Region Two Control of a Small Wind Turbine under Turbulence

Presenter

Sebastian H. Armstrong

Campus

UMass Amherst

Sponsor

Matthew Lackner, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, UMass Amherst

Schedule

Session 2, 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A86, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 5 (A81-A100) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

Small wind turbines offer an opportunity to decarbonize electricity generation at a distributed level. However, in the built environment, small wind faces poor success due to high levels of turbulence—or unsteady, gusty wind. Region 2 control seeks to maximize energy capture in medium-speed wind and is responsible for turbine efficiency in turbulent conditions. Improvements to conventional region 2 control have been demonstrated, but very few studies have explored region 2 control for small wind turbines in the context of turbulence. The method known as tip-speed ratio (TSR) control has yet to be evaluated for this application. The goal of this work is to answer whether small wind efficiency can be improved using TSR control in a turbulent wind environment. Towards this goal, a prototype TSR controller will be designed and compared to an off-the-shelf controller, by conducting field-tests of a 400 W wind turbine at UMass Amherst. Efficiency will be evaluated under varying turbulence to understand its effect on controller behavior and optimal setpoints. Modeling of the wind turbine in MATLAB Simulink will further aid in controller design and efficiency analysis. The results of this work may demonstrate an efficiency improvement with TSR control and motivate future research in adaptive control techniques. Improving small wind turbine efficiency in turbulent conditions could further the integration of small wind into urban areas.

Keywords

wind turbine control, renewable energy, maximum power point tracking, power electronics

Research Area

Engineering

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