Sensorless adaptive control of brushless doubly-fed reluctance generators for wind power applications

Abstract

A novel model reference adaptive system for the rotor position/speed estimation and sensorless operation of a brushless doubly fed reluctance generator with maximum power point tracking is presented. Its main advantage over the existing designs are the inherent robustness and stability afforded by the complete parameter independence of the reference model using only the measured currents of the converter-fed (secondary) winding. In addition, the respective stationary frame current components are estimated by the adaptive model using the voltage and current measurements of the grid-connected (primary) winding at line frequency, offering higher accuracy. The simulation and experimental results have demonstrated the excellent real and reactive power controller performance for typical operating characteristics of wind turbines.