DEGGENDORF INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Information and Media

Technology

Wind Turbine Control Systems

Examination paper in the subject Renewable Energy

By
Piyush Borad
Matriculation number- 616964
Examiner
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gnter Keller

Hereby I Piyush Board declares that the presented paper is all my own work and
was produced without the use of other than the stated resources. All passages that
are directly or indirectly taken from published or unpublished texts are marked as
such.

Deggendorf, 30.06.2016

Piyush Board

Summer semester
2016

Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 3
2 WIND TURBINE CONTROL BASIC KEY CONCEPT ............................................. 4
2.1 CONTROLSTRATERGY STATEMENT OF WIND TURBINE ........................... 4
2.2 CONTROL STRATERGY CURVE FOR WIND TURBINE ................................ 6
2.2 ANGEL OF CONTROL WITH RESPECT TO BLADE ....................................... 8
3 CONTROL OBJECTIVE OF WIND TURBINE ......................................................... 8
3.1 ENERGY CAPTURE ......................................................................................... 9
3.2 MECHANICAL LOADS ................................................................................... 10
3.3 POWER QUALITY .......................................................................................... 10
4. ADVANCED BLADE PITCH CONTROL .............................................................. 11
5. VARIABLE DIAMETER ROTOR CONTROL ........................................................ 12
6. ACTIVE FLOW CONTROL ON WIND TURBINE ................................................. 14
7. WIND TURBINE CONTROL BY LIDAR SYESTEM ............................................. 16
8. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 19
9. REFERANCE ....................................................................................................... 20

1 INTRODUCTION
As wind energy becomes a larger portion of the worlds energy portfolio and wind
turbines become larger and more expensive, wind turbine control systems play an
ever more prominent role in the design and deployment of wind turbines. The goals
of traditional wind turbine control systems are maximizing energy production while
protecting the wind turbine components. As more wind generation is installed there is
an increasing interest in wind turbines actively controlling their power output in order
to meet power set-points and to participate in frequency regulation for the utility grid.
This capability will be beneficial for grid operators, as it seems possible that wind
turbines can be more effective at providing some of these services than traditional
power plants.
Most modern wind turbines are controlled and regulated continuously most often with
the purpose of ensuring maximum power extraction from the wind under the current
wind, weather, while at the same time ensuring that the loads on the different
components of the wind turbine are at any time kept within acceptable limits.
Desirably, the wind turbine may also be controlled to account for fast local variations
in the wind velocitythe so-called wind gusts, and takes into account the dynamic
changes in the loads on the individual blades due to e.g. the passing of the tower or
the actual wind velocity varying with the distance to the ground.
To this purpose a number of parameters are collected and monitored by the
controllers in a wind turbine, such as for instance the current wind speed and
direction, the wind shear and turbulence, the rotational speed of the rotor, the
generator, the pitch angle of each blade, the yaw angle, information on the grid
system, and measured parameters from sensors placed e.g. on the blades, the
nacelle, or on the tower.
Wind turbine control methods depend on the turbine configuration. The turbine
horizontal-axis wind turbine can be upwind, if the rotor is on the upwind side of the
tower, or downwind This configuration affects the choice of the controller and the
turbine dynamics, and thus the structural design. Wind turbines may also be variable
pitch or fixed pitch, meaning that the blades may or may not be able to rotate along
their longitudinal axes. The fixed-pitch strategy is less common in large wind
turbines, due to the reduced ability to control loads and adapt the aerodynamic
torque. On the other hand, variable-pitch turbines allow their blades to rotate along
the pitch axis, thus modifying the aerodynamic characteristics. Moreover, wind
turbines can be variable speed or fixed speed. Variable-speed turbines work closer
to their maximum aerodynamic efficiency for a higher percentage of the time, but
require electrical power converters and inverters for feeding the generated electricity
into the grid at the proper frequency.
3

2 WIND TURBINE CONTROL BASIC KEY CONCEPT

2.1 CONTROLSTRATERGY STATEMENT OF WIND TURBINE
Significant growth of wind turbine size and weight over the past few decades has
made it impossible to control turbines passively as they were controlled in the past.
Modern turbines rely on sophisticated control systems that assure safe and optimal
operation under a variety of atmospheric conditions. As turbines grow in size, the
structural and fatigue loads become more pronounced. Implementing new and
innovative load control techniques could decrease excessive loads, which affect the
rotor and surrounding components. Extreme structural and fatigue loads are key
factors in turbine design and the reduction of these loads could create a significant
decrease in turbine cost by reducing required materials, lessening scheduled and
unscheduled maintenance, and improving overall turbine reliability.
Wind turbine control system can be broken down into the three separate categories:
control/sensors, actuators/devices, and flow phenomena which are shown in figure
1. The communication starts with the controls and sensors, which continuously
update the system controller on the flow properties and the overall operation. When
adjustments are required, the controller commands the actuators to activate the flow
control devices. The devices then change their method of operation, altering the
local flow phenomena. The sensors track this change and the cycle repeats [2].

Figure 1: A wind turbine control block diagram [5].

A wind turbine can be typically modelled, in first approximation, as a rigid mass-less
shaft linked to rotor inertia at one side and to the drive train inertia at the other side,
4

figure 2. The captured aerodynamic torque acts on the rotor and the generator
electrical torque acts on the drive train. The aerodynamic torque results from the
local action of wind on blades. It is given by the sum of all elementary contributions
related to the local wind speed that apply to a given element of a blade and which
depend on the rotor speed, the actual blade pitch, the yaw error, the drag error, and
any other motion due to elasticity of the wind turbine structure.

Figure 2: Simplified model of a wind turbine [1].

All wind turbines are equipped with yaw drives that monitor yaw error and with
supplementary devices that are used to modify rotor drag. In the particular case of
variable speed wind turbines, these installations can operate at different speeds or
equivalently variable tip-speed ratios. Pitch-regulated wind turbines are controlled by
modifying the blade orientation with respect to the direction of incident wind.
Neglecting elastic and aeroelastic effects, dynamics of the wind turbine rotor can be
described by a one degree-of-freedom rigid body model (Wilkie et al., 1990) as
J+D = Ta -Tg

(1.1)

where is the rotor speed, J the equivalent inertia of power train, D the equivalent
damping coefficient, Tg the applied generator torque as seen from the rotor and Ta the
aerodynamic torque.
Denoting Cp ( ,) the wind turbine power coefficient which is function of the pitch
angle and the tip-speed ratio , the aerodynamic torque acting on the rotor writes
1

Ta = 2 R3 v 2

Cp ( ,)

(1.2)

where is the air density, R the rotor radius and v the effective wind speed.
R

The tip-speed ratio is defined as = v . Because of the speed multiplication resulting

from the gear box, the high-speed shaft rotates with the rate g =n where n is the
gear box multiplication factor. Surface defining Cp ( ,) depends on the geometric
5

configuration of the wind turbine blades and the aerofoils composing them. This
surface admits a unique maximum denoted Cp, opt which is obtained for
=opt and =opt . As the extracted power is given by pa =R2 v 3

Cp ( ,)
2

, energy

extraction from the kinetic energy of wind is optimal forCp (,)=Cp,opt [1].
2.2 CONTROL STRATERGY CURVE FOR WIND TURBINE
Control strategy is usually defined by indicating the desired variations of wind turbine
velocity and torque in the (,Ta ) plane. In the (,Ta ) plane, the red curves are
obtained for different wind speeds by imposing the constant pitch angle =opt .
Zone 1 corresponds to the segment between the starting wind speed vstart and the
optimum lower wind speed vmin,opt =

min R
min

. In zone 1 the rotor speed is maintained

constant at the value min . This zone serves to reach at constant pitch angle =opt
and constant rotor speed min . the operating point located on the maximum efficiency
curve, blue curve. In zone 1, the tip-speed ratio varies from =

min R
vstart

toopt . The

starting aerodynamic torque and the starting extracted power are given respectively
3
Tstart =R2 vstart
Cp (

min R
vstart

,opt )/(2min ) and pstart =Tstart min . Zone 2 corresponds to

tracking the maximum efficiency curve where the objective is to adjust the rotor
speed to wind speed such that the captured aerodynamic torque is always optimal,
the pitch angle as well as the tip-speed ratio are kept constant at their optimal values
opt and opt .

Figure 3: Strategy of control illustrated in the (,Ta ) plane [1].

For a given wind speed v , the optimal rotor speed is defined by opt =opt v/R. The
maximum rotor speed is fixed at the value max which is slightly below the rated rotor
6

speed corresponding to the intersection between the rated (nominal) power curve,
black curve, and the optimum efficiency curve, blue curve. The rated rotor speed is
given by
1

2p

rated =rated ( R5rated

)3
C
p,opt

(1.3)

where prated is the rated generator power. The maximum wind speed corresponding
to zone 2 is given by vmin,opt =max R/opt .
Zone 3 constitutes a transition phase between zone 2 and the rated power zone,
zone 4 corresponding to the circle point on the black curve. In zone 3 rotor speed is
maintained constant at the value max . The wind speed varies in this zone form
vmax, opt to vmax, rated which is obtained as solution of the following nonlinear equation
max R

v 3 Cp (

, opt ) =

2prated
R2

(1.4)

The maximum aerodynamic torque in zone 3 is Trated =prated/max .

Finally, zone 4 corresponds to the maximum load zone (above-rated power region).
In this zone pitch angle is permanently adjusted in order to reduce the captured
aerodynamic torque, assuring continuous rated power generation. Giving a wind
speed vvmax,rated , the pitch angle in zone 4 is obtained as solution of the following
nonlinear equation
max R

v 3 Cp (

, ) =

2prated
R2

(1.5)

The extracted power is constant in zone 4 and is equal to .

For Turbine control purposes power can be used as control variable in the transition
zones 1 and 3 as well as in the above-rated power zone 4. In these zones rotor
speed is maintained constant, while in addition for zone 4 pitch is controlled to
maintain the power constant. In the below-rated zone 2, the rotor speed is varied as
function of the actual wind speed to optimize permanently power extraction. The
optimal power that can be extracted varies then as function of the wind speed. For a
given wind speed the pursued reference in terms of extracted power, aerodynamic
torque and rotor speed writes
1

popt = 2 R2 Cp,opt v 3
1

Topt = 2 R3 v 2
opt =

opt v
R

(1.7)
(1.8)
(1.9)

The optimal extracted power can be used as reference for control, but because it is
proportional to v 3 , error on the effective wind speed will have an important effect on
7

the reference power to be tracked and hence on control efficiency. This error is
proportional to v 2 . The aerodynamic torque cannot be used as control input because
this quantity is not easy to measure in practice. So, the control variable that is
usually used is the rotor speed [1].
2.2 ANGEL OF CONTROL WITH RESPECT TO BLADE
The angle of attack () of a turbine blade is the angle between the direction of the
apparent or relative wind and the chord line of the blade. The angle of attack () of a
turbine blade is the angle between the direction of the apparent or relative wind and
the chord line of the blade. For an aircraft wing, it is the angle between the direction
of motion of the wing and the chord line of the wing.

Figure 4: Angle of attack () with Respect to the Blade [www.fusion4freedom.us].

The direction of the apparent wind that is the incident wind, relative to the chord line
of the aerofoil is known as the angel of attack. Just as with aircraft wings, the lift
resulting from the incident wind force increases as the angle of attack increases from
0 to a maximum of about 15 degrees at which point the smooth laminar flow of the
air over the blade ceases and the air flow over the blade separates from the aerofoil
and becomes turbulent [10].

3 CONTROL OBJECTIVE OF WIND TURBINE

A wind turbine is a device that captures part of the wind energy and Converts it into
useful work. In particular, wind turbine control system connected to electric power
networks must be designed to minimise the cost of supplied energy ensuring safe
operation as well as acoustic emission and power quality standards.
8

3.1 ENERGY CAPTURE

For a wind turbine, the generation capacity specifies how much power can be
extracted from the wind taking into consideration both physical and economic
constraints. It is usually represented as a curve on the generated power wind
speed plane, the so-called ideal power curve.

Figure 3 Ideal power curve

Figure 5: Ideal power curve [7].

The ideal power curve for a wind turbine is shown in Figure 3. It is observed that the
range of operational wind speeds is delimited by the cut-in (Vmin ) and cut-out (Vmax )
wind speeds. The turbine remains stopped beyond this limits. Below Cut-in wind
speed, the available wind energy is too low to compensate for the operation costs
and losses.
Above cut-out wind speed, the turbine is shut down to prevent from structural
overload. Constructing the turbine robust enough to support the underlying
mechanical stresses under very high wind conditions would be completely
uneconomical. In fact, even though wind speeds above Vmax contain huge energy,
their contribution to the annual average energy is negligible. The ideal power curve
exhibits three different regions with distinctive generation objectives. At low wind
speeds (region I), the available power is lower than rated power. The available
power is defined as the power in the wind passing through the rotor area multiplied
by the maximum power coefficientCpmax , that is
Pav =Cpmax Pv =

1
2

R2 Cpmax V 3

(1.10)

So, the generation objective in region I is to extract all the available power.
Therefore, the ideal power curve in this region follows a cubic parabola defined by
(Fig 5).On the other side, the generation goal in the high wind speed region (region
III) is to limit the generated power below its rated value to avoid overloading. In this
region the available power exceeds rated power therefore the turbine must be
operated with efficiency lower thanCpmax . Finally, there is region II, which is actually a
9

transition between the optimum power curve of region I and the constant power line
of region III. In this region, rotor speeds limited to maintain acoustic noise emission
within admissible levels and to keep centrifugal forces below values tolerated by the
rotor.
3.2 MECHANICAL LOADS
Mechanical loads may cause fatigue damage on several devices, thereby reducing
the useful life of the system. Since the overall cost of the wind turbine control system
is therefore spread over a shorter period of time, the cost of energy will rise.
There are basically two types of mechanical loads, namely static and dynamic ones.
Static loads result from the interaction of the turbine with the mean wind speed.
Much more important from the control viewpoint are the dynamic loads, which are
induced by the spatial and temporal distribution of the wind speed field over the area
swept by the rotor. Dynamic loads comprise variations in the net aerodynamic torque
that propagate down the drive-train and variations in the aerodynamic loads that
impact on the mechanical structure. They are the so-called drive-train and structural
loads, respectively For instance, the control of the electric generator affects the
propagation of drive-train loads whereas the pitch control impacts directly on the
structural loads.
3.3 POWER QUALITY
Power quality affects the cost of energy in several ways. For instance, poor power
quality may demand additional investments in power lines, or may impose limits to
the power supplied to the grid. Because of the long-term and short-term variability of
the energy resource and the interaction with the power network, wind generation
facilities are conventionally considered as poor quality suppliers. Therefore, the
control system design must also take power conditioning into account. This control
requirement is more and more relevant as the power scale of wind generation
facilities approaches the output rating of conventional power plants. Power quality is
mainly assessed by the stability of frequency and voltage at the point of connection
to the grid and by the emission of flicker.
In general, frequency is a stable variable. Frequency variations in an electric power
network are due to power unbalance. For instance, generators accelerate when the
supplied power exceeds the consumption, hence increasing the frequency.
Analogously, generators slow down when they cannot cover the power demand,
thereby frequency decreases. Commonly, when connected to the bulk network,
single wind turbines or small-scale wind farms do not affect the frequency. However,
this is not the case when the wind turbine is part of an isolated power system or
when we are dealing with a large-scale wind farm [7].
10

4. ADVANCED BLADE PITCH CONTROL

Pitch-regulated wind turbine has an active control system that can vary the pitch
angle (turn the blade around its own axis) of the turbine blades to decrease the
torque produced by the blades in a fixed-speed turbine and to decrease the
rotational speed in variable-speed turbines. This type of control is usually employed
for high wind speeds only (usually above the rated speed), when high rotational
speeds and aerodynamic torques can damage the equipment. When wind speeds
get very high (above rated power), the blades will pitch so that there is less lift and
more drag due to increasing flow separation along the blade length (the blades are
pitched into stall). This will slow down the turbines rotational speed or the torque
transferred to the shaft so that the rotational speed or the torque is kept constant
below a set threshold. Pitch regulated turbines see increasing power up until the
rated wind speed, beyond which it sees constant power up until a cutout speed
when the pitch control is no longer able to limit the rotational speed/aerodynamic
torque or where other forces like structural vibrations, turbulence or gusts pose a
threat to a rotating turbine [2].
Pitching is the act of rotating each blade around its span wise axis in order to change
the effective angle of attack to the wind. It is used to limit the peak power, optimize
rotor efficiency, and slow down the rotor. The traditional method of pitch control uses
a collective mode, in which all blades are adjusted simultaneously. Advanced
methods of pitch control (cyclic pitch and individual pitch) are being investigated.
These innovative concepts were first developed for the rotorcraft field and have been
adapted to the wind industry.

Figure 6: Advanced blade pitch control system [www.sgurrcontrol.com].

With Advanced blade pitch control system, the loads on each blade are controlled by
a dedicated controller to each blade. In Individual pitch control the net over turning
and yawing moments are measured and controlled by coordinated pitching of three
blades by the central controller. In contrast with this type of control system the main
11

focus is on the reduction of loads on individual blades. Any combination of in-plane

and out-of-plane loads can be selected depending on the performance requirements
of a particular wind turbine. It has been shown that this much greater flexibility has
the ability to reduce lifetime fatigue and extreme blade loads on large wind turbines.
If output power is too high, which is above 637 kW, the rotor blades are turned in the
positive direction. This results in a lower angle of attack and therefore in a reduction
of the aerodynamic forces acting on the blades, which in consequence leads to the
necessary reduction of the power at the rotor shaft and the output power fed to the
grid. In case the power is lower (between 632 kW and 637 kW), it fails with in
tolerance band. Therefore, no action is needed and pitch angel is not altered. If
power is too low, the controller switches to power optimization mode and try to get
biggest possible shaft power.
Research by Larsen, Madsen, and Thomsen and by Bossanyi has shown that load
reductions are possible using advanced pitch control. They conducted aeroelastic
numerical simulations to analyse both cyclic and individual pitch control and
compared it to collective pitch methods. The turbine used in the simulations had a
nominal rated power of 2 MW and a rotor diameter of 76 m. The results indicated
that advanced pitch control could lead to a reduction of up to 30% in both 20-year
fatigue loads and extreme loads on many major turbine components. A separate
simulation by Bossanyi showed that individual pitch control could reduce the fatigue
loads at the hub by 30-40% and at the blade roots by 20-30% [4].

5. VARIABLE DIAMETER ROTOR CONTROL

Variable diameter rotor control is capable of improving energy capture in low wind
speeds and reducing loads on the rotor in high wind conditions. Variable diameter
rotors operate by extending/retracting a tip blade out of a root blade to
increase/decrease the diameter. During low-wind speed, a large rotor diameter
provides more capture area, which results in larger aerodynamic loads and an
increase in energy capture. However, this operation generates larger blade root and
tower base bending loads. In higher wind speeds, the rotor diameter can be
decreased to avoid excessive loads. The tip blade would extend and retract
independently of the pitching mechanism and it would respond to gross changes in
the wind speed; the pitch control would still be used to regulate power.
A collaboration of Department of Energy, Energy Unlimited, and Knight and Carver
manufactured and tested turbine blades with this design on a 120 kW turbine. The
prototype blade was created using Kenetech 56-100 tips mounted within Aerostar 9meter blades. The blades were capable of adjusting length from 8 m to 12 m.
12

Additional changes were made to the turbine and more sophisticated controls were
developed for proper control of blade length. Results from this prototype showed that
a potential increase in power production in low winds is possible, about 20-50%
above that of a standard blade in wind speeds from 7-9 m/s. A decrease in
performance was found to occur at rated speed; this was most likely due to the poor
aerodynamics of the prototype.

Figure 7: Example of extendable blade [2].

The measured power curves for different blade lengths are shown in Fig.8
Computational experiments showed improved aerodynamic performance at all wind
speeds, accompanied by an increase in peak and fatigue loads during low wind
speeds.

Figure 8: Measured power curves of the prototype blades [2].

This design is now being developed by Frontier Wind (formerly Energy Unlimited),
who is continuing to test the prototype turbine, making advances in blade design and
developing more sophisticated control algorithms. GE Wind18 also has researched
this concept and has reported that a reduction in cost of energy approximately 18%
13

could occur with a properly designed and operating full-size turbine equipped with a
variable blade system. The variable diameter rotor has potential for increasing
energy production for a given load spectrum. The initial results from the small
prototype turbine show that the concept works; the next step is to develop a fullscale prototype turbine.

Figure 9: variable rotor diameter system [2].

There are several engineering challenges that must be resolved in order to make a
successful and marketable turbine. The challenges include complex control
strategies, the need to maintain a high aerodynamic efficiency, increased blade
weight, and general issues with durability and reliability of the system as a whole [2].

6. ACTIVE FLOW CONTROL ON WIND TURBINE

Active flow control (AFC) is the control of the local airflow surrounding the blade. The
purpose of flow control is often to improve the aerodynamic performance of an airfoil
or lifting surface. However, for utility-scale wind turbines the main focus is to reduce
extreme loads, which occur during high wind activity, and to mitigate fatigue loads,
which vary along a blade and can occur randomly. To do this, active load control
devices or smart devices must include actuators and sensors located along the
span of the blade. The system must be able to sense changes in the local flow
conditions and respond quickly to counter any negative impact on blade loading.
This arrangement provides active smart control over the rotor.
In general, the intent of flow control devices is to delay/advance transition, to
suppress/enhance turbulence, or to prevent/promote separation. The ensuing effects
include drag reduction, lift enhancement, mixing augmentation, heat transfer
enhancement, and flow-induced noise reduction. However, these effects are not
14

necessarily mutually exclusive. Improving one objective may have adverse effects on
other areas. The goal is to choose a flow control scheme that achieves an overall
beneficial goal with minimal tradeoffs.
This report focuses on flow phenomena, which are critical components of a complete
control system. Fig.10 presents one possible layout of a control strategy for a
complete system. This layout includes two types of controllers, a master controller
and individual blade controllers. The master controller would have similar duties to
those found in traditional wind turbine controls (manage pitch angle, tip-speed ratio,
etc), but would also communicate with the blade controllers. The blade controller
would receive input from the sensors (local flow conditions and/or strain in the
blades), communicate with the master controller, and then output commands to the
AFC devices located on the blade.

Figure 10: Control strategy diagram of a complete system [2].

The primary purpose of active flow control (AFC) systems on wind turbines is the
following:
1) Devices may be deployed to increase lift of the blade at low wind speeds,
allowing the turbine to cut-in earlier and capture additional energy.
2) On downwind machines, these devices could deploy every revolution to
Counteract the tower wake effect.
3) Active devices could aid in energy capture and load mitigation on turbines that
experience high array effects.
4) Devices could be used to prevent tower strikes, allowing for larger diameter
rotors to be used and thereby increasing energy capture.
15

5) Aerodynamic performance enhancement and noise reduction could be

realized by maintaining laminar flow over the blade.
6) The blade could operate higher on the lift curve with the devices protecting
the blade from getting into stall [2].

7. WIND TURBINE CONTROL BY LIDAR SYESTEM

A wind turbine is provided having a lidar wind speed measurement apparatus for
achieving wind control. The lidar apparatus is arranged to scan the area in front of
the wind turbine so as to generate a measurement of the wind speed across the
wind field. The lidar apparatus may be located in the hub of the wind turbine and the
look direction inclined away from the rotational axis so that rotation of the hub
ensures scanning. Preferably the lidar apparatus has a plurality of look directions so
as to increase the scanning rate. This may be achieved by having a number of
dedicated lidar systems and/or by using multiplexed lidars. Measurement of the wind
field allows improved control of the wind turbine giving efficiency and reduced wear
benefits.

Figure 11: schematic of a lidar mounted off axis in the hub of a wind turbine [6].
This topic relates to a control system for a wind turbine and to wind turbines having
lidar systems to provide pitch blade control. The lidar operates by scattering
radiation from natural aerosols (dust, pollen, water droplets etc.) and by measuring
the Doppler shift between the outgoing and returning radiation. In order to measure
wind speed and direction it is usual to scan the lidar, typically using a conical scan.
The lidar system can be arranged, for instance by mounting on the nacelle, to always
look at the same position relative to the nacelle. In this way the lidar system always
gives an indication of the wind speed a certain distance upwind. This allows a
controller to set an appropriate blade pitch for the detected wind speed to maintain a
constant tip speed to wind speed ratio. Figure 11 shows a wind turbine having a lidar
16

system mounted in the hub and having a look direction inclined to the axis of rotation
thereof. The turbine consists of a tower bearing a nacelle. The nacelle is connected
to a rotating hub which bears the blades . Three blades are common in modern wind
turbines.
The nacelle is at least partly rotatable in a plane orthogonal to the tower so that the
turbine always faces into the wind for maximum power extraction. The pitch of the
blades is controllable by an actuator located in the hub so as to vary the force
experienced by the blades. Typically the pitch of the blades is varied to maximise
efficient power extraction but in strong winds the blades may be feathered to protect
the turbine.

Figure12: shows a schematic of a suitable multiplexed lidar apparatus [6].

At moderate wind speeds, when the wind speed increases above that required for
maximum output power, then the control regime could switch to load balancing
instead. In this way the same lidar sensor could be used to maximise energy
production in most conditions whilst affording greater protection in high and extreme
winds.
A laser source emits a laser beam that is coupled into an optical fibre cable. A beam
splitter is provided and directs a small fraction of the laser power as a local oscillator
signal to optical fibre cable and the remaining optical power is directed in to optical
fibre cable. A person skilled in the art would recognise that the optical power of the
local oscillator signal would advantageously be adjusted to give optimised shot noise
domination in the detector. A three way beam splitter equally divides the laser power
incident from optical fibre cable between the optical fibre cables, which in turn are
17

coupled to transceivers. Each of the transceivers transmits the laser radiation, and
also output any received radiation (i.e. radiation reflected back to it from an object) to
their respective optical fibre cables.
Optical mixers coherently mix the received radiation of each of the optical fibre
cables with the local oscillator signal provided by the beam splitter. The resultant
coherently mixed signals are output along optical fibre cables to each of the
respective detection means. A personal computer processes the data provided by
each of the detection means generating range or speed data as required. The device
thus provides three simultaneous measurements of range and/or speed for the three
transceivers; however this is at the cost of each transceiver requiring its own
detection means. Alternatively instead of the beam splitter an optical switch could be
provided to receive radiation from optical fibre cable, and direct that radiation to any
one of the transceivers via the respective optical fibre cables.

Figure 13: lidar measurement with feed forward turbine control loop [3].
The result of the wind field measurement could then be used to provide improved
control of the wind turbine. Measurement of the different wind speeds across the disc
swept by the blades would however allow the pitch of each individual blade to be
altered as it rotates. As mentioned, larger turbines have slower rotational rates and it
is possible to adjust the pitch of the blade as it turns.
The pitch of the blades could then be moved to control the load across the blades
and achieve load balancing. This would be useful in strong Winds as mentioned to
prevent excessive wear of the transmission. In less strong winds, maximum
efficiency is required the pitch of each blade could be altered to ensure it is
performing at maximum efficiency throughout the whole revolution [6].
18

8. CONCLUSION
This report covered some essential wind turbine control concepts, such as the angle
of attack and the power coefficient, as well as different control methods such as
advanced blade pitch control, Variable rotor diameter control, Active Flow control
were the main control methods used to optimize or limit the power extracted from the
wind. Wind turbine control concept is essential for optimal performance, safe
operation, and structural stability.
Controlling the rotor revolution per minute, and hence the tip-speed ratio, by
controlling the generator torque allows the adherence to a desired power coefficient
profile. At low and moderate wind speeds, operation at or near Cp, max can be
achieved. At high wind speeds, by forcing the rotor blades to stall, RPM and power
can be constrained to the desired limits. These simulations were performed without
regard to issues of wind-turbine cost, reliability, or long term structural loads. These
matters, as well as those related to changes in atmospheric density, blade soiling
and site-specific conditions will be the subject of future studies on adaptive control
systems.
Improvement in power quality can be achieved by using a control system which
monitors the turbine and alters the pitch angle of the blades accordingly. An
alternative is to design a fixed pitch rotor with blades that stall at the rated wind
speed. A stalling rotor is self-regulating providing power regulation and good power
quality without a control system. Start up, shut down and over speed protection of
such a rotor, requires further train components. The choice of control strategy
moderates or accentuates the torques and moments to which the components of the
wind turbine are subject.
At the end of this paper shows wind turbine model with lidar wind speed
measurement system. The lidar means could comprise a number of separate lidars
having single look direction. Each lidar would have its own laser, transmit and
receive optics and detector. In the case of low correlation between the preview wind
measurements and the wind speeds that affect the turbine, the feed forward
controller has a negative impact. Therefore, adaptive elements in estimator and
control design are crucial to improve preview control of wind turbines reliably and will
pave the way to applying advanced multivariable controllers in the nonlinear
transition between partial and full power production.
The next stages of development involve further wind lidar integration experiments
and further data analysis including modelling and simulations of lidar data as input to
the wind turbines pitch control systems toward quantitative wind turbine performance
improvement. In conclusion we have touched on further work which may be pivotal in
realizing the improvements that research is possible with advanced control methods.
19

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Wind turbine control method, 22 December, 2008. Website: www.ni.com

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