Modeling of a Squirrel Cage Induction Generator
A. Movahednasab Seyed.M. Madani
Isfahan university of technology Isfahan university of technology
movahednasabali@yahoo.com Madani@cc.iut.ac.ir
Abstract- Generating electrical power from wind energy is
becoming increasingly important throughout the world. This
fast development has attracted many researchers and electrical
engineers to work on this field. Self Excited squirrel cage
Induction Generator (SEIG), which uses an excitation capacitor,
is used widely to convert mechanical wind energy to electricity,
due to their low cost, small size, no need of separate dc source
and brushes. This paper proposes a new simplified model for
small wind energy system consisting of: Induction generator, D-
Statcom, excitation capacitors and loads. The model clearly
describes the dynamic behavior of frequency and voltage of a
SIEG supplied system during fault and isolating from a power
system grid. Based on the proposed model, efficient analytical
schemes for voltage and frequency control has been presented.
These controllers are applied on a 33kv wind energy system,
using MATLAB- Simulink simulations. The simulation results
verified the validity of proposed control schemes and models.
I. INTRODUCTION
Currently, there is a growing interest towards the utilization
of renewable energy sources in the generation of electric
power because of environmental concern and rapid depletion
of conventional fossil fuels particularly, after the increases in
fuel prices during 1970s. Use of induction generator driven
by wind is becoming more and more popular, due to their
high reliability, low price and maintenance expenses, and no
need of separate dc excitation.
Induction generator can operate either connected to a
power network or as standalone generator. The analysis of
connected induction generator is simpler because its voltage
and frequency are determined by the power system grid.
However, islanding (disconnecting) of a connected IG
disturbs its voltage and frequency, due to lack or surplus of
reactive and active power [1]. The most effective way to
control a wind turbine captured power is to adjust the blade
pitch angle. Blade pitch is analogous to the throttling valve in
conventional steam turbines, except that its response is much
faster than that of steam turbines [2]. On the other hand a
squirrel cage IG draws reactive power for magnetization from
it's terminals which is undesirable. To solve this problem a
fixed shunt capacitor bank is connected to the IG terminals to
provide the magnetization current and even supplying
reactive power to the local load. Moreover, a power
electronics based VAR controller (i.e. D-Statcom, SVC,…) is
also paralleled to IG, to improve the response of the system to
sudden changes such as islanding, fault… .
There exists a large amount of bibliography on this subject.
Some authors analyzed and modeled an induction generator
with an excitation capacitor [3,4]. Application of new control
techniques such as sliding mode , output feedback , state
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M. M. Shahbazi
Isfahan university of technology
mmshahbazy@yahoo.com
feedback, … are presented in [1,2,5]. Reference [6] uses D-
Statcom to maintain the voltage profile of IG. Moern et al
worked on frequency control of an induction generator
considering IG and turbine inertia [7].
This paper presents a new simple and efficient model for a
small wind energy system consisting of: Induction generator,
D-Statcom, excitation capacitors and loads. The model
clearly describes the dynamic behavior of frequency and
voltage of a SIEG supplied system during sudden changes
such as islanding, short circuit fault… . In Section II a single
line diagram of the under studied distribution system is
introduced. Section III presents the existing models of the
studied system components such as wind turbine, IG and D-
Statcom. In section IV, we proposed a new simplified model
for a squirrel cage IG connected to it's local grid. Smulink
based simulation results verify the validity of the proposed
models and control strategies.
II. DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM MODEL
The single line diagram of a wind power system network
for analysis and simulation is shown in Fig. 1. In this system
a local network is supplied by an induction generator which is
connected to a 132 KV infinite bus.
A 132/33KV Δ/Yg transformer T1 connects the local network
to the sub transmission system and a 33/.69 KV Δ/Yg
transformer T2 connects the induction generator to the local
network. In this system L1 , L2 are the symbol of loads in the
network. The induction generator is driven by a wind turbine
which is controlled by pitch angle β. In order to adjust the
value of β a reference value of P∗ is compared with the
injected power by the IG and its error is passed through a PI
controller to produce a proper estimation of β . The rule of
capacitor C is to provide reactive power requires for IG
magnetization current. The values of the system parameters is
given in appendix .
III. DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM COMPONENTS MODEL AND
CONTROL
Fig. 1. The system configuration
A. Wind turbine: The mechanical output power of a wind
turbine can be expressed by [8]:
P = πρV 3 R 2C p / 2
where: ρ is the air density, V is the wind speed, R is the
rotor radius and C p represents the fraction of aerodynamic
wind power extracted by a turbine.
The power coefficient C p varies with the wind speed, the
turbine rotational speed and the turbine blade pitch angle
parameter β . The approximate equation for Cisp :
π
(λ − 3)
C p = (0 .44 − 0 .0167 β ) * sin[ 2 ] − ( λ − 3) * ( 0.00148 β )
7.5 − 0.15 β
γ is the trip speed ratio and defined as :
λ = ωH R / V
where ω H is the rotating speed of the wind turbine.
Equation (1)-(3) shows that mechanical output power of a
wind turbine is a function of turbine speed ω H , wind speed
V and the β .
B. Induction machine: A single phase equivalent circuit of an
induction machine is shown in Fig. 2. In this figure Lm is the
core magnetizing inductance R'd=(1-s)R'r/s and is a
resistance which its absorbed power represents the generator
input power. C represents the excitation capacitor that
provides the generator magnetization current flowing through
Lm. RL and LL, represents the load which, in generating mode
the rotor is rotated faster than synchronous speed and the slip
s is negative. At standalone operation the value of capacitor
C determines the generated reactive power and controls the
generator terminal voltage. The appropriate value for IG
exciting current is in the saturation area of the magnetic curve
λm - im , which results in a stable terminal voltage.
C. D-Statcom: D-Statcom consists of a three phase current
controlled voltage source inverter (CC-VSI) and a capacitor
at its dc bus, which is connected to an ac bus through an
inductance as shown in Fig.3. The role of D-Statcom is to
inject or sink a desired amount of reactive current (power) to
maintain constant voltage across the IG terminals.
Fig. 2. the equivalent circuit of an induction machine
(1)
Fig. 3. The block of a D-Statcom
A D-Statcom also takes very small active power to
(2) compensate the power losses and maintain dc link voltage. If
the fundamental component of the inverter output voltage is
greater than the bus voltage, D-Statcom supplies reactive
power to the ac system, otherwise it draws reactive power
from the ac system.
(3) D-Statcom devices can act as either voltage or power factor
controller. The voltage controller, shown in Fig.4, employs dq
rotating reference frame and offers higher accuracy than
stationary frame- based techniques. In Fig.4. Vabc are three
phase terminal voltages, Iabc are three phase currents injected
by D-Statcom into the network, Vrms is the RMS value of
terminal voltage and Vdc is the capacitor dc voltage. This
controller employs a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) to
synchronize the three phase voltage at the converter output
based on phase A terminal voltage zero crossings. Therefore,
the PLL provides the angle φ for "abc to dq" and "dq to abc"
transformation block. There are also four PI regulators. The
first PI is responsible for controlling the terminal voltage
through providing the reactive current reference I*q. Another
PI controller is responsible for keeping the dc voltage
constant through a small active power exchange with the ac
network. This PI provides the active current reference I*d. The
other two PI regulators determine voltage reference V*d and
V*q, which are sent to the PWM signal generator.
Fig. 4. The control diagram of a D-Statcom
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Fig. 5. The complete IG model with the mechanical part
The power factor controller is similar to the voltage
controller, but the main difference is generally tuned to
provide all reactive power demand at the consumer facility.
Thus the Vrmsref in Fig.4, is exchanged with Qref and it is
generally set to zero and compared the reactive power
measured at the customer supply point.
IV. SYSTEM MODELING
This section presents a new analytical model to show the
behavior of the system. For simplicity reason, we assume: 1)
core and mechanical losses are negligible. 2) all machine
parameters except the magnetizing inductance are constant,
3) all 3-phase component are star connected.
To further improve the model (Fig. 2), we include the
mechanical part to the model, which is shown in Fig. 5. In
kVs − Vs = LD I D
LD I D + Vs (4)
k=
Vs
V. THE EFFECT OF D-STATCOM ON THE SYSTEM
In this section the effect of D-Statcom on the voltage of a
real system is searched. For this goal, a three phase to ground
fault is applied on the point shown with A in the real system
and after nine cycles the transmission line 2-4 is disconnected
to remove the fault from the system. Fig. 7 shows the effect
of the fault on the system.
As seen in this figure disconnecting line b2-b4 from the
local network decreases the voltage of generator bus and
increases the rotor speed which is caused the increment of
losses in the generator.
1.4

this model, we represent the applied torque on the rotor shaft 1.2

(Tshaft) by a current source and the rotor inertia by a 1

capacitor J . The developed electromagnetic torque is shown 0.8

Voltage

by Tem. It must be noted that in the mechanical part of the 0.6

model ωr and Tem are dc variables, whereas in the electrical 0.4

part Vr′ and Vs are ac variable at electric power frequency, 50 0.2

or 60 Hz. R'd is a negative resistor (at generating mode), 0

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time
which its produced power Pem represents the converted
mechanical into electrical power. Rs and Ls are the equivalent a
of the transmission line inductances.
In order to control the voltage of the model we can use a 1.04

current controlled voltage source behind an inductance as 1.035

shown in Fig. 6-a. In this figure for regulating the value of the 1.03

1.025
voltage source the control diagram shown in Fig. 6-b is used.
Wr

1.02
In this method by comparing the voltage of the bus with a 1.015

reference value and crossing its error through a PI controller, 1.01

the needed current for compensating the reactive power is 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Time
obtained. The referenc e current can be changed into a voltage
which its value is calculated by Eq. 4. b

20

15

10
Q-Generator

a -5

-10

-15
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time

b Fig. 7. Simulation results of the system parameters after three phase to

ground fault. a) the voltage of b5 b) rotor speed c) reactive power consumed
Fig. 6. a) the improved model for controlling the voltage b) the control
by generator.
loop diagram

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 Fig. 8 shows the effect of installing a D-Statcom in the 3

2
voltage control mode, on the bus b5. As seen in this figure the
1
voltage has returned to its initial value after improving the

P-Dstatcom
0
fault and the generator speed remained constant for producing -1
the same active power, which is caused the losses of -2
generator to be decreased. Fig. 8- e and f show that the D- -3
Statcom consumes a little active power to keep its dc-link -4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
voltage constant, also Fig. 8 –g shows that the D-Statcom Time

generates reactive power after improving the fault to keep the f

voltage constant. 5

1.4
0
1.2

Q-DStatcom
1
-5
0.8
Voltage

0.6 -10
0.4

0.2 -15
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 Time
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time
g
a
1.07
Fig. 8. Simulation results of the installing a D-Statcom in the real system
1.06 a) b5 bus voltage b) rotor speed c) generator produced power d) the reactive
1.05 power consumed by generator e) DC-link voltage of D-Statcom f) consumed
1.04 active power by D-Statcom g) generated reactive power by D-Statcom
Wr

1.03

1.02 VII. CONCOLUSION

1.01

1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 This paper presents a novel model and controller design
Time
method for wind turbine system including an induction
b generator, an exciting capacitor and a load. The model shows
20
the relation between electrical and mechanical parts of a
15 system by an electric circuit which give very deep insight to
the system behaviors. This helps us to design controllers for
P-Generator

10

voltage regulation. The proposed model shows the style of

5
controlling the voltage by D-Statcom beside an induction
0 generator.
-5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time References
c [1] E. Suarez, and G. Bortolotto, “Voltage- frequency control of a self
excited induction generator,” IEEE Trans. on Energy Conversion, vol.
15
14, No. 3, pp. 394-401, September 1999.
10
[2] W. Chen, and Y. Hsu, “Controller design for an induction generator
5 driven by a variable speed wind turbine,” IEEE Trans. on Energy
Conversion, vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 625-635, September 2006.
Q-Generator

0
[3] S. Rajakaruna, and R. Bonert, “A technique for the steady state
-5
analysis of a self-excited induction generator with variable speed,”
-10
IEEE Trans. on Energy Conversion, vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 757-761,
-15 December 1993.
-20 [4] B. Palle, M. Gody Simoes and A. Farret, “Dynamic simulation and
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time
analysis of parallel self-excited induction generators for island wind
farm systems,” IEEE Trans. on Industry Applications, vol. 41, No. 4,
d pp. 1099-1106, July/August 2005.
1.4 [5] S. Abdin, and W. Xu, “Control design and dynamic performance
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Energy Conversion, vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 91-96, March 2000.
1
[6] W. Freitas, A. Morelatto, W. Xu and F. Sato, “Impacts of ac
0.8
generators and D-Statcom devices on the dynamic performance of
Vdc

0.6 distribution systems,” IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, vol. 20, No. 2,
0.4 pp. 1493-1500, April 2005.
0.2
[7] J. Moren, S. Haan, W. Kling and J.A. Ferreira, “Wind turbine
emulating inertia and supporting primary frequency control,” IEEE
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Trans. on Power Systems, vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 433-434, February 2006.
Time

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[8] T. Ackerman, Wind power in power systems, England: John wiley &
sons Ltd, 2005.

APPENDIX

Parameters of the real system:

Induction generator: Sn=1.2MVA, VL-L=690V, fn=60Hz, Lls=Llr= 0.01pu ,
Lm=6.5 pu, Rr= Rs= 0.05 pu,
C: Vn=690V, QC= 0.4 MVAR
L1: Vn= 690V, P= 0.2 MW, Q= 0.01 MW.
T2: Sn= 30 MVA, V1= 33KV, V2=690 V, R1= R2=5e-3, L1=L2= 2.65e-3.
b2b4: R=2.33, L= 9.9e-3.
b2b3: R=0.48, L= 5.5e-3.
b3 b4: R=2.6, L= 12e-3.
b4b5: R=5.85, L= 27e-3.
L2: Vn= 33KV, P=0.2MW, Q= 0.01MW.
T1: Sn=100MVA, V1=132KV, V2=33KV, R1=R2=4.97e-3, L1=L2=2.77e-3.
D-Statcom: Vdc=4000V, Lf= 5e-3, Strans=3MVA, V1trans=33KV, V2trans=2KV,
L1trans=L2trans=2.65e-3p

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