Rapid control prototyping of model predictive wind turbine control toward field testing

Zierath³

et al. 2021

Model predictive control (MPC) is a strong candidate for modern wind turbine control. While the design of model predictive wind turbine controllers in simulations has been extensively investigated in academic studies, the application of these controllers to real wind turbines reveals open research challenges. In this work, we focus on the validation of a linear time-variant MPC system for a 3 MW wind turbine in a full-scale field test. First, the study proves the MPC’s capability to control the real wind turbine in the partial load region. Compared to the turbine’s baseline PID controller, the MPC system offers similar results for the electrical power output and for the occurring mechanical loads. Second, the study validates a previously proposed, simulation-based rapid control prototyping process for a systematic MPC development. The systematic development process allows to completely design and parameterize the MPC system in a simulative environment independent of the real wind turbine. Through the rapid control prototyping process, the MPC commissioning in the wind turbine’s programmable logic controller can be realized within a few hours without any modifications required in the field. Thus, this study establishes the proof of concept for a linear time-variant MPC system for a 3 MW wind turbine in a full-scale field test and bridges the gap between the control design and field testing of MPC systems for wind turbines in the multi-megawatt range.

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Full-scale field test of a model predictive control system for a 3 MW wind turbine

Dickler

Zierath³

et al. 2021

Weight-scheduling for linear time-variant model predictive wind turbine control toward field testing

Dickler

Zierath³

et al. 2021

Modern multi-megawatt wind turbines require powerful control algorithms which consider several control objectives at the same time and respect process constraints. Model predictive control (MPC) is a promising control method and has been a research topic for years. So far, very few studies evaluated MPC algorithms in field tests. This work aims to prepare a real-time MPC system for a full-scale field test in a 3 MW wind turbine. To this end, we introduce a weight-scheduling scheme for a linear time-variant MPC in order to ensure control operation over the entire operating range from the partial to the full load range. We use a rapid control prototyping process, in particular with comprehensive software-in-the-loop (SiL) tests, in order to design and validate the MPC system for the field test.In this contribution, we present the implementation of the linear time-variant MPC with weight-scheduling to be tested in the field test. With the weight-scheduling for the optimization problem inside the MPC, we achieved good performance over the entire operating range of the wind turbine. In the SiL tests, the proposed MPC algorithm achieved loads, comparable to the baseline controller of the wind turbine and improved the reference tracking of the power output and the rotational speed. The proposed linear time-variant MPC with weight-scheduling is fully validated in the presented software-in-the-loop tests and is ready for full-scale field test in the 3 MW wind turbine. We present the experimental field test results of the introduced MPC system in a separated contribution.

Herausforderungen bei der praktischen Umsetzung von modellbasierter prädiktiven Regelung von Windenergieanlagen

Basler

Konrad

et al. 2023

Wind energy plays a significant role in renewable energies. The increasing demand for wind energy has caused wind turbines (WT) to grow steadily larger, which means that the control objectives are no longer solely to maximize the energy produced but to control mechanical loads, among other objectives actively. Model-based WT control, particularly model predictive control (MPC), has been the focus of research for the last decades. Nevertheless, only a few practical investigations of MPC for WTs in field tests exist.This paper highlights some key challenges and pitfalls when applying MPC for WTs. We render these critical points based on the experience of a recently conducted field test and discuss possible solutions for these challenges. In doing so, we highlight the following three critical areas: Firstly, we show how the design and practical operation of an MPC system can take into account the nonlinear properties of the WT. In particular, we address the highly varying sensitivity to the pitch angle and the dynamic responses of the rotor speed and mechanical loads to the actuator commands over the partial and full load ranges. Secondly, we discuss the problem of having limited computational capacities on real-time platforms, restricting the possible complexity of the MPC algorithm. Lastly, we show how some safety aspects decisively influence the design and operation of the control algorithm.