Experimental investigation on the control strategy of split source inverter for grid-connected wind power generation system

The utilization of an impedance network in power electronic applications overcame traditional two-stage converters' drawbacks, including a dc-dc and dc-ac stage. A well-designed impedance-based converter shuns the necessity of multiple network stages that, in turn, enhance operational performance and reliability. The split source inverter (SSI) belongs to such a single-stage system that consists of an impedance network with a voltage source inverter. The work's primary purpose is to explore the performance of grid-connected SSI in the application of wind energy systems. A novel peak power tracking controller is proposed for the SSI-based wind energy systems for tracking the maximum power available in the wind. The grid-side controller's current regulator is modified to sense the intermittent wind's perturbation and to regulate the SSI output current. The theoretical analysis is validated by simulation, and different case studies are analyzed by considering the mutual effects of SSI and variable wind speed. A laboratory prototype is designed for the experimental investigation of the SSI that consists of a 5-kVA three-phase grid-tied SSI and wind emulator prototype. A field-programmable gate array (Xilinx) is used to program the control algorithm. Different test cases are analyzed experimentally to prove the robustness of the proposed controller.

Automated summary

The utilization of an impedance network in power electronic applications has overcome the drawbacks of traditional two-stage converters, leading to improved operational performance and reliability. The study aims to explore the performance of grid-connected SSI in wind energy systems and proposes a novel peak power tracking controller for maximizing power output.