Vertical-axis wind turbine modeling and performance with axial-flux permanent magnet synchronous generator for battery charging applications

The modeling and simulation of a 1kW vertical-axis direct drive topology wind turbine are implemented. An axial flux permanent magnet synchronous generator with multi-pole is directly connected to the wind turbine shaft. The wind turbine system is controlled to operate at constant tip-speed ratio and hence maximizing the power extracted from the wind. For battery charging applications, a modified version of buck-boost DC-DC converter is used to keep the output voltage constant at any wind speed. The proposed control method is simple and fast enough to track the optimal speed of the wind turbine.