SEMINAR REPORT ON

MAXIMUM POWER EXTRACTION IN GRID

CONNECTED DFIG USING MULTILEVEL
INVERTER
Submitted by

SABEER A

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
of
COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING PERUMON
(Under CAPE, Established by Govt. of Kerala)

PERINAD P. O, KOLLAM - 691601

KERALA, INDIA

NOVEMBER 2013

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING PERUMON
(Under CAPE, Established by Govt. of Kerala)

PERINAD P. O, KOLLAM - 691601

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the report entitled MAXIMUM POWER

EXTRACTION

IN

GRID

CONNECTED

DFIG

USING

MULTILEVEL INVERTER is a bonafide report of the seminar

presented by SABEER A , in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
award of the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Electrical & Electronics
Engineering, of Cochin University of Science and Technology during the
period 2013-2014.

SEMINAR GUIDE

SEMINAR CO-ORDINATOR

H.O.D.

Mrs. Jasna Basheer

Mrs. Aiswarya P

Mrs. Bindu Prakash

Assistant Professor
Dept. of Electrical & Electronics
Engg.
College of Engg. Perumon

Assistant Professor
Dept. of Electrical & Electronics
Engg.
College of Engg. Perumon

Associate Professor
Dept. of Electrical & Electronics
Engg.
College of Engg. Perumon

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would sincerely thank GODThe Almighty for the grace which
he showered on me that lead to the successful and timely completion of my seminar on

Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

I am also grateful to Prof. Dr. Z. A. Zoya, Principal, College of Engineering, Perumon, for
providing me with the best facilities and ambience for my seminar development.

I wish to express my gratitude and thanks to Mrs. Bindu Prakash, Associate Professor &
H.O.D, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering for her support and timely
guidance.

I owe special thanks to my Seminar Guide Mrs. Jasna Basheer, Assistant Professor in Electrical
& Electronics Engineering for her valuable corrections and countless suggestions.

I wish to express my gratitude to my Seminar co-coordinator Mrs. Aiswarya.P, Assistant

Professor in Electrical & Electronics Engineering for providing me with valuable informations.

Last but not least I would like to acknowledge all my friends who were inevitable for the
successful completion of this seminar. I am also greatly indebted to all those who helped me to
make this seminar a success.

ABSTRACT
Wind energy is the most promising renewable among all other renewable and hence
successful integration of wind to the grid will certainly a better option. Double fed induction
generator (DFIG) technology allows extracting maximum energy from the wind, while operating
in narrow speed ranges. It has the ability for power electronic converters to generate and absorb
reactive power. A three-level back-to-back AC-DC-AC converter used in the system. This
analysis is based on reduction of the maximum common mode voltage levels of the rotor side
converter which plays the key role in shaft voltage generation of the DFIG. The advantages of
proposed method are: voltage balancing of DC link capacitors and controlling of the active and
reactive power delivered by the wind generator. The proposed DFIG with multilevel inverter
aims at integrating winds farms even in weaker grid with improved Maximum power injection,
Minimum harmonic issues with reduced impact on WTG. The proposed method, will improve
the power quality which is delivered to the grid in terms of harmonic, inject the maximum power
to the grid and improve the voltage profile.

CONTENTS

Chapter

Page

1.

Introduction.

2.

Double Fed Induction Generator.

3.

Multilevel Inverter...

3.1.

Diode Clamped Inverter..

3.2.

Features of Multilevel Inverters.

4.

Working Principle of Three Level Inverter...

5.

Carrier-Based Three-Level PWM Modulation........

10

6.

Overall System Simulation..

12

6.1.

Wind Turbine Generator Model...

13

6.2.

Multilevel Inverter Output...

14

6.3.

Power Developed from DFIG..

14

6.4.

Harmonic Analysis...

15

Conclusion

17

Reference..

18

7.

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

Page

2.1

Grid Connected DFIG.

3.1

Topologies of Multilevel Inverters..

3.2

Topology of 3-level Diode Clamped Inverter.

4.1

Working Principle of Three Level Inverter.

5.1

Carrier-Based Three-Level PWM Modulation...

10

6.1

Output Waveform of Overall System When Connected to Grid.

12

6.2

Output Waveform of Wind Turbine and Drive Train..

13

6.3

Multilevel-Diode Clamped Inverter Line Voltage in Volts.

14

6.4

Output Waveform of Wind Turbine and Drive Train..

15

6.5

FFT Analysis for Inverter Voltage..

16

LIST OF TABLES
Table
6.1

Page
Comparison of %THD.

16

Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
With growing concerns about environmental pollution and a possible energy
shortage, great efforts have been taken by the governments around the world to
implement renewable energy programs, based mainly on wind power, solar energy, small
hydro-electric power, etc. Due to lack of the traditional energy resources and their
upcoming cost challenges, renewable energy resources such as wind, solar and fuel cells
became key player elements. Among these resources, wind energy has been widely
accepted in power industry as a result of its cleanness, easy to access, proficiency and
cost effectiveness in world energy paradigm. Natural changes of the wind mechanical
power lead to a variable turbine speed and a variable output voltage. This problem can be
avoided by using mechanical solutions such as gear boxes to adjust the speed. Power
electronics converters and control modules are also can be used to achieve an adjustable
output voltage in terms of frequency and magnitude.
To achieve a variable speed constant frequency system, an induction generator is
considered attractive due to its flexible rotor speed characteristics with respect to the
constant stator frequency. One solution to expand the speed range and reduce the slip
power losses is to doubly excite the stator and rotor windings. The power converters in
the rotor circuit regenerate the majority of the slip power. In the early stage of wind
power development, most wind farms were equipped with fixed-speed wind turbines and
induction generators. Since such wind generators can only operate at a constant speed,
the power efficiency is fairly low for most wind speeds.
To improve their efficiency, many modem wind generators adopt a variable speed
operation in one of two ways: direct ac to ac frequency converters, such as the cyclo
converters or using voltage controlled inverters (ac-dc-ac), which convert power at
varying frequencies at the variable-speed generator to de, and then use some form of
power electronics to convert the dc power back to ac at a fixed frequency appropriate for
the grid connection. Amongst many variable speed concepts, the DFIG equipped wind
turbine has many advantages over others. For example, the power converter in such wind
turbines only deals with rotor power, therefore the converter rating can be kept fairly low,
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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

approximately 20% of the total machine power. This configuration allows for variable
speed operation while remaining more economical than a series configuration with a fully
rated converter. Other features such as the controllability of reactive power help DFIG
equipped wind turbines play a similar role to that of synchronous generators.

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Chapter 2
DOUBLE FED INDUCTION GENERATOR
In a Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG), the stator is directly connected to
the AC mains, while the wound rotor is fed from a back-to-back converter via slip rings
to allow the DIFG to operate at a variety of speeds in order to accommodate changing
wind speeds as shown in Fig l. The slip power can flow in both directions to the rotor
from the supply and from the supply to the rotor and hence the speed of the machine can
be controlled from either the rotor- or stator-side converter in both super and sub
synchronous speed ranges. By applying PWM in three phase inverter, a voltage will be
generated between neutral point of the load and the ground which is known as common
mode voltage. This common mode voltage acts as a source for many unwanted problems
in motor drives such as shaft voltage and bearing current due to parasitic capacitances
which exists in the structure of the machine.
According to the analysis of, a high percentage of common mode voltage
generated by rotor side converter in a DFIG converts to shaft voltage. This amount is
much greater than IEC-34-17 standard which is a harmful phenomena and leads to both
safety and maintenance issues. Therefore, common mode voltage is an important factor in
high frequency modelling of electrical machines and is the main source of shaft voltage
in generator structure because of small parasitic capacitances.
PWM techniques that reduce or eliminate common mode voltage would be a suitable and
cheap solution which will be greatly fascinated in industry. This paper presents a
common mode voltage strategy based on elimination of the switching vectors which
generates maximum common mode voltage levels by keeping all the factors in acceptable
levels.

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Figure 2.1 : Grid Connected DFIG

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Chapter 3
MULTILEVEL INVERTER
Multilevel inverters include an array of power semiconductors and capacitor
voltage sources, the output of which generate voltages with stepped waveforms. The
commutation of the switches permits the addition of the capacitor voltages, which reach
high voltage at the output, while the power semiconductors must withstand only reduced
voltages. Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of one phase leg of inverters with different
numbers of levels, for which the action of the power semiconductors is represented by an
ideal switch with several positions. A two-level inverter generates an output voltage with
two values (levels) with respect to the negative terminal of the capacitor, while the threelevel inverter generates three voltages, and so on. Considering that 'm' is the number of
steps of the phase voltage with respect to the negative terminal of the inverter, then the
number of steps in the voltage between two phases of the load 'k' is,
k=2m+l

Eqn 3.1

And the number of steps in the phase voltage of a three-phase load in wye connection is
p=2k-l

Eqn 3.2

By increasing the number of levels in the inverter, the output voltages have more steps
generating a staircase waveform, which has a reduced harmonic distortion. However, a
high number of levels increases the control complexity and introduces voltage imbalance
problems. Three different topologies have been proposed for multilevel inverters and it is
as shown in Fig.2,

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Figure 3.1 : Topologies of Multilevel Inverters

3.1 Diode Clamped Inverter

A three-level diode-clamped inverter is shown below in Fig.3; the clamping diode
Dc is used to connect the neutral point N to the midpoint of the transistor. This neutral N,
generating an additional voltage level, yields the name "three level inverter." In this
circuit, the dc-bus voltage is split into three levels by two series-connected bulk
capacitors, C1andC2. The middle point of the two capacitors n can be defined as the
neutral point.

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Figure 3.2 : Topology of 3-level Diode Clamped Inverter

3.2 Features Of Multilevel Inverters

They can generate output voltages with extremely low distortion and lower dv/dt.
They draw input current with very low distortion.
They generate smaller common-mode (CM) voltage, thus reducing the stress in
the motor bearings. In addition, using sophisticated modulation methods, CM
voltages can be eliminated.
They can operate with a lower switching frequency.

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Chapter 4
WORKING PRINCIPLE OF THREE LEVEL INVERTER
The output voltage has three states: Vde/2, 0, and Vde/2. For voltage level Vde/2,
switches Sl and S2need to be turned on; for - Vde/2 switches Sl' and S2'need to be turned
on; and for the 0 level. S, andS1' need to be turned on. The key components that
distinguish this circuit from a conventional two-level inverter are D1and D1'. These two
diodes clamp the switch voltage to half the level of the dc-bus voltage. When both S1 and
S2 turn on, the voltage across a and 0 is Vde , i.e., Vao = Vde. In this case D' balances out
the voltage sharing between Sl' and S2' with blocking the voltage across Cl and S2'
blocking the voltage across C2. Notice that output voltage Van is ac, and VaO is dc
.

Figure 4.1 :
a.

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Conduction State to Generate a Positive Load.

b. Positive Load Voltage.
c. Complete Voltage Showing Three Levels.

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

The difference between Van and VaO is the voltage across C2, which is Vde/2. If the
output is removed out between a and 0, then the circuit becomes a dc/dc converter, which
has three output voltage levels: Vde , Vde/2 and O. Modulation And Control Strategies
for Three-Level NPC Inverters are of three main methods established to control the
behaviour of the fundamental voltage generated by the three-level inverter to the load.

These methods are as follows:

Carrier-based PWM

Space vector modulation (SVM)

Selective harmonic elimination (SHE)

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Chapter 5
CARRIER-BASED THREE-LEVEL PWM MODULATION
This highly popular method is based on the comparison of a sinusoidal reference
v* with two carriers Vcr1 and Vcr2

Figure 5.1 : Carrier-Based Three-Level PWM Modulation

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

The logic is very simple

If v*>Vcr1 , then Sa1 =ON , Sa2=ON & VaN = Vdc/ 2

If Vcr2 <v*<Vcr1,then Sa1=ON , Sa2=ON & VaN =0
If v*<Vcr2 ,then Sa1=ON,Sa2=ON & VaN =-Vdc/ 2
This modulation method is focused on the search for optimal switching sequences,
operation at low modulation index, adaption to new topologies, and reduction of common
mode voltage

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Chapter 6
OVERALL SYSTEM SIMULATION
The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through simulation
results. The simulation result of the constant output power at variable wind speed is
simulated and the results are better than the conventional methods.

Figure 6.1 : Output Waveform of Overall System When Connected to Grid

The power developed from the Wind energy conversion is stepped up to a voltage level
of 12 KV, 50Hz which is connected to the Grid.

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

6.1 Wind Turbine Generator Model

Figure 6.2 : Output Waveform of Wind Turbine and Drive Train

The torque developed by the wind turbine depends on the wind velocity and thrust
coefficient. The power captured by the wind turbine is the cube of the wind velocity.
Thus the power captured by the wind turbine is maximum when the wind velocity is
12m/s to15m/s

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

6.2 Multilevel Inverter Output

The output from the wind turbine is a variable one. In order to obtain constant
voltage and frequency, the proposed multilevel inverter is used and also it reduces the
harmonic contents in the voltage which is obtained by increasing the level of inverter, in
the proposed inverter a three level diode clamped inverter is used.

Figure 6.3 : Multilevel-Diode Clamped Inverter Line Voltage in Volts

6.3 Power Developed from DFIG

The power developed in the wind turbine depends on wind velocity. Thus the
power captured by the wind turbine is the cubic function of wind speed. The Maximum
power extracted from Wind turbine generator is 8 MW at a wind speed of 15m/s which is
as shown in Figl2. Thus the output power of WTIG is uniquely determined by its
operating speed. Wind speed changes do not affect the value of reactive power produced
by generator, and active power follows the power speed curve of turbine. This clarifies
the ability of controlling to separately the active and reactive power of stator.

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Figure 6.4 : Output Waveform of Wind Turbine and Drive Train

6.4 Harmonic Analysis

The Fast Fourier Transform is used to determine the content of harmonics present
in output. Then the Total Harmonic Distortion also calculated from FFT analysis. From
the above graph of the Fast Fourier Transform analysis, it shows that the Total Harmonic
Distortion (THD) of 32.77% in the inverter which is connected to grid is as shown in
Fig.13.Thus harmonic content is much reduced by the use of multilevel inverter in the
proposed system. But in conventional Two level converter a THD of44.03%is obtained.

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Figure 6.5 : FFT Analysis for Inverter Voltage

Table 6.1 : Comparison of %THD

Inverter Line Voltage

%THD

2 Level

60.31

3 Level Without filter

32.73

3 Level with filter

3.35

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

Chapter 7
CONCLUSION
Investigation in the wind farm needs a thorough knowledge of nature of the wind
variation over the particular site and complete understanding of the Doubly Fed Induction
Generator is necessary. DFIG for grid-connected variable-speed wind energy conversion
system has been developed. With the proposed method, it is possible to control the
reactive power, and compensate for the utility harmonics. The control strategy is capable
of controlling the generated active and reactive power as well as the amount of harmonic
compensation in the grid independently.
The DFIG technology allows extracting maximum energy from the wind for low
wind speeds by optimizing the turbine speed, while minimizing mechanical stresses on
the turbine during gusts of wind. The DFIG technology has the ability for power
electronic converters to generate or absorb reactive power, thus eliminating the need for
installing capacitor banks as in the case of squirrel-cage induction generator. The
multilevel inverter topology can overcome some of the limitations than the standard twolevel inverter. Harmonics decreases as the number of levels in the output voltage is
increased.
From the simulation results, the line voltage THD of the 3-levelwaveform with a
modulation index M=0.913, has a reduced harmonic content of about 32.77%. Thus the
higher order and most unwanted harmonics generated are reduced and the generated
reactive power is also controlled in the proposed system. In the future work, the proposed
system controller performance may further be improved by using an Intelligent Control
Technique like Genetic Algorithm or Fuzzy Logic Control and also comparing the results
of proposed multilevel inverters with the conventional back-to-back two level inverters.
This proposed system concept can be applied in all type of Industrial control system to
obtain better performance than the conventional systems.

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Maximum Power Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter

REFERENCES
[1]

R. Sankar, P. Aravindan, R. Rajarajan, S. Shobana [2012] "Maximum Power

Extraction in Grid Connected DFIG using Multilevel Inverter".

[2]

Babak Badrzadeh[2003],"New Approach for modeling Doubly Fed Induction

Generator (DFIG) for grid-connection studies".

[3]

Eng Wu, Xiao-Ping Zhang,[2006] "Modeling and Control of Wind Turbine with
Doubly Fed Induction Generator" IEEE PSCE'06,page :1404-1409.

[4]

Hofmann, J. Zitzelsberger [2006] "PWM Control Methods for Common Mode

Voltage Minimization - a Survey," SPEEDAM International Symposium on
Power Electronics, Electrical Drives, Automation and Motion, pp: 830-839.

[5]

Jun Yao, Hui Li, Yong Liao, and Zhe Chen,[2008] " An Improved Control
Strategy of Limiting the DC-Link Voltage Fluctuation for a Doubly Fed Induction
Wind Generator", IEEE Transactions On Power Electronics, Vol. 23, No.3, pp:
1205- 1213.

[6]

Lingling Fan,[2010]," Harmonic Analysis of a DFIG for a Wind Energy

Conversion

System"

IEEE

Transactions

on

Energy

Conversion,

Vol.

25,No.1,pp:181-190.
[7]

Pena, J.C.Clare[1996], "Doubly fed induction generator uising back-to-back

PWM converters and its application to variable speed wind-energy generation"
IEEE Puoc.-Electr. Power Appl., Vol. 143,No 3,pp: 231-241.

[8]

Salman and Babak Badrzadeh,[2004] "New Approach for modelling Doubly-Fed

Induction Generator (DFIG) for grid- connection studies" European wind energy
conference an exhibition, London.

[9]

Tarak Ghennama, EI-Madjid Berkoukb, [2009],"Back-to-back three-level

converter controlled by a novel space-vector hysteresis current control for wind
conversion systems" Electric Power Systems Research, pp: 444--455.

[10]

Wind Farm - Detailed DFIG Model "Mat lab Sim Power Systems, Demonstration
files, www.mathworks.com.

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