Variable speed hybrid control of a switched reluctance generator for WECS

This paper proposes a hybrid control of switched reluctance generator(SRG) for the wind-energy-conversion system (WECS) operating in standalone mode. Due to their flexibility to work at various speeds, these generators are particularly useful in wind power plants. The current chopping control of switched reluctance machine(SRM) is only suitable for low and medium-speed applications. However, due to the wide speed range of SRGs, the generated energy-per-ampere is heavily affected due to fixed commutation angles. T he proposed control investigates the dwell angle control with the hard-current chopping control of the SRG for the variation in speed in these operating regions. The commutation angles are regulated according to the load and speed of the machine. Simulations were carried out in MATLAB/Simulink on an asymmetrical half-bridge(AHB) converter fed four phases 8/6-pole SRG with changing wind speed and DC link voltage to test the proposed controller. The proportional-integral (PI) voltage controller regulates the SRG's output voltage. The proposed hybrid controller can deliver consistent DC link voltage.