Investigation of Virtual Synchronous Machine Control for the Grid-Side Converter of Wind Turbines with Permanently Excited Synchronous Generator

The increasing share of Renewable Energy Sources within the electric power supply poses considerable challenges to the distribution operators with the need for RES to provide ancillary services as result. The virtual synchronous machine is proposed in literature as grid-forming control method for power electronic converters, which emulates the operational behavior of conventional synchronous generators connected to the utility grid. In the present work, the VSM control method is applied for the grid-side control of a wind turbine with permanently excited synchronous generator and back-to-back voltage source converter as grid interface. With an implemented model of the converter, the generator system, a simplified model of the mechanical drivetrain as well as a detailed model of the wind rotor, the proposed overall control structure is validated through simulation results. The operational behavior of the wind turbine using VSM control is analyzed with a focus on interactions of the control systems and their effects on the mechanical drivetrain.