Design and Hardware Implementation of a Variable Speed Wind Turbine Emulator System

Design and Hardware Implementation of a Variable Speed Wind Turbine Emulator System

Wind turbine power generation has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, and the related research topics continue to generate deep research interest. In order to further improve the research efficiency and provide convenience in conducting wind energy conversion system (WECS) research, this paper aims to design and implement a hardware emulation system for the variable speed permanent magnet synchronous wind turbine generator (WTG). The proposed WTG emulator system includes (1) a wind turbine emulator (WTE) unit composed of a three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) and a torque controller and (2) a three-phase permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). In order to verify the correctness and feasibility of the proposed WTE system, the power control interface for the PMSG adopts a simple three-phase full-bridge rectifier and a boost converter to facilitate maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control for various WTE functional tests. The main focuses of this paper include mathematical model derivation and simulation of WTE as well as the design and implementation of three-phase PMSM torque tracking controllers, i.e., proportional (P), proportional integral (PI), and fuzzy controllers, respectively. Typical simulation and implementation results are presented to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed WTE system.