Design of Computational Experiment for Performance Optimization of a Switched Reluctance Generator in Wind Systems

This paper presents as a new contribution a proposal to optimize the performance of a switched reluctance generator (SRG) in a variable wind energy conversion system. An approach based on the design of computational experiment is applied to determinate the optimal firing angles and the optimal dc link voltage that guarantee the best system behavior for each rotor speed. A third-order response surface model based on space-filling designs is applied to build a multiobjective function considering efficiency improvement and torque ripple reduction. An interior point method is applied to find the minimum of the surface, optimizing the process. Direct power control is used to obtain the maximum power as a function of the rotor speed, employing the optimal parameters. Hysteresis and single-pulse current control are applied for low- and high-speed operation, respectively. Simulation and experimental results have shown that the proposed approach returned a good compromise between SRG high efficiency and low torque ripple. Moreover, the presented technique reduces computational effort and provides a clear massive data simulation framework.