding process features, the mechanical device and the mathematical model of tension control system are established respectively. With regard to the characteristics of PID controller and fuzzy controller, the fuzzy self-tuning PID controller is designed. As a result, the variable tension control is realized during the winding and lapping process, and the constant extension ratio is guaranteed. Finally, a sample application is presented for demonstration. By presenting the variable tension control techniques for discontinuous tape winding, the constant extension ratio of tapes is achieved, the consecution and the automation degree of winding process is improved as well. Thus, the quality of wound products is guaranteed.

On Advanced Control Methods toward Power Capture and Load Mitigation in Wind Turbines

This article provides a survey of recently emerged methods for wind turbine control. Multivariate control approaches to the optimization of power capture and the reduction of loads in components under time-varying turbulent wind fields have been under extensive investigation in recent years. We divide the related research activities into three categories： modeling and dynamics of wind turbines, active control of wind turbines, and passive control of wind turbines. Regarding turbine dynamics, we discuss the physical fundamentals and present the aeroelastic analysis tools. Regarding active control, we review pitch control, torque control, and yaw control strategies encompassing mathematical formulations as well as their applications toward different objectives. Our survey mostly focuses on blade pitch control, which is considered one of the key elements in facilitating load reduction while maintaining power capture performance. Regarding passive control, we review techniques such as tuned mass dampers, smart rotors, and microtabs. Possible future directions are suggested.

Research on Hybrid Power System with Dual Stator-winding and Its Decoupled Control Strategy

For the bi-power system adopted widely in future armored vehicles,a hybrid power generator with dual stator-winding was proposed.Its structure and working principle were analyzed first,and its main parameters were determined and verified according to the power requirements.The system's mathematical model was established,and a decoupled control method was put forward on the basis of the instantaneous reactive power theory.For the voltage building-up,a voltage control strategy was designed on the basis of mixed reactive power compensation to implement stabilized 28V and 270V outputs simultaneously.The simulation results show that the stabilization accuracy and disturbance rejection ability of the system are improved much more than other ordinary generators.

A Low-Cost Active Control Multi-Fan Turbulence Wind Tunnel with an Embedded System to Generate Natural Wind

This paper describes a new actively controlled multi-fan wind tunnel that generates natural wind as a type of turbulence wind tunnel at a reduced cost. The driving section of the wind tunnel has 100 PC cooling fans that are controlled by an original embedded system. The fluctuating velocity wind is successfully generated with a mean velocity of 7 m/s and two turbulent intensities of 2% and 3% based on Karman’s power spectrum density function. The case of 2% has the integral scales of 5 m, 10m and 20 m, and the case of 3% has the integral scales of 3 m, 6 m and 15 m with a turbulence grid. In particular, the wind with the turbulent intensity of 2% satisfies the Kolmogorov’s -5/3 multiplication rule of inertial subrange with the frequency range from 0.01 Hz to 2.0 Hz. Consequently, the new wind tunnel can be used for studying engineering technology and research regarding conditions with natural wind.

The Pitch Control Algorithm of Wind Turbine Based on Fuzzy Control and PID Control

Due to the special features of great inertia, pure lag and non-linearity provided with wind turbine, coupled with complex and variable working condition, it is difficult to achieve satisfactory control results simply by employing traditional PID, which has the drawbacks such as adjustment inconvenience, poor anti-interference, and large overshoot, and prolonged adjust span. This paper puts forward one type of improved controller combining Fuzzy Control with PID Control. With larger speed deviation, the controller emphasizes Fuzzy Control to speed system response;with less speed deviation, the controller emphasizes PID Control to improve control accuracy. Simulation Test directing at the algorithm is based on the Bladed software, with the positive result of improved dynamic and static performance of wind turbine under large disturbance.

Dynamic Circulation Control for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine using Virtual Solidity Matching

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) with fixed pitch blades have a limited power capture performance envelope as the Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) changes. Circulation Control (CC) has been proposed and simulated to possibly increase power capture of a VAWT using constant CC jet momentum, but a practical method of minimizing CC usage has yet to be explored. In addition, VAWTs are typically limited in power capture performance either by a maximum peak at a small set of TSR or wide operating TSR at fractions of the peak performance based on the design solidity. Both the reduced jet usage and solidity limitation were addressed by developing a method of dynamically using CC to perform a virtual solidity change. The developed method described within this work used CC to change blade aerodynamics to specifically match a maximum performing static solidity or wake shape at a given TSR. Simulation results using an existing aerodynamics model indicated a significant reduction in the re-quired CC jet momentum compared to a constant CC system along with control over power capture for a CC-VAWT.

Maximum Power Point Tracking in Variable Speed Wind Turbine Based on Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator Using Maximum Torque Sliding Mode Control Strategy

The present study was carried out in order to track the maximum power point in a variable speed turbine by minimizing electromechanical torque changes using a sliding mode control strategy. In this strategy, first, the rotor speed is set at an optimal point for different wind speeds. As a result of which, the tip speed ratio reaches an optimal point, mechanical power coefficient is maximized, and wind turbine produces its maximum power and mechanical torque. Then, the maximum mechanical torque is tracked using electromechanical torque. In this technique, tracking error integral of maximum mechanical torque, the error, and the derivative of error are used as state variables. During changes in wind speed, sliding mode control is designed to absorb the maximum energy from the wind and minimize the response time of maximum power point tracking(MPPT). In this method, the actual control input signal is formed from a second order integral operation of the original sliding mode control input signal. The result of the second order integral in this model includes control signal integrity, full chattering attenuation, and prevention from large fluctuations in the power generator output. The simulation results, calculated by using MATLAB/m-file software, have shown the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy for wind energy systems based on the permanent magnet synchronous generator(PMSG).

Intelligent control for large-scale variable speed variable pitch wind turbines

Large-scale wind turbine generator systems have strong nonlinear multivariable characteristics with many uncertain factors and disturbances. Automatic control is crucial for the efficiency and reliability of wind turbines. On the basis of simplified and proper model of variable speed variable pitch wind turbines, the effective wind speed is estimated using extended Kaiman filter. Intelligent control schemes proposed in the paper include two loops which operate in synchronism with each other. At below-rated wind speed, the inner loop adopts adaptive fuzzy control based on variable universe for generator torque regulation to realize maximum wind energy capture. At above-rated wind speed, a controller based on least square support vector machine is proposed to adjust pitch angle and keep rated output power. The simulation shows the effectiveness of the intelligent control.

A New Method for Quality Control of Chinese Rawinsonde Wind Observations

In 2006,the National Meteorological Information Center （NMIC） of the China Meteorological Administration （CMA） developed its real-time quality control （QC） system of rawinsonde observations coming from the Global Telecommunications System （GTS） and established the Global Upper-air Report Dataset,which,with the NMIC B01 format,is generally referred to as the B01 dataset and updated on a daily basis.However,when the B01 dataset is applied in climate analysis,some wind errors as well as some accurate values with incorrect error marks are found.To improve the quality and usefulness of Chinese rawinsonde wind observations,a new QC method （NewQC） is proposed in this paper.Different from the QC approach used for B01 datasets,the NewQC includes two vertical-wind-shear checks to analyze the vertical consistency of winds,in which the constant height level winds are used as reference data for the QC of mandatory pressure level winds.Different threshold values are adopted in the wind shear checks for different stations and different vertical levels.Several typical examples of QC of different error types by the new algorithm are shown and its performance with respect to 1980-2008 observational data is statistically evaluated.Compared with the radiosonde QC algorithms used in both the Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System （MADIS,http：//madis.noaa.gov/madis_raob_qc.html） of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration （NOAA） and the B01 dataset,the NewQC shows higher accuracy and better reliability,particularly when used to judge successive observation errors.

Application of Lead Viscoelastic Dampers to Wind Vibration Control on Big-Span Power Transmission Tower

To study the wind vibration response of power transmission tower, the lead viscoelastic dampers （LVDs） were applied to a cup tower. With time history analysis method, the displacement, velocity, acceleration and force response of the tower was calculated and analyzed. The results show that the control effect of lead viscoelastic dampers is very good, and the damping ratio can reach 20% or more when they are applied to the tower head.

Design and Analysis of a Novel Tension Control Method for Winding Machine

Filament winding has emerged as the main process for carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP) fabrication, and tension control plays a key role in enhancing the quality of the winding products. With the continuous improvement of prod?uct quality and e ciency, the precision of the tension control system is constantly improving. In this paper, a novel tension control method is proposed, which can regulate the fiber tension and transport speed of the winding process by governing the outputs of three di erent driven rollers(the torque of the unwind roll, the torque of the magnetic powder brake roller, and the speed of the master speed roller) in three levels. The mechanical structures and dynamic models of the driven rollers and idle rollers are established by considering the time?varying features of the roller radius and inertia. Moreover, the influence of parameters and speed variation on fiber tension is investigated using the increment model. Subsequently, the control method is proposed by applying fiber tension in three levels accord?ing to the features of the three driven rollers. An adaptive fuzzy controller is designed for tuning the PID parameters online to control the speed of the master speed roller. Simulation is conducted for verifying the performance and sta?bility of the proposed tension control method by comparing with those of the conventional PID control method. The result reveals that the proposed method outperforms the conventional method. Finally, an experimental platform is constructed, and the proposed system is applied to a winding machine. The performance and stability of the tension control system are demonstrated via a series of experiments using carbon fiber under di erent reference speeds and tensions. This paper proposes a novel tension control method to regulate the fiber tension and transport speed.

Asymptotic Tracking Control for Wind Turbines in Variable Speed Mode

This paper presents a variable speed control strategy for wind turbines in order to capture maximum wind power.Wind turbines are modeled as a two-mass drive-train system with generator torque control.Based on the obtained wind turbine model,variable speed control schemes are developed.Nonlinear tracking controllers are designed to achieve asymptotic tracking for a prescribed rotor speed reference signal so as to yield maximum wind power capture.Due to the difficulty of torsional angle measurement,an observer-based control scheme that uses only rotor speed information is further developed for global asymptotic output tracking.The effectiveness of the proposed control methods is illustrated by simulation results.

A Long-Range Generalized Predictive Control Algorithm for a DFIG Based Wind Energy System

This paper presents a new Long-range generalized predictive controller in the synchronous reference frame for a wind energy system doubly-fed induction generator based. This controller uses the state space equations that consider the rotor current and voltage as state and control variables, to execute the predictive control action. Therefore, the model of the plant must be transformed into two discrete transference functions, by means of an auto-regressive moving average model, in order to attain a discrete and decoupled controller, which makes it possible to treat it as two independent single-input single-output systems instead of a magnetic coupled multiple-input multiple-output system. For achieving that, a direct power control strategy is used, based on the past and future rotor currents and voltages estimation. The algorithm evaluates the rotor current predictors for a defined prediction horizon and computes the new rotor voltages that must be injected to controlling the stator active and reactive powers. To evaluate the controller performance, some simulations were made using Matlab/Simulink. Experimental tests were carried out with a small-scale prototype assuming normal operating conditions with constant and variable wind speed profiles. Finally, some conclusions respect to the dynamic performance of this new controller are summarized.

Robust State Feedback Control of Wind-Excited Tall Buildings

The introduction of robust control theory into structure control, as well as design procedure of stabilizing controllers for structures with parameter uncertainty and model error is discussed. A stability bound is derived from the polar decomposition of the nominal system matrix. In addition, our study shows that application of low pass filters avoids spillover by eliminating the unconsidered high frequency components. It is demonstrated, via an example, our approach leads to excellent control result and offers far better robustness than previous solutions.

Experimental Study on Vibration Control of Offshore Wind Turbines Using a Ball Vibration Absorber

To minimize the excessive vibration and prolong the fatigue life of the offshore wind turbine systems, it is of value to control the vibration that is induced within the structure by implementing certain kinds of dampers. In this paper, a ball vibration absorber (BVA) is experimentally investigated through a series of shake table tests on a 1/13 scaled wind turbine model. The reductions in top displacement, top acceleration, bottom stress and platform stress of the wind turbine tower system subjected to earthquakes and equivalent wind-wave loads, respectively, with a ball absorber are examined. Cases of the tower with rotating blades are also investigated to validate the efficacy of this damper in mitigating the vibration of an operating wind turbine. The experimental results indicate that the dynamic performance of the tested wind turbine model with a ball absorber is significantly improved compared with that of the uncontrolled structure in terms of the peak response reduction.

Research of Control Method for Improving Mechanical Performance of Winding Motor

A reformed PID (Proportional-Integral-Differential) motor controller is developed for the ideal winding performance. It is verified that the PID motor controller can largely improve the mechanical performance and raise the production efficiency by means of the test of a winding production system driven by a motor with high internal resistance rotator. It indicates that improving the control method is one of the most effective ways to improve the winding performance of the motor in winding production.

Grid Harmonic and Control Delay Compensation for Three-phase Grid-connected VSIs in Small Wind Turbine Systems

Voltage space vector pulse-width modulation(SVPWM) has been widely applied to control current in three-phase voltage source inverters(VSI).However,as a voltage type modulator,SVPWM has certain drawbacks compared with current type modulators for grid-connected applications.For a grid-connected VSI,the performance of existing current controllers based on SVPWM is compromised by grid harmonics,control delay and system nonlinearities such as switching dead time.Moreover,unlike current type PWM,SVPWM does not inherently have over-current protection.A novel SVPWM-based current controller is proposed for three-phase grid-connected VSIs for small wind turbine appli-cations.To overcome the drawbacks of SVPWM,a grid harmonic compensation method is proposed along with compen-sation for control delays.Both simulation and experimental results have established excellent steady-state response and fast dynamic response of the current controller.In addition,the DSP-based control system has both improved real-time control performance and fast response for over-current protection.

Ecological Significance of Wind Power Generation for the Control of Desertification——A Case Study of Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province

Wind energy density was calculated based on average wind speed and air density,and the distribution of wind energy density and its relation with the distribution of sandstorm in Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province were revealed. Moreover,the ecological effect of wind power development on the reduction of local sandstorm and sand flow was estimated. The results show that if the maximum rotor power coefficient of a wind-driven generator is 0. 5,the forward movement speed of sand body( or desert)( 8 827 km × 1 m × 1 m) will reduce by 1 m every year through the development and conversion of wind energy resources in Hexi Corridor. If the proportion of exploitable wind energy resources is 50%,the forward movement speed of sand body( or desert)( 4 414 km × 1 m × 1 m) will decrease by 1 m every year. It is clearly seen that wind power industry has obvious effects on the control of sandstorm and sand flow. Wind energy resources in Hexi Corridor have great development potential,and wind power industry can bring both ecological and economic benefit to people.

Design and Application of Wind Power Peak Control Technology

Wind power control technology is an important part of intelligent control in wind farms. By the automatic calculation and implementation of control strategy, problems such as imprecise of manual control scheduling, slow adjust rate, heavy workload, etc. have been solved. It can improve the capacity of wind power grid, and it also has the important meaning to the safe and stable operation of power grid. This paper introduces wind power control system from certain aspects such as control mode, control principle, and so on.