Optimizing reliability and safety of wind turbine systems through a hybrid control technique for low-voltage ride-through capability

Abstract

This study addresses a significant challenge in reliability engineering and system safety, specifically the operation of wind turbines under fault conditions. It proposes an asymmetrical fault ride-through (AFRT) control method designed for the doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) rotor-side converter (RSC) used in wind turbines. The DFIG model is analyzed in both positive and negative rotating synchronous reference frames (PR-SRF and NR-SRF), incorporating four key components to prevent overcurrent in the RSC during AFRT conditions. The proposed control method is divided into two segments: first, reducing the four components based on boundary constraints and reference value configuration; and second, determining the control characteristic ‘ k ’ through an optimization loop using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The effectiveness of the PSO algorithm is compared with three other optimization methods genetic algorithm (GA), differential evolution (DE), and ant colony optimization (ACO). The dynamic performance of the proposed method is assessed under Line-to-Line (LL) and Line-to-Line-to-Ground (LLG) fault scenarios. Simulation results demonstrate that the method successfully mitigates fluctuations caused by asymmetrical faults (AFs), achieving a 7.2% higher efficiency in AFRT than similar approaches. Ultimately, this research enhances wind turbine system safety and reliability, ensuring more robust power generation during asymmetrical fault conditions.