Simulating the Dynamic and Steady State Response of a Rotor Resistive Controlled 1.5 MW Variable Speed Wind Turbine

Currently, wind and solar technologies only generate 0.77% and 0.014% of the U.S. electricity consumption, respectively [1]. Though only a small portion of total U.S. electricity production, both sources have seen significant growth recently. For instance, Texas has more than quadrupled its installed wind capacity over the period from 2005–2009 with new installations totaling over 9400 MW [2, 3]. These two resources are globally available and have the potential to generate massive amounts of electricity. As the amount of installed wind turbines continues to grow, gaining better knowledge of their operation and their dynamic response to changing wind conditions is important to ensure their smooth integration and safe operation. The goal of this research is to analyze the dynamic and steady state operations of a 1.5 MW variable speed wind turbine that uses an external rotor resistive control mechanism. The addition of the external generator rotor resistance allows for adjustment of the generator slip and employs a feedback controller that maintains constant power output at all air velocities between the rated wind speed and cut-out wind speed. Using the electronic programming language PSCAD/EMTDC the model simulates the dynamic response to changing wind conditions, as well as the performance under all wind conditions. The first task of the model was to determine which blade pitch angle produces a maximum power output of 1.5 MW. A sweep was used where the simulation runs over the entire range of wind speeds for a selected pitch angle to find which speed resulted in maximum power output. This sweep was used for numerous blade pitch angles until the combination of wind speed and pitch angle at 14.4 m/s and −0.663°, respectively, resulted in a maximum power of 1.5 MW. The second task was to evaluate the model’s dynamic response to changes in wind conditions as well as steady state operation over all wind speeds. The dynamic response to an increase or decrease in wind speed is important to the safety and life expectancy of a wind turbine because unwanted spikes and dips can occur that increase stresses in the wind turbine and possibly lead to failure. In order to minimize these transient effects, multiple controllers were implemented in order to test each ones’ dynamic response to increasing and decreasing changes in wind velocity. These simulations modeled the characteristics of a variable-speed wind turbine with constant power rotor resistive control. First, through calibrating the model the design specifications of blade pitch and wind speed which yield the peak desired output of 1.5 MW were determined. Then, using the method of controlling the external rotor resistance, the simulation was able to maintain the 1.5 MW power output for all wind speeds between the rated and cutout speeds. Also, by using multiple controllers, the dynamic response of the control scheme was improved by reducing the magnitude of the initial response and convergence time that results from changes in wind speed. Finally, by allowing the simulation to converge at each wind speed, the steady state operation, including generator power output and resistive thermal losses, was characterized for all wind speeds.