Position Sensor-Less Synchronous Reluctance Generator Based Grid-Tied Wind Energy Conversion System With Adaptive Observer Control

Abstract

A new wind energy conversion system (WECS), with a position sensor-less synchronous reluctance generator (SynRG), integrated to the grid is proposed in this paper. Simple, brushless, compact structure of SynRG along with a full-scale converter makes it suitable for wind power applications. SynRG offers a fast dynamic response due to the absence of permanent magnets and windings in the rotor thus eliminating rotor losses completely. The torque pulsation from wind turbine (WT) are prevented from being transmitted to the grid by making use of a back-to-back (BTB) connected full-scale converters. The WECS and the grid are sharing a common DC-link through their respective voltage source converters (VSCs). The VSC connected to the machine side provides the required reactive power to the SynRG and operates it at a speed decided by the maximum power point (MPP) algorithm. A rotor position/speed sensor-less field-oriented control is implemented for controlling the SynRG. A fast, accurate, and oscillation-less adaptive observer based algorithm is introduced for the grid integration of WECS. MATLAB®/Simulink platform is used for the modeling and simulation of the system and a laboratory prototype is used for its experimental validation.