Novel Rotor-Side Control Scheme for Doubly Fed Induction Generator to Ride Through Grid Faults Zhendong Zhang

Student Member, IEEE zhangz@ece.osu.edu

Longya Xu
Fellow, IEEE xu.12@osu.edu

Yuan Zhang
Student Member, IEEE zhang.564@osu.edu

Bo Guan
Student Member, IEEE guanb@ece.osu.edu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering The Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Abstract -- A simplified transient model of the Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) is used to investigate the effects when the voltage sags impose to the DFIG generation system. It is identified that the symmetrical transient voltage sag creates a DC component in the magnetic field which causes over currents in both the stator and rotor windings. The characteristics of the DC flux component are investigated and new control strategy is presented. Computer simulation is used to verify the expanded ride-through capability of the novel strategy. Index Terms -- Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG); Low Voltage Ride Through (LVRT); stator DC flux.

I.

INTRODUCTION

DFIGs have become one of the most favorable choices in wind power generations due to the prominent advantages such as the reduced size compared to the PM machines used in the direct-driven generator applications, the associated power converter only around 30% of the power rating of the system, and flexibility in adjusting power factor. However, DFIGs sluggish and unsafe response to the grid voltage transient is the most serious problem. Generally, a crow-bar device is used to maintain the DFIGs grid connection and protect the Rotor Side Converter (RSC) from damage [1, 2]. This solution is acceptable for a single wind turbine generator connected to the grid. With the penetration of wind power into the existing macro power grid, a large wind farm near one hundred MG watts needs interactive control among the turbines and active control of each turbine generator becomes necessary especially during fault. Also, the cutin and cut-off of the crow-bar devices will introduce additional transients to the interconnected system. Since the conventional passive crow-bar circuits cannot fulfill the rigid grid code requirements, various methods have been proposed to address this issue. Most of the proposed methods aim to realize active control during fault and at the same time guarantee device safety. Xiang et al proposed to control the rotor side current to enlarge the flux difference between the stator and rotor by the leakage inductance, which eventually weakens the rotor flux

interaction to the stator flux [3]. A series passive impedance network is inserted between the grid and the stator of DFIG, which is also used to weaken the connection between the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) and the stator of DFIG [4]. However, the frequent cut-in and cut-off of the stator impedances introduces transients and the normally closed switches downgrade the reliability of the system. Flannery et al proposed to use a Universal Power Factor Controller (UPFC) to ride through the balanced or unbalanced voltage sags [5]. A series voltage compensator between the grid and the stator is coordinately controlled to isolate any PCC voltage oscillation. However, this method is limited by its auxiliary facilities, complex design and control. Moreover, the transformer in series will introduce large impedance during normal operation and by-pass switches are needed to cut off the circuits during normal operation. Lima presented a novel control strategy to mitigate the large rotor current during voltage sag [6], which applies the stator current feedback as the reference for RSC. The strategy is examined by simulations and the experiments. In this paper, transient characteristics of DFIG caused by voltage sag are investigated in Section II. The behavior of DFIG at the moments of voltage dip as well as the subsequent recovery is analyzed. It is identified that the severity of the fault depends on the voltage transient profile (including both the voltage dip and the subsequent recovery rise) and the rotor side control method. Based on the theoretical exploration, a new control strategy is proposed and described in Section III. The new control strategy targets on mitigating the rotor side current shock and expanding the ride through capability. Finally, the proposed control strategy is verified by simulation results in Section IV. II. VOLTAGE SAG ANALYSIS In order to take correct control actions after voltage sag, the DFIG transients after voltage sag is investigated and detailed analysis presented in this section. A) Modeling of DFIG in Steady State and Transient The dynamic voltages and flux linkages of a DFIG can

978-1-4244-5287-3/10/$26.00 2010 IEEE

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be expressed in Eqs. (1) through (8): d vds = Rs ids + ds e qs dt

(1) (2) (3) (4)

vqs = Rs iqs +

d qs dt

+ eds

ds = Ls ids + Lm idr qs = Ls iqs + Lm iqr

d vdr = Rr idr + dr (e r )qs (5) dt dqr (6) + (e r )dr vqr = Rr iqr + dt dr = Lr idr + Lmids (7) qr = Lr iqr + Lmiqs (8) where, the subscripts s and r represent the stator and rotor sides, respectively. Rs and Rr are the resistance of the stator and rotor winding; Ls, Lr and Lm the stator, rotor and magnetizing inductance; s and r the stator and rotor magnetic flux; vs and is the stator voltage and current; vr and ir the rotor voltage and the rotor current; e the electrical angular velocity of the synchronous reference frame; r the electrical angular velocity of the rotor. If the DFIG system has already reached the steady state, with the stator flux orientation, the q-axis flux linkage of the stator becomes zero, that is, qs=0. With the resistance of the stator winding neglected, Eqs. (2) and (8) can be rewritten:
idr + vqs Ls ids = Lm e Lm

In the following analysis, a three-phase symmetrical fault is assumed at PCC. Then, a DC field component is generated, possibly triggering the collapse of the system. The DC component can be split up into two components and the following equations arrive: dds _ dc (13) 0 = Rs ids _ dc + dt dqs _ dc (14) 0 = Rs iqs _ dc + dt ddr _ dc (15) + r qr _ dc vdr _ dc = Rr idr _ dc + dt dqr _ dc (16) r dr _ dc vqr _ dc = Rr iqr _ dc + dt ds _ dc = Ls ids _ dc + Lm idr _ dc (17) qs _ dc = Ls iqs _ dc + Lm iqr _ dc (18)

dr _ dc = Lr idr _ dc + Lm ids _ dc

(19)

(9)

Lm iqr (10) Ls As shown in Eq. (9), the summation of d-axis reactive current of the stator and rotor is determined by the stator voltage. If the rotor d-axis current is actively controlled the stator d-axis current will be automatically determined according to Eq. (9). On the other hand, the stator and rotor q-axis torque currents show a fixed ratio in Eq. (10). Using transfer function approach, the simplified DFIG dynamic equations can be expressed as [6]: L 1 1 ids = vqs m idr (11) 2 2 Ls s + 2( Rs / Ls ) s + e Ls iqs =

qr _ dc = Lr iqr _ dc + Lm iqs _ dc (20) where the variables and subscripts share the same meaning as those in Eqs. (1) through (8) but are designated to the DC components. If the d-axis of the DC transient components is also oriented toward the stator DC flux direction, the q-axis component qs_dc become zero and equations are simplified to: dds _ dc (21) = Rs ids _ dc dt ds _ dc = Ls ids _ dc + Lm idr _ dc (22) 0 = Ls iqs _ dc + Lm iqr _ dc (23)
idr _ dc =

ds _ dc
Lm

Ls ids _ dc Lm

(24)

iqs =

1
2

s + Rs / Ls
2

Ls s + 2( Rs / Ls ) s + e

vqs

Lm Ls

iqr

(12)

Lm iqr _ dc (25) Ls With Eq. (22) changed to (24), it is shown that the transient components of DC current could be on both the stator and rotor. The splitting of the current on the stator and the rotor is determined by the pre-fault instant. Eq. (23) can be transformed to (25), indicating the proportional relationship between the q-axis DC current (torque current) on the stator and rotor. Furthermore, Eq. (21) shows that the decay of DC flux is determined by the resistance of the stator circuits and its DC current. iqs _ dc =

In the form of transfer function of second order, the oscillation terms reveal why the d- and q-axis currents oscillate when voltage sag occurs. Also, clarified in Eqs. (11) and (12) are the oscillation frequency being the synchronous frequency e and the damping factor =Rs/Ls, determined by the resistance and inductance of the stator windings.

B) Transient Analysis of Magnetic flux Clamped by the stator voltage, the stator flux can not be changed by controlling the rotor side circuit as shown in (21). The magnetic field, excited by the reactive current, sets up the air-gap flux for active power flow between mechanical and electrical ports and reactive power flow

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between the stator and the rotor as well. Instant voltage sag at the stator terminals triggers the stator flux fluctuation and results in a shock current to the rotor circuits. The variation of the stator flux caused by the stator voltage sag is described by the vector diagram in Fig. 1. The trajectory of the stator flux vector is drawn for three-phase symmetric fault. Prior to the stator voltage sag, the flux vector rotates along the outer red circle, denoted as AC flux pre-fault trajectory. For the moment at Point A, voltage sag occurs and at the same time, the stator flux vector tries to hold the same length because a magnetic field can not change instantaneously. At this moment, the flux vector is actually split into two components, the frozen DC flux component OO and the AC synchronous rotating component AO. Right after the fault, the origin of the AC synchronously rotating flux vector offsets the old one by a DC flux vector OO. In effect, the DC flux vector OO is a passive component and decays gradually along the green line. Finally at Point B, the transient caused by the voltage sag ends with the AC flux vector rotating along the smaller inner red circle. In the subsequent voltage recovery transient, the flux vector will follow a reversed trajectory compared to that of the initial voltage sag.

transient DC magnetic field is able to transfer extra energy. Therefore, if both the AC and DC current components corresponding to the respective magnetic fields are controlled, the system can survive any voltage fault. The protection includes prevention of large surge current in the rotor circuit as well as sudden torque shock on the rotor shaft. The above discussion forms the core of new control strategy for LVRT and is to be presented in later sections.

Fig. 2 Energy flow relations to stator flux

Fig. 1 Stator flux variation during fault

The flux variation will be also associated with energy flow during voltage sag. The AC magnetic field, excited by the AC currents, supports the normal active power flow from mechanical to electrical ports for generating operation. At the moment of fault, the transient DC flux component is induced, supported by the DC excitation current, and the DC magnetic flux also participates in active and reactive power transfer if it is properly controlled. Power flow before and after voltage sag can be best illustrated by Fig. 2. As shown, the AC magnetic field transfers all the active energy before fault. After voltage sag, the AC related energy flow is reduced. However, the

C) Voltage Sag Profile The voltage sag profile refers to the shape of voltage envelop in time from the sudden sag and the subsequent recovery. Both the sudden dip and rise in the voltage sag profile induce DC components in current and magnetic field. Whether the current and magnetic flux DC components aggregate or mitigate the transients depends heavily on the phase (time) difference between the dip and recovery moments. Suppose that if the dip and recovery happen instantaneously and the time interval between instants is integer cycles, then the AC flux vector starts and ends at the same phase position in the vector diagram shown in Fig. 1. Since the AC flux vector shortens itself during dip and restores during recovery rise, the DC flux components are generated in opposite directions which tends to counteract with each other. The described event is shown in Fig. 3. Fig 3(a) shows that the AC magnetic flux (and current) vector (real line) before dip is split into an AC vector (dotted line) and a DC vector (red dash-dotted line) after dip. Fig 3(b) shows the AC vector (real line) before recovery turns to be AC vector (dotted line) after recovery compensated by DC vector (red dash-dotted line). These two DC vectors (red line) are in opposite directions. However, if these two (dip and rise) moments happen to have integer plus a half cycle interval, then the DC flux components will add up and the transient can be amplified and severe during these two transients, as shown in Fig. 4. The DC components (red line) are in the same direction at voltage dip and recovery. Obviously the large DC

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transient component should be damped out as quickly as possible. In later simulation investigation, all cases are based on the most severe situation shown in Fig. 4.

connected to the grid (PCC) via a transformer. After the transformer, the grid cable is split and fed to stator and rotor separately. Stator flux oriented vector control method is applied at both the RSC and GSC.

(a) Flux vector during voltage sag (b) Flux vector during voltage recovery Fig. 3 Integral period interval between Sag and recovery

Fig. 5 DFIG system configuration

(a) Flux vector during voltage sag (b) Flux vector during voltage recovery Fig. 4 Integral and half period interval between Sag and recovery

In general, voltage sag can be grouped into three classes as follows according to the above discussion: Class 1 - Mild voltage sag: The DC bus is capable of rejecting any DC current components on the rotor side at both voltage dip and voltage recovery. Class 2 - Moderate voltage sag: The rotor side current is controllable after dip and is out of control during recovery. Class 3 - Severe voltage sag: The rotor side current is out of control right after voltage dip. Ideally for various voltage sag profiles, different control strategies are needed to prevent the rotor side collapse. For Class 1, no extra action is really needed other than normal current regulation, to mitigate the transient. For Class 2, DC component should be specifically damped out as soon as the voltage possible. For Class 3, any control strategy is in vain to secure the system and crowbar circuit offers the best solution. In this paper, the control strategy for Low-Voltage-Ride-Through (LVRT) is to extend the Safe Operation Area (SOA) in Class 2, so that the controller can expand its safety operation region under fault condition without the use of crow-bar devices. III. PROPOSED CONTROL STRATEGY AT GRID FAULT A) Control Strategy The system diagram of DFIG wind turbine is shown in Fig. 5. The entire wind turbine generation system is

As mentioned before, the DC magnetic field in the air gap is the major concern in LVRT control. Eq. (21) shows that the DC flux linkage can be adjusted by changing either the stator resistance or the DC component of stator winding current. Eq. (21) can be rewritten as Eq. (26) if the transmission line stray resistance is taken into account. dds _ dc (26) = ( Rs + Rstray )ids _ dc dt The control effort is to accelerate the decay of the DC component of the stator flux linkage. Eq. (26) shows that the changing rate of the stator DC flux linkage is associated with the stator resistor Rs, transmission line stray resistance Rstray and the DC component of the stator winding current ids_dc. Therefore, there are two ways to control the stator DC flux linkage: 1) changing the resistance of the stator winding; 2) applying active control to the DC component of the stator winding current. Though effective, changing resistance of the stator winding is a less favored approach because the resistors used for the current decay should handle high energy and power and are required to be bulky. Besides, cut-in and cut-off the resistors will introduce additional transient into the system. The major effort in this paper for DC component is to find a way to accelerate the decay as fast as possible, indirectly controlled by the rotor side converter without inserting additional stator resistance. Fig. 6(a) shows the vector diagram with several DC variables in the stationary reference frame. sdc is the transient stator DC flux linkage with its excitation current Isdc in the same direction.

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In the control strategy, we consider the normal current control in slip frequency and the active current control in rotor speed frequency for forced decay of stator DC flux together. Fig. 6(b) shows the controlled current vector diagram for forced decay of stator DC flux. According to Eq. (26), to accelerate and eliminate the stator DC flux component means to maximize the stator DC current. Here we attempt to maximize the DC damping effect by aligning the rotor current in rotor frequency to the opposite direction of the stator DC flux. In this manner, the rotor current will increase the stator current vector from Isdc to Isdc_synthesis, and speed up the DC flux decay for the stator. Implementation of Control Strategy The space vector control algorithm is employed for both the RSC and the Grid Side Converter (GSC) [9]. The above proposed control strategy is imbedded into the RSC control code. Fig. 7 shows the control block diagram of the novel RSC control algorithm. In addition to the conventional vector control blocks, several new functions are added: B) a) Flux observer detect and find different components of the stator winding flux linkage including the DC component s dc, the positive sequence component s_ac_P and the negative sequence component s_ac_N. Command current generator generate the normal dand q-axis current commands i*dr, i*qr and the DC flux linkage damping current i*dr_dc, i*qr_dc. Current controller control both the slip frequency component and the speed frequency component of the rotor circuit current. III. SIMULATION RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Computer simulations based on Matlab/Simulink has been carried out to verify the proposed low voltage ride through control strategy. The specifications and important parameters of the DFIG system are listed in Table I.
Table I Important ratings and parameters of DFIG system Symbol Parameter Value Pnom Nominal Power 1.5 MW Vnom Nominal line to line Voltage (RMS) 690 V Fnom Nominal Grid Frequency 50 Hz Rs Stator Resistance 1.93 m Lls Stator Leakage Inductance 8.17 uH Rr Rotor Resistance 2.07 m Llr Rotor Leakage Inductance 132.735 uH Lm Mutual Inductance 4.886 mH Nsr Stator to Rotor Turn Ratio 0.3448276 P Number of pole pairs 2 fpwm PWM switching frequency 3kHz

(a)

Without extra rotor current control.

b) c)

(b) With novel rotor current control Fig. 6 DC components vector relationship

Neglecting the stator and rotor leakage inductance, the corresponding induced rotor voltage vector leads the stator DC flux linkage by 90 degrees. Normally, the RSC is designed to control the rotor current in slip frequency Therefore, for the stator DC flux induced voltage in rotor frequency, the RSC acts like variable impedance. Since the PI controller as well as the DC link voltage is not strong enough to reject all voltages in other frequencies, the stator DC flux induced current Irdc in the rotor frequency appears in the rotor circuit, which lags to Vrdc by certain degrees (the rotor circuit and RSC is inductive) as shown in Fig 6(a). This rotor current will affect the magnetic field and introduce another DC current component Isdc_balance on the stator to balance the magnetic field from sudden variation. The original stator DC flux excitation current Isdc together with this balance current Isdc_balance is combined to form the final stator DC current Isdc_synthesis that can help damp out the passive DC flux. The current in the above description gives a natural decay of the stator DC flux component without any active control by the RSC. The control strategy we apply in the paper is to optimize the DC stator flux change trajectory.

Three cases are simulated and results are compared to each other to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. For all three cases, a grid fault occurs at 7.9 sec and the grid side voltage drops to 30% of the normal operation condition. At 8.21 sec, the grid fault is removed and the system recovery starts.

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Fig. 7 Rotor side converter control block diagram

Case 1: unlimited DC bus voltage is assumed and the rotor current is controlled tightly to track the command. Case 2: the rated DC bus voltage is assumed and the traditional current control is applied. Case 3: the rated DC bus voltage is assumed and the proposed transient current control is applied. Since unlimited DC bus voltage is assumed, the results in Case 1 is satisfactory on the rotor side current. However, the rotor voltage is excessively high when the grid voltage recovers. To simulate the real-world conditions, the inverter output voltage is limited to 1000V in Case 2 as shown in Fig 8(b). In Case 2, the same current control method as that in Case 1 is applied. Unfortunately, the rotor current cannot be fully controlled. The rotor current exceeds the RSC current limit of 650 A. The simulation results clearly show that the RSC can not survive due to the inrush current when conventional control is employed.

rotor current are controlled satisfactorily within the achievable range and low voltage ride through is fulfilled.

(b) Rated DC bus with conventional control

(a) Unlimited DC bus supply assumed

Fig 8(c) shows the rotor voltage and current with the proposed new control for LVRT. Both the RSC voltage and

(c) Rated DC bus with proposed control strategy. Fig. 8 RSC output voltages and currents

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The novel and conventional control strategy is also compared in terms of DC bus voltage and rotor electromagnetic torque. Fig 9(a) shows those waveforms with conventional control strategy and Fig 9(b) is with novel proposed control strategy. In Fig 9(a), the DC bus is overcharged during fault and is far beyond maximum voltage limit. The torque waveform with oscillation superimposed has a constant offset, as shown in Fig 9 (b). Torque offset is generated by the DC magnetic field and the oscillation is due to AC and DC magnetic field interaction. While with the novel control strategy shown in Fig 9(b), the DC bus voltage and torque waveforms are regulated within limits. The DC bus voltage oscillation is less than 100 volts, which falls inside the safe operation area. The torque waveform doesnt have offset and its oscillation is damped out gradually.

in perpendicular to each other, which doesnt introduce any active power to the rotor side. IV. CONCLUSIONS This paper presents a detailed investigation of the transient characteristics of a DFIG wind turbine with grid connection in voltage fault. It shows that the DC transient components of the flux linkages in a DFIG can cause the collapse of the rotor side circuits and shaft torque shock. Catastrophic electrical and mechanical damages could happen because of voltage sag at the terminals of the DFIG. Based on the investigation results, a novel control strategy is proposed to control the rotor current through the RSC so as to very quickly damp out the stator DC transient components in both the stator current and magnetic flux linkage. By the proposed control strategy, the decay of the undesirable DC stator magnetic flux is accelerated, thus preventing the rotor inrush current and shaft torque shock. The DFIG system with full capability of riding through a grid fault is achieved. It is worthy of pointing out that the proposed control strategy relies on the existing rotor side converter without using any active and passive crow-bar devices, an attractive feature for cost and reliability reasons. Detailed computer simulation is carried out for a 1.5 MW system. The results are favorably compared with those by conventional control and it is confirmed that the proposed method can expand the fault ride through capabilities within the limits of the DC bus voltage and RSC current. V. REFERENCES

(a) With conventional control strategy

[1] [2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

(c) With proposed control strategy Fig. 9 DFIG DC bus voltage and torque during fault

[6]

As discussed previously in Fig 6(a) and 6(b), the one with conventional control has active power flow from the turbine to the rotor side on DC magnetic field, which serves as the explanation for torque offset in Fig 9(a). However, with the proposed control method, the rotor DC voltage and current is

[7]

J. Niiranen, Voltage Dip Ride Through of a Doubly-fed Generator Equipped with an Active Crowbar, in Proc. Nordic Wind Power Conference(NWPC), Sweden, March, 1-2 2004. J. Morren and S. W. H. de Haan, Ride through of Wind Turbines with Doubly-Fed Induction Generator during a Voltage Dip, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 435-441, June 2005. D. Xiang, L. Ran, P. J. Tavner and S. Yang, Control of a doubly-fed induction generator in a wind turbine during grid fault ride-through, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 652662, 2006. X. Yan, G. Venkataramanan and Y. Wang, "Grid-fault tolerant operation of DFIG wind turbine generator using a passive resistance network," in Proc. 2009 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition Conf., pp. 382-389. San Jose, USA, 2009. P. S. Flannery and G. Venkataramanan, "Unbalanced Voltage Sag Ride-Through of a Doubly Fed Induction Generator Wind Turbine With Series Grid-Side Converter," IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 45, No. 5, pp. 1879~1887, 2009. F. K. A. Lima, A. Luna, P. Rodriguez, E. H. Watanable and F. Blaabjerg, "Rotor Voltage Dynamics in the Doubly-Fed Induction Generator during Grid Faults," IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 118-130, 2010. R. Pena, J. C. Clare and G. M. Asher, Doubly Fed Induction Generator using Back-to-back PWM Converters and its Application to Variable Speed Wind-energy Generation, IEE Proceedings of Electric Power Application, Vol. 143, No. 3, pp. 231-241, 1996.

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