A New Modular Flux-Switching Permanent-Magnet Drive for Large Wind Turbines

Author

Ditmanson, Chester ; Hein, Peter ; Kolb, Stefan ; Molck, Joaquin ; Bernet, Steffen

Author_Institution

Inst. of Power Eng., Tech. Univ. Dresden, Dresden, Germany

Volume

50

Issue

6

fYear

2014

fDate

Nov.-Dec. 2014

Firstpage

3787

Lastpage

3794

Abstract

A new modular drivetrain for large wind turbines currently under development is presented. The electromechanical drivetrain has a direct-drive configuration with a modular flux-switching permanent-magnet generator. The full-power converter consists of 12 parallel back-to-back two-level voltage source converter modules. A novel method of modulation is used to improve harmonic quality while maintaining a low switching frequency. Benefits of the new design include simplified manufacturing and transport, increased system availability due to fault tolerance and redundance, and avoidance of an LCL filter. Measurement results are shown from a 500-kW test rig.

Keywords

AC-DC power convertors; drives; permanent magnet machines; power supply quality; wind turbines; direct drive configuration; electromechanical drivetrain; full power converter; harmonic quality; large wind turbines; low switching frequency; modular drivetrain; modular flux switching permanent magnet drive; power 500 kW; two level voltage source converter modules; Control systems; Generators; Rotors; Stator windings; Wind turbines; Windings; AC???DC power conversion; fault tolerance; multi-levelconverters; permanent-magnet machines; power electronicscontrol; pulsewidth modulation converters; redundance; wind powergeneration;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Industry Applications, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-9994

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TIA.2014.2322135

Filename

6810845