Parameter Estimation of a Doubly-Fed Induction

Generator in a Wind Generation Topology

JC Bekker
Stellenbosch University,
South Africa
neliusb@sun.ac.za

HJ Vermeulen
Stellenbosch University,
South Africa
vermeuln@sun.ac.za

Abstract The installed capacity of wind generation systems
has increased dramatically in recent years, thereby increasing
the need for efficient model implementations for operational
applications such as simulating system behaviour and grid inter-
actions, identifying and quantifying ageing effects and perform-
ing condition monitoring. While the model topologies for con-
ventional systems are well established, the methodologies for
determining parameter values from online measurements re-
quire further research, especially for applications such as condi-
tion monitoring.
This paper presents the results of an exploratory investiga-
tion to estimate the model parameters of a double-fed induction
generator used in a classical wind generation system that in-
cludes a wind turbine blade, gearbox and simplified grid model.
The investigation is conducted using dedicated Matlab imple-
mentations of C-code S-function models of the various system
components, compiled as a Simulink library. This approach
ensures highly efficient model implementations with fast simula-
tion times as is typically required by parameter estimation proc-
esses.
Results are presented for case studies performed on both
ABC and DQ generator model implementations, with the gen-
erator either operated in isolation or as part of a wind genera-
tion system. The investigation considers two perturbation sig-
nals, namely step perturbations applied to the rotor angular
velocity and stator voltages respectively. The results show that
the electrical parameters of the generator can be estimated with
good accuracy using these model implementations, operating
topologies and perturbation signals.
Index TermsWind Turbine System, Modelling, Parameter
Estimation, Matlab, Simulink.
I. INTRODUCTION
The South African electricity utility has set a cumulative
target of 10 TWh renewable energy to be achieved by 2013.
Wind energy is one of the primary sources targeted for the
purposes of this objective. In the Western Cape region alone,
a wind generation feasibility study showed that as much as
2800 MW of wind energy can be integrated into the local
transmission grid [1].
The development of the local wind generation capacity cre-
ates a need for the modelling and analysis of wind turbine
systems and power grid interactions for local operating condi-
tions in an efficient manner [[2], [3]]. It is recognised that,
while the relevant model topologies are well researched and
documented, determining the applicable model parameters
from online measurements using parameter estimation and
optimisation procedures can benefit from further research.
This has given rise to implementation of native C-code
MATLAB models for dynamic modelling of the wind genera-
tion system represented by the generic block diagram shown
in Fig. 1. This implementation, which is part on an ongoing
project, currently allows for wind speed properties, turbine
characteristics, a gearbox, Doubly-Fed Induction Generator
(DFIG) and lumped network model.

Fig. 1: Generic block diagram of a wind turbine system.
One of the main applications of the model implementation
is to determine the model parameters from measured in-
put/output data using parameter estimation optimisation
methods. The practical applications of this include determin-
ing the model parameters for different operating conditions,
tracking the changes in model parameters with ageing and
possibly condition monitoring. This paper discusses the pa-
rameter estimation results obtained for the DFIG model, using
various input/output topologies and perturbation conditions.
Section II gives a brief overview of the parameter estimation
process. The DFIG model topology and Matlab implementa-
tion used for the purposes of this investigation are discussed
in section III, while section IV presents parameter estimation
results for a number of case studies. The overall conclusions
and suggestions for further work are presented in section V.
II. PARAMETER ESTIMATION PROCESS
Fig. 2 shows a generic block diagram of the parameter es-
timation process as implemented in this investigation. The
System block represents a forward system simulation with a
predetermined parameter set while the Model block represents
the same model implementation where the parameters are
estimated using the chosen optimisation strategy. Vectors y
and y denote the multivariate output signals of the System
and Model blocks respectively. Vector x denotes the input
signals. Vector denotes the residuals, i.e. the instantane-
ous differences between the simulated output signals from the
System and Model blocks.
The Cost Function block represents the objective function
to be minimised by the optimisation algorithm. The most
commonly used cost function, i.e. the sum-of-squares, is used
in the investigation. This cost function overcomes problems
such as the cancelation of positive and negative residuals and
is fully differentiable, unlike alternatives such as the sum-of-
absolute residuals cost function [[4],[5]]. Optimisation of the
sum of squares cost function is also solidly grounded in statis-
tical theory as shown in [4]. The well known Levenberg-
Marquardt and Trust Region estimation algorithms imple-
mented in the MATLAB parameter estimation toolbox are
employed for solving the Least Square (LS) objective func-
tions.


Fig. 2: Parameter Estimation process block diagram [6].
III. MODEL TOPOLOGY AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
DOUBLY-FED INDUCTION GENERATOR
The model implementations used in the investigation are
fully described in [6]. In view of the focus of the investiga-
tion on the DFIG, this section reviews the model implementa-
tion of the generator component of the wind turbine system.
A. Generator
Fig. 3 shows a simplified diagram of a three-phase double-
fed induction machine, also known as a wound rotor induc-
tion machine [7].

Fig. 3: Simplified three-phase machine.
Neglecting saturation and core losses and assuming a sinu-
soidal magnetomotive force gives rise to the basic dynamic
equations given in [7]. These equations can be arranged in
state-variable format to yield

[ ]
[ ] [ ]
[ ]
[ ] [ ] [ ]
1 1
r
d I d L
L R I L V
dt dt

= +
`

)
, (1)
where [V] and [I] contain the stator and rotor voltages and
currents respectively, [R] denotes the resistance matrix and
[L] denotes the inductance matrix. Some of the terms of the
inductance matrix are dependent on rotor position, which
implies long simulation times due to the need to invert the
time-varying inductance matrix at each simulation step [8].
The solution is to make use of the dq reference frame [[8],
[9]] shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4: Two-phase dq representation of a three-phase machine.
The transformation of current and voltage relationships be-
tween three-phase and stationary or pseudo-stationary two-
phase systems can be expressed by the relationships [9]
[ ][ ]
dq abc
x C x ( =


(2)
and
[ ] [ ]
1
abc dq
x C x

( =

, (3)
where x denotes currents or voltages and
1
[ ] [ ]
T
C C

=
where [ ] C is defined by the relationship
[ ]
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2 2
cos cos cos
3 3
2 2
sin sin sin
3 3
1 1 1
2 2 2
2
3
r r r
r r r
C




+
+
(
(
(
=
(
(

. (4)
Equation (2) and (4) can then be used to transform the ro-
tating three-phase winding to a pseudo-stationary two-phase
winding and the stationary three-phase winding to a stationary
two-phase winding. Once the three-phase system has been
transformed to the two-phase system an expression for the
terminal can be deduced as shown in [10]. Assuming that the
windings are balanced and making use of the fact that no flux
linkage occurs between windings that is 90 relative to each
other, it follows that 0 L L

= = , 0
DQ QD
L L = = ,
r
L L L

= = ,
DD QQ s
L L L = = ,
r
R R R

= = and
DD QQ s
R R R = = . The mutual inductances between the sta-
tionary and pseudo-stationary windings are functions of
and thus functions of time. Assuming that the air gap is uni-
form and that the inductance varies sinusoidally with ,
these mutual inductances can be represented by a cosine or
sine function with peak value of M [9]. Substituting all of
these inductances and resistances into the equation for the
terminal voltages and introducing the dq variables defined by
(5) and (6) yields the dq terminal voltage equations in matrix
form given by (7).

cos sin
sin cos
d
q
i i
i i

( ( (
=
( ( (

(5)

cos sin
sin cos
d
q
v v
v v

( ( (
=
( ( (

(6)
[ ] [ ]

DQdq DQdq DQdq

i v H i L
(
( ( = +
(

(7)
Equation (7) can be expressed in state-variable format to
yield
[ ] [ ] [ ]

1 1
DQdq DQd DQdq q
L H i L v i
(
( ( = +
(

(8)
where
[ ]
0 0 0
0 0 0
0
0
R
s
R
s
M R L
r r
M L R
r r
H


(
(
=
(
(



and [ ]
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
L M
S
L M
S
M L
r
M L
r
L
(
(
=
(
(

.
The inductance matrix is independent of rotational angle and
time, thereby significantly reducing the simulation time and
overall optimisation time in a parameter estimation applica-
tion. Fig. 5 shows a block diagram of the state-variable
model, with input and output variables and parameters as
defined in Table I and Table II respectively.
The generator model represented by the above state-space
representation were implemented in Matlab as S-functions
coded in C and incorporated as a native toolbox as described
in [6] for the purposes of the parameter estimation investiga-
tion. In a comparative test for the ABC model with the ma-
chine operated as an induction machine, i.e. with the rotor
windings short-circuited, the simulation time of the S-
function implementation is improved by a factor of 7 com-
pared to the implementation of the existing Simulink toolbox.

Fig. 5: Generator model block diagram.
TABLE I
INPUT AND OUTPUT VARIABLE DEFINITIONS OF GENERATOR
MODEL
Variable Description
V Stator and rotor voltages [V]
gen

Generator angular velocity [rad/s]
I Stator and rotor currents [A]
gen
T
Generator torque [Nm]
TABLE II
PARAMETER DEFINITIONS OF GENERATOR MODEL
Parameter Description Parameter Description
s
R [] Stator resistances
r
R [] Rotor resistances
s
L [H] Stator inductances
r
L [H] Rotor inductances
m
L [H] Mutual inductances P Number of poles

IV. PARAMETER ESTIMATION RESULTS
A number of case studies were performed on the ABC and
DQ DFIG model implementations detailed in section III with
the view to determine which parameters can be readily esti-
mated for various perturbations and which initial states need
to be estimated.
The DFIG has six parameters as listed in Table II. The pa-
rameter values are generally supplied by the manufacturers,
but these values may change due to ageing and operating
conditions. The number of poles is assumed fixed and was
not estimated in the case studies. The ABC model have seven
states variables, namely the stator and rotor currents
as
I ,
bs
I ,
cs
I ,
ar
I ,
br
I and
cr
I and the rotor angular position
r
. The
DQ model have five states variables, namely the stator and
rotor currents
ds
I ,
qs
I ,
dr
I and
qr
I and the rotor angular
position
r
. The initial values of the states are denoted by the
qualifier init in the subscripts.
The following conditions applied for all case studies,
unless indicated otherwise:
The machine was operated as an induction generator with
the rotor windings short-circuited.
The stator windings were supplied with symmetrical
50 Hz three phase voltages with a Root-Mean-Square
(RMS) voltage of 220 V.
Arbitrary chosen initial values of 0.0001 were used for all
machine parameters estimated.
The cost function is determined from the torque and cur-
rent output signals.
The a priory information that the parameter values are
positive and in the milli and micro order range allowed a
constrained estimation algorithm to be used. Constraints of
0.0 and 1.0 were applied for the lower and upper boundaries
respectively. These can of course be more appropriately
chosen for a specific machine in practice. The simulated out-
put signals exhibit simulation start-up transients which can be
eliminated from the cost function by applying an appropriate
time window to the signals.
Two perturbation signals were considered in the case stud-
ies, namely a step superimposed on the angular velocity input
signal as shown in Fig. 6 and a step superimposed on the
stator voltages as shown in Fig. 7. Case studies 1 and 2 pre-
sent results for the angular velocity perturbation while case
studies 3 to 5 present results for the stator voltages perturba-
tion.
Case studies 1 to 4 were conducted for the DFIG in isola-
tion, i.e. without an inertia model that inhibit the step in angu-
lar velocity, thereby providing an indication of the observe-
ability of the model parameters for perturbations of angular
velocity. Case study 5 was conducted for the entire wind
turbine model, which includes an inertia model, and is there-
fore more representative of a practical topology.


Fig. 6: Angular velocity perturbation signal applied for case studies
1 and 2.

Fig. 7: Stator voltages perturbation signals applied for case studies 3
to 5.
Table III summarises the conditions for the various case
studies, showing which parameters and initial states are esti-
mated and whether the initial transient elimination window is
applied.
TABLE III
SUMMARY OF PARAMETER ESTIMATION CASE STUDIES
PERFORMED ON THE DFIG MODEL
Case Study 1 2 3 4 5
Parameter set Set 1 Set 1 Set 1 Set 2 Set 2
Windowed
Actual Initial
State Values

r
L
s
L
M
r
R
s
R
_ as init
I

_ bs init
I

_ cs init
I

_ ar init
I

_ br init
I

_ cr init
I

_ r init


A. Angular velocity perturbation: Case study 1.
This case study was conducted for the ABC generator
model operated in isolation, using the angular velocity pertur-
bation signal shown in Fig. 6. All initial state values were
assigned the correct actual values.
The results are summarised in Table IV while the output
torque signal is shown in Fig. 8. The results show that the
parameters are estimated accurately, with worst case errors of
the order of 3% recorded for the stator and rotor inductances.
The optimisation process required 19 iterations with an exe-
cution time of 530 seconds.
A further estimation was performed, but with the initial
state values assigned arbitrary values of 0 A for the currents
and 0.5 radians for the rotor angular position. The results of
optimisation process showed an average error of 102% with
individual errors as high as 218%. These results indicate that
the parameter estimation process fails to estimate any of the
generator parameters accurately without estimating the states
or knowing the correct initial values of the states, but con-
verge to an inappropriate local minima. The two reasons
considered for causing this result were that the transient be-
haviour at the start of the simulation caused by the initial
condition might have dominated the cost function or that one
or more of the states have a large enough impact on the output
data that this lead to the estimation not succeeding.


Fig. 8: Torque output for parameter estimation case studies 1 and 2
performed on DFIG model.
TABLE IV
PARAMETER ESTIMATION RESULTS: CASE STUDY 1
Parameter/
Initial state
Actual value
Initial
value
Percentage
error
] H [m
r
L 1.680 0.100 -3.06%
] H [m
s
L 1.650 0.100 3.22%
[ ] mH M 46.600 0.100 -0.37%
] m [
r
R 184.000 0.100 0.06%
] m [
s
R 115.000 0.100 0.08%
The influence of simulation start-up transients was investi-
gated by applying a time window ranging from 2s to 10s in
determining the cost function. The results obtained from this
estimation were similar to that obtained without the window.
It is concluded that the simulation start-up transients are not
the cause of the inaccurate estimation results.
To investigate the second theory, the differential equation
(1) of the generator was considered. It is clear that the angu-
lar position plays a major part in this equation. Therefore, the
next case study investigated the case where the initial value of
the angular position state is estimated together with the gen-
erator parameters. This also important from a practical per-
spective, for while the initial values of the current states are
easily measured in practice, the angular position of the rotor
is generally not that easily obtainable.
B. Angular velocity perturbation: Case study 2
This case study was conducted for both the ABC and DQ
generator models operated in isolation, using the angular
velocity perturbation signal shown in Fig. 6. The initial cur-
rent states were assigned arbitrary values of 0A, while the
rotor angular position was assigned an initial value of 0.5
radians and configured to be estimated simultaneously with
the parameters.
The results are summarised in Table V. The results show
that the parameters are estimated fairly accurately, with worst
case errors of the order of 12% recorded for the stator and
rotor inductances. The optimisation process required 19 itera-
tions with an execution time of 660 seconds for the ABC
model and 20 iterations with and execution time of 174 sec-
onds for the DQ model.
TABLE V
PARAMETER ESTIMATION RESULTS: CASE STUDY 2
Parameter/
Initial state
Actual
value
Initial
value
%-error for
ABC model
%-error for
DQ model
] H [m
r
L 1.680 0.100 -3.08% -10.46
] H [m
s
L 1.650 0.100 3.22% 12.23%
[ ] mH M 46.600 0.100 -0.48% -4.29%
] m [
r
R 184.000 0.100 0.06% -0.01%
] m [
s
R 115.000 0.100 -0.03% -3.13%
_
r ] [ ad
r init

1.000 0.5000 -0.04% -0.21%
C. Stator voltage perturbation: Case study 3
This case study was conducted for the ABC generator
model operated in isolation, using the stator voltages pertur-
bation signals shown in Fig. 7. The angular velocity input
was maintained constant at 83 rad/s, as represented by a sys-
tem with large enough inertia. For the estimation the initial
current states were assigned arbitrary values of 10 A, while
the rotor angular position was assigned an initial value of 0.5
radians and configured to be estimated with the parameters. A
time window ranging from 0.8s to 2.5s was applied in deter-
mining the cost function to remove the simulation start-up
transients.
The results are summarised in Table VI while Fig. 9 and
Fig. 10 show the simulated output current signals of the rotor
and the output toque signal respectively. The results show
that the resistances of the windings are estimated accurately
with errors less than 2% but the inductances are inaccurate
with errors as high as 40%. The optimisation process re-
quired 23 iterations with an execution time of 650 second.
TABLE VI
PARAMETER ESTIMATION RESULTS: CASE STUDY 3
Parameter/
Initial state
Actual value
Initial
value
% - error
] H [m
r
L 0.299 0.100 39.98%
] H [m
s
L 0.407 0.100 -27.65%
[ ] mH M 16.000 0.100 37.46%
] m [
r
R 8.900 0.100 -0.82%
] m [
s
R 5.000 0.100 -1.60%
_
r ] [ ad
r init

1.000 0.5000 1.79%


Fig. 9: Three-phase rotor currents for case studies 3 and 4.

Fig. 10: Torque output signal for case studies 3 and 4.
To investigate whether the model excited by the stator
voltage is more sensitive to the initial values of the state cur-
rents compared to it being excited by a step in angular veloc-
ity the estimation was performed again with the initial values
of the current states also set to be estimated. These results
show that the resistances of the windings are again estimated
accurately with errors less than 1%. The accuracy of the
inductances improved, with the highest error being below
12%. As previously mentioned the current is an output of the
system that is used in the cost function, therefore, the initial
values of the current states are available. Knowing this, the
sensitivity to the initial values of the current states were fur-
ther investigated by performing a further case study with the
initial values of the currents assigned their actual values.
D. Stator voltage perturbation: Case study 4
This case study was conducted for both the ABC and DQ
generator models operated in isolation, using the stator volt-
ages perturbation signals shown in Fig. 7. The angular veloc-
ity input was maintained constant at 83 rad/s. The initial cur-
rent states were assigned the correct actual values while the
rotor angular position was assigned an initial value of 0.5
radians and configured to be estimated simultaneously with
the parameters.
The results are presented in Table VII. These results show
that all the generator parameter values are estimated accu-
rately with errors below 4% for the ABC model and below
6% for the DQ model. This further confirms that the DFIG
model is sensitive to the initial values of the current states
when excited by the stator voltages.
The optimisation process required 22 iterations with an
execution time of 626 seconds for the ABC model and 31
iterations with an optimisation time of 600 seconds for the
DQ model. This small reduction in estimation time might be
the cause of a high frequency oscillation that was observed on
the output signals of the DQ model. This requires further
investigation, but might be due to numerical instability.
TABLE VII
PARAMETER ESTIMATION RESULTS: CASE STUDY 4
Parameter/
Initial state
Actual
value
Initial
value
%-error for
ABC model
%-error for
DQ model
] H [m
r
L 0.299 0.100 3.75% 5.88%
] H [m
s
L 0.4074 0.100 -2.64% -3.98%
[ ] mH M 16.000 0.100 3.61% 5.85%
] m [
r
R 8.900 0.100 -0.09% 0.00%
] m [
s
R 5.000 0.100 -0.18% 0.04%
_
r ] [ ad
r init

1.000 0.500 0.12% -0.20%
E. Stator voltage perturbation: Case study 5
This case study was conducted for the ABC generator
model operated as part of the complete wind turbine model,
using the stator voltages perturbation signals shown in Fig. 7.
The wind speed input was maintained constant at 5 m/s. The
initial current states were assigned the correct actual values
while the rotor angular position was assigned an initial value
of 0.5 radians and configured to be estimated simultaneously
with the parameters. A time window ranging from 10s to 12s
was applied in determining the cost function to remove the
simulation start-up transients.
The results are summarised in Table VIII. These results
show that the mutual inductance and resistances were esti-
mated with errors below 1%, while the winding inductances
were less accurate with errors below 11%. Figure 11 shows a
section of the output torque signal to illustrate the transient
response caused by the step in the voltage amplitude.
The optimisation process required 40 iterations with an
execution time of 286 minutes.

Fig. 11: Section of the torque signal for case study 5.
V. CONCLUSIONS
The results show that the parameters of a DFIG model,
whether implemented as an ABC model or DQ model, and
operated in isolation can be readily estimated using perturba-
tions of the speed or applied stator voltage. This also applies
when the machine is operated as part of a full wind turbine
system using perturbations of the applied stator voltages. The
initial values of the current states play an important role in the
overall estimation accuracy. Since these are measured as part
of the output signals, however, this does not present a practi-
cal problem. It is encouraging that the initial position of the
rotor angular position can be estimated accurately together
with the rest of the parameters, as it is a relatively difficult
quantity to measure in practice.
TABLE VIII
PARAMETER ESTIMATION RESULTS: CASE STUDY 5
Parameter/
Initial state
Actual value
Initial
value
% - error
] H [m
r
L 0.299 0.100 -10.77%
] H [m
s
L 0.4074 0.100 7.70%
[ ] mH M 16.000 0.100 0.23%
] m [
r
R 8.900 0.100 -0.02%
] m [
s
R 5.000 0.100 -0.01%
_
r ] [ ad
r init

1.000 0.500 -1.74%
The parameter values estimated with the DQ model are less
accurate compared to the values estimated with the ABC
model. The reasons for this are not clear and require further
investigation. It may, however, be related to the observation
that the DQ model is more inclined to exhibited oscillatory
behaviour due to numerical effects.
Further work in the overall project will focus on combined
model topologies, i.e. combinations of the turbine blades,
gearbox and generator and finally the entire wind turbine
system. An important objective to be pursued is elimination
of the torque signal from the cost function, which is problem-
atic to measure in practice.
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