AC Series Dynamic Resistor Protection Scheme with Switching Control for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generators in WECS

Wind energy conversion systems (WECSs) have become increasingly popular in the recent years for clean power generation. For all forms of electricity generation, it is important that these sources are reliable and resilient with the ability to sustain abnormal contingency conditions such as electrical faults. Effective electrical protection systems play an important role in enhancing this resilience by rightly identifying and clearing faults in the most efficient manner. This paper proposes a novel electrical protection scheme for wind energy conversion system (WECS) with a permanent synchronous generator (PMSG), namely, AC Synchronous Dynamic Resistance (SDR) with switching control. The paper compares the performance of the PMSG-based WECS under a three-phase fault condition when the scheme is applied against a case where there is no form of protection. It is observed from studies that the proposed protection scheme has a positive effect on the WECS performance during and after the fault which is evident in reduction of rotor speed and angle variations as well as dampening active and reactive power oscillations.