Parameter tting will facilitate model validation of the generic dynamic model for type-3 WTGs. In this thesis, a test system including a single 1.5 MW DFIG has been built and tested in the PSCAD/EMTDC environment for dynamic responses. The data generated during these tests have been used as measurements for the parameter tting which is carried out using the unscented Kalman lter. Two variations of the generic type-3 WTG model (the detailed model and the simpli ed model) have been compared and used for parameter estimation. The detailed model is able to capture the dynamics caused by the converter and thus has been used for parameter tting when inputs are from a fault scenario. On the other hand, the simpli ed model works well for parameter tting when a wind speed disturbance is of interest. Given measurements from PSCAD, the estimated parameters using both models are indeed improvements compared to the original belief of the parameters in terms of prediction error.

Parameter tting will facilitate model validation of the generic dynamic model for type-3 WTGs. In this thesis, a test system including a single 1.5 MW DFIG has been built and tested in the PSCAD/EMTDC environment for dynamic responses. The data generated during these tests have been used as measurements for the parameter tting which is carried out using the unscented Kalman lter. Two variations of the generic type-3 WTG model (the detailed model and the simpli ed model) have been compared and used for parameter estimation. The detailed model is able to capture the dynamics caused by the converter and thus has been used for parameter tting when inputs are from a fault scenario. On the other hand, the simpli ed model works well for parameter tting when a wind speed disturbance is of interest. Given measurements from PSCAD, the estimated parameters using both models are indeed improvements compared to the original belief of the parameters in terms of prediction error.

A small wind turbine blade was designed, fabricated and tested in this study. The power performance of small horizontal axis wind turbines was simulated in detail using modified blade element momentum methods (BEM). Various factors such as tip loss, drag coefficient, and wake were considered. The simulation was validated by experimental data collected from a small wind turbine Bergey XL 1.0. A new blade was designed for the Bergey XL 1.0 after comparing three types of aerodynamic blade structures and their related performance, and then the detailed blade structure was determined. The performance of the new rotor at different additional pitch angles was simulated and compared with the original Bergey XL 1.0 rotor. To fabricate prototypes of the new blades, a resin transfer moulding (RTM) system was designed and built. Three blades were fabricated successfully and installed on the hub of an existing Bergey XL 1.0. In a vehicle-based test system, the new blades were tested at the original designed pitch angle, plus at additional 5° and 9° pitch angles. The +5° rotor reached maximum power of 1889 W at wind velocity 13.6 m/s. The +9° rotor performed over a wider wind velocity range and output slightly lower power than the original Bergey XL 1.0. The new blades have better aerodynamic performance than original Bergey XL 1.0. / Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) New Directions Research Program and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Chair in Environmental Design Engineering at the University of Guelph

As a cost-effective test method, a vehicle-based test rig can be utilized in small wind turbine experimental work to facilitate turbine performance tests under a range of controlled wind speeds, as well as to validate turbulent flow models. The instrumentation of a custom trailer-based mobile wind turbine test rig has been modified to provide a platform for full rotor speed control. A control system coupled to an electric vehicle controller with regenerative braking technology was developed in five steps, namely: system modeling in Simulink, system identification, control system design and analysis, control system implementation in LabVIEW, and Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller tuning in real-time. A custom Graphical User Interface (GUI) was also developed. Furthermore, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was conducted to assess the potential impact of towing vehicle’s disturbance on the free stream available to the rotor disc. This trailer rig will allow up to a 1kW wind turbine. It can be towed behind a vehicle to conduct steady state tests or it can be parked in an open area to collect unsteady field data. It has been tested in a towed scenario and the Blade Element Momentum (BEM) predictions were compared with the obtained aggregate performance curve. / Graduate / 0548 / 0791 / 0544 / khorsand@uvic.ca

A limited and extendable master thesis is representing the first step in the experimental substructuring of an A600 wind turbine. Additional masses have been designed, manufactured and added to the sub components for the laboratory experimental tests. Further preparations for dynamic experimental tests have been described and implemented. Vibrational tests of a modified wind turbine blade have been made using the Leuven Measurements System (LMS) for excitations and data acquisition purposes. The theory of frequency response function based substructuring applied on the wind turbine blade model is demonstrated. The theory and an example of a Matlab coded spring-mass system, an experimental model of a wind turbine blade and FRFs stemming from measurements are reported.

Optimization of wind farm layout is an expensive and complex task involving several engineering challenges. The layout of any wind farm directly impacts profitability and return of investment. Several software optimization modules in line with wind farm design tools in industry is currently attempting to place the turbines in locations with good wind resources while adhering to the constraints of a defined objective function. Assessment of these software tools needs to be performed clearly for assessing different tools in wind farm layout design process. However, there is still not a clear demonstration of benchmarking and comparison of these software tools even for simple test cases. This work compares two different optimization software namely openWind and WindPRO commercial software tools mutually.

A simplified model is proposed to investigate the stress fields and the strain energy release rate (SERR) associated with cracks in bonded joints in wind turbine blades. The proposed two-dimensional model consists of nonparallel upper and lower shells with adhesive between the shells at the tapered end. Nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) is performed in a systematic parametric study of material and geo- metric properties. Two failure modes and their locations are predicted at different combinations of parameters: yielding at the outside end of the adhesive and interface cracking at the inside end of the bondline. Effect of the shell curvature on the stress fields is also considered. Based on the classic beam theory and the beam-on-elastic-foundation (BOEF) assumption, stress and displacement fields of the adhesively-bonded joint were determined by a new theoretical model to support the results from the numerical computation. The failure analysis is continued by studying the effects of manufacturing defects in the adhesive bond. Single and multiple voids are embedded to simulate air bubble trapped in the interface. The numerical and analytical studies are conducted to investigate SERR associated with the voids and results are provided to illustrate the effects of void position and void size.

Abstract Energy is one of the most important factors that continue to influence the shape of civilization in the 21st Century. The cost and availability of energy significantly impacts our quality of life, the health of national economies and the stability of our environment. In recent years there has been a significant global commitment to develop clean and alternative forms of energy resources and it is envisioned that by 2020 10% of world energy will be supplied from renewable resources, and there is an expectation that this value will grow to 50% by 2050. Among renewable energy resources, wind generation technology has matured considerably, and wind is fairly distributed around the globe and therefore available to world communities. In the last decade, wind generation has been the fastest growing energy source globally. However more penetration of wind energy into existing power networks raises concern for power system operators and regulators. Traditionally wind energy convertors do not participate in frequency regulation or Automatic Generation Control (AGC) services, and therefore large penetration of wind power into the power systems can result in a reduction of total system inertia and robustness of the frequency response to the disturbances. The research presented in this thesis covers some of the operational and design aspects of frequency control and AGC services in power systems with mixed generation resources. The thesis examines the operation of the Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) with a modified inertial loop control considering single-area and two-area frequency control, both primary control and AGC. The thesis presents new, small-perturbation, linear, dynamic, mathematical models for the simulation of primary regulation services and AGC services for single-area and two-area power systems with a mix of conventional and non-conventional DFIG-based wind generators. In order to improve the performance of the frequency regulation and AGC services of the above systems, a parameter optimization technique based on the minimization of the Integral of Squared Errors (ISE) is applied to determine the optimal settings for the proportional-integral (PI) controller gains of the DFIG machines. The thesis presents analytical studies with various perturbations to demonstrate the effectiveness and participation of DFIG-based wind generators in frequency support services and draws some important conclusions. Variation in DFIG penetration levels, and wind speed levels (strong wind and weak wind) on system frequency control performance, has also been examined in the thesis.

Η παρούσα εργασία πραγματεύεται αφ’ενός μεν τη μελέτη, μέσω προσομοίωσης, ενός αιολικού συστήματος παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας συνδεδεμένο στο δίκτυο χαμηλής τάσης αφ’ετέρου δε την κατασκευή ενός τμήματος του συστήματος αυτού. Το αιολικό σύστημα συγκροτείται από μία ανεμογεννήτρια με σύγχρονη γεννήτρια μόνιμων μαγνητών και διατάξεις ηλεκτρονικών ισχύος που μετατρέπουν αρχικά την εναλλασσόμενη τάση σε συνεχή και στη συνέχεια τη συνεχή τάση σε εναλλασσόμενη, συχνότητας 50Hz, για τη σύνδεση με το δίκτυο. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, χρησιμοποιούνται κατά σειρά μία μη ελεγχόμενη ανορθωτική γέφυρα με διόδους για την ανόρθωση της τάσης, που παράγεται από τη γεννήτρια, ένας μετατροπέας τύπου Boost για την ανύψωση και σταθεροποίηση της τάσης και τέλος, ένας μονοφασικός αντιστροφέας με MOSFET. Η έξοδος του αντιστροφέα, μέσω φίλτρου και μετασχηματιστή, συνδέεται στο δίκτυο. Στόχος είναι η κατασκευή ενός πειραματικού πρωτοτύπου για τη σύνδεση της ανεμογεννήτριας του εργαστηρίου, ισχύος 1kW, με το δίχτυο χαμηλής τάσης, ώστε να χρησιμοποιηθεί για εργαστηριακούς και ερευνητικούς σκοπούς. / This thesis presents the study, modeling and implementation of a wind power system consists of a permanent magnet synchronous generator, a rectifier and boost stage, as well as an inverter stage for grid connection. Control applies on the dc-dc converter aiming at rendering the connection to the electrical power grid more versatile. The analysis was performed by developing an appropriate model for the system at the Matlab computing program aided by the Simulink toolbox of The MathWorks,Inc.

Σκοπός αυτής της διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η μελέτη όλων των στοιχείων που είναι αναγκαία για την κατασκευή ενός υπεράκτιου αιολικού πάρκου και της διασύνδεσης του στο δίκτυο μεταφορά και διανομής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας. Γίνεται μια αναφορά στις ανεμογεννήτριες που υπάρχουν και μπορούν να τοποθετηθούν σε αντίστοιχες μελέτες. Επίσης οι τοπολογίες που μπορούν να στηρίξουν στη διασύνδεση των ανεμογεννητριών και να καταστήσουν δυνατή την δημιουργία ενός πάρκου ,αλλά και τα τεχνολογικά μέσα με τα οποία μπορούμε να μεταφέρουμε αυτή την ενέργεια στο δίκτυο διανομής και μεταφοράς ώστε να χρησιμοποιηθεί προς οποιαδήποτε κατεύθυνση. Τέλος παρουσιάζεται μια μελέτη ενός πάρκου σε μια παράκτια περιοχή της χώρας προσδίδοντας στοιχεία όμοια με τις περισσότερες περιοχές που μπορούν να δεχτούν μια τέτοια κατασκευή. Η μελέτη ολοκληρώνεται με μια προσομοίωση μιας ανεμογεννήτριας του τύπου που προτείνεται να εγκατασταθεί και παρουσιάζει τα αποτελέσματα λειτουργίας της στις αιολικές συνθήκες που επικρατούν το μεγαλύτερο διάστημα. / The aim of this dissertation was to present a project of an offshore wind farm including every point which is considered on a familiar construction and reviling the kinds of connections to the grid between that. There is a reference to the spices of wind turbines produced and used by the industry. Moreover the topologies of wind farms based on hvac or hvdc transmission systems, presenting categories with solutions for both cases. At the end a project of an offshore farm in the Greek coastline took place providing a solution to the majority of same areas around Greece with the same wind characteristics and depths. To sum up a simulation of a DFIG wind turbine functioned under the areas’ wind data giving an image of the pure power that is able to produce.