Reactive Power Compensation of Grid Using

Doubly- Fed Induction Generator (DFIG)

ABSTRACT

The global electrical energy consumption is rising and there is steady increase of the

demand on power generation. So in addition to conventional power generation units a large no.

of renewable energy units is being integrated into the power system. A wind electrical

generation system is the most cost competitive of all the environmentally clean and safe

renewable energy sources in world. The recent evolution of power semiconductors and variable

frequency drive technology has aided the acceptance of variable speed generation systems.

Both fixed-speed squirrel-cage induction generator and variable speed double fed

induction generator are used in wind turbine generation technology. Therefore, a detailed

model of induction generator coupled to wind turbine system is presented in the thesis.

Modeling and simulation of Laboratory model of DFIG is done in MATLAB/SIMULINK

platform. The significant result of the analysis is also shown. DFIG–wind turbine is an

integrated part of distributed generation system. Therefore, any abnormalities associates with

grid are going to affect the system performance considerably.

Taking this into account, the performance of double fed induction generator (DFIG)

variable speed wind turbine under application of sudden load is studied using simulation

developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK..

BY

CH.CHANDANA REDDY

07X31A0230
 CONTENTS

Abstract

I. Introduction

2. Doubly Fed Machines

2.1 About Doubly fed machines

2.2 Introduction to DFIG

2.3 Working Principle of a DFIG

2.4 Construction

2.5 Efficiency

2.6 Cost

2.7 Control

3. Open loop operation of DFIG

3.1 Working operation using Circuit diagram

3.2 Simulated Wave forms

4. Closed loop operation of DFIG

4.1 Circuit diagram of Frequency control

5. Complete Laboratory model of DFIG and Simulated results

6. Conclusions

References
 INTRODUCTION
Wind energy generation equipment is most often installed in remote, rural areas. These

remote areas usually have weak grids, often with voltage unbalances and under voltage

conditions. When the stator phase voltages supplied by the grid are unbalanced, the torque

produced by the induction generator is not constant. Instead, the torque has periodic

pulsations at twice the grid frequency, which can result in acoustic noise at low levels and

at high levels can damage the rotor shaft, gearbox, or blade assembly. Also an induction

generator connected to an unbalanced grid will draw unbalanced current. These unbalanced

current tend to magnify the grid voltage unbalance and cause over current problems as

well.

Wind energy has been the subject of much recent research and development. In

order to overcome the problems associated with fixed speed wind turbine system and to

maximize the wind energy capture, many new wind farms will employ variable speed wind

turbine. DFIG (Double Fed Induction Generator) is one of the components of Variable

speed wind turbine system. DFIG offers several advantages when compared with fixed

speed generators including speed control. These merits are primarily achieved via control

of the rotor side converter. Many works have been proposed for studying the behavior of

DFIG based wind turbine system connected to the grid. Most existing models widely use

vector control Double Fed Induction Generator. The stator is directly connected to the grid

and the rotor is fed to magnetize the machine.

 Wind electrical power system are recently getting lot of attention, because they are

cost competitive, environmental clean and safe renewable power sources, as compared

fossil fuel and nuclear power generation.

The reason for the world wide interest in developing wind generation plants is the

rapidly increasing demand for electrical energy and the consequent depletion reserves of

fossil fuels, namely, oil and coal. Many places also do not have the potential for generating

hydel power. Nuclear power generation was once treated with great optimism, but with the

knowledge of the environmental hazard with the possible leakage from nuclear power

plants, most countries have decided not to install them anymore.

The growing awareness of these problems led to heightened research efforts for

developing alternative of energy sources for generation of electricity. The most desirable

source would be one that non-pollutant, available in abundance and renewable and can be

harnessed at an acceptable cost in both large-scale and small scale system. The most

promising source satisfying this entire requirement is wind, a natural source energy source.

The development of wind energy for electrical power generation got a boost when,

in the early decades of the twentieth century, aviation technology resulted in an improved

understanding of the forces acting on the blades moving through air. This resulted in the

development of wind turbine with two or three blades. High speed and high efficiency of

turbines were the condition for successful electricity generation. Through the efforts of

countless scientists and engineer from various disciplines, wind energy has now matured as

an economically viable renewable source of energy.

The utilization of wind turbine to produce electricity is increasing rapidly in

different parts of the world. It has become one of the main alternatives for non pollutant
and environmentally friendly type for power generation in Sweden and a large amount of

wind power are connected to the Swedish national grid and some others will be connected

in next coming years.

Then, for a high value of wind speed, the totality of the theoretical power can not be

extracted. To overcome this problem, a converter, which must be dimensioned for the

totality of the power exchanged, can be placed between the stator and the network. In order

to enable variable speed operations with a lower rated power converter, DFIG can be used.

The important key issues concerning wind farms are economic

grid connections. Gird integration point is used to determine the prices

in wind farms. The integration of wind power in the power system is,

therefore, now an issue to optimize the utilization of the resources and

to achieve the goals of sustainability and security of supply. According

to present requirements, wind turbines should remain connected and

actively support the grid during faults. This requirement became

essential because the contribution of power generated by a wind farm

can be significant and it was at risk of being lost as in the past practices.

Earlier, wind turbines were simply disconnected from the grid during

faulty condition and reconnected when the fault is cleared and the

voltage returned to normal.

Additionally, in order to model back-to back PWM converters, in

the simplest scenario, it is assumed that the converters are ideal and

the DC-link voltage between the converters is constant. Consequently,

depending on the converter control, a controllable voltage (current)

source can be implemented to represent the operation of the rotor-side

of the converter in the model.

DOUBLY FED MACHINES

All electric machines are categorized as either Singly-Fed with one winding set that

actively participates in the energy conversion process or Doubly-Fed with two active

winding sets. Although sometimes described as doubly-fed, the wound-rotor induction

machine and the field-excited synchronous machine are singly-fed machines because only

one winding set actively participates in the energy conversion process.

The Wound-Rotor Doubly-Fed Electric Machine, the Brushless Wound-Rotor

Doubly-Fed Electric Machine , and the so-called Brushless Doubly-Fed Induction

Electric Machines are the only examples of doubly-fed electric machines.

2.1 About of Doubly Fed Machines

The only electric machine that is able to operate with rated torque to twice

synchronous speed for a given frequency of excitation is the wound-rotor doubly-fed

electric machine. Higher speed for a given frequency of excitation is a quantifying metric
that shows lower cost, higher efficiency, and higher power density. As do all

electromagnetic electric machines, doubly fed machines need current (i.e., torque current)

to produce the torque. Because there are no permanent magnets in the doubly fed machine,

current (i.e., magnetizing current) is also needed for the magnetic flux production.

Magnetizing current and torque current are orthogonal vectors and not directly

cumulative. With the magnitude of magnetizing current as a fraction of torque current,

magnetizing current does not play heavily into efficiency except at very low torque where

magnetizing current dominates. Like wound rotor synchronous machines, the magnetic flux

can be produced by the stator current, rotor current or by the combination of the both. It is

common to run the machine completely magnetized from the rotor and thus having power

factor of the stator at unity. At synchronous speed the rotor current has to be DC, as in

ordinary synchronous machines. Thus reactive power is needed to be fed in the rotor

winding when it is used to magnetize the machine in non-synchronous operation. Rotor

current is also needed to produce torque in addition to magnetization. Thus active power is

present in the rotor in addition to reactive power. The frequency and the magnitude of the

rotor voltage is proportional to the slip, that is, the difference between the speed of the

machine and the synchronous speed.

At standstill the frequency will be the same as that of the frequency in the stator and

the voltage is determined by the ratio of the stator and rotor windings or turns . Thus if the

number of turns is equal, the rotor has the same voltage as the stator. One can easily see

that doubly-fed machine is a transformer at standstill. The transformer-like characteristics

are also present when it is rotating, manifesting itself especially during transients in the
grid. Due to the voltage and current behavior described above the rotor will either require,

or generate, active power depending on the speed and torque. If the machine is producing

torque and operating as a motor, the rotor will generate power if the speed is below

synchronous speed (subsynchronous operation). At standstill all power fed in the stator

(excluding losses) is returned via the rotor. The magnitude of the active power depends on

the torque of the motor. Thus if the motor has rated torque, rated power is circulating

through the stator and rotor. Like all electric machines, the efficiency of the machine is not

very good at low speeds because current is required to produce torque but little or no

mechanical power is produced (i.e., power is the product of torque and speed).

If the machine is operating as a motor at speeds over the synchronous speed (super

synchronous operation), the mechanical power is fed in both through the stator and rotor.

As a consequence the efficiency is now better than with singly fed motors. For example, at

maximum speed the doubly-fed electric machine with equal stator and rotor turns produces

same torque at double speed (and thus twice the power) as a singly-fed electric machine.

The losses, being roughly proportional to the torque, are quite the same. Thus efficiency,

which is the power taken divided by the produced power, is better than singly-fed electric

machines. Naturally one has to take into account the loss of the power electronic control

equipment. However, the frequency converter of the doubly fed machine has to control

only 50% or less of the power of the machine, and thus has about half of the loss of the

singly-fed machines' frequency converter that has to pass through 100 % of the power.

Since efficiency is the ratio between the output power (i.e., input power minus the

loss) to the input power, the magnetic core efficiency of a wound rotor doubly fed machine,
which has just two winding sets (i.e., dual armature winding sets) of loss but shows twice

the power for a given frequency and voltage of operation, is comparable to the magnetic

core efficiency of permanent magnet machines with just one winding set (i.e., single

armature winding set) of loss but without magnetizing current. Coupled with the low power

electronic controller, the wound-rotor doubly-fed electric machine system would be more

efficient than permanent magnet machine systems without magnetizing current.

For operation as a generator a similar situation exists. At sub synchronous speeds

the stator is generating the power but part of it has to be fed back to rotor. At super

synchronous speeds both the rotor and stator are producing power to the grid. Thus the

current rating of the rotor converter is defined by the maximum active current required by

the torque production and the maximum reactive current required to magnetize the

machine.

Doubly-fed electric machines outperform the others in super synchronous speeds.

They can operate at constant torque to twice synchronous speed if each active winding is

rated at half the total power of the machine (i.e., contiguous operation between sub-

synchronous through super synchronous speed range).

It is important to note, however, that doubly fed machines do not produce more

rated torque per volume than singly fed machines. The bigger power rating is due to the

higher speed attainable without weakening the magnetic flux. The short time maximum

torque of a doubly fed machine is, however, much higher than with ordinary induction

machines and in practice limited only by the temperature of the windings and the maximum

current capability of the rotor frequency converter.

 With one of the two armature winding sets (i.e., doubly fed) residing on the rotor

and stator body, respectively, the rotor real estate of the wound-rotor doubly fed machine

actively participates in the energy conversion process, which is different from all other

electric machines, including permanent magnet synchronous machines. As a result, the

magnetic core of the wound-rotor doubly fed electric machine shows highest power

density.

Changing of the direction of the rotation requires the swap of two stator phases near

zero speed if symmetrical speed range in both directions is required.

Further note, it is common to dimension the doubly fed machine to operate only at a

narrow speed range around synchronous speed and thus further decrease the power rating

(and cost) of the frequency converter in the rotor circuit.

Typical applications of doubly fed machines have been high power pumps and fans,

hydro and wind generators, shaft generators for ships etc where operating speed range has

been quite narrow, less than ± 30 % of the synchronous speed and only small power is

required in the sub synchronous range.

Due to the high rotor to stator winding turn ratio and the high voltage thus induced

in the rotor at standstill, the starting of this kind of restricted operating speed range motor

drive is usually done with rotor resistors in induction motor mode. When speed is in the

operating speed range, the resistors are disconnected and the frequency converter is

connected to the rotor. It is also possible to short circuit the stator and use the frequency

converter in the induction motor control mode to accelerate the motor to the operating
speed range. Generators, naturally, don't usually need any additional starting means

because wind or water is used to accelerate the machine to the operating speed range.

2.2 Introduction to DFIG:

DFIG is an abbreviation for Double Fed Induction Generator, a generating

principle widely used in wind turbines. It is based on an Induction Generator with a

multiphase wound rotor and a multiphase slip ring assembly with brushes for access to the

rotor windings. It is possible to avoid the multiphase slip ring assembly, but there are

problems with efficiency, cost and size. A better alternative is a wound-rotor doubly-fed

electric machine.

FIGURE 1: Block diagram of induction Generator

2.3 Working principle of a DFIG:

The principle of the DFIG is that rotor windings are connected to the grid via slip

rings and back-to-back voltage source converter that controls both the rotor and the grid

currents. Thus rotor frequency can freely differ from the grid frequency (50 or 60 Hz). By

controlling the rotor currents by the converter it is possible to adjust the active and reactive

power fed to the grid from the stator independently of the generators turning speed. The

control principle used is either the two-axis current vector control or Direct Torque Control
(DTC). DTC has turned out to have better stability than current vector control especially

when high reactive currents are required from the generator.

The doubly-fed generator rotors are typically wound with from 2 to 3 times the

number of turns of the stator. This means that the rotor voltages will be higher and currents

respectively lower. Thus in the typical ± 30 % operational speed range around the

synchronous speed the rated current of the converter is accordingly lower leading to a low

cost of the converter. The drawback is that controlled operation outside the operational

speed range is impossible because of the higher than rated rotor voltage. Further, the

voltage transients due to the grid disturbances (three- and two-phase voltage dips,

especially) will also be magnified. In order to prevent high rotor voltages - and high

currents resulting from these voltages - from destroying the IGBTs and diodes of the

converter a protection circuit (called crowbar) is used.

The crowbar will short-circuit the rotor windings through a small resistance when

excessive currents or voltages are detected. In order to be able to continue the operation as

quickly as possible an active crowbar has to be used. The active crowbar can remove the

rotor short in a controlled way and thus the rotor side converter can be started only after 20-

60 ms from the start of the grid disturbance. Thus it is possible to generate reactive current

to the grid during the rest of the voltage dip and in this way help the grid to recover from

the fault.

As a summary, a doubly fed induction machine is a wound-rotor doubly-fed electric

machine and has several advantages over a conventional induction machine in wind power

applications. Firstly, as the rotor circuit is controlled by a power electronics converter, the
induction generator is able to both import and export reactive power. This has important

consequences for power system stability and allows the machine to support the grid during

severe voltage disturbances (low voltage ride through, LVRT). Secondly, the control of the

rotor voltages and currents enables the induction machine to remain synchronized with the

grid while the wind turbine speed varies. A variable speed wind turbine utilizes the

available wind resource more efficiently than a fixed speed wind turbine, especially during

light wind conditions. Thirdly, the cost of the converter is low when compared with other

variable speed solutions because only fraction of the mechanical power, typically 25-30 %,

is fed to the grid through the converter, the rest being fed to grid directly from the stator.

The efficiency of the DFIG is very good for the same reason.

2.4.Construction

Two multiphase winding sets with similar pole-pairs are placed on the rotor and

stator bodies, respectively. The wound-rotor doubly-fed electric machine is the only

electric machine with two independent active winding sets, the rotor and stator winding

sets, occupying the same core volume as other electric machines. Since the rotor winding

set actively participates in the energy conversion process with the stator winding set,

utilization of the magnetic core real estate is optimized.

The doubly fed machine operation at unity stator power factor requires higher flux

in the air-gap of the machine than when the machine is used as wound rotor induction

machine. It is quite common that wound rotor machines not designed to doubly fed

operation saturate heavily if doubly fed operation at rated stator voltage is attempted. Thus

a special design for doubly fed operation is necessary.

 A multiphase slip ring assembly (i.e., sliding electrical contacts) is traditionally

used to transfer power to the rotating (moving) winding set and to allow independent

control of the rotor winding set. The slip ring assembly requires maintenance and

compromises system reliability, cost and efficiency. Attempts to avoid the slip ring

assembly are constantly being researched with limited success.

2.5 Control

Although the multiphase slip ring assembly compromises core real estate,

reliability, cost, and efficiency, it allows independent electronic control of the rotor

(moving) winding set so both multiphase winding sets actively participate in the energy

conversion process with the electronic controller controlling half (or less) of the power

capacity of the electric machine for full control of the machine.

This is especially important when operating at synchronous speed, because then the

rotor current will be DC current. Without slip rings the production of DC current in the

rotor winding is only possible when the frequency converter is at least partly located in the

rotor and rotating with it. This kind of rotor converter naturally requires own winding

system (preferably using high frequency in the 10 kHz range for compact size) for power

transfer out of or into the rotor.

However, this kind of arrangement may have higher cost and lower efficiency than

the slip ring alternative due to multiple power conversions and the thermal and mechanical

constraints (for example centrifugal forces) of the power electronic assembly in the rotor.
However, electronics have been incorporated on the rotor for many years (i.e., high speed

alternators with brushless field exciters) for the improved reliability.

Furthermore, high frequency power transfer is used in many applications because of

improvements in efficiency and cost over low frequency alternatives, such as the DC link

chokes and capacitors in traditional electronic controllers.

2.6 Efficiency

Neglecting the slip ring assembly, the theoretical electrical loss of the wound-rotor

doubly-fed machine in super synchronous operation is comparable to the most efficient

electric machine systems available (i.e., the synchronous electric machine with permanent

magnet assembly) with similar operating metrics because the total current is split between

the rotor and stator winding sets while the electrical loss of the winding set is proportional

to the square product of the current flowing through the winding set. Further considering

the electronic controller conditions less than 50% of the power of the machine, the wound-

rotor doubly-fed electric motor or generator (without brushes and with stable control at any

speed) theoretically shows nearly half the electrical loss (i.e., winding set loss) of other

electric motor or generator systems of similar rating.

2.7 Cost

Neglecting the slip ring assembly, the theoretical system cost is nearly 50% less

than other machines of similar rating because the power rating of the electronic controller,

which is the significant cost of any electric machine system, is 50% (or less) than other

electric motor or generator systems of similar rating.

 OPEN LOOP OPERATION OF DFIG

3. Open loop operation of DFIG

In the laboratory model we used to run the Induction machine with the help of DC

motor which used to run at different speeds i.e. Sub synchronous, Synchronous and Super

synchronous. The block diagram for the open loop operation is shown in which we have

applied a three phase programmable source to the rotor in place of a fixed three phase

supply. The Induction machine is coupled. In this model we controlled only the frequency

of the induced EMF across the Stator windings by changing the frequency of the

Programmable voltage source i.e. manually done.

 FIGURE 7: Open loop block diagram of DFIG

But in this model we used to manually set the frequency of the programmable

voltage source such that stator induced EMF’s have the frequency of about 50Hz (i.e. equal

to that of supply frequency) for different wind speeds. It is cumbersome to decide at which

supply frequency the induced stator voltages will gets the frequency of 50Hz.

Hence to overcome this, voltage fed to the rotor having frequency f′ is to be varied

continuously until the stator side voltages get the frequency of 50Hz. This is obtained using

a Inverter designed using the MOSFET switches, the pulses for these switches are given

using a PWM generator whose pulses are controlled by giving reference signal having

frequency Fx and internal carrier wave (triangular wave) of frequency about 1080Hz .Open

loop control of DFIG in SIMULINK is shown below. The subsystem consists of a Three

phase programmable voltage source which generates Three phase voltages having 440V,

50Hz frequency which can also programmable by changing Block parameters.

FIGURE 8: Three phase Programmable Source

• Simulation results of the open loop DFIG are shown below

 FIGURE 11: Stator Output voltages

The first wave form shown above represents the line voltages of a Programmable

Three phase AC source fed to the Rotor of the induction machine and next to it represents

the induced EMF’s across the stator. In the wave forms shown, though the frequency is

obtained the voltage induced across the stator is very less. Hence to control both the stator

induced voltages and frequency it is very much essential to obtain a closed loop operation

of DFIG.
CLOSED LOOP OPEERATION OF DFIG

4. Closed Loop Operation of DFIG

Closed loop operation of the DFIG can be obtained if we control the Stator induced

voltages and frequency for different Wind speeds (i.e. Here armature controlled DC

machine is coupled with the Induction machine, as we change the armature voltage of DC

machine induction machine can be able to run at different speeds). Normally in this closed

loop operation there exist two converters i.e. GRID SIDE CONVERTER or Stator side

converter and the other is ROTOR SIDE CONVERTER.

The block diagram for this closed loop operation is shown below in which we see

that the ROTOR SIDE CONVERTER is been given pulses by PWM technique taking

reference frequency signal and the reference speed as the inputs, for GRID SIDE

CONVERTER pulses are given by similar PWM technique which is taking voltage as the

reference signal.

The control circuit of the DFIG is been designed with the MOSFET switches whose

selection preference can be seen in the next chapter. Here the operation of the PWM

generator block is used in the SIMULINK model of DFIG both at ROTOR SIDE

CONVERTER and GRID SIDE CONVERTER can be studied clearly.

PWM generator used to give the pulses by comparing the Reference signal (sine

wave) with the Carrier signal (triangular waves) of high frequency i.e. about 1000Hz to

1500Hz. The triangular carrier signal is compared with the sinusoidal modulating signal.
 FIGURE 12: Block Diagram of Closed loop DFIG

COMPLETE LABORATORY MODEL OF DFIG

5. Closed loop operation of DFIG

As we had already discussed that Induction machine is coupled to DC motor which

will be acting as a prime mover in place of wind turbine. Here DC motor considered as a

separately excited, hence by varying the armature voltage the Induction machine is rotated

at three different speeds i.e. 1300rpm (below synchronous speed), 1500rpm (synchronous

speed) and 1650rpm (super synchronous speed). In this closed loop operation the Grid side

converter and the Rotor side converter are both controlled simultaneously whose operation

is discussed in previous section so that the obtained Stator output voltage and frequency

will be in phase with the supply voltages and frequency.

 The Simul link model of the closed loop model of DFIG is shown in figure in

which we are not changing the three-phase AC supply as it is done in case of the Open loop

operation of DFIG. By controlling the triggering pulses given to the switches of Grid side

converter and Rotor side converter this closed loop operation is obtained. In the practical

DFIG, the stator of the induction machine is directly connected to Grid similarly in this

Simul link model it is done so.

Normally for practical wind turbine rotates with different speeds, so in this Closed

loop also the DC motor assumed to be the wind turbine is rotated at three different speeds

i.e. at 1300rpm (Sub Synchronous speed), at 1500 rpm (Synchronous speed) and at

1650rpm (Super Synchronous speed). The stator output voltages are studied for these three

different speeds whose waveforms are also embedded here.

CONCLUSIONS

This thesis presents a study of the dynamic performance of variable speed DFIG

coupled with a dc motor and the power system is subjected to disturbances; i.e. voltage dip.

The dynamic behavior of DFIG under power system disturbance was simulated using

MATLAB/SIMULINK platform. Accurate transient simulations are required to investigate the

influence of the wind power on the power system stability.

The DFIG considered in this analysis is a wound rotor induction generator with slip

rings. The stator is directly connected to the supply and the rotor is interface via a back to back

partial scale power converter. Power converter are usually controlled utilizing frequency

control technique for rotor and voltage control for the stator. In the present investigation, the
dynamic DFIG performance is presented for both normal and abnormal conditions. The control

performance of DFIG is satisfactory in normal conditions and it is found that, both active and

reactive power maintains a study pattern in spite of fluctuating wind speeds i.e. speed of the

DC motor and net electrical power applied to supply is maintained constant.

References:

1. Hans Øverseth Røstøen Tore M. Undeland Terje Gjengedal’ IEEE paper on doubly fed

induction generator in a wind turbine.

2. S. K Salman and Babak Badrzadeh School of Engineering, The Robert Gordon

University, IEEE paper on New Approach for modelling Doubly-Fed Induction Generator

(DFIG) for grid-connection studies.