Design of wind power generators: Summary and comparison

A wind turbine may use different generators, including permanent magnet synchronous generator, reluctance generator, flux switching permanent magnet machine, high-temperature superconducting and others. Various generators have different characteristics. The advantages and weak points for various wind generators will be summarized in this work. Additionally, this work also investigates the main considerations for wind generator design. They include the efficiency, cogging torque, torque ripple, size and weight, and magnet materials in machines. This paper will give a survey of the new development concerning the wind generator design.