Development of a three-bladed horizontal axis wind turbine with active control by using a programmable logic controller

Abstract

For the increasing the physical efficiency, useful life and avoid accidents in wind turbines, it is very useful to implement a pitch control on the blades that help as an aerodynamic brake and orientation in the base to follow the wind direction. The main goal of this paper was to develop a digital controller on the wind turbine blades that allows to keep the constant angular velocity and monitor the orientation of the wind. A computer-aided design software was developed for allowing the aerodynamic analysis by using Solid Works® software based on a flow simulation tool. On the other hand, a MATLAB model was created employing Simulink tool and the Simscape toolbox with typical data from a 2MW wind turbine whereas the electrical and mechanical dynamics and control feedback were calculated having as input parameters the wind direction and speed. Consequently, a prototype was designed in 3D which was implemented to make the different tests. For lab experimentation, a fuzzy control algorithm was developed in structured control language and then implemented using the S7-1200 PLC. The trials with programmable logic controller and the fuzzy algorithm were satisfactory, which could be a basis for the optimization of the performance of a three-bladed horizontal axis wind turbine.