Industrial Practice of Wind Turbine Control
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens Geisler
Hochschule Flensburg University of Applied Sciences
Thursday, July 06, 2023, 14:00 - 16:00
HS 00-026, Georges-Köhler-Allee 101, Freiburg 79110, Germany
Wind energy converters (WECs) are mechatronic products. They couldn’t operate without the action of a sophisticated controller. This is necessitated by recent operational requirements that go far beyond a fixed schedule for rotational speed and generator torque according to the prevailin. Modern controllers adjust all available actuators not only for maximum power production but also to reduce loads on the structure of the turbine which in turn enables the design of lighter and therefore more cost efficient components. In this regard, the controller in combination with a holistic mechatronic design approach is a key factor for the cost of energy from modern WECs which is now en-par or below that of traditional power plants. Another aspect of WEC control that will become more and more important as renewable energy production increases towards 100% is the integration into and the support of the electricity grid. The main control-task here is to mitigate the volatility of the available primary energy, the wind, or even to solely determine the amount of produced energy from the demand of the grid.
This talk will give a high-level overview of various aspects surrounding the functions, development process and operation of modern WEC controllers. Starting with a quick look at the history we set the stage to explore the functions and operational maneuvers a modern WEC is capable of. Form these, the requirements for the control system can be derived and we can take a closer look at how the requirements translate into the architecture of the controller hard- and software and the measurement instrumentation and means of actuation of the turbine.
The slides of the talk can be found here.