Application of Boost Converter to Increase the Speed Range of Dual-stator Winding Induction Generator in Wind Power Systems

In this paper, a topology using a Dual-stator Winding Induction Generator (DWIG) and a boost converter is proposed for the variable speed wind power application. At low rotor speeds, the generator saturation limits the voltage of the DWIG. Using a boost converter, higher DC voltage can be produced while the DWIG operates at Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) even at low speed and low voltage conditions. Semiconductor Excitation Controller (SEC) of the DWIG utilizes Control-Winding Voltage Oriented Control (CWVOC) method to adjust the voltage, considering V/f characteristics. For the proposed topology, the SEC capacity and the excitation capacitor is optimized by analyzing the SEC reactive current considering wind turbine power-speed curve, V/f strategy, and the generator parameters. The method shows that the per-unit capacity of the SEC can be limited to the inverse of DWIG magnetizing reactance per-unit value. The topology is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink platform and experimented with a scaled 1 kW prototype. Both simulation and experimental results demonstrate wide variable speed operation range of the DWIG and verify the optimization.