A comparative study of sensor-less control strategies in PMSG wind turbine system

The amount of energy obtained from a wind energy conversion system (WECS) depends on the characteristics of the wind regime at the site and the implemented control strategy. In order to determine the gain in energy derived from one control approach as compared against another, models of several autonomous WECS are developed using Matlab Simulink software. These allow easy performance evaluations, comparisons of different control strategies and determine the amount of energy injected to the grid in the case of grid-connected systems. This paper also proposes a new prototype control strategy capable of tracking maximum wind power at different operating conditions and compares its performance with previous techniques for a 20 kW permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). Advantages of this mechanical sensor-less control strategy for maximum power estimation are demonstrated by digital simulation of the system and experimental evaluations.