Optimum control strategies in energy conversion of PMSG wind turbine system without mechanical sensors

The amount of energy obtained from a wind energy conversion system (WECS) depends not only on the characteristics of the wind regime at the site, but it also depends on the control strategy used for the WECS. In order to determine the gain in energy derived from one concept as compared against another, models of several autonomous WECS have been developed using Matlab Simulink software. These allow easy performance evaluations and comparisons on different control strategies used, and determine the amount of energy injected to the grid in the case of the grid-connected systems. This paper also proposes a prototype version of the control strategy of a 20-kW permanent-magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) for maximum power tracking and compares with the results produced by previous strategies. Advantages of this mechanical sensorless control strategy for maximum power estimation are demonstrated by digital simulation of the system.