Short-Circuit Fault Tolerant Control of a Wind Turbine Driven Induction Generator Based on Sliding Mode Observers

Abstract

The installed energy production capacity of wind turbines is growing intensely on a global scale, making the reliability of wind turbine subsystems of greater significance. However, many faults like Inter-Turn Short-Circuit (ITSC) may affect the turbine generator and quickly lead to a decline in supplied power quality. In this framework, this paper proposes a Sliding Mode Observer (SMO)-based Fault Tolerant Control (FTC) scheme for Induction Generator (IG)-based variable-speed grid-connected wind turbines. First, the dynamic models of the wind turbine subsystems were developed. The control schemes were elaborated based on the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) method and Indirect Rotor Flux Oriented Control (IRFOC) method. The grid control was also established by regulating the active and reactive powers. The performance of the wind turbine system and the stability of injected power to the grid were hence analyzed under both healthy and faulty conditions. The robust developed SMO-based Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI) scheme was proved to be fast and efficient for ITSC detection and localization.Afterwards, SMO were involved in scheming the FTC technique. Accordingly, simulation results assert the efficacy of the proposed ITSC FTC method for variable-speed wind turbines with faulty IG in protecting the subsystems from damage and ensuring continuous connection of the wind turbine to the grid during ITSC faults, hence maintaining power quality.