Robust gain scheduled control of a hydrokinetic turbine part 1: Design

A vertical-axis hydrokinetic turbine speed control system is developed that guarantees stability and performance properties for the entire range of operation including tracking of the maximum power point below rated speeds and power regulation above rated speed. Secondary objectives include explicitly incorporating a tuning method to adjust the trade-off between reference tracking and load transients as well as the use of an advanced control methodology that has a high probability of industry acceptance. To facilitate this, an H_¿ LPV (linear parameter varying) controller was developed based on a physical model and iterative simulation based testing. This paper outlines the design of the controller.