A Study on H∞-Fuzzy Controller for a Non-Linear Wind Turbine with Uncertainty

Abstract

In this study, an H∞-fuzzy controller is proposed for application in wind turbines with uncertainties and nonlinearities. The performance of the proposed controller was validated via dynamic simulations using a commercial aero-elastic code and wind tunnel experiments employing a scaled wind turbine. The simulation and the experimental results were then compared with those of the conventional PI and LQR control algorithms presented in our previous study. In the simulation, the perturbation and the sensor noise were applied to reflect uncertainty and nonlinearity effects. In addition, in the wind tunnel experiment, a control system using a commercial Bachmann PLC was established with an accelerometer to estimate the fatigue load exerted by the rotor thrust. It was confirmed through experiments that the robustness and adaptation of the control system improved in the situation of pitch system failure. As a result of the experiment, the proposed H∞ controller was able to reduce the rotor speed fluctuation by 39.9%, the power fluctuation by 32.0%, and the fatigue load by 2.4% compared with the LQR fuzzy controller, which had better performance than the conventional PI controller. In addition, it was confirmed through experiments that the robustness and adaptation of the control system were well maintained. This was even true in the situation of one-blade pitch system failure.