Self-tuning fuzzy logic control of a switched reluctance generator for wind energy applications

This paper presents a new self-tuning fuzzy logic control (FLC) based speed controller of a switched reluctance generator (SRG) for wind power applications. Due to its doubly salient structure and magnetic saturation, the SRG possesses an inherent characteristic of strong nonlinearity. In addition, its flux linkage, inductance, and torque are highly coupled with the rotor position and phase current. All these features make the application of traditional controllers to the SRG difficult and unsatisfactory. The proposed controller consists of three main parts: turn-on and turn-off angle determination, self-tuning FLC for speed control, and a current controller. The turn-on and turn-off angle determination, as its name implies, controls the turn-on and turn-off angles of power switches to improve the efficiency and torque regulation of the SRG. The self-tuning FLC is the speed controller which has better adaptability than a traditional controller so that it provides better performance over a wide range of operating conditions. The current controller is basically a hysteresis controller which controls the phase current in accordance with the turn-on and turn-off angles. Simulation results are shown to verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller.