Control of a doubly fed induction wind generator under unbalanced grid voltage conditions

Ted K.A. Brekken, Ned Mohan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

304 Scopus citations

Abstract

Wind energy is often installed in rural, remote areas characterized by weak, unbalanced power transmission grids. In induction wind generators, unbalanced three-phase stator voltages cause a number of problems, such as overcurrent, unbalanced currents, reactive power pulsations, and stress on the mechanical components from torque pulsations. Therefore, beyond a certain amount of unbalance, induction wind generators are switched out of the network. This can further weaken the grid. In doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs), control of the rotor currents allows for adjustable speed operation and reactive power control. This paper presents a DFIG control strategy that enhances the standard speed and reactive power control with controllers that can compensate for the problems caused by an unbalanced grid by balancing the stator currents and eliminating torque and reactive power pulsations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)129-135
Number of pages7
JournalIEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion
Volume22
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2007

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Manuscript received July 12, 2006; revised October 17, 2006. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant ECS-0245550 and in part by the Fulbright Program and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Paper no. TEC-00238-2006.

Keywords

  • AC generators
  • Induction motors
  • Power system dynamic stability
  • Reactive power control
  • Torque control
  • Variable speed drives
  • Wind energy

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