Adaptive Power Converter Control for Efficiency Maximization in Variable-Speed Wind Energy Systems

Abstract

Wind power has become one of the most important renewable energy sources to provide sustainable electricity as it has environmental advantages and is being distributed more and more all over the world. In the current wind energy conversion systems, power systems tend to operate as variable-speed to ensure that most of the energy is tapped out of the varying wind energies. Power electronic converters are also important poor points in such a system, as they are used to control the flow of power, and help to provide a stable system operation. Nevertheless, the traditional converter control techniques tend to lose efficiency and dynamic performance during fast varying wind conditions. This research paper puts forward an adaptive power converter control strategy which would enhance the efficiency of wind energy systems which use variable speeds. The suggested controller varies the converter operating parameters dynamically depending on the real-time measurements of the system environment to provide the efficient transforming of the power and the enhanced stability of the system. The mathematical models of wind turbine and power converter are created to analyse the energy conversion process and control the design of the controller. The adaptive control algorithm is realised and tested in terms of simulation in the MATLAB/Simulink environment with different wind speed conditions. Experiments in a simulator show that the suggested method is more efficient in terms of converters, more dynamic, and less of power is lost as opposed to traditional fixed-parameter control techniques. The results suggest that the use of adaptive converter control might considerably enhance the behaviour and stability of wind energy converting systems that are exposed to unstable weather patterns.