Chapter 14: Wind Turbine Control Systems
Wind turbines are complex, nonlinear, dynamic systems forced by gravity, stochastic wind disturbances, and gravitational, centrifugal, and gyroscopic loads. The aerodynamic behavior of wind turbines is nonlinear, unsteady, and complex. Turbine rotors are subjected to a complicated three-dimensional turbulent wind inflow field that drives fatigue loading. Wind turbine modeling is also complex and challenging. Accurate models must contain many degrees of freedom (DOF) to capture the most important dynamic effects. The rotation of the rotor adds complexity to the dynamics modeling. Designs of control algorithms for wind turbines must account for these complexities. Algorithms must capture the most important turbine dynamics without being too complex and unwieldy. Off-the-shelf commercial soft ware is seldom adequate for wind turbine dynamics modeling. Instead, specialized dynamic simulation codes are usually required to model all the important nonlinear effects. As illustrated in Figure 14-1, a wind turbine control system consists of sensors, actuators and a system that ties these elements together. A hardware or software system processes input signals from the sensors and generates output signals for actuators. The main goal of the controller is to modify the operating states of the turbine to maintain safe turbine operation, maximize power, mitigate damaging fatigue loads, and detect fault conditions. A supervisory control system starts and stops the machine, yaws the turbine when there is a significant yaw misalignment, detects fault conditions, and performs emergency shut-downs. Other parts of the controller are intended to maximize power and reduce loads during normal turbine operation.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1022307
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Refinements and Tests of an Advanced Controller to Mitigate Fatigue Loads in the Controls Advanced Research Turbine: Preprint
Field Testing LIDAR Based Feed-Forward Controls on the NREL Controls Advanced Research Turbine: Preprint