Robust control of doubly fed induction generator for stand-alone applications

The doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) is generally used in the production of the electric energy and more specifically in wind turbines. Currently, a problem of electrical machine control and especially for wind turbines is the change of internal parameters of the machine, which greatly deteriorates the control. In addition, for stand-alone applications, the load and wind speed change frequently. In this paper, a robust control strategy based on the H-infinity control theory is developed for the independent control of the stator voltage amplitude and frequency of a stand-alone DFIG. The DFIG is fed through the rotor windings by a voltage inverter controlled by Space Vector Modulation (SVM). A capacitive and inductive filter is introduced to reduce harmonics on stator voltages and rotor currents. The robust control strategy rejects all the disturbances that may affect the system and that result from the variations of machine parameters, of the rotor speed and of the load. Experimental tests are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the robust control through a comparison with the classical PI regulator in the framework of the Field Oriented Control (FOC) strategy of the DFIG. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.