• Energy Research

Abstract In this paper, a wind turbine emulator (WTE) based on the load torque dynamic compensation of PMSM is proposed to satisfy the further study of wind power system control technology in laboratory. The basic characteristic of wind turbine is analyzed to compare the wind turbine with its WTE. The dynamic compensation method based on the acceleration feedback is improved to propose the load torque dynamic compensation method to realize the dynamic characteristic simulation of wind turbine. Moreover, a low pass filter (LPF) is adopted at the load torque compensation module to suppress the torque ripple of the wind generator. An entire wind power system experimental platform is built to test the proposed torque compensation method. The results verify the proposed control method.

Modularity is promising from a view to increasing turbine availability through fault tolerant operation as well as reduced downtimes, especially for offshore wind turbines. This paper focuses on a quantitative analysis of large scale (or extreme) modularity in power electronic converters of wind turbine generator systems. It uses mathematical models to investigate the effect of the choice of module number on the availability of a converter. It further analyses the availability in conditions where increased levels of modularity lead to a reduction of failure rates in the system. The paper extends this analysis by quantifying the benefits for a 10-MW case study turbine. Finally, it concludes that extreme modularity holds merit only when it is accompanied by a reduction in failure rates.

This paper compares active and passive cooling systems in tidal turbine power electronic converters. The comparison is based on the lifetime of the IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) power modules, calculated from the accumulated fatigue due to thermal cycling. The lifetime analysis accounts for the influence of site conditions, namely turbulence and surface waves. Results indicate that active cooling results in a significant improvement in IGBT lifetime over passive cooling. However, since passive cooling systems are inherently more reliable than active systems, passive systems can present a better solution overall, provided adequate lifetime values are achieved. On another note, the influence of pitch control and active speed stall control on the IGBT lifetime was also investigated. It is shown that the IGBT modules in pitch-controlled turbines are likely to have longer lifetimes than their counterparts in active stall-controlled turbines for the same power rating. Overall, it is demonstrated that passive cooling systems can provide adequate cooling in tidal turbine converters to last longer than the typical lifetime of tidal turbines (>25 years), both for pitch-controlled and active speed stall-controlled turbines.

Power frequency electromagnetic field (PFEMF) is an important part of the ultra high voltage alternating current (UHVAC) transmission line's electromagnetic environment. In this paper, the distribution of PFEMF was obtained by finite element method, and the influence of lines' configuration, vertical height and the distance between phases was discussed. Furthermore, the electrostatic induction was calculated and analyzed, which includes distorted electric field around human body, induced current density within human body and the special characteristics of electric field in rainy weather. The results and conclusions in this paper can be treated as reference for the evaluation of UHVAC transmission lines' electromagnetic environment.

High temperature superconducting (HTS) generators are being considered for large offshore direct-drive (DD) wind turbines as they are expected to be lightweight and compact. However, short circuit torques of an HTS generator with integral-slot distributed windings (ISDWs) are too high for wind turbine constructions, mainly due to the large magnetic air gap. Fractional-slot concentrated windings (FSCWs) can be considered to address this issue since their high leakage inductance can limit short circuit currents and torques. Unlike ISDWs, FSCWs produce great contents of space harmonics that induce excessive losses in rotor components. Multi-layer and stator-shifting windings have been proposed to effectively reduce such losses. Based on a conventional 12-slot 10-pole configuration, this paper evaluates the effects of multi-layer and stator-shifting FSCWs on torque production and loss reduction in a 10 MW DD HTS generator. The examined losses include eddy current losses in the rotor shields and AC losses in the HTS field winding. This paper also checks if these FSCW schemes maintain the advantage of achieving a low short circuit torque. The results show that a 6-phase stator-shifting winding is the best choice for applying FSCWs to HTS generators.

High-Temperature superconducting (HTS) generators are being considered as a competitive candidate in large direct-drive (DD) wind turbines because of their features of being lightweight and compact. Normally a large air gap is inevitable in partially HTS generators, sacrificing the torque producing capability. In this paper, multi-phase armature windings for HTS generators are investigated to reduce the air gap length in HTS generators while not compromising generators' performance. Therefore, the torque density of HTS generators can be improved without any added costs. Five different multi-phase armature winding schemes are studied in the paper. Their performance regarding torque production and rotor losses in a 10 MW DD HTS generator are examined. The findings show that employing multi-phase armature windings can reduce the mechanical air gap without generating extra eddy current losses in the rotor, and the torque production can be improved by up to 9.1%. In addition, the alternating magnetic field reaching the HTS field winding are also reduced by using multi-phase armature windings, resulting in lower AC losses and cooling costs.

Abstract Wind power generation has increased rapidly in China over the last decade. In this paper the authors present an extensive survey on the status and development of wind power generation in China. The wind resource distributions in China are presented and assessed, and the 10 GW-scale wind power generation bases are introduced in details. The domestic research status of main components of WP system is then elaborated, followed by an evaluation of the wind power equipment manufacturers. Finally, the outlook for the development of the wind power utilization in China is presented.