Optimal trajectory control for the yaw system vibration and crawling jitter of a wind turbine

Abstract

A kinematics model of the yaw system is investigated based on an equilibrium position in yaw motion, aiming at the suppression of the yaw system vibration and crawling jitter (CJ) of a wind turbine. A nonlinear CJ model is constructed and integrated to form the governing equation of the system. An optimal trajectory control (OTC) strategy is investigated to suppress the nonlinear system vibration. This strategy uses a differential evolution algorithm to perform an optimal planning along a given ideal path, thereby achieving a goal of suppressing vibrational amplitude and frequency. A tracking of the optimal trajectory is achieved based on proportional-derivative (PD) control using the differential evolution, to ensure minimal energy consumption throughout the entire tracking process. Currently, there is little literature discussing the CJ phenomenon in detail. The CJ phenomenon is an extreme situation that occurs during yaw motion and has significant destructive power under extreme working conditions. The control planning proposed in this article can completely eliminate the CJ phenomenon and suppress the yaw vibration. The engineering application effect of the proposed control algorithms is demonstrated based on a type of concise OPC technique.