Fuzzy gain-scheduled active fault-tolerant control of a wind turbine

Advanced fault detection and accommodation schemes are required for ensuring efficient and reliable operation of modern wind turbines. This paper presents a novel approach in designing a fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) and fault-tolerant control (FTC) scheme for a wind turbine using fuzzy modeling, identification and control techniques. First, an improved gain-scheduled proportional-integral (PI) control system based on fuzzy gain scheduling (FGS) technique for multi-input and multi-output wind turbine system is designed. Then, to accommodate sensor faults and based on a signal correction algorithm, an active fault-tolerant control system (AFTCS) is developed as an extension of the gain-scheduled PI control system. The AFTCS exploits the fault information from a model-based FDD scheme developed using fuzzy modeling and identification method. The proposed schemes are evaluated by a series of simulations on a well-known large off-shore wind turbine benchmark in the presence of wind turbulences, measurement noises, and different realistic fault scenarios. All results indicate high effectiveness and robustness of the designed control systems in both fault-free and faulty operations of the wind turbine. (C) 2013 The Franklin Institute. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.