Optimal hybrid type-3 fuzzy controller for horizontal axis wind turbines: Comparative study

The blade pitch angle (BPA) controller is key factor to improve the power generation of wind turbine (WT). Due to the aerodynamic structural behavior of the rotor blades, wind turbine system performance is influenced by pitch angle and environmental conditions such as wind speed, which fluctuate throughout the day. Therefore, to overcome the pitch angle control (PAC) problem, high wind speed conditions, and due to type-1 and type-2 fuzzy logic limitations for handling high levels of uncertainty, the newly proposed optimal hybrid type-3 fuzzy logic controller has been applied and compared since type-3 fuzzy controllers utilize three-dimensional membership functions, unlike type-2 and type-1 fuzzy logic controllers. In this paper six different controllers are applied and compared for BPA in WT: type-1 fuzzy logic controller (T1-FLC), interval type-2 fuzzy logic controller (IT2-FLC), interval type-3 fuzzy logic controller (IT3-FLC), optimal hybrid type-1 fuzzy-PID controller (HT1-FPIDC), optimal hybrid type-2 fuzzy-PID controller (HT2-FPIDC), and optimal hybrid type-3 fuzzy-PID controller (HT3-FPIDC). The comparison between Mamdani and Sugeno fuzzy inference systems (FIS) has been applied to find the best inference system. Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle swarm optimization (PSO) are used to find the optimal tuning of PID parameters. The results of the 500-kw horizontal axis wind turbine show that Sugeno FIS has higher stability in output power generation than Mamdani FIS. Also, optimal HT3-FPIDC based on Mamdani FIS with PSO provides 19.74 % lower absolute summation error (ASE) than Sugeno FIS in optimal HT2-FLC with PSO and 39.03 % lower ASE than optimal HT1-FLC based on Sugeno FIS with PSO. Finally, the proposed optimal HT3-FPIDC based on PSO and Mamdani FIS provides the optimal results in terms of consistent output power generation at rated value.