Dynamic safety control of offshore wind turbine based on model predictive control

Abstract

Offshore wind power is a clean energy source with excellent development prospects that are conducive to realising China's goal of carbon neutrality. However, offshore wind turbines (WTs) are prone to failure and damage owing to their long-term operation in marine environments with high humidity, high wind speeds, and frequent extreme weather. To ensure the safe operation of offshore WTs, a modified dynamic model predictive control (MPC) method was proposed in this study. First, a dynamic model of an offshore WT was established and its nonlinear state-space equations were obtained. These state-space equations were subsequently linearised and discretised, then fast trajectory tracking of the state variables was performed according to the conventional MPC principle. Finally, a control strategy was designed to realise the safe operational control of offshore WT using the safety index as a constraint condition in the MPC. Simulation results confirmed that the proposed MPC strategy using the safety index-based constraint exhibited superior tracking of the set trajectory and achieved the minimum energy loss under varying wind speeds.