Real-Time Implementation of the MPPT Control Algorithms of a Wind Energy Conversion System by the Digital Simulator OPAL_RT

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study between two algorithms for controlling the Wind Turbine (WT) using real time platforms: RT-Lab. The Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) control technique is implemented for extracting the maximum energy from the wind. The first control consists in taking as a reference strategy the electromagnetic torque associated with the maximum power curve. This controller is known as Indirect Speed Control (ISC). The second one, based on the measured wind speed, is called Direct Speed Control (DSC). In this second controller, the effectiveness of the controllers was evaluated with a PI controller and a Fuzzy Logic (FL) controller. The performances are analyzed and compared on the OPAL-RT digital simulator, which is based on the RT-LAB platform with the model, and its control built in Simulink. The results of the simulations clearly show that algorithm based on fuzzy controllers gives better performance in terms of monitoring the maximum power coefficient and optimal speed compared to conventional algorithms.