Application of Claw-Pole Synchronous Generator in Small Wind Turbines

Abstract

Small wind turbines have been in existence for several years but it seems they are not used where they are needed the most-distant off grid communities in developing countries. Cost and maintenance have been attributed to be reasons for this. One of its expensive constituents is its generator. The automotive alternator is considered as a cheaper alternative for generators in small wind turbines. In this paper, a detailed mathematical model for a 3-phase, 4 kW and 42 V claw pole alternator average electrical equivalent circuits will be presented along with the DC/DC converter based architectures for dual-voltage systems. The performance of the 42V claw pole alternator with the interleaved six-phase buck dc-to-dc converter system is modeled using Simulink software to assess the effectiveness of the model and its transient behavior.