Development of Induction Machines in Wind Power Technology

This paper gives an overview of the development of the induction machine as a generator for wind turbines from the middle of the 20th century up to now. After a short history chapter the different energy conversion concepts are presented. At first a squirrel cage machine is direct coupled to the grid (Danish concept). To adjust the machine speed the second step is a wound rotor machine with collector rings to change rotor resistance. This concept allows the first adaption of the operating point of the wind turbine and the induction machine. Another concept is to connect the stator of a squirrel cage machine with a full inline voltage source converter to the grid to get the flexibility in rotational speed and to control the reactive power. The doubly fed induction machine is the latest development. This concept uses a bidirectional voltage source converter in the rotor circuit with a rated power of only 30% of the rated generator power. Now it is possible to change the rotational speed and the reactive power independently and in a wide range. A generalized control scheme of a modern doubly fed induction machine (DFIG) is shown in the last part to explain the variability and the range of application. Today over 70% of the wind turbines are build up with DFIG.