Advanced Control Strategy of Switched Reluctance Generator-Based Wind Energy Conversion Systems Using Backstepping and Extremum Seeking Techniques

Abstract

Switched reluctance generators (SRG) become increasingly competitive with other electrical machines due to their design, which includes only a stator winding. The SRG are known for their reliability and capacity to operate over a wide speed range, these generators find significant use in variable wind power plants. The main limitations of these machines are torque fluctuation and relatively low efficiency. In this respect, the aim of this work is to mitigate these drawbacks. Presently, an extremum seeking online method has been developed, and a backstepping controller is designed for SRG-based wind energy conversion system (WESC) connected to the grid via a VSC converter. One of the main objectives of the proposed controller is to achieve the optimum rotation speed of the turbine and to regulate the SRG for tracking the maximum power point (MPPT) while minimizing torque ripple via Direct Instantaneous Torque Control (DITC). To show the efficiency and performance of the proposed controllers, simulation examples of the proposed controllers are established using MATLAB/SIMULINK tools. The simulation results show that the efficiency and performance of the system using the proposed controller are significantly improved.