Calculations for

Generators and
Back-to-Back converters
used in
DFIG Wind Turbines

AUTOMATED COMPUTING MACHINERY S.L.

c/Playa de Lagoa,1 - 28660 Boadilla del Monte
Madrid
+34 605876613 - +34816323812
www.acm-sl.com May 2013
Contents
1. Sinopsis ................................................................................................. 3

2. Description ............................................................................................. 5

3. Other functionalities................................................................................. 6

4. Note books ............................................................................................. 6

1. Sinopsis
The family of industrial wind turbines known as DFIG (Doubly Fed Induction
Generators) is by far the most popular nowadays due to excellent
price/performance ratio and reliability.

These Wind Turbines are named after the special configuration of the electric
generator and associated power electronics control, known as Back-to-Back
converter.

Their main property is its ability to supply to the grid under varying rotor speed.
DFIG wind turbines has no fixed drive train speed (see our application “Operational
Curve for Variable Speed Wind Turbines”) as it tracks the speed of the incoming
wind adapting its own rotational speed to the value in which it can get the
maximum power out of the wind. It is typical to find that the working range in wind
speed goes from 6 m/s to 20 m/s and that the corresponding working range for the
drive train rotational speed expand from 9 rpm to 20 rpms.

The actual Doubly Fed Induction Generator is in fact a “normal” wounded rotor
induction generator. As such it has a “synchronous” rotational speed (related to the
frequency of the grid it is connect to) and the number of “poles”. “Standard”
working modes are around that synchronous frequency value, so that speed above
synchronous implies working as a generator and speed below synchronous implies
working as motor.

The “magic” of the DFIG comes from the functionalities of a block of power
electronics know as “Back-to-back” (B2B), depicted synoptically in the next figures.

Fig1. Electric power flow in the back-to-Back converters when the Generator is in
supersynchronous mode.
 Fig2. Electric power flow in the back-to-Back converters when the Generator is in
suubsynchronous mode.

The stator of the induction machine is connected to the grid. The wounded rotor is
connected to the so called “Rotor Side Converter” of the B2B.

In working conditions, the grid’s frequency is fixed and instead de rotor speed is
variable. Therefore the magnetic flux created by the stator has an spatial rotational
speed that is fixed while the created by the rotor depends on two factors: the
actual (rotational) rotor speed and the frequency of the currents supplied or taken
by the RSC side of the B2B.

The whole point is that the RSC must supply/take in every moment the currents,
with magnitude, frequency and phase relative to the grid, so that the flux generator
by the rotor has the same spatial frequency as the generated by the grid + stator.
For that the B2B include sensor of both the grid frequency and the rotor speed.

When the RSC must supply to the rotor it draws the corresponding energy from the
grid through the part known as Grid Side Converter (GSC) of the B2B. I.e, in this
situation the GSC behaves as a controlled rectifier.

When the rotor delivers to the RSC then the RSC must become an special rectifier
that takes that power obtained through the rotor and pass it to the GSC, that, in
turn, now behaves as a full converter delivering that power to the grid.

The purpose of this application is to calculate in real time all the internal
variables in the induction machine (fluxs, currents, voltages, powers) and in
the RSC and the GSC of the B2B depending upon the following parameters and
working conditions:

a) Characteristics of the induction machine: rotor’s Rs, Ls, stator’s Rl, Ll, mutual
inductance, turns ratio, number of poles
b) Frequency of the grid.
c) Torque in the rotor.
d) Actual speed of the rotor
e) Desired reactive power to be delivered to the grid.
2. Description
The application has a main panel shown in next figure.

The pane to the left shows a phasor representation of:

• Stator Voltage
• Rotot Voltage
• Stator Current
• Rotor Current
• Stator Power
• Rotor Power
• GSC Power
• Grid Power
• Stator Flux
• Rotor Flux

The magnitude of the phasors is according to their value in pu (per unit). The
reference value for the pu’s values can be change at will (right hand pane).

These values are presented in written form in the middle pane, together with the
inputs for the working conditions:

• Torque in the rotor

• Desired Reactive Power (to the grid)
• Desired working RPMs of the rotor
• Stator voltage
In the right pane the user can specify the values of the electrical characteristics of
the induction machine of interest: for the rotor (R R, LR), the stator (RS,LS), the
common inductance (LM), the turns ratio among stator and rotor and the number of
poles. The grid’s frequency and voltage are also parameters.

3. Other functionalities
The widgets used to present the values of complex variables has the following
functionalities that change the way those values are presented:

• Act(ive) and Reac(tive) (real and imaginary parts)

• M(odule) and Ang(le)

These two modes can be changed making click in the label part of the widget. The
Angle part can be presented in:

• R(adians)
• D(egrees)

Those modes can be changed making click in the Angle part of the widget.

4. Note books
The application include an spreadsheet connected to the internal calculations engine
and two menu options that allow the immediate transfer of parameters and
calculations to sheets in the spreadsheet.

In this way the tedious process of taking note of the calculations for a given set of
parameters and operational conditions is greatly reduced.

The content of these spreadsheets can be stored for later used or transfer to other
format, such as .CSV or .xls file formats.

The functionalities of these spreadsheets include the creation of graphical reports,

such as the shown in next figure.