AC voltage series regulator for permanent magnet generators

This paper deals with an AC series voltage regulator for permanent magnet generators. This project is internationally patented with the publication number WO/2009/004466. Possible application contexts of the system include electrical regulation for battery-free motorbikes or small wind energy generators. The comparison with the state-of-the-art parallel architecture is discussed together with energy efficiency simulations, specific advantages and disadvantages for both the solutions. The operation principles of the proposed regulation system is explained with the help of block diagrams and two practical implementations are discussed: the first one realized entirely with analog electronics, the second one with a microcontroller. Finally several experimental measurements made on the analog prototype of the device are presented.