A high-order sliding mode observer for sensorless control of DFIG-based wind turbines

This paper deals with the sensorless control of a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) based wind turbine. The sensorless control scheme is based on a high-order sliding mode (HOSM) observer to estimate the DFIG rotational speed. Indeed, high-order sliding mode observers provide theoretically finite time exact state observation and estimation of absolutely continuous unknown inputs. The proposed global control strategy combines an MPPT using a high-order sliding mode speed observer and a high-order sliding mode for the DFIG control. This strategy presents attractive features such as chattering-free behavior, finite reaching time, robustness and unmodeled dynamics (generator and turbine). Simulations using the wind turbine simulator FAST on a 1.5-MW three-blade wind turbine are carried out for the validation of the proposed sensorless control strategy.