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CHAPTER 5

ROTOR RESISTANCE CONTROL OF

WIND TURBINE GENERATORS

5.1 INTRODUCTION

The advances in power electronics technology have enabled the use

of variable speed induction generators for wind energy systems. The volts /
hertz-controlled generator are one of the earliest variable speed systems used
for efficient wind power capture. Although, it enabled fast output power
control and full range speed control, it was very expensive, as the power
electronics converters had to be rated for the maximum output power of the
system .However, the use of rotor-side control decreased the cost of the
converters by reducing their power ratings. The limited speed control range of
rotor-controlled systems was sufficient for wind turbine generator systems, as
the required speed variation is only about 10 %. In this chapter, an alternative
method of connecting fixed- speed wind turbines, with active pitch
mechanisms or variable-slip generators, is proposed and evaluated. Instead of
using the conventional soft starter, external resistors are used.

5.2 WIND MACHINES

The U.S Federal government is in the process of constructing and

demonstrating a number wind energy conversion systems (WECS) for farm,
home and other dispersed applications, including the generation of electricity,
the pumping of water for household use, stock-watering, irrigation purposes,
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the heating of working fluids to provide hot water, space heating and cooling.
Other potentially important applications are the use of wind power for
desalination of water using reverse osmosis, and the production of both low
temperature and high temperature process-heat for industry and agriculture.

Most of the WECS units that are being used under this program are
the two bladed and three bladed horizontal axis designs, although multi
bladed horizontal-axis rotors and various types of vertical axis wind machines
are also being used as shown in Figure. 5.1.

Figure 5.1 Dimension of wind energy conversions system test bed

One of the earliest rotor control schemes was the rotor resistance
control as shown in Figure 5.2. The speed of the induction machine is
controlled by changing the external resistance in the rotor circuit. This method
enables fast response (Filho et al 1997), since power electronics converters
are used to vary external resistance. The drawback of this type of control is
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the substantial losses in the external resistor at high speed. This reduces the
efficiency of the overall system.

The use of a slip-power recovery induction generator is also called

the static Kramer drive, as shown in Figure 5.2 removed the drawback of the
rotor resistance controller, as the rotor power is fed back into the grid. The
grid-side converter can be used to control the speed of the generator and the
converter rating is typically 50 % of the rated power. However, the power
flow can only occur from the rotor to the grid, due to the use of the diode
bridge rectifier on the rotor side (Woei-Luen et al 2006).

Figure 5.2 Rotor resistance control of a wound rotor induction machine

This unidirectional power flow limits the generation action of the

machine to super-synchronous speeds. This limitation, which is also a
drawback of the rotor resistance controller, does not enable wind power
capture at low wind speeds.

One of the simplest rotor-side control schemes is the rotor

resistance control. The principle involved is to control the speed of the
generator by varying the external resistance introduced in the rotor circuit.
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The resistance is controlled by power electronics circuitry to provide fast

response. This chapter describes the design of the rotor resistance controller
and discusses the performance of the system compared to the pitch control
scheme.

5.3 PRINCIPLE OF CONTROL

Wound rotor induction machine speed variation can be obtained by

inserting external impedance into the rotor circuit. The external impedance
necessitates a higher slip for a desired electromagnetic torque (Pena et al
1996). The initial current that is flowing through the external resistor is
mainly resistive since the external resistive dominates the electric circuit of
the wind turbine. The reactive current needed by the turbine is largely,
supplied by the capacitor during the connection procedure. This leads to a
smaller impact on an inductive grid compared to a resistive one.

5.3.1 Induction Machine Torque-Speed Characteristics

The steady state, single-phase equivalent circuit for the induction

machine is shown in Figure 5.3 (Fitzgerald et al 1990).

Figure 5.3 Single-phase equivalent circuit for the induction machine

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The parameters shown in the Figure 5.3 are

R1,R2 - Stator and rotor resistances.

X1,X2 - Stator and rotor leakage inductances.
Xm - Magnetizing inductance.
Rc - Core loss resistance.
Vphase - Single phase stator voltage and Slip = ωs – ωr / ωs.

The variable resistance shown on the rotor side represents the

mechanical power produced by the machine. The torque expression can be
derived from the single-phase Thevenin circuit as,

1
2
q1V phase ( R2 s )
Te = (5.1)
ωs ( R1 + R2 s )2 + ( X 1 + X 2 )2

where q1 is a constant.

A typical speed-torque curve for an induction machine is plotted in

Figure 5.4.

Figure 5.4 Torque-speed curve for an induction machine

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5.3.2 Output Power Control

The power input to the induction generator (Pm) is

Pm = Te * ωr (5.2)

A fraction of this power is dissipated in the rotor resistance. The

stator and rotor powers can be expressed as

Pstator = Te*ωs (5.3)

Protor = Te* (ωr – ωs) (5.4)

If the electromagnetic torque is considered positive for the

generating mode, then both Pstator and Protor are positive. The stator and rotor
powers can be regarded as areas in the torque-speed characteristics of the
generator as shown in Figure 5.5.

Figure 5.5 Stator and rotor power in an induction machine (generating

mode)

The control of the stator power of the induction machine by

changing the rotor resistance is illustrated in Figure 5.6.
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Figure 5.6 Effect of changing the rotor resistance on stator and rotor
powers

The various areas indicated are as shown in Figure 5.6. When the
input power increases, the addition of the external rotor resistance causes the
speed of the generator to increase, maintaining constant torque. The stator
power remains fixed, whereas the excess power is dissipated in the rotor as
shown in Figure 5.7 (Torbjorn Thiringer 2002).

Figure 5.7 Power dissipated in the stator and rotor

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5.3.3 Design of the Rotor Resistance Controller

The standard form of the rotor resistance controller is shown in

Figure 5.8 (Nayar and Bundell 1987). The error between the desired power
and the actual power output is fed into an integrator and the actuator acts on
the output of the P-I controller to determine the amount of external resistance
added. The gearbox ratio chosen in this case is 115 %, as this value would
limit the speed variation of the generator from 100 % to 115 % of the rated
speed over the required wind velocity range of 14 ms-1 to 20 ms-1.

Figure 5.8 Block diagram of the rotor resistance controller

The actuator model used is based on the implementation of the

rotor resistance control scheme shown in Figure 5.9. Since the response of the
power electronics converters is much faster than the machine response, the
converters are modeled as ideal blocks.

The values of the resistors chosen for the simulation are

R1=0.01p.u and R2=0.01p.u.

The P-I controller was designed using the Zeigler-Nichols

techniques and the values are

Kp ~ 5 and Ki ~ 50
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Wound rotor machine

Diode bridge rectifier

R1
R2

1-d

Figure 5.9 Implementation of the rotor resistance control scheme

The SIMULINK implementation (SIMULINK Manual 1997) of the

entire rotor resistance controller is shown in Appendix A4.

5.4 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM OF WIND TURBINES

An important part of the turbine is the asynchronous generator. It

converts the mechanical energy from the gearbox to electrical energy. The
generator is connected to the grid, which transfers the electrical energy to the
consumers. The public supply system is 50 Hz. The generator’s rotational
speed depends on the frequency.
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The energy conversion for most modern wind turbines (WT’s) can
be divided into three main configurations, fixed speed machines with one or
two speeds and variable speed machines (Dongdong et al 2004). The
preferred configuration is the two-speed machine, as shown in Figure 5.10.
A tendency towards variable speed is noticeable in the development of the
megawatt wind turbines.

Figure 5.10 Fixed and variable speed graph

5.4.1 Fixed Speed Wind Turbines

In fixed speed machines, the generator is directly connected to the

main supply grid. The frequency of the grid determines the rotational speed of
the turbine rotor, which in turn is translated into the generator rotational speed
(through gearbox). The generator speed depends on the number of pole pairs
and the frequency of the grid. This feature in the controller requires additional
design effort and manual of control in the region may lead to an optimization
that considers life of the gearbox and other wind turbine elements.
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The greatest advantage of WT’s with asynchronous generators is

their simple and robust construction. In addition, there is no need for
synchronization device. With the exception of bearings, no parts are subjected
to wear and tear.

The wind turbine with two generator performs better mainly due to
the fact that the small generator has more poles than the large generators, that
is the rotor speed of smaller generator becomes closer to the rotor speed that
would capture more energy and also the price tends to be slightly lower.

5.4.2 Variable Speed Wind Turbines

In variable speed machines, the generator is connected to the grid

by an electronic inverter system or the generator excitation windings are fed
by an external frequency from an inverter (Eduard et al 2007).

The basic idea of the variable speed turbine is the decoupling of the
rotational speed of the generator and thus of the turbine rotor from the
frequency of the grid (Suel Kim et al 2007). The rotor can operate with
variable speed adjusted to the actual wind speed situation. The wind turbine
will go in to a higher variable speed control mode, the motor RPM will be
reduced in a controlled manner to enable the airfoils to operate less efficiently
(Dionisio et al 2007).

Regenerating braking will be used wherever possible to reduce the

rotor speed during such a controlled mode. The lower motor RPM at a
constant power level will lead to slightly higher drive train torques. There is
also less mechanical stress and rapid power fluctuations are scarce because
rotor acts as a flywheel. The variable speed turbine allows grid voltage
control, as reactive power generation can be varied. The variable speed design
with doubly fed induction generator adopts cheaper power electronics
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converter and cost of semi-conductor components used in AC-DC-AC

converters is less (Nayeem Rahmat Ullah et al 2008).

The disadvantages are complex construction activity and generation

of harmonics, which may result in failure of electronic components.

Both basic wind turbine concepts have proved their reliability and
efficiency in energy production in wind farms and single site applications in
the recent past ([Link]).

In machines with such inflexible speeds of rotation, turbine torque

fluctuations place heavy loads on the drive train because of the almost rigid
coupling between the grid and the generator as shown in Figure 5.11. By
raising design slip levels, such systems may be made more flexible and thus
offer greater protection to drive the train. However, this comes at the expense
of greater volume, mass and losses.

Figure 5.11 Cut way drawing of configuration for two speed wind
machines
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A greater flexibility is desired since the rotating blades of the

turbine are subject to considerable airstrip turbulence, especially near to the
tower. These result in fluctuations in turbine performance. The effects of
tower shadow fluctuations cannot be ironed out entirely. At low slip values,
small variations in the speed of rotation therefore result in relatively large
fluctuations in power.

Fluctuations in electrical output power can, as already mentioned,

are considerably reduced by the use of asynchronous machines with higher
nominal slip. Figure 5.12 (a) and (b) show comparative values for a 20 KW
machine running under partial load, i.e. without application of blade pitch
regulation. Considerable differences in output behavior may be observed.

While fluctuations of more than 0.2 PN can be seen for generators

with 2 % nominal slip as shown in Figure 5.12(a), due to tower-shadow
effects, at 8 % nominal slip as shown in Figure 5.12(b), these are reduced to
some 5 % of nominal output (0.05 PN).

The dominant variations in power shown here are measurable in

seconds and are clearly due to variations in wind speed.

R2' R12 + X 12
In accordance with equations Sk = R2' σ X 2' and Sk =
X 2' R12 + σ 2 X 12

high slip values can be achieved by designing the generator with

¾ High rotor resistance,

¾ Low total leakage factor and
¾ Lower rotor inductance.

Constructional details such as form and resistance of conductor

materials and conductor cross-sections in the rotor are very important.
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Application of power smoothing, can also considerably reduce demands on

turbine components.

Figure 5.12(a) 2 % nominal slip

Figure 5.12(b) 8 % nominal slip

In addition to setting higher fixed slip values by using extra

resistors in the rotor circuit, we can control slip to adapt to output power
variations as shown in Figure 5.13.

The slip value and thus the proportional loss are thereby kept low
and system efficiency is increased by varying the resistance of the rotor. It is
also possible to limit the torque on the drive train to values around the normal
value and to smooth the power output. This principle is employed in the
‘opti-slip control’ in the Vestas turbines models V44 and V60/63/66 and the
USA export V80.
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Figure 5.13 Dynamic slip control in slip-ring rotor synchronous

machines (Simulation results)

5.5 PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS FROM

MEASUREMENTS

We will show the results of metrological investigation on five

different synchronous machines of the same size with output-class-dependent
slip value and increased slip values due to

¾ Constructional changes in the case of cage rotor machines or

¾ Additional resistances in the rotor circuit of slip-ring rotor

machines.
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¾ Stator voltages between 280 V and 500 V or between 320 V

and 480 V.

¾ Electrical output ranges of

9 Generator no load operation or

9 Motor no-load operation respectively and
9 Up to a maximum of 1.3 times nominal output.

To record the measured values in a stable – temperature, steady-

state condition, a warm running phase of around two hours was necessary for
each measurement. The rating of the machine was selected such that the
characteristics attributes of large unit class would be accurately represented.

To demonstrate the transient behavior of individual machines and

in order to specify guidelines for the design of generators specifically for use
in wind turbines, there follows a small selection from the comprehensive
program of investigations based on some performance characteristics from a
selection of machine types (generator or motor design, slip ring rotor). The
relevant performance characteristics for

¾ Active power consumption,

¾ Apparent power,
¾ Reactive power,
¾ Stator current,
¾ Efficiency,
¾ Power factor and
¾ Generator slip.

are represented in the following to

¾ Electrical output power and

¾ Stator voltage
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The grid voltage was adapted to the selected rotor voltage with aid
of a regulating transformer. Because the power values were measured at
various distances, they had to be interpolated for spatial representation in the
form of computer graphics before they could be represented in selected power
grid (based on the 1 KW increments). Values that decrease with increasing
voltage, such as the power factor and slip, remain difficult to recognize due to
being partially obscured.

The increases in voltage are caused by the effects of saturation in

the magnetic circuit and the associated increase in current with rising voltage,
particularly at no-load and low outputs.

The minimum current runs from the lowest voltage values (280 V)
at no-load to maximum output at approximately 460 V. High electrical output
is significantly reduced. Measurements on machines of differing designs have
shown that, assuming that driving torque fluctuations are similar, generators
with slip values four times higher than nominal slip transfer around a quarter
of the output fluctuations to the grid compared to a nominal design as shown
in Figure 5.14.

Therefore, the generator parameters of a motor-type slip-ring rotor

machine is described below for different slip behaviors, which can be adjusted
with the help of additional resistances in the rotor circuit. Figure 5.15 shows a
comparison of the relevant parameters for different levels of slip. The
machine in question was operated with a short-circuited rotor at
approximately 3 % nominal slip or with additional resistors in the rotor
circuit, which are selected to achieve 7 %, 14 % or 21 % nominal slip at
nominal load and voltage.
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Figure 5.14 Circle diagram

Figure 5.15 shows an increase of input power at higher slip values

due to increased losses in the rotor circuit and thus a worsening of the
machines efficiency, particularly in the full-load range. The mechanical input
power increases with increasing slip. Stator current and power factor values,
on the other hand, show only small differences. They are almost identical for
all slip values.

Finally, the slip level illustrates the very strong voltage dependence
of these variables and their significant increases as the voltage decreases. This
trend is highlighted in a very striking manner by the levels at the highest slip
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values (21 % operating at the nominal rating). It is thereby possible to achieve

the desired degree of slip by the selection of

¾ Rotor resistance in conjunction with

¾ Rotor leakage
R2' R12 + X 12
Sk = R2' X σ and Sk =
X 2' R12 + σ 2 X 12

and the specification of

¾ Stator voltage

As was clearly shown at the beginning of this section, with the help
of the derived circle diagram for induced voltage, very different behaviors can
be expected from the motor-type design compared with generator-type
dimensioning. Figure 5.15 shows marked trends and constructive areas of
influence, by direct comparison of the relevant parameters.

Mechanical input power and, in particular, stator currents are higher

for the motor-type machine than for the generator-type machine across the
entire generator operating range. The excessive increase in current at high
voltages clarifies the high saturation dependence of the motor. Efficiency and
to an even greater degree, power factor values are much more favorable for
machines of generator dimensions, particularly at higher voltages. At low
voltages, however, only small differences are apparent. The generator-type
machine with 3 % slip compared with 4 % nominal slip of the motor
demonstrates significantly more rigid behavior, due to the more efficient
design, resulting in a more rigid grid connection.

In fine, we can state that the asynchronous machines used in wind

turbines should be designed to achieve a low degree of saturation. Figure 5.15
illustrates this point, since the generator always achieves higher induced
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voltage values and thus higher saturation states in normal operation than in
motorized operation. This achieves

¾ A low mechanical input power and

¾ Stator currents as low as possible for the prevailing load state
(Siegfried et al 2006).

Figure 5.15 Comparison of performance of a motor type asynchronous

machine with slip ring rotor

The fault condition may last upto 150 m sec or even more. The grid
side controller senses the DC link voltage error and stator terminal voltage
magnitude error and develops the current commands to compensate them
while the rotor side control senses the stator active and reactive power errors
and generates the rotor current command to compensate them.
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5.6 REAL, REACTIVE AND APPARENT POWER

Electrical power engineers think in terms of real, reactive and

apparent power flows in a power system. Real power (KW or MW) is the
capacity to do useful work such as pump water or rotate a shaft against a load.
Reactive power (KVA or MVA) is drawn by transformers or induction motors
as magnetizing current for their iron cores but is generated by capacitors.
Finally, the apparent or complex power (KVA or MVA) is the vector addition
of real and reactive power. The power triangle of an inductive load is shown
in Figure 5.16. Hence, the load takes real power P to provide heat or work and
some reactive power Q to energize the magnetic circuits. The power factor is
defined as the ratio P/S or cosθ.

Figure 5.16 Power triangle of an inductive load

where,
P = Real Power (W),
Q = Reactive Power (VAr) and
S = Apparent Complex Power (VA).

5.6.1 Impact on the Distribution Systems

Figure 5.17 shows a single representation of a fixed speed induction

machine with only limited power factor correction, connected to a radial
distribution circuit. The wind turbine exports real power P, and imports
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reactive power Q. The reactive distribution system is represented by a single

series impedance of resistance R and inductance reactance X.

The bus bar VO represents the connection to the transmission

system; it is called as infinite bus bar because its voltage is assumed constant
under all conditions.

Figure 5.17 Single line diagram of fixed speed induction generator

The voltage of the wind turbine may be calculated approximately

by:
V1 = V0 + [(PR-QX)/V0] (5.5)

Real power P, passing through the network resistance R, causes a

rise in the voltage of the wind turbine, whereas the reactive power Q, with the
inductive reactance of the circuit is called the lowering of the voltage.

The electrical losses in the circuit may be computed from

W = [(P2 + Q2) R]/V02 (5.6)

5.6.2 Calculated the Power Output of the Wind Machines

The operation and maintenance costs of the wind power system, the
expected lifetime of the systems, the interest rate on investment capital and
the price of competing terms of energy are calculated.
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The power output P0 of a wind machine can be expressed in the

following terms:

⎡(1.35 × 10−6 E )( Dr2 ) ( Pb ) (Vr ) ⎤ {C p (Vr )}

Po = ⎣ ⎦ (5.7)
T + 273.18

where,
E = Efficiency of power train,
Dr = Diameter of swept area of rotor,
Pb = Barometric pressure,.
Vr = Instant wind speed at rotor hub-height above ground
level,
T = Ambient temperature,
Cp (Vr) = Power coefficient of the rotor,
Vr = Va (Hr/Hr) 1/2
Ve = Instant wind speed at anemometer height above ground
level,
Hr = Rotor hub-height above ground level and
He = Anemometer height above ground level.

The above algorithm is based on the use of “instantaneous” wind

speeds (i.e. where the wind speeds are averaged over a period comparable to
the response time of the wind turbine generator).

Mass density of the air, ρm = P/R Ta Kg / m3 = 1.29 Kg / m3.

where, P = Absolute pressure of the gaseous system,

R = Gas constant for air,
Ta = Absolute temperature,
T = Ambient temperature and
Pb = Ambient barometric pressure.
ρm can be obtained in terms of the number of Pascal’s of ambient
barometric pressure.
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Fuel savings or energy credits are the major benefits from the wind
power. These savings result from the reduced need to run other generating
plants. This in turn results in lower fuel and related variables costs, including
maintenance and staff costs.

5.7 RESULTS OF SIMULATION

The output power of the rotor-resistance-controlled wind energy

conversion system is shown in Figure 5.18. The output power variation is
about 5 % and the settling time is about 5 secs. Thus, the performance of the
system is greatly improved compared to the pitch controlled system. The rotor
speed is plotted in Figure 5.19. The speed is restricted between 1.0 p.u and 1.1
p.u as designed. The rotor speed indicates the power dissipated in the rotor
circuit.

To obtain a stator output power of 12 KW (or 1 p.u). The

electromagnetic torque has to be 1.0 p.u. (using equation (5.3)). Thus, the
rotor power loss has the same profile as the rotor speed and the rotor losses
are found to be about 10 % of the stator power at wind speeds of 16 ms-1.

Figure 5.18 Output power of the rotor-resistance controlled generator

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Figure 5.19 Rotor speed variation of the rotor resistance controlled

system

Thus, at low and medium wind speeds (where the slip is large); the
system has a low overall efficiency (Anderson and Anjan Bose 1983).

5.8 SUMMARY

The rotor resistance controller was designed and the performance of

the system was tested in the presence of disturbances. The controller was
found to have a smaller output power variation and faster response compared
to the pitch controlled system, at the expense of large rotor power losses at
low wind speeds. The method using external resistance for fixed speed wind
turbine with a variable pitch wind turbine or variable slip generator has been
discussed.