Utilization of Fuzzy Logic Controller for Pitch Control of a Small Scale Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS)

Abstract

A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into electrical energy. The main purpose of this study is to design, construct and test a wind turbine with fuzzy logic controller to manipulate the pitch angle of the blades of the wind turbine. The fuzzy logic controller serves as the main control for the pitch angle control of the wind turbine. It is programmed in such a way that the pitch angle of the blade is dependent to the wind speed and error voltage produced by the wind turbine with respect to the ideal target voltage. The parameters set in the program are based on a desired range of the output voltage of the wind turbine for a battery load and typical wind speed of the chosen location where the prototype will be tested. For the testing of the wind turbine, uncontrolled and controlled environments are considered. The parameters gathered for data are wind speed, voltage, current, computed power and value of the angle of the blades. The best trial with fuzzy logic controller and the best trial without fuzzy logic controller are compared to see the relevance of designing a wind turbine with pitch angle control. Through the outdoor testing with fuzzy logic controller OFF, it was found out that the best case happened when the blades are inclined in 45 degrees because it has the highest average power generated having a value of 86.98 mW compared to the 60, 75 and 90 degrees blade inclination having an average power generated of 78.98 mW, 62.42 mW and 17.88 mW.