Application of Boost Converter to Increase the Speed Range of Dual-Stator Winding Induction Generator in Wind Power Systems

In this paper, a topology using a dual-stator winding induction generator (DWIG) and a boost converter is proposed for the variable speed wind power application. At low rotor speeds, the generator saturation limits the voltage of the DWIG. Using a boost converter, higher dc voltage can be produced while the DWIG operates at maximum power point tracking even at low-speed and low-voltage conditions. Semiconductor excitation controller (SEC) of the DWIG utilizes control-winding voltage oriented control method to adjust the voltage, considering
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/
f
characteristics. For the proposed topology, the SEC capacity and the excitation capacitor are optimized by analyzing the SEC reactive current considering wind turbine power-speed curve,
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/
f
strategy, and the generator parameters. The method shows that the per-unit capacity of the SEC can be limited to the inverse of DWIG magnetizing reactance per-unit value. The topology is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink platform and experimented with a scaled 1 kW prototype. Both simulation and experimental results demonstrate wide variable speed operation range of the DWIG and verify the optimization.