On the Active Disturbance Rejection Control for the sensorless Maximum Power Point Tracking task of a variable speed wind turbine

Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) are complex mechatronic systems with elaborate control schemes interacting to ensure the overall performance and safe operation. Often, mechanical sensors are eliminated either to reduce costs, lighten the weight, or for other design purposes. In lack of a position sensor, the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) strategies require estimates of the position and the velocity of the WECS. Commonly, measurement of the generator phase currents is used for the needed estimation process; nevertheless, high-frequency components, due to the switching nature of the converter, distort the measured currents. This paper introduces an improved Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) scheme for systems with output measurement noise to solve the sensorless MPPT problem of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) based direct drive scheme in WECS.