A wind speed sensorless MPPT-pitch angle control scheme for a WECS using integral sliding mode control and neural network

In this paper, a wind speed sensor-less Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm is designed and applied to a Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS). This algorithm is simple, fast, efficient, and more importantly, does not require wind speed measurement. Moreover, A Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network (MLPNN)-based pitch angle controller is designed. When the wind speed exceeds its rated value, this controller limits the mechanical power and rotor speed to their rated values in order to protect the WECS from probable damages. A non-linear speed controller based on Integral Sliding Mode Control (ISMC) is designed to realize the MPPT. The proper performance of the combined MPPT-pitch angle control scheme is verified by simulation results. Moreover, a comparison is made between conventional PI-based pitch angle controller and the designed MLPNN-based one in this work. The results approve the superior performance of the designed controller.