Evaluation of the Inertial Response of Variable-Speed Wind Turbines Using Advanced Simulation

Andrew Scholbrock, Eduard Muljadi, Vahan Gevorgian, Xiao Wang, Wenzhong Gao, Weihang Yan, Jianhui Wang

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

4 Scopus Citations

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on the temporary frequency support effect provided by wind turbine generators (WTGs) through the inertial response. With the implemented inertial control methods, the WTG is capable of increasing its active power output by releasing parts of the stored kinetic energy when the frequency excursion occurs. The active power can be boosted temporarily above the maximum power points, but the rotor speed deceleration follows and an active power output deficiency occurs during the restoration of rotor kinetic energy. We evaluate and compare the inertial response induced by two distinct inertial control methods using advanced simulation. In the first stage, the proposed inertial control methods are analyzed in offline simulation. Using an advanced wind turbine simulation program, FAST with TurbSim, the response of the researched wind turbine is comprehensively evaluated under turbulent wind conditions, and the impact on the turbine mechanical components are assessed. In the second stage, the inertial control is deployed on a real 600kW wind turbine - Controls Advanced Research Turbine, 3-bladed (CART3), which further verifies the inertial control through a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation. Various inertial control methods can be effectively evaluated based on the proposed two-stage simulation platform, which combines the offline simulation and real-time HIL simulation. The simulation results also provide insights in designing inertial control for WTGs.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages1-5
Number of pages5
DOIs
StatePublished - 29 Jan 2018
Event2017 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, PESGM 2017 - Chicago, United States
Duration: 16 Jul 201720 Jul 2017

Conference

Conference2017 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, PESGM 2017
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityChicago
Period16/07/1720/07/17

Bibliographical note

See NREL/CP-5000-68073 for preprint

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5000-71653

Keywords

  • FAST
  • Frequency support
  • Hardware-in-the-loop simulation
  • Inertial response
  • WTG

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