Design and Implementation

Design and Implementation of a Residential Application Micro Wind Turbine Control System
Abstract The term wind energy or wind power describes the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks or a generator can convert this mechanical power to electricity. Wind turbines are often grouped together into a single wind power plant to generate bulk electrical power. Electricity from these turbines is fed into a utility grid and distributed to customers. This manuscript describes development and implementation of a residential application micro wind turbine control system. A micro wind turbine is essentially a micro renewable energy system (MRES), the design and implementation of which requires integration of knowledge from several engineering disciplines. The micro wind turbine described in the manuscript produces a 3.7 kilowatt power and it is capable of providing a 60 Hz, 120V output at any wind speed. This micro wind turbine has no real environmental issues. Keywords: Renewable Energy, Wind Energy, Micro Renewable Energy System, Microcontroller Applications Background A trademark of the economic growth of USA is an ever-increasing demand for energy, which has traditionally been met primarily by fossil fuels. As the environmental concerns continue to grow, renewable energy resources are gaining increased attention (Al Kalaani & Rosentrator, 2007).
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Design and Implementation

From solar cells to wind turbines, from biogas to fuel cells, the development of renewable energy sources has become not only the moral responsibility of the current generation, but also one of the fastest growing business sectors (Munukutla et. al., 2008). Global warming and growing fuel costs have accelerated the shift towards renewable energy resources. Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly. In its various forms, it is derived directly from the sun (solar energy), or from heat generated deep within the earth (geothermal energy). Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and bio fuels derived from renewable resources (Sorensen et. al., 2008). Wind energy, a viable form of renewable energy, is attractive as an alternative to fossil fuels because it is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions. Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as electricity, through the use of wind turbines. In a wind farm, individual wind turbines are interconnected with a medium voltage power collection system and communications network. Large-scale wind farms are connected to the electric power transmission network while the smaller facilities are used to provide electricity to isolated locations. A micro wind turbine is essentially a micro renewable energy system (MRES). Micro renewable energy systems are seen as a worldwide means of moving towards energy independence and controlling global warming (Komerath, 2009). Implementing a micro renewable energy system requires integration of knowledge on climate change, and various engineering disciplines.

Design and Implementation

This manuscript describes development and implementation of a micro wind turbine control system. The micro wind turbine, suitable for residential use, was designed at XXXX University by a team of two students as a requirement for the completion of their 4-year electro-mechanical engineering technology degree. The micro wind turbine mentioned in this manuscript has no real environmental issues and it presents a viable example of clean energy system. Since this micro wind turbine is designed for residential use, it can certainly help a residential unit in decreasing its dependence on grid electricity. Introduction The performance requirements for the micro wind turbine described in this manuscript are as follows: 1. The micro wind turbine system must be capable of 3.7 kilowatt power output.
2. An OOPic microcontroller system should be used to provide real time rudder yaw position

based on wind speed. This requirement is to be met to provide generator over-spin damage prevention. The OOPic microcontroller system is based on a PIC 16C74 microcontroller and it uses an object-oriented language. 3. The system should be capable of providing a 60 Hz, 120 Volts output from the inverter at any wind speed. The following system considerations are associated with the above mentioned performance requirements:

Design and Implementation

1. Economic Issues The purpose of the micro wind turbine system described in this manuscript is to provide a low-cost means for generating electricity on an efficient enough scale to increase feasibility. Increased efficiency will result in a quicker pay-back period. 2. Manufacturability To increase the manufacturability of the micro wind turbine system, computer based control was used. This feature resulted in a reduction in the amount of hardware needed for the system implementation. 3. Ethical Consideration The use of a wind turbine does raise some ethical issues. The finished product will be a system standing 100 feet in air, there is a possibility that the avain population is affected. 4. Safety Issues The wind turbine system has many movable parts. One way to solve the safety hazards resulting from the movable parts is to design and implement a housing for all the movable parts. Also, the wind turbine system generates high voltage which creates a safety issue. The high voltage lines must be properly insulated and contained. System Overview The overall design for this system contains three main components all geared towards increased efficiency. Figure 1 shows the overall system block diagram. The first component is the test assembly. The second component is the control system. The third component is the inverter. The block diagram shown in Figure 1 depicts the overall design of the system as well as the interaction of each component with the system.

Design and Implementation

Figure 1: Overall System Block Diagram

A test assembly was designed and implemented to create a test environment for the overall design. It utilizes a General Electric DC Motor as a prime mover. The benefit of using a test assembly is the ability to manipulate different wind conditions to ensure the system reacts properly to the specified condition. The generator is then connected to the prime mover. The generator used is a 3.7 kilo Watt axial flux permanent magnet three phase AC generator. This generator is relatively
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new to the wind energy industry. It was chosen for this design because of its low operating speed, robustness, and efficiency (Chalmers, Wu, and Spooner, 1999). Because of the physical layout of the axial flux permanent magnet generator used for the micro turbine, the blades can be directly coupled to the generator. This feature enables maximum energy transfer from the wind through the blade and to the generator making it the only generator capable of such efficient energy transfer. A prototype drawing for the test assembly can be seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Test Assembly Prototype Drawing

Control System Design The control system was designed with the intent of increased efficiency. It uses an OOPic microcontroller system. A motor controller was designed and implemented in house to enable forward and reverse rotation of a 12 volt DC motor. The DC motor is coupled to a 26 inch piece of all thread creating a worm gear assembly. This assembly makes it possible for the turbine to yaw in and out of the wind. The worm gear design was chosen because it requires no mechanical
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Design and Implementation

braking in the DC motor to hold its position resulting in an optimal energy usage. Figure 3 shows the prototype drawing for the worm gear assembly design.
Figure 3: Worm Gear Assembly Prototype Drawing

The control system uses a simple axial potentiometer as an encoder to detect tail position. An anemometer was designed and implemented in house to gather real time wind speed information. The wind speed information is then sent to the OOPic micro controller. The micro controller compares the position of the axial potentiometer and wind speed. After the comparison, the OOPic designates the rotation of the motor. The motor turns the worm gear assembly which in turn yaws the overall system out of the wind. Figure 4 shows the block diagram of the control system.

Design and Implementation

Figure 4: Control System Block Diagram

Figure 5: Motor Controller Schematic

The control system uses an active feedback loop from the potentiometer to provide the motor controller with tail position, and relates that to the real time wind speed reading from the anemometer. The anemometer uses a magnetic reed switch that closes every once for every rotation of the anemometer cup assembly. The motor controller schematic is shown in Figure 5.
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The anemometer is mounted behind the turbine blades, providing the turbine with a relative wind speed. The yaw program is tunable for any small scale wind turbine application, and can provide custom over-spin conditions for every turbine. Figure 6 shows the yaw program logic flow chart.

Figure 6: Yaw Logic Flow Diagram

Inverter Design The inverter was designed using the most recent technology promising substantial efficiency gains. The brain of the system is a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) board. The DSP board chosen was a PICdem MCLV demonstration board. The system is designed to use source code available with the DSP board as well as a graphical user interface to specify inverter output parameters. The
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Design and Implementation

three-phase output signal from the generator is rectified to DC voltage and sent into an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) six-pack. Two IGBTs can be used as ON/OFF gates to create Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) square waves. The rectified DC voltage is sensed for magnitude and this signal is sent to the DSP board. The DSP then sets the switching frequency for the IGBT six-pack to maintain a 60 Hz. frequency output at specified amplitude. The switching of the IGBTs creates a Pulse Width Modulated 3-phase signal that is sent to an LC filter. The LC filter creates a pure sinusoidal three phase AC voltage that could eventually be connected to the grid. Figure 7 depicts the inverter system block diagram.

Figure 7: Inverter Block Diagram

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The design uses the source code for sinusoidal current control of a brushless DC motor. Proper modification has been made in the source code through the use of a Graphical User Interface (GUI). Using FUI, the output frequency and voltage amplitude can be appropriately set

Figure 8: Graphical User Interface

Rationale for selection of Design Components Computer Control Selection The original design concept for the control system called for the use of a PLC (programmable logic controller). However, since a PLC would have been an expensive choice, it was not used. An OOPic-R microcontroller was chosen to control the system because of its low cost and small size.
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Motor Selection A 12 volt DC motor was chosen after making necessary sizing calculations. A simple inexpensive motor was used with a gear reduction. An axial potentiometer was used as the positioning encoder. Yaw Mechanism The worm gear mechanism was chosen because it does not require a mechanical break. Power Management System The Pic Dem MCLV Development Board was chosen because it has all the components needed for control systems design. The Development Board has a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which makes it possible for output parameters to be met. Test Assembly The test assembly was designed for application flexibility. The entire system is bolted together to allow for part interchangeability. The complete list of components used for the micro wind turbine control system is given below: Electric Motor, DC, gear motor All thread, 25 inches, diameter Potentiometer, axial, 5 k ohm Microcontroller, OOPic-R Generator, Axial flux PM, 3.7 kW
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Prime mover, GE DC motor Tail Base, 5 inch C channel Inverter, PICdem MCLV demonstration board Motor controller, fabricated in house System power supply, 24V, stepped down to 15V and 7V Anemometer, fabricated in-house, gives real time wind conditions Conclusion The control system design described in this manuscript is focused on maximizing the overall system efficiency. A review of the system design is presented here. The overall control system hardware design consists of an anemometer feedback loop to the OOPic microcontroller which fires the relays in the motor controller. The motor controller controls the polarity of the 12 volt DC motor and yaws the wind turbine in the appropriate direction. The DC motor is coupled to the worm gear and it moves the tail from 0 to 90 degrees. The hardware design utilizes a 100-ampere IGBT bank controlled by the DSP board. Implementation of an LC filter is also a part of the control system hardware. The control system software design requires the use of an object oriented programming language such as, Visual Basic. The source code uses a COMPARE function to do a comparison between the potentiometer reading for position and the anemometer reading for wind speed. The difference of the two inputs is obtained and the result determines the DC motor polarity. The motor turns until this difference becomes zero. The power management system used the C+ programming language.
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Source code for sinusoidal current was used and was modified using a Graphical User Interface (GUI). The micro wind turbine control system, as described in this manuscript, was tested. Parameters in the OOPic micro controller need to be manipulated to make the system more responsive. After the parameters were corrected, the system was able to operate continuously with no significant problems. References Al Kalaani, Y., & Rosentrator, K. (2007). Introducing Renewable Energy Education into Engineering Technology Program. The 2007 Annual Conference Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education. Komerath, N. (2009). A campus-Wide Course on Micro renewable Energy Systems. The 2009 Annual Conference Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education. Munukutla, et. al. (2008). Arizona-Texas Consortium for Alternative and Renewable Energy Technologies. The 2008 Annual Conference Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Chalmers, B. J., Wu, W., and Spooner, E. (1999). An Axial Flux Permanent-Magnet Generator for a Gearless Wind Energy System. IEEE Transactions on Energy conversion, 14(2) 1999, pp. 251257. Sorensen, B. et. al. (2008). Renewable Energy E Book Collection. Maryland Heights, MO: Elsevier.
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