Comparisons of Vector Control Algorithms for Doubly-Fed Reluctance Wind Generators

This chapter presents a comparative development and thorough assessment of vector control methodologies for a promising brushless doubly-fed reluctance generator (BDFRG) technology for adjustable speed wind turbines. The BDFRG has been receiving increasing attention in research and industrial communities due to the low operation & maintenance costs afforded by the partially-rated power electronics and the high reliability of brushless construction, while offering competitive performance to its commercially popular and well-known slip-ring counterpart, the doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG). The two robust, machine parameter independent control schemes, one with flux (field) vector orientation (FOC) and the other voltage vector-oriented (VOC), have been built and their response examined by realistic simulation studies on a custom-designed BDFRG fed from a conventional `back-to-back' IGBT converter. The high quality of the simulation results has been experimentally validated on a laboratory BDFRG test facility under VOC conditions as a preferred control option at large-scale wind power levels.