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Abstract This paper discusses a new and simple control


method for maximum power tracking in a variable speed wind
turbine by using a step-up dc-dc converter. The output voltage of
permanent magnet generator is connected to a fixed dc-link
through a three-phase rectifier and the dc-dc converter. A
maximum power-tracking algorithm calculates the speed
command that corresponds to maximum power output of the
turbine. The dc-dc converter uses this speed command to control
the output power of the permanent magnet generator, such that
the speed of generator tracks the command speed. A current
regulated PWM voltage source inverter maintains the output
voltage of dc-dc converter at a fixed value by balancing the input
and output power to the dc-link. In addition, the inverter can
improve power factor and inject a current with very low
harmonic distortion into the utility grid. The generating system
has potentials of high efficiency, good flexibility, and low cost.

Index Termsdc-dc converter, Maximum power tracking,
Permanent magnet generator, PWM inverter, Speed control,
Variable speed wind turbine.

I. INTRODUCTION
aximized electricity generation by wind turbines is an
interesting topic in electrical engineering and many
types of variable speed generating systems have been
researched to achieve this goal. Use of a variable speed
generating system in wind power application can increase the
captured power from wind. In fact, the system based on
permanent magnet generator (PMG) is one of the most
favorable and reliable methods of power generation.
However, electricity generated directly by PMG has variable
amplitude and frequency, requiring additional conditioning to
meet the amplitude and frequency requirements of the utility
grid and/or conventional loads. Many types of power
electronic converters were introduced to find an appropriate
and inexpensive solutions to the problems of electricity
conditioning and the results are promising [1][2][5].
The use of the variable speed PMG in wind turbine
application can increase the energy capture from wind,
resolve other problems such as noise, and improve efficiency.
For example, in a wind turbine system if a gearbox is used,
noise, power losses, additional cost, and potential of
mechanical failure can cause problems. The use of a variable
speed PMG could solve these problems [8].
In a variable speed PMG system, a vector control approach is
often employed to achieve nearly decoupled active and
reactive power control on the supply side power converter,
which is a current regulated voltage source inverter. In this
way, the power converter maintains the dc-link voltage and
improves power factor of the system [4][5][9]. Different
control methods for maximum power tracking in variable
speed wind turbine generators have been discussed in
[5][6][7].
This study presents a new control approach and the related
power converter topology to track the maximum power
without measuring wind or generator speed, which is of great
importance for small size and low cost wind turbines. Using
PSIM software simulation, the circuit topology and control
method of the wind power generating system is investigated
with a PMG and a back-to-back ac-dc-ac power converter.
Also included in the investigation is the wind turbines
dynamics.
The paper is organized as follows: in section II
aerodynamic characteristics of turbine and principles of
maximum power tracking method are explained. System
configuration, circuit topology, and power converters are
discussed in section III. In section IV simulation results are
presented to confirm that the control method for speed control
and capturing maximum power from wind works properly.
Section V summarizes the advantages of the overall system
and gives some final remarks.
II. WIND TURBINE
A. Wind Turbine Aerodynamic Characteristics
The amount of mechanical power captured from wind by a
wind turbine could be formulated as [3]:
3
P m
v AC
2
1
P = (1)
where, : air density (Kg/m
3
)
A : swept area (m
2
)
C
P
: power coefficient of the wind turbine
V : wind speed (m/s)
Therefore, if the air density, swept area, and wind speed are
constant the output power of the turbine will be a function of
power coefficient of the turbine. In addition, the wind turbine
is normally characterized by its C
P
-TSR curve; where, TSR,
tip-speed ratio, is given by:
A New Control Method of Permanent Magnet
Generator for Maximum Power Tracking in
Wind Turbine Application
R. Esmaili, Student Member, IEEE, and L. Xu, Fellow, IEEE and D. K. Nichols, Member, IEEE
M
2
v
R
TSR = (2)
In (2), , R, and v are the turbine rotor speed in rad/s,
radius of the turbine blade in m, and wind speed in m/s,
respectively. Fig.1 shows a typical C
P
-TSR curve for a wind
turbine.

Fig. 1. Power coefficient versus tip-speed ratio.

As can be seen from Fig.1, at TSR
opt
C
P
has its maximum
value which results in the optimum efficiency; therefore,
maximum power is captured from wind by the wind turbine.
Fig. 2 illustrates the output power of a wind turbine versus
rotor speed while speed of wind is changed from v
1
to v
3

(v
3
>v
2
>v
1
). As can be seen from Fig. 2, for example, if the
speed of wind is v
1
the maximum power could be captured
when the rotor speed is
1
; in other words, the operating point
of the system is Point A which corresponds to the maximum
output power. If wind speed changes from v
1
to v
2
while the
rotor speed is fixed at
1
, the operating point of system is
Point B which does not correspond to maximum power
tracking. The rotor speed should be increased from
1
to

2
which results in the maximum power at operating point C.

Fig. 2. Output power versus rotor speed for three different wind speeds.

Based on (2) and Fig.1, the optimum speed of rotor can be
estimated as follows:

opt
opt opt
opt
TSR
R
v
R
TSR v
= = (3)
Unfortunately, measuring the wind speed in the rotor of
turbine is very difficult; so, to avoid using wind speed, (1)
needs to be revised. By substituting the wind speed equivalent
from (3) into (1), the output power of the turbine is given as
follows:
3
opt
opt
P m
TSR
R
AC
2
1
P

= (4)

Finally, the target torque can be written as follows:
2
opt opt target
k T = (5)
where:
3
opt
PMax opt
TSR
R
AC
2
1
k

=
B. Maximum Power Tracking Algorithm
This algorithm includes several steps, which are:
1. Choose the initial reference rotor speed and measured the
output power of the generator;
2. Increase or decrease the reference rotor speed by one step
and measure the output power again;
3. Calculate Sign(P) and Sign();
4.
ref
(n)

=
ref
(n-1)+ Sign(P) Sign()
step
;
5. Repeat from step 3 to reach to optimum operating point.

Fig. 3 is used to make this algorithm clearer. Let us assume
the speed of wind is v
1
and operating point of the turbine is
point A, represented as (
A
, P
A
) in P- characteristic curve.
Also, let us assume that the turbine speed is increased by
step
,
which results in a new speed
B
.

The new operating point will
be (
B
, P
B
) which gives:

step B ref
A B
A B
sign
P sign P P P


+ =

= > =
= > =
1 ) ( 0
1 ) ( 0


After the first iteration, the new operating point becomes (
C
,
P
C
). The iterative process will continue till the operating point
of the system is found at (
1
, P
1
), corresponding to the
maximum power for the wind speed of v
1
. If the wind speed
changes to v
3
, the new operating point will be searched
starting at (
D
, P
D
) which results in:

step ref
D
D
sign
P sign P P P


+ =

= = =
= > =
1
1
1
1 ) ( 0
1 ) ( 0


The next point will be (
E
, P
E
) and similarly this process will
continue in the same manner as explained, till the final
operating point is found at (
3
, P
3
), corresponding to the
maximum power capture for the wind speed of v
3
. Now, if the
wind velocity changes to v
2
, the operating point will move to
(
F
, P
F
) that result in:

step B ref
F
F
sign
P sign P P P


=

= = =
= < =
1 ) ( 0
1 ) ( 0
3
3



In this case the turbine speed should decrease and the
operating point should settle at (
G
, P
G
):

step B ref
F G
F G
sign
P sign P P P


=

= < =
= > =
1 ) ( 0
1 ) ( 0


In this case, the reference turbine speed indeed decreases and
operating point shifts towards (
G
, P
G
). This process will
continue till the new operating point arrives in (
2
, P
2
) which
is the optimum operating point for the wind velocity of v
2
.
3

Fig. 3. Adjustment of turbine operating point for maximum power tracking.
III. POWER ELECTRONICS AND CONTROL STRATEGY
A. Circuit Topology
Fig. 4 shows the proposed circuit topology for wind power
generation system, which is used, to realize the above
principles of maximum winding power capture. This system
includes a wind turbine (WT), a permanent magnet generator
(PMG), a three-phase diode rectifier bridge, a step-up dc-dc
converter, and a current regulated PWM voltage source
inverter (CRPWM).

Fig. 4. Topology of wind power generation system.

The system has the following features: a). PMG has high
performance, higher efficiency, no exciting current, smaller in
size, and less in weight in comparison to other types of
generators; b). The generated ac power from PMG is
converted to dc power through a diode bridge which is simple,
robust, cheap and requires no control circuit; and c). Only one
power switching device is used in dc-dc converter, resulting in
low cost and simple control. In the following sections power
converters and their control methods are discussed.
B. DC-DC converter and control algorithm
The basic structure and control topology of the boost
converter is shown in Fig. 5. This converter divides the dc-
link into two levels: dc-link voltage at the output terminals of
the diode rectifier, which is a variable dc voltage, and the dc-
link voltage at the input terminals of the voltage source
inverter, which is fed from a fixed dc voltage. By varying the
switch duty cycle of the DC-DC converter the output voltage
of the generator-rectifier system can be controlled. The
purpose of this circuit is to control the shaft speed of the
PMG so that the maximum power can be captured from wind
by the turbine.
i
L
i
dc

ref
L
+
-
S
dc
+
-
-
+
PI
-
+
PI
i
C
C

m
V
dc

Fig. 5. Power circuit and control topology of the dc-dc converter.
The state equation that describes the DC-DC boost
converter is given by (6), where S
dc
is the switch status that
takes the value of 1 or 0.

dc
in
dc
L
dc
dc
dc
L
i
V
C
L
V
i
C
S
L
S
dt
dV
dt
di
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
(6)

C. Active and Reactive Power in Rotating Reference Frame
Fig.6 shows the vector representation of a balanced three-
phase system and their equivalent vectors in a rotating d-q
reference frame.

Fig. 6. Definition of rotating reference frame.

The variables in ABC system can be transformed to a
rotating d-q reference frame by using a time-varying
transformation given in
( )
( )
2
1
2
1
2
1
3
2
sin
3
2
sin sin
3
2
cos
3
2
cos cos
3
2
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

1
'
}

\
|
1
'
}

\
|

1
'
}

\
|
+ 1
'
}

\
|


T (7)


f
f
f
T
f
f
f
C
B
A
o
q
d

(8)

=

o
q
d
C
B
A
T -
f
f
f
T
f
f
f
T T
1 1
2
3
(9)

where the variables f can be define as a set of voltages or
currents in the system. Also, in a balanced three-phase
system always f
o
, called zero sequence component, is equal to
zero. The instantaneous power in a three-phase system is
given by:
[ ]

= + + =
C
B
A
C B A C C B B A A
i
i
i
V V V i V i V i V P(t) (10)
4
Using the transformation matrix and substituting the voltage
and current vectors from (9) into (10) results in:
( )
q q d d
i V i V P + =
2
3
(11)
From Fig. 6, the rotating reference frame is chosen in such
a way that: V
q
=0 and V
d
=|V|, so the equation of active power
can be simplified in the rotating reference frame as
d
i V P
2
3
= (12)
In a similar way, the equation of reactive power in the
rotating reference frame can be calculated as
q
i V Q
2
3
= (13)
D. Supply Side Converter Control Strategy
Fig.7 shows a simplified representation of the supply side
converter which includes a dc-side capacitor, a 3-phase PWM
inverter, and series impedances which interface the output of
the inverter to the utility grid.


Fig. 7. Supply-side converter arrangement.

The voltage equations in Fig.7 can be written by using
KVL law as:

C C
B B
A A
S
C
B
A
S
S
C
B
A
V e
V e
V e
L
i
i
i
L
R
i
i
i
p
1
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
(14)
where: p=d/dt

Transforming the voltage equations into the synchronous
reference frame by using the transformation matrix results in:

q
d
q
d
S
S
S
S
q
d
e
V e
L
i
i
L
R
-

L
R
i
i
p
1
(15)
To provide decoupled control of active power, or i
d
,

and
reactive power, or i
q
, base on (15), the output voltage from the
inverter in the synchronous reference frame should be
V ) i (x L e
q S d
+ =
1
(16)
) i (x L e
d S q
+ =
2
(17)
By substituting (16) & (17) into (15), the decoupled equations
of the system can be rewritten as follows:

2
1
0
0
x
x
i
i
L
R
L
R
i
i
p
q
d
S
S
S
S
q
d
(18)
As can be seen from (12) and (13) the active and reactive
power could be controlled through i
d
and i
q
, respectively.
Therefore, the control rules of (16) and (17) can be completed
through defining the current feedback loops as follows:

( )
d
*
d
i i
s
k
k x

+ =
2
1 1
(19)
( )
q
*
q
i i
s
k
k x

+ =
2
1 2
(20)
Fig.8 shows the control block diagram of supply side
inverter based on the vector-control algorithm.



Fig. 8. Schematic of control strategy for supply side inverter.
IV. SIMULATION RESULTS
To check the proposed algorithm in Section III for speed
control of PMG, a dynamic simulation is implemented using
PSIM software when the wind speed was changed. There are
two sets of simulation results which are to be explained in the
following sections. Table I shows the parameters of the PMG
used in simulation.

TABLE I
PERMANENT MAGNET GENERATOR PARAMETERS

Rated Power Output 20kW
Rated Speed 211r/min
Stator Connection winding Star
Number of Rotor poles 36
Stator Phase Resistor 0.1764
Synchronous Inductance 4.24mH
Rated Phase Current 35A
Rated Phase Voltage 205V

A. Speed Control of PMG
In this case the reference turbine speed of the generator is
the command signal to prepare a switching pattern for the
DC-DC boost converter. Fig.9-d shows speed-tracking
characteristic of the generator when the reference command
turbine signal increases linearly from 80 to 120 r/min and
again from 120 to 200 r/min and finally decreases linearly
from 200 to 160 r/min, assuming the wind speed has changed.
As can be seen from Fig. 9-a and b, by controlling the input
current to the DC/DC boost converter the output voltage of
generator-rectifier system could be controlled so that
generators shaft follows the speed command.
5
As shown in Fig.4 a current regulated PWM voltage
source inverter is used to interface the dc-link bus to utility
grid. This inverter can maintain the voltage of dc-link at a
constant voltage. As shown in Fig.9-c the dc-link voltage is
adjusted at 810 volts in this system. Furthermore, it can
improve power factor and reduce current harmonic distortion.
As can be seen from Fig.10, power factor of the system is
adjusted to almost unity power factor and total harmonic
distortion of injected current is less than 3%.

Fig. 9. Turbine speed tracking.
B. Maximum Power Tracking
The simulation program uses the typical wind turbine
characteristics that are shown in Fig. 11. As revealed by the
graphs, the optimum operating points of the turbine are
(175r/min, 10kW), (188r/min, 15kW), and (203r/min, 20kW)
for three different wind speeds.
In this simulation the algorithm iteration period and
step
are
chosen 1 second and 2 r/min, respectively. As can be seen
from Fig. 12 the generator speed starts from zero and reaches
to 1752 r/min, related to the maximum output power of
10kW for the turbine at the wind speed of v
1
. In 20 seconds it
is assumed that the wind speed increases to v
3
; therefore, the
control system changes the required turbine speed by using
the maximum power tracking algorithm to capture the
maximum power from wind in this speed. As can be seen
from Fig. 12 the speed of PMG (or turbine shaft) is adjusted
to 2032 r/min that generates 20kW power. After 42 seconds
from the beginning the wind speed decreases to v
2
from v
3
.
Consequently, the reference turbine speed will be decreased
by the control system. Fig.12 shows speed of the PMG is
adjusted to 1882 r/min in 10 seconds. As a result, the output
power of turbine is 15kW.

Fig. 10. Grid phase voltage and Phase current of PWM inverter

Fig. 11. Turbine characteristics used for simulation.


FIG. 12. OUT PUT POWER AND ROTOR SPEED OF PMG.
6
Fig.13 Simulation results showing maximum power
tracking.

Fig. 13. Tracking the maximum power by wind turbine.
V. CONCLUSION
This paper presents a power electronic converter structure
and related simple speed control method that can be used to
implement maximum power tracking in wind turbine
application. The proposed system and control algorithm
reduces the cost of the system, because there is just one
switching device in the dc-dc converter. Also no copper loss
in rotor circuit in PMG ensures higher efficiency.
Additionally, independent control of active and reactive
power on the power grid side is possible. Simulation results
confirm that control algorithm works well to track the
maximum power for different wind speeds.
At present, a prototype system including a 10kW Bergey
wind turbine, a three-phase 40kW Powerx inverter, a 10 kW
step-up dc-dc converter and digital controller to be
implemented on TMS320F2812-DSP platform are planned at
Dolan Technology Center. The preparation of prototype and
laboratory testing of PMG based wind turbine is in progress
and the final testing results are to be reported.
VI. REFERENCES
[1] Z. Chen and E. Spooner,Wind turbine power converters: a comparative
study, in Proc. 1998 IEE Power Electronics and Variable Speed Drives,
Seventh International Conference, pp. 471 476.
[2] Z. Chen and E. Spooner, A modular, permanent magnet generator for
variable speed wind turbines, in Proc. 1995 IEE Electrical Machines
and Drives, Seventh International Conference, pp. 453 457.
[3] E. Muljadi, S. Drouilhet, R. Holz, and V. Gevorgian, Analysis of
permanent magnet generator for wind power battery charging, in Proc.
1996 IEEE Industry Applications Conference, pp. 541 548.
[4] Y. Tang and L. Xu, flexible active and reactive power control strategy for
a variable speed constant frequency generating system, in Proc. 1993
IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, pp.568 573.
[5] S. Song, S. Kang, and N. Hahm, Implementation and control of grid
connected AC-DC-AC power converter for variable speed wind energy
conversion system, in Proc. 2003 IEEE Applied Power Electronics
Conference and Exposition, pp.154 - 158 vol.1
[6] F. Martinez Rodrigo, J. M. Ruiz Gonzalez, J. A. Dominguez Vazquez,
and L. C. Herrero de Lucas, Sensorless control of a squirrel cage
induction generator to track the peak power in a wind turbine, in Proc.
2002 IEEE Industrial Electronics Society Conference, pp.169 - 174 vol.1.
[7] R. Datta and V. T. Ranganathan, A method of tracking the peak power
points for a variable speed wind energy conversion system,
IEEE Trans. Energy Conversion, vol.18, pp.163 168, Mar. 2003.
[8] Y. Higuchi,N. Yamamura, M. Ishida, and T. Hori, An improvement of
performance for small-scaled wind power generating system with
permanent magnet type synchronous generator, in Proc. 2000 IEEE
Industrial Electronics Society Conference, pp.1037-1043 vol.2.
[9] C. Schauder and H. Mehta, Vector analysis and control of advanced static
VAr compensators, in Proc. 1993 IEE Generation, Transmission and
Distribution Conference, pp.299-306, vol.140.
VII. BIOGRAPHIES
Reza Esmaili (S05) received his B.S. and M.S.
degrees from Isfahan University of Technology,
Isfahan, Iran, in 1993 and 1996 both are in Electrical
Engineering. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D.
degree in the Department of Electrical Engineering at
the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. From 1997
to 2000, he was faculty member of school of
engineering at Isfahan University, Isfahan, Iran. Since
2001, he has been an Intern Engineer at Dolan
Technology Center of American Electric Power. His research interest includes
design and control of power converters for variable speed generating and drive
systems, wind turbine, and supercapacitor application. Mr. Esmaili is a student
member of IEEE.
Longya Xu (S89-M90-SM93-F04) received
his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of
Wisconsin, Madison, in 1986 and 1990 both are in
Electrical Engineering. He joined the Department of
Electrical Engineering at the Ohio State University in
1990, where he is presently a Professor. He has served
as a consultant to many industry companies including
Raytheon Co., US Wind Power Co., General Motor,
Ford and Unique Mobility Inc. for various industrial
concerns.
Dr. Xu received the 1990 First Prize Paper Award in the Industry Drive
Committee, IEEE/IAS. In 1991, Dr. Xu won a Research Initiation Award from
National Science Foundation. Dr. Xu is also a recipient of 1995 and 1999
Lumley Research Award for his understanding research accomplishments from
College of Engineering, The Ohio State University.
Dr. Xus research and teaching interests include dynamic modeling and
optimized design of electrical machines and power converters for variable speed
generating and drive system, application of advanced control theory and digital
signal processor for controlling of motion and distributed power systems in
super-high speed operation.
Dr. Xu is an IEEE fellow and served as the chairman of Electric Machine
Committee of IEEE/IAS and an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on
Power Electronics in the past several years.
David K. Nichols holds a BSEE degree from Akron
University. He began work at American Electric Power in
1972. He transferred to the Electrical Laboratory in 1976
and is currently manager of AEPs Technology Solutions
Management Section at the Dolan Technology Center in
Groveport, Ohio. A specialist in high-voltage electrical
and mechanical equipment, Nichols oversees research and
development projects, including several distributed
resource and energy storage projects. Nichols is a member
of IEEE.

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