A comparative study between three sensorless control strategies

for PMSG in wind energy conversion system

Jemaa Brahmi, Lot Krichen
*
, Abderrazak Ouali
Advanced Control and Energy Management Research Unit ENIS, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Sfax, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 25 June 2008
Received in revised form 14 October 2008
Accepted 9 November 2008
Available online 30 December 2008
Keywords:
Sensorless
WECS
MPPT
Sliding mode observer
Articial neural network observer
Model reference adaptive observer
a b s t r a c t
This paper presents a comparative study of sliding mode, articial neural network and model reference
adaptive speed observers for a speed sensorless permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) in
wind energy conversion system (WECS). Wind velocity and position sensorless operating methods for
wind generation system using observer are proposed only by measuring phase voltages and currents.
Maximum wind energy extraction is achieved by running the wind turbine generator in variable-speed
mode. In addition the three speed observers are compared to verify the robustness against parameter
variations.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Due to the drawbacks associated with the use of rotor position
sensors in permanent-magnet synchronous generator (PMSG)
drives, there has been signicant interest in the so-called rotor po-
sition sensorless drive. Rotor position sensorless control of the
PMSG typically requires knowledge of the PMSG structure and
parameters, which in some situations are not readily available or
may be difcult to obtain. Moreover the amount of energy ob-
tained from a wind energy conversion system (WECS) depends
not only on the characteristics of the wind regime at the site, but
also on the control strategy used for the WECS.
In the literature, many techniques have been developed for
sensorless control of induction machines [14] and for PMSG appli-
cations [57]. In [3], a sensorless vector-control strategy for an
induction generator in a variable-speed WECS using a MRAS obser-
ver to estimate the rotational speed of the induction generator is
studied. In [8], the neural network is applied for wind speed esti-
mation and robust control of maximum wind power extraction.
The work in [9] studies the rotor speed sensorless control of the
PMSG using the reduced order observer. In [10], a rotor position
sensorless control of the PMSM using a diagonally recurrent neural
network is implemented.
In this study, we propose the sensorless maximum power point
tracking of wind generation system. A speed observer based on the
MRAS theory for a speed sensorless permanent magnet synchro-
nous generator (PMSG) drive in wind energy conversion system
(WECS) is rst proposed. Next, the speed observer based on the
neural network is derived, and then a speed observer based on
the sliding mode control theory is done. The maximum power
point is based on the knowledge of the characteristic curve of the
wind turbine aerofoil. For high wind speeds, the pitch control ad-
justs the pitch angle to limit the aerodynamic power of the WECS,
which supplies a load or a grid through an inverter. This converter
allows the reactive power management by the regulation of the DC
voltage bus and the control of the reactive power. In addition, the
observers are compared, in order to test the robustness of the
observers against parameter variations of the PMSG.
Some simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effec-
tiveness of the sliding mode speed observer in wind energy conver-
sion system under decrease or increase of stator resistance.
2. Modeling of the WECS
2.1. Modeling of the wind turbine
The wind power acting on the swept area of the blade s is a
function of the air density q (kg m
3
) and the wind speed
v
w
m s
1
. The transmitted power P (W) is generally deduced
from the wind power using the power coefcient C
p
, as
0306-2619/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2008.11.010
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: brahmi_jemaa@yahoo.fr (J. Brahmi), lot.krichen@enis.rnu.tn
(L. Krichen), abderrazak.ouali@enis.rnu.tn (A. Ouali).
Applied Energy 86 (2009) 15651573
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Applied Energy
j our nal homepage: www. el sevi er . com/ l ocat e/ apener gy
P
1
2
C
P
qSv
3
w
1
The power coefcient is a non-linear function of the tip speed-ratio
k, which depends on the wind velocity and the rotation speed of the
shaft X
t
(rpm).
k
RX
t
v
w
2
where R represents the blade radius (m).
As both mechanical shafts are linked by the gearbox, there is
only one state variable. The mechanical equation is given by
dX
dt

1
J
C
m
C
em
f X 3
where C
m
is the mechanical torque (N m), C
em
is the electromagnetic
torque (N m), X is the mechanical speed of the rotor (rad s
1
), J is
the moment of inertia (kg m
2
) and f is the coefcient of viscous fric-
tion (N m s rad
1
).
2.2. Modeling of the PMSG
The model generally used of the PMSG is the Park model. By
considering only the fundamental harmonic of the ux distribution
in the air-gap of the machine and by neglecting the homopolar
component, the theory of the space vector gives the dynamic equa-
tions of the stator voltages as follows:
V
sd
R
s
I
sd

du
sd
dt
xu
sq
V
sq
R
s
I
sq

du
sq
dt
xu
sd
_
4
The stator uxes are given by
u
sd
LI
sd
/
m
u
sq
LI
sq
_
5
where R
s
is the phase resistance of the stator winding (X), L stator
inductance (H), u
m
is the ux of the permanent magnetic (Wb), V
sd
and V
sq
are the dq components of the stator voltages (V), respec-
tively, I
sd
and I
sq
are the dq components of the stator currents
(A), respectively, x is the rotor electric speed (rad s
1
) and p is
the number of pairs poles.
With arrangement of Eqs. (4)and (5) we obtain:
V
sd
R
s
I
sd
L
dI
sd
dt
xLI
sq
V
sq
R
s
I
sq
L
dIsq
dt
xLI
sd
x/
m
_
6
The electromagnetic torque is given by
C
em
p/
m
I
sq
7
A block diagram of the drive investigated for assessment of
quality of the proposed estimator of the rotor and position speed
by taking into account of the stator resistance variation is shown
in Fig. 1. The bloc of speed and position observer can be the MRAS,
the neural network or the sliding mode observer which are ex-
plained and detailed in the following sections. The wind generator
consists of a wind turbine driving a multi-pole permanent magnet
synchronous generator (PMSG) and of the AC/DC rectier to con-
nect this wind generator to the DC bus. The converter controls
the output voltages of the PMSG and indirectly the operating point
of the wind turbine and consequently its generated power.
2.3. Modeling of the converters
The modelling of the converters is made by using the concept of
instantaneous average value [11]. The converter is equivalent to a
matrix topology composed of three legs of which its two ideal
switches are in complementary states (Fig. 2). A switching function
f
ij
is dened for each power switch [12]. It represents the ideal
commutation orders and takes the value 1 when the switch is
closed (on) and 0 when it is opened (off):
f
ij
2 f0; 1g with
i 2 f1; 2; 3g no of the leg
j 2 f1; 2; g no of the switch in the leg
_
8
As ideal power switches are considered:
f
i1
f
i2
1; i 2 f1; 2; 3g 9
For both three-phase converters, rectier rec and inverter inv
of Fig. 1, modulation functions can be dened from the switching
functions:
m
rec

m
rec13
m
rec23
_ _

1 0 1
0 1 1
_ _ f
11
f
21
f
31
_

_
_

_
rec
m
inv

m
inv13
m
inv23
_ _

1 0 1
0 1 1
_ _ f
11
f
21
f
31
_

_
_

_
inv
10
The rectier provides the voltages V
sdq
V
sd
V
sq

T
from the
capacitor voltage U and the modulated current I
rec
:
Fig. 1. Block diagrams of speed sensorless PMSM drive in WECS.
1566 J. Brahmi et al. / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 15651573
V
sdq
m
rec
U
I
rec
m
T
rec
I
sdq
_
11
The three-phase inverter is modelled in the same way. It yields
the inverter voltages V
invdq
V
invd
V
invq

T
from the capacitor volt-
age and the inverter modulated current I
inv
from the line currents
I
ldq
I
ld
I
lq

T
:
V
invdq
m
inv
U
I
inv
m
T
inv
I
ldq
_
12
3. Optimal control strategy of the WECS
In this study, the search of the maximum power point is based
on the knowledge of the characteristic curve of the wind turbine
aerofoil. Fig. 3 represents the aerodynamic power according to
the PMSG speed for various values of the wind speed. The summits
of these curves give the maximumextractable power P
opt
and thus
the optimal point. This point is characterized by the optimal speed
X
opt
and the maximum power coefcient C
p,opt
. Fig. 4 represents
the power coefcient according to the specic speed k. For this
wind turbine the optimal specic speed is k
opt
= 8.1.
For the powers lower than the nominal output of the turbine
P
n
= 3.6 kW, the aerodynamic torque which gives the optimum
power according to the optimal PMSG speed is approximated by
the following polynomial function:
C
mopt
6:2491 10
7
X
3
opt
0:0021X
2
opt
0:0232X
opt
1:1834 13
Beyond the nominal output of the turbine, the pitch control is
activated and the PMSG works at constant power. For strong
speeds, the aerodynamic brake is operated.
Taking into account the relative difculty of the speed control of
a high inertial turbine, a torque control of the generator is applied.
This way of controlling the system requires an adaptation of the
device that ensures the maximum point of power MPPT.
4. Model reference adaptive speed observer
Speed estimation methods using MRAS have been described in
the literature for eld-oriented IM drives. Schauder [13] uses the
rotor ux as the output value for the model to estimate the rotor
speed, [14] propose a new MRAC method that uses the stator cur-
rents as the state variables for estimating the speed of induction
motor. In [15], the rotor speed is estimated by the full order adap-
tive observer.
In Fig. 5 the MRAS estimator uses two models to calculate a sta-
tor ux of the PMSG. One model is a reference model and the other
one is an adaptive model.
Eq. (5) represents the reference model which depends only on
stator currents and the adaptive model which considers the rotor
speed as the adjustable parameter, is shown in Eq. (14).
^
/
sd

_
V
sd
^ xL
^
I
sq
R
s
^
I
sd
dt /
m
^
/
sq

_
V
sq

^
xL
^
I
sd
R
s
^
I
sq

^
x/
m
dt
_
14
The outputs of these two models are compared in an adaptation
mechanism to estimate the adjustable parameter that tunes the
adaptive model in order to drive the output error between these
models to zero. The error between the two models is fed back to a
proportionalintegral (PI) controller in which an adaptation algo-
rithmis used to tune the speed ^ x, so that the error e = 0. The conver-
gence of the adaptation diagram is assured if the adaptive
mechanism in such manner is suitably chosen that one guarantees
the asymptotic stability of the error e. The error indq coordinates is
e e
1
; e
2

T

^
/
sd
/
sd
;
^
/
sq
/
sq

T
15
Let us suppose that e
1

^
/
sd
/
sd
, the state error equation is
written as follows:
i
c
f
11
f
12
f
13
i
t1
U u
m13
c u
m23
i
t3
f
21
f
22
f
23
Fig. 2. Diagram of ideal switches equivalent to the converter.
Fig. 3. Aerodynamic power versus PMSG speed.
Fig. 4. Power coefcient versus specic speed. Fig. 5. Block diagram for MRAS control.
J. Brahmi et al. / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 15651573 1567
de
1
dt

R
s
L
^
/
sd

^
x
^
/
sq

R
s
L
/
m
V
sd
L
dI
sd
dt
16
we obtain:
e
1
s
R
s
L
_ _
We
1
; t f t 17
where
f t
R
s
L
/
sd

R
s
L
/
m
V
sd
L
dI
sd
dt
and We
1
; t ^ xe
1
; t
^
/
sq
Eq. (17) describes a system with feedback explained in Fig. 6,
having a linear transfer function as Hs
1
sRs=L
_ _
, and a non-linear
function in the feedback chain where the input is e
1
and the output
is W(e
1
, t).
The synthesis of the stability conditions of a system composed
of two subsystems, one linear and the other non-linear requires
that
The linear function Hs
1
sRs=L
_ _
is null, positive, so R
e
Hjw
Rs=L
w
2
Rs=L
2
is positive 8w > 0.
The adaptive mechanism included in the non-linear block must
satisfy the criterion of the hyperstability of Popov [13].
The proportional and integral law adaptation is written
xe
1
; t
_
t
0
w
1
dt w
2
18
We pose
x
i
e
1
; t
_
t
0
w
1
dt and x
p
e
1
; t w
2
19
The non-linear block veries the inequality of Popov dened by
I
_
e
1
Wdt I
1
I
2
> g
2
20
where I
1

_
e
1
^
/
sq

_
t
0
w
1
e
1
; t dt dt and I
2

_
e
1
^
/
sq
w
2
dt
The solution of I
1
is given by the integral law adaptation
x
i
e
1
; t k
1
_
t
0
e
1
^
/
sq
dt x0 and the solution of I
2
is given by
the proportional law adaptation, x
p
e
1
; t k
2
e
1
^
/
sq
; k
1
and k
2
are
positive constants.
xe
1
; t k
2
e
1
^
/
sq
k
1
_
t
0
e
1
^
/
sq
dt x0
_ _
For e
2

^
/
sq
/
sq
and in the same way as e
1
, we determine
x(e
2
, t) which can be expressed as
xe
2
; t k
0
1
e
2
^
/
sd
k
0
2
_
t
0
e
2
^
/
sd
dt x0
_ _
The estimated speed is nally given by
^ x xe
1
; t xe
2
; t
k
p
e
1
^
/
sq
e
2
^
/
sd
k
i
_
e
1
^
/
sq
e
2
^
/
sd
dt x0 21
where e
1
^
/
sq
e
2
^
/
sd
/
sq
^
/
sd
/
sd
^
/
sq
.
5. Articial neural network
The structure of the proposed feedforward neural network used
for estimation is indicated in Fig. 7. The network has three layers,
i.e., input layer, hidden layer, and output layer. The circles in the
network represent the neurons. The input and output layers have
neurons equal to the respective number of signals, whereas the
hidden layer in the present design has ve neurons. The basic ele-
ment of the ANN is the neuron which has four main parts: inputs,
weights and biases, activation function and outputs as illustrated
in Fig. 7. A training algorithm adjusts the weights and the biases.
The data set is formed by the current components (I
a
, I
b
,
I
a
(k 1), I
b
(k 1)) and the voltage ones (V
a
, V
b
). Thus, we have
six neurons in the input layer and one neuron as an output which
represents the estimated speed.
Supervised neural networks applied to the speed observer were
trained to produce the desired output correction to the estimated
speed. Implementation of these supervised networks was carried
out in two steps.
In the rst step, the groups of inputdesired output training
data were obtained from simulation of the complete drive system.
The network inputs and the desired output were normalized. To
improve the learning process, the input data to the ANN were
the subject of polynomial interpolation. This operation is repeated
for the entire next learning data considering that each new learn-
ing starts from the weights, which were determined in the previ-
ous learning process.
The next step is for testing. The last stage of checking the perfor-
mance of the speed observer was testing using data that are differ-
ent than the learning ones.
The data vector set is:
E
n
= [i
a
, i
b
, i
a
(k 1), i
b
(k 1), v
a
, v
b
],
W
ci
: input weight i = (1:6),
W
sj
: output weight j = (1.5),
W
c
= [W
c1
W
c2
W
c3
W
c4
W
c5
W
c6
]
W
s
= [W
s1
W
s2
W
s3
W
s4
W
s5
]
with b
e
: input bias and b
s
: output bias.
The output of the hidden layer is given by the following
expression:
S
c
f W
c
E
n
b
e

The estimated speed is expressed by

W f W
s
S
c
b
s

where S
c
is the output of the hidden layer and the function f is a tan-
gent sigmoid function.
6. Sliding mode observer
In the stationary reference frame, the (a, b) model for the PMSG
without saliency is characterized by Fig. 6. Equivalent diagram of MRAS.
Input
layer


hidden
layer
Output
layer
I
I
I
I
V
V
b
b

W W
W

(k-1)
(k-1)
ci sj
s
s
31
^
Fig. 7. Neural network structure.
1568 J. Brahmi et al. / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 15651573
di
s
dt
Ai
s
Bm
s
Be
s
22
where
i
s
= (i
a
, i
b
)
T
: stator a- and b-axes currents,
v
s
= (v
a
, v
b
)
T
: stator a- and b-axes voltages,
e
s
= (ea, eb)
T
: induced voltage,
e
a
= k
e
x sinh; k
e
back emf constant,
e
b
= k
e
x cosh.
A
R
s
L
I; B
1
L
I; I
1 0
0 1
_ _
The sliding mode observer (SMO) is depicted in Fig. 8 which
consists of the three parts, current observer, continuous control
function and rotor position and speed calculator.
From Eq. (22) the SMO is made as the following structure:
d^i
s
dt
A
^
i
s
Bv
s
B^e
s
23
where the equivalent controls of conventional sliding mode obser-
ver can be obtained in Eq. (24)
^e
a
k
1
sign
^
i
a
i
a
k
e
^ xsin
^
h
^e
b
k
1
sign
^
i
b
i
b
k
e
^
xcos
^
h
_
24
The superscript ^ represents the estimated quantities, k
1
is
the constant current observer gain, (^i
a
i
a
) and (^i
b
i
b
) are the er-
ror between estimated current and actual one in the a- and b-axis,
respectively.
The sliding mode surface is dened as
S
n
s
a
s
b

T
25
where S
a
^i
a
i
a
i
a
and S
b
^i
b
i
b
i
b
.
To avoid the chattering phenomena, the sign function is re-
placed by the sigmoid function dened by [16]
Hi
a

2
1 expai
a

_ _
1; i
a
i
a
i
a
Hi
b

2
1 expai
b

_ _
1; i
b
i
b
i
b
a is a positive number.
When the estimation error trajectories reach the sliding surface
(s
n
= 0), it is obvious that the observed current will converge to the
actual ones, i.e., ^i
a
i
a
and ^i
b
i
b
.
Lets design the Lyapunov function to nd such condition of
sliding mode existence.
V
1
2
s
T
n
_ s
n

^ xx
2
2
26
Under the assumption that the rotor speed is constant within
one estimation period, derivative of Lyapunov function becomes
_
V s
T
n
_ s
n

^
_ xDx where Dx ^ xx 27
_ s
n
_ s
a
_ s
b
A
^
i
s
i
s
Be
s
k 28
The sliding mode exists when
_
V < 0
Substituting Eq. (28) into Eq. (27), the following equation is
obtained:
_
V s
T
n
A
^
i
s
i
s
B^e
s
e
s
k
^
_
x Dx < 0 29
According to the Lyapuvovs stability theory, V must be obeyed
to guarantee that the observer is stable. In order to drive the sys-
tem to be convergent, we have these conditions:
s
T
n
A^i
s
i
s
k < 0 30a
s
T
n
Be
s

^
_ xD x 0 30b
From Eq. (30b), the speed estimator may be derived as
^
_ x
k
L
s
a
sin
^
h s
b
cos
^
h 31
Also, from Eq. (24) and with sin
^
h ! sinh; cos
^
h ! cos h the rotor
position is determined as follows:
^
h tan
1
e
a
e
b
_ _
32
7. Comparative study of speed estimators and simulation
results
To make a concrete comparison between the three methods, we
have proceeded by a steady state simulation. By applying a step
signal of a wind ranging between 7 and 9 m/s at time t = 30 s,
and by increasing the stator resistance of 20% at time t = 70 s, the



, i i


Current
observer
Speed and
position
calculator


Sigmoid
function (H)
v v
,
^ ^
^
^
e k sign_(i -i )
1
^ ^
i i
,

=
e k sign_(i -i ) 1
^ ^
=
Fig. 8. Sliding mode observer.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
Time (s)
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
real
estimated
Fig. 9. Actual and estimated rotor speeds (MRAS).
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
real
estimated
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Time (s)
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
Fig. 10. Actual and estimated rotor speeds (ANN).
J. Brahmi et al. / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 15651573 1569
simulation results of the MRAS, the ANN and the SMO observers
are depicted in Figs. 911, respectively.
For SMO and ANN observers, we note good results when the
stator resistance variation appears and chattering phenomenon is
observed with SMO. The stator resistance perturbation causes a
static error in the case of MRAS observer.
In the following, we have considered a real wind speed ranging
between 6 and 12 m/s with an average value of 9 m/s where two
simulations with and without resistance variation are investigated.
The wind speed sequence is obtained by adding a turbulent com-
ponent to a slowly varying signal.
Figs. 1217 present the simulation results without stator varia-
tion. The estimated and actual rotor speeds at the nominal condi-
tion are shown in Fig. 12. The simulation result of wind velocity
estimation is shown in Fig. 13. When the wind speed is high, i.e.,
greater than 10 m/s, the pitch control adjusts the pitch angle de-
real
estimated
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
Time (s)
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
Fig. 11. Actual and estimated rotor speeds (SMO).
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
Time (s)
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
Time (s) Time (s)
a
b
c
Fig. 12. Actual and estimated rotor speeds at nominal condition. Legend: (a) MRAS, (b) neural network and (c) sliding mode observer. - - - -: Estimated value and : real
value.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
w
i
n
d

s
p
e
e
d

(
m
/
s
)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
w
i
n
d

s
p
e
e
d

(
m
/
s
)
w
i
n
d

s
p
e
e
d

(
m
/
s
)
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)
a
b
c
Fig. 13. Actual and estimated wind speeds at nominal condition. Legend: (a) MRAS, (b) neural network and (c) sliding mode observer. - - - -: Estimated value and : real
value.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
P
i
t
c
h

a
n
g
l
e

(
d
e
g
)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
P
i
t
c
h

a
n
g
l
e

(
d
e
g
)
P
i
t
c
h

a
n
g
l
e

(
d
e
g
)
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)
a b
c
Fig. 14. Pitch angle. Legend: (a) MRAS, (b) neural network and (c) sliding mode observer.
1570 J. Brahmi et al. / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 15651573
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
A
e
r
o
d
y
n
a
m
i
c

p
o
w
e
r

(
W
)
A
e
r
o
d
y
n
a
m
i
c

p
o
w
e
r

(
W
)
A
e
r
o
d
y
n
a
m
i
c

p
o
w
e
r

(
W
)
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)
a
b
c
Fig. 15. Aerodynamic power. Legend: (a) MRAS, (b) neural network and (c) sliding mode observer.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
T
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
m
)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
T
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
m
)
T
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
m
)
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)
a
b
c
Fig. 16. Actual and estimated output torque. Legend: (a) MRAS, (b) neural network and (c) sliding mode observer. - - - -: Estimated value and : real value.
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
o
t
o
r

p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
R
o
t
o
r

p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
R
o
t
o
r

p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)
a
b
c
Fig. 17. Rotor position. Legend: (a) MRAS, (b) neural network and (c) sliding mode observer.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)
a
b
c
Fig. 18. Actual and estimated rotor speeds considering the variation of stator resistance: 20% decrease. Legend: (a) MRAS, (b) neural network and (c) sliding mode observer. -
- - -: Estimated value and : real value.
J. Brahmi et al. / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 15651573 1571
picted in Fig. 14 to limit the aerodynamic power plotted in Fig. 15 to
the nominal value of the PMSG. The wind turbine output torque is
represented in Fig. 16. Fig. 17 depicts the angle position of the rotor.
Figs. 1821 show simulation results with increase or decrease
of stator resistance in order to analyze the performances of the
three observers relative to parameter variations. In this study, an
increase or a decrease of 20% of the stator resistance is applied at
time t = 50 s. Figs. 18 and 19 represent rotor and wind speeds
respectively in the case of a decrease of the stator resistance.
Whereas, Figs. 20 and 21 represent rotor and wind speeds respec-
tively in the case of an increase of the stator resistance. Figs. 18a,b
and 20a,b, where the variation of the stator resistance occurs, show
a static error between the estimated and the real rotor speed for
ANN and MRAS observers.
According to these simulations, we note a good behavior of the
three algorithms especially at the nominal condition under both
transient and steady-state conditions. The disagreement between
the estimated speed and the real one is accented especially with
the MRAS, where it can be seen that a 20% variation of stator resis-
tance can produce an important estimation error. The ANN is more
insensitive against the stator resistance and wind speed variations
than the MRAS observer. Moreover, the robustness of the proposed
sliding mode speed observer against the variation of stator resis-
tance can be observed from these simulation results.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
W
i
n
d

s
p
e
e
d

(
m
/
s
)
W
i
n
d

s
p
e
e
d

(
m
/
s
)
W
i
n
d

s
p
e
e
d

(
m
/
s
)
Time (s)
Time (s)
Time (s)
a
b
c
Fig. 19. Actual and estimated wind speeds considering the variation of stator resistance: 20% decrease. Legend: (a) MRAS, (b) neural network and (c) sliding mode observer. -
- - -: Estimated value and : real value.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
P
M
S
G

s
p
e
e
d

(
r
a
d
/
s
)
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)
a
b
c
Fig. 20. Actual and estimated rotor speeds considering the variation of stator resistance: 20% increase. Legend: (a) MRAS, (b) neural network and (c) sliding mode observer. - -
- -: Estimated value and : real value.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
W
i
n
d

s
p
e
e
d

(
m
/
s
)
W
i
n
d

s
p
e
e
d

(
m
/
s
)
W
i
n
d

s
p
e
e
d

(
m
/
s
)
Time (s)
Time (s)
Time (s)
a
b
c
Fig. 21. Actual and estimated wind speeds considering the variation of stator resistance: 20% increase. Legend: (a) MRAS, (b) neural network and (c) sliding mode observer. - -
- -: Estimated value and : real value.
1572 J. Brahmi et al. / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 15651573
8. Conclusion
In this paper, we have presented a comparative study between
three sensorless direct torque control strategies of PMSG used in
WECS. Speed observers based on MRAS algorithm, neural networks
and a sliding mode are investigated. Simulation results have con-
rmed the validity of the algorithms related to the three ap-
proaches. In term of robustness against parameters variation, the
sliding mode observer is the best one. In addition, the MPPT based
on the characteristic curve of the wind turbine was ensured. Taking
into account the relative difculty of the speed control of a high
inertial turbine, a torque control of the generator was applied. When
the wind speed is high, the pitch control adjusts the pitch angle to
limit the aerodynamic power to the nominal value of the PMSG.
Appendix A. Wind turbine
The power coefcient of the simulated turbine is given by [17]
C
p
k; b 0:53
151
k
i
0:58b 0:002b
2:14
13:2
_ _
exp
18:4
k
i
_ _
with : k
i

1
1
k0:02b

0:003
b
3
1
The blade radius of the simulated wind turbine is 2 m.
Appendix B. Permanent magnetic synchronous generator:
PMSG
Number of pole pairs: p = 3;
Stator resistance: R
s
= 0.895 X;
Stator inductance: L = 12.16 mH;
Permanent magnetic ux: u
m
= 0.3 Wb
Inertia: j = 0.2 kg m
2
;
Friction coefcient: f = 0.001 N m s rad
1
.
Appendix C. DC bus and line
Capacitance: C = 2200 lF;
Maximal voltage: U
max
= 800 V
Line inductance: L
f
= 3 mH;
Line resistance: R
f
= 0.1 X.
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