Autonomous wind energy conversion system with a simple controller for maximum-power transfer

The authors describe a small autonomous wind energy conversion system that has been designed and implemented as a prototype unit for the demonstration of wind-electricity generation. A simple, closed-loop control system assures maximum-power transfer by the aid of a lookup table which relates the electrical power output of the system to the shaft speed. The lookup table is deduced from the turbine and generator data and corrected by field tests. A directly-coupled, wound-rotating field synchronous generator is used for energy conversion. The generator speed in this system is variable while the terminal voltage is substantially constant. The terminal voltage is kept under control by varying the field current to meet various load and battery conditions. A new criterion for determining optimum dimensions of a generator for wind energy conversion system applications is introduced