Modeling and MPPT sensorless control of a DFIG-Based marine current turbine

This paper deals with the modeling and the sensorless control of a variable speed DFIG-based marine current turbine. The proposed MPPT sensorless control strategy relies on the resource and the marine turbine models that were validated by experimental data. The sensitivity of the proposed control strategy is analyzed regarding the swell effect as it is considered as the most disturbing one for the resource model. Tidal current data from the Raz de Sein (Brittany, France) are used to run simulations of a 7.5-kW prototype over various flow regimes. Simulation results are presented and fully analyzed.