World Renewable Energy Congress VIII (WREC 2004). Copyright 2004. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Editor AAM Sayigh.

PERFORMANCE OF DFIG WIND GENERATOR UNDER TRANSMISSION FAULT CONDITIONS Bing Xie, Brendan Fox and Damian Flynn Abstract Doubly-fed induction generators (DFIGs) currently represent the dominant wind power technology. A new fault-ride through scheme suitable for such machines is proposed. The performance of the scheme is investigated for a variety of transmission faults, located at various points on a generic transmission system. The results demonstrate that high wind power penetrations can be accepted without loss of supply reliability. Indexing terms - DFIG machine, fault ride-through, wind turbine control I. Introduction Wind power expansion, both in terms of capacity and technology, creates concern about the stability and reliability of the host power system. Consequently, transmission system operators (TSOs) are revising their grid connection codes (GCCs), so that new wind turbines, which replace conventional power plant, must perform many control tasks to ensure power system stability. One such task is to ride through transient faults, e.g. 3-phase short circuit transmission fault, and to sustain generation after fault clearance. This means that the generator must remain connected to the grid during and after the transient excursion in voltage. It is also necessary for the wind generation to support the system during frequency transients. II. Fault Ride Through Requirements A comparison of GCCs from countries such as Denmark, Germany and the UK may be found in [1]. Our main interest here is the requirement for a wind turbine generator (WTG) to remain connected during a transmission system fault. Such a fault will create a voltage dip across much of the network, and WTGs across a wide area may well be affected. Widespread disconnection of these WTGs would result in a loss of revenue for their owners. However, the loss of power to the grid could be much more serious, leading to under-frequency transients and possible consumer disconnection. In order to avoid such a scenario, the GCCs require WTGs to withstand a prescribed voltage dip for a given period. The most demanding such criterion is contained in the Scottish GCC, where the WTG is required to ride through any voltage dip for up to 0.3 s. This could mean a zero voltage for 0.3 s, corresponding to a three-phase short circuit at the transmission system node adjacent to the wind farm. It is assumed, reasonably, that the transmission system protection will clear the fault in no more than 0.3 s. It should be noted that most wind farms are connected to the lower-voltage distribution network, e.g. 33 kV in the UK. A fault at this level is extremely severe for any adjacent WTG. However, the loss of these WTGs does not pose a problem for the system. It is likely that a distribution fault will remove the connection between the affected WTGs and the rest of the system. Hence, any attempt to ride through such a fault would be futile and of limited value to the system. III. DFIG Characteristics During the last few years, DFIG variablespeed WTGs have become dominant in the market [2], due to very attractive operational features. They offer higher power efficiency compared with fixed-speed devices, as the variable-speed property allows the DFIG to absorb gusts as extra kinetic energy, thus reducing the maximum thrust for a given rating and hence reducing tower cost. Also, the DFIG electronic convertor is only a fraction, typically 25%, of the WTG rating. The typical DFIG configuration, shown in Fig. 1, consists of a wound rotor induction machine with the stator winding connected

World Renewable Energy Congress VIII (WREC 2004). Copyright 2004. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Editor AAM Sayigh.

to the grid through a transformer. The rotor windings are connected to the transformer through 4-quadrant back-to-back IGBT based convertors, using vector control based on pulse width modulation. Convertor size not only relates to the total generator power but also the operational speed, i.e. rotor slip. The convertor also provides independent reactive power control by regulating the rotor current, Id. This is a good selling point for weak grids, where it becomes possible to regulate terminal voltage by export or import of reactive power. By means of the bidirectional convertor coupled in the rotor circuit, the DFIG is able to generate at both sub- and super-synchronous speed.

current is split into components parallel to and orthogonal to the stator flux. A very fast inner control loop regulates the active and reactive components of the rotor current, with the current setpoints defined by a slower outer loop regulating the active and reactive power. Grid-side converter control The objective of the grid-side converter is to maintain the d.c. link capacitor voltage at a set value, regardless of the magnitude and direction of rotor power, and to guarantee converter operation at unity power factor (zero reactive power). This means that the grid-side converter exchanges only active power with the grid, and therefore the transmission of reactive power from DFIG to grid is achieved only through the stator. The direct voltage and reactive power are controlled indirectly by modulating the gridside converter current. IV. DFIG Transient Performance Large-scale integration of DFIG-based wind turbines represents a challenge, as their transient performance and controllability differs from conventional WTGs. It is, therefore, important to understand the nature of asynchronous machines and their control. Normal operation During normal operation, the torque speed curve, Fig. 2, shifts between supersynchronous range (curves I - III) in high winds, or sub-synchronous range (curve IV) in low winds. The DFIG wind turbine, therefore, experiences a high rotor speed torque ratio in both high and low winds. The speed range could be as wide as 30%, as compared with a fixed-speed machine, which has a much smaller slip range (3-5%). The operational boundary of a DFIG machine can be described within dceba in Fig. 2, corresponding to the electromagnetic torque. The reactive power grid contribution can be set to zero using the rotor-side convertor. During and after a fault Immediately after a fault occurs, the voltage at the wind turbine drops while the direct voltage of the link surges above the limit. It

Switchgear B Crow Bar

Switchgear A

Switchgear C

Figure 1: Power flows in a DFIG [2]

The wind power delivered by the stator and rotor to the grid can be expressed as follows: Protor = s Pstator
Pgrid = Protor + Pstator
(1) (2)

Wind turbine operating condition determines the speed and rotor slip, s, i.e. power is fed in or out of the rotor. Power flow is from the grid, via the converter, to the rotor in subsynchronous mode (s < 0) or vice versa in super-synchronous mode (s > 0). In both cases the stator feeds energy to the grid [2]. Rotor-side converter control The role of the rotor-side converter is to independently control the active and reactive power, achieved by varying the impressed rotor current. The converter operates in a stator flux dq reference frame, where rotor

World Renewable Energy Congress VIII (WREC 2004). Copyright 2004. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Editor AAM Sayigh.

is seen from Fig. 2 that the electromagnetic torque is proportional to the stator voltage (curve V). Thus the electromagnetic torque decreases. In order to protect the rotor circuit and the d.c. link, a high-capacity shorting link known as a crowbar is used to short the rotor. The DFIG machine then acts as a standard induction machine. Assuming that the aerodynamic torque remains constant during the fault, any reduction in the electromagnetic torque causes the generator rotor to accelerate. The machine speed may exceed the pull-out torque point (b) as the DFIG machine moves to an unstable area (a). Hence, the generator starts to absorb reactive power, Fig. 3.
Convertor frequency -ve Super-synchronous (High speed, high wind) d III

electromagnetic torque, proportional to the voltage, increases instantly, causing a dip in rotor speed from a to c. These disturbances are very severe when a generator is operating with its rotor short-circuited by the crowbar. Many manufacturers, therefore, suggest that, during and after fault clearance, HV switchgear should disconnect the DFIG from the grid while the crowbar is active. It should be understood that under such a condition the DIFG wind turbine will be isolated from the grid and provide no support functions. VI. Proposed Control Strategy The controller for a DFIG wind turbine is based on a hierarchical top-down structure, as shown in Fig. 4.
Run

Highest activity level

+ Rotor speed
Drive Torque I II V IV a b e a b c d Sub-synchronous (Low speed, low wind)

Pause

Stop

Emergency a b Convertor frequency +ve

Lowest Activity level

+ Torque Figure 4: Controller operating states

Figure 2: Torque speed curve

VI IV III II I

b e c d V d Sub-synchronous (Low speed, low wind) Convertor Frequency +ve

Each operating state can be seen as an activity level, where Run is the highest activity level and Emergency is the lowest. As illustrated, it is only possible to increase the activity level step by step, but the downward steps can be of any size. In order to cope with the latest connection codes, i.e. E.ON and Eltra, a special control strategy must be developed to support the grid during and after a fault. This grid support function should reduce restoration time after a fault has cleared and prevent voltage collapse during the restarting process. Important changes to the existing control are: 1. 2. 3. 4. pitch control speed regulator power regulator grid connection/re-connection

Rotor Speed

a b ec

Super-synchronous (High speed, high wind) Convertor Frequency -ve

Reactive Power

Figure 3: Reactive power speed curve

Following fault clearance Once the short-circuit fault is cleared, the wind turbine terminal voltage starts to rise. From curve III, Fig. 2, it is seen that the

World Renewable Energy Congress VIII (WREC 2004). Copyright 2004. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Editor AAM Sayigh.

VII. Fault Ride Through Case Study The entire wind turbine model, as described above, was fully integrated into a local distribution network study using the DIgSILENT Power Factory package. The network layout is shown in Fig. 5. The distribution network studied has a nominal voltage level of 20 kV at the wind farm, supplied from a 110 kV substation, S1. The fault level ranges from 1620 MVA at the substation to 228.76 MVA at the wind farm 20 kV connection point. The maximum system load is 50 MVA on the 110 kV voltage side, and the wind farm is connected to the grid by a 5 km, 20 kV overhead line. The rating of a typical turbine studied is 4 MW, with the rotor side convertor and stator connected through step-up 3-winding transformers at 480 V and 690 V respectively, to the 20 kV network. No other embedded generators are assumed connected, enabling evaluation of wind farm grid impact.

quickly restored, and Fig.s 6-9 show that the stator active power response is well damped. The oscillations in generator speed are also under control after 2 s, while the pitch angle remains steady due to this small disturbance. The prime mover power output remains as before - the wind turbine comfortably rides through the fault.

Figure 6: Remote fault voltage, p.u

Figure 7: Remote fault turbine response, p.u./p.u.

3-phase remote fault

Figure 8: Remote fault - stator side response

3-phase fault at wind farm connection point

Figure 5: 110 kV grid with wind-park

3-phase fault remote from wind turbine A voltage dip was simulated by applying a 3phase fault at the 110 kV substation, with a fault clearance time of 200 ms, resulting in a voltage depression of 20%. The active and reactive power at the connection point is

Figure 9: Remote fault grid-side convertor response

3-phase fault at wind farm connection point The same fault condition is applied as above, but at the grid connection point, resulting in

World Renewable Energy Congress VIII (WREC 2004). Copyright 2004. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Editor AAM Sayigh.

a voltage depression of 85%. A new control strategy is now implemented for the DFIG wind turbine. After the 3-phase fault occurs at the connection point, the following actions are taken: 1. The generator stator is disconnected from the grid. 2. The pitch reference is set to a no-load angle 0, such that the rotor power is zero. 0 is continuously calculated based on the wind speed, generator speed and the Cp curves. 3. When the pitch position becomes close to 0 the controller is switched to speed control, where the reference speed is selected as the pre-fault speed (although limited to the maximum static speed). 4. When the grid fault is cleared the normal procedure for connecting the wind turbine to grid is initiated. For this scenario it takes longer to restore equilibrium conditions, due to the closeness of the fault to the wind turbine. Fig.s 10-13 illustrate that the speed deviation is much higher than before, while the blade pitch angle has been increased to reduce the power extraction from the prime mover, in order to maintain stability.

Figure 12: Nearby fault stator side response

Figure 13: Nearby fault grid-side convertor response

VIII. Conclusions As a result of changes in grid connection code requirements concern has been raised about the stability of DFIG wind turbine generators, and in particular their ability to ride through faults. Based on the known characteristics of induction machines a control strategy has been proposed to overcome this problem. Simulations of wind turbine responses to 3-phase faults have been presented, and it has been demonstrated that by utilizing the proposed control algorithm, it is possible to enhance the fault ridethrough capability of a DIFG wind turbine generator. IX. References
[1] C. Jauch, P. Srensen, B. Bak-Jensen, International review of grid connection requirements for wind turbines, NWPC 04 - Grid integration and electrical systems of wind turbines and wind farms, Goteborg, Sweden, 2004. A.D. Hansen, F. Iov, P. Srensen, F. Blaabjerg, Overall control strategy of variable speed doubly-fed induction generator wind turbine, NWPC 04 - Grid integration and electrical systems of wind turbines and wind farms, Goteborg, Sweden, 2004.

Figure 10: Nearby fault voltage, p.u.

[2]

Figure 11: Near fault - turbine response, p.u./p.u.