Experimental real-time implementation of backstepping control for a PMSG wind turbine on dSPACE platform

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Renewable Energy Systems
• Control Theory

Background:

• Wind energy conversion systems (WECS) face challenges due to nonlinear dynamics and stochastic wind speed variations.
• Maximizing power extraction and maintaining stable operation are critical objectives for grid-connected WECS.
• Permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG) are commonly used in WECS, requiring effective control strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a nonlinear control strategy for grid-connected WECS using PMSG.
• To enhance wind energy extraction efficiency under fluctuating wind conditions.
• To ensure smooth PMSG operation with improved static and dynamic performance.

Main Methods:

• Application of a backstepping control strategy (BSC) to regulate both the machine-side converter (MSC) and grid-side converter (GSC).
• Nonlinear control design tailored for WECS with PMSG.
• Validation through simulation in MATLAB/Simulink and experimental verification using a dSPACE DS1104 real-time system.

Main Results:

• Improved reference tracking and reduced response time for the WECS.
• Effective elimination of overshoot and enhanced accuracy in power output.
• Mitigation of power ripple and demonstration of satisfactory static and dynamic performance.
• Experimental validation confirming the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed BSC.

Conclusions:

• The proposed backstepping control strategy significantly improves the performance of grid-connected WECS.
• The BSC effectively addresses nonlinearities and wind variability, leading to better energy capture.
• The strategy ensures robust and stable operation of PMSG-based WECS, validated by both simulation and real-time experiments.