IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 31, NO.
6, DECEMBER 1990
Microprocessor-Based Voltage Controller for
Wind-Driven Induction Generators
N. AMMASAIGOUNDEN AND M. SUBBIAH
Abstract- A microprocessor-based closed-loop system has been devel-
oped for wind-driven self-excited induction generators using a controlled
rectifier to maintain a constant dc load voltage with varying rotor
speeds. The configuration and implementation of the control scheme
have been fully described. Test results on a self-excited induction genera-
tor demonstrate the satisfactory performance of both the hardware and
software of the control scheme and the utility O f the setup as a whole.
The steady-state analysis of the generator has been extended to include
the controlled rectifier, and the performance characteristics have been
predicted.
NOMENCLATURE
p.u. frequency
excitation capacitance per phase (in microfarads)
generated frequency (in hertz)
rated frequency (in hertz)
generator load current (in amperes)
dc load current (in amperes)
smoothing reactor (in millihenrys)
actual rotor speed (in revolutions per minute)
synchronous speed corresponding to rated fre-
quency (in revolutions per minute)
synchronous speed corresponding to generated fre-
quency (in revolutions per minute)
per phase stator and rotor (referred to stator) resis-
tance, respectively (in ohms)
load resistance at the output of the controlled recti-
fier (in ohms)
equivalent load resistance and reactance per phase,
respectively, across the generator terminals (in
ohms)
operating slip
sampling interval for dc voltage measurement
sampling interval for generator frequency measure-
ment
terminal voltage per phase of the generator (in
volts)
dc load voltage (in volts)
per phase stator and rotor (referred to stator) reac-
tance, respectively (in ohms)
capacitive reactance per phase of the excitation
capacitor (in ohms)
magnetizing reactance per phase (in ohms)
Manuscript received December 21, 1988; revised August 14, 1989.
The authors are with the of and Electronics Engi-
neering, Regional Engineering College, Tamil Nadu, India.
IEEE Log Number 9040007.
0278-0046/90/12OO-0531$01.OO O 1990 IEEE
53 1
ze equivalent impedance per phase across the genera-
tor terminals (in ohms)
a firing angle
I. INTRODUCTION
Itors
T IS WELL KNOWN that self-excited induction genera-
are being increasingly used for isolated power supplies
in wind energy systems. For a given excitation capacitance,
the output voltage and frequency of these generators vary
with wind speed and load impedance. A new approach for the
steady-state analysis of these generators has been developed,
and to sustain the self-excitation over an extended speed
range, pole-changing windings have been proposed and suc-
cessfully implemented by the present authors [l]. Recently,
the utility of chopper circuits, in obtaining a controllable dc
supply from wind-driven self-excited induction generators
has been discussed [2]. As a further development, the present
paper considers the application of three-phase fully controlled
thyristor converter and control circuits to these generators
driven by varying wind speeds.
Earlier, Watson et al. [3] have described a scheme to
obtain a controllable dc power supply from wind-driven
machines using firing angle control. In this scheme, different
values of excitation capacitances have been used to increase
the operating speed range of the generator. Watanabe and
Barreto [4] have proposed a force-commutated rectifier sys-
tem with negative firing angles to obtain a capacitive effect on
the generator terminals to keep the voltage constant on the
load side of the rectifier. It has also been shown that the
system can operate well even without a smoothing reactor.
The present paper describes a scheme using a line-com-
mutated thyristor bridge to obtain a desired dc voltage from
the wind-driven generators. In order to have flexibility and
reliability, the scheme has been developed employing a mi-
croprocessor pP-based closed-loop controller. This attempt is
also in keeping with the present trend in the control of
electrical drives using pP-based closed-loop systems [5], [6].
The steady-state performance of the generator is analyzed
using the equivalent circuit of the induction machine with the
converter load resistance suitably represented in terms of the
firing angle in the equivalent circuit. As suggested in [I] and
[2], pole-changing windings could be applied to extend the
speed-range of the generators in the proposed system as well.
Experiments were conducted on an induction generator with
four/six-pole combination with a closed-loop controller fab-
ricated in the laboratory. The test results fully bring out the
usefulness and elegance of the proposed system as a whole.
532 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 31, NO. 6 , DECEMBER 1990

lood

Fig. 1. Block schematic of @-based voltage controller for self-excited

induction generator: IG-induction generator; C-excitation capacitor
bank; L-smoothing reactor; P.D-potential divider network.

11. PROPOSED SYSTEM

The block schematic of the proposed pP-based controller
with rectifier is shown in Fig. 1. The rectifier is a three-phase
fully controlled thyristor bridge. The controller portion
mainly consists of an Intel 8085 pP, pulse amplifier circuits,
and an eight-channel, 8-b A/D converter ADC 0809. Digital
input data for the pP are the reference voltage V, correspond- .I
ing to the desired constant dc voltage at the output of the
rectifier, the lowest and highest frequency limits f, and fh
(within which the wind turbine-generator system has been
designed to work), the initial firing angle ai(with which the
rectifier starts working), and the sampling intervals T,, and
T,, for dc voltage and frequency measurements, respec-
tively. Depending on the load requirement, a small deviation
1
in the reference dc voltage V, can be permitted, where the
lower and upper limits of V, are specified as V, and Vh, IO 8085
respectively.
Fig. 2. Circuit diagram for peripheral chips interfaced with Intel 8085:
Based on the reference and measured dc voltages, the pP CH-channel section bits in ADC.
adjusts the firing angle until the two voltages become equal;
it also generates the gate trigger pulses for the thyristors at
the appropriate instants. ues the measurement and checking of the frequency fg. Once
this condition is met, counts for 60" and for the firing angle
A. Implementation of the Control Scheme aiare computed and stored in memory. Then, zero crossing
The Intel 8085 pP is interfaced with other peripheral of the generator line voltage is sensed using the same square
chips, and the details are shown in Fig. 2. The 1/0 device pulse, and gate trigger pulses are produced after a delay of
8255A is programmed so that ports A and C are configured ai.Three lines of port B (B,-B,) are used to output the gate
as input ports and port B as the output port. One of the line pulses. Fig. 3 shows the power circuit of the controlled
voltages of the induction generator is stepped down, rectified, rectifier and the gate pulses. Each pulse is fed to a current
and converted to a square pulse, which will be in synchro- amplifier circuit and then to the primary of a pulse trans-
nization with the generator output voltage. This square pulse former that has two secondaries. The secondaries of each
is fed to line 1 of port C, and the pP calculates the number of pulse transformer are connected to the gate terminals of one
counts for one complete cycle of pulse. This count represents set of thyristors in the same limb of the rectifier. For
the frequency fg of the induction generator output voltage. example, the pulse output at line 2 of port B (PB,) drives the
The program first checks whether fg lies within the limits gates of thyristors THl and TH4. Of course, of these two
f,5 fg 5 fh. If this condition is not met, the program contin- thyristors, only the one whose anode is positive at the instant
AMMASAIGOUNDEN AND SUBBIAH: MICROPROCESSOR-BASEDVOLTAGE 533

1
-y I msosurc frequency of
generator output M I t q e

FI E F E EI l
find count for initial

load timer with

count for interrupt
OC

1/ .cs

I
I
I
I
I
I

0 -
2A
3
A 4 2 5 2 2lI wt
I

I
(b) I
I

Fig. 3. Three-phase fully controlled rectifier (PB denotes port B of 8255A, 1.

I
and suffixes 2, 3, and 4 refer to bit numbers of that port: (a) Power
I
circuit; (b) gate trigger pulses.
I
I
of receiving the gate pulse will conduct. The pulse program I L_t Yes t
I

continues for a time interval T', . L _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - - - - - - - - --I- - - - - -

The rectifier gives an output dc load voltage corresponding Fig. 4. Flowchart for the working of voltage controller for induction
generator.
to the initial a, and this voltage is also given to the ADC
through a calibrated potential divider network. Two lines of
port B (Bo and B,) are used for sending the address latch
enable (ALE) and the start of conversion (SOC) signals to
ADC and another three lines (B,-B,) for input channel
selection. As soon as the conversion is over, the ADC sends
the end of conversion (EOC) signal to the pP through line 0
of port C. All eight lines of port A are used to read the 8-b
output data from the ADC. The pP compares the ADC
output with the reference voltage and then increases or
decreases the firing angle, depending on whether the ADC Fig. 5. Equivalent circuit of induction generator with resistance load. All
output voltage is more than v h or less than VI. reactances correspond to rated frequency.

B. Interrupt Service Routine

As the generator frequency varies with wind speed, new
values of count for (Y and 60" are to be computed at frequent
intervals. This feature is incorporated in the system by using
RST 7.5 hardware interrupt that is available in Intel 8085.
Occurrence of the interrupt is controlled by an 8253 pro-
grammable timer. The 8253 has three independent 16-b
counters with separate gate, clock, and output pins, of which
counter 1 is used in mode 0 configuration, i.e., 'interrupt on
terminal count' mode. An external clock of low frequency of
about 500 Hz is generated using a 555 oscillator and given as
input to clock 1 of 8253. A count corresponding to the
required interrupting time Ts2 is loaded into the counter.
After this specified time, the interrupt occurs, and the inter-
rupt service routine directs the program to the start. The time
Ts2can be much longer than T,, if the wind speed is fairly
steady. From the instant the interrupt occurs to the instant the
pulse program is restarted, the thyristors are off, and this off
time of the converter is only of the order of 50 ms. Nor-
mally, storage batteries are present in the system. These
batteries also ensure continuity of supply at times when the
wind velocity is below or above the normal range (i.e., when
The entire sequence of working of the program is pre-
sented as a flowchart in Fig. 4.
Wind driven self-excited induction generators are mostly
used in isolated locations where wind potential is high. In
such places, it is desirable to install the associated control
systems that are basically maintenance free. Therefore, in
such remote locations, simplicity and reliability are the most
important criteria. Only with these objectives, a basic strat-
egy using an 8-b pP and an A/D converter has been pro-
posed for the control of these wind-driven generators.
III. STEADY-STATE
ANALYSIS
The steady-state analysis of the induction generator is
made using the conventional equivalent circuit of the induc-
tion machine. However, as the operating frequency of the
generator varies with the driving speed, the equivalent circuit
 I

534 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 31, NO. 6, DECEMBER 1990

is modified, as is shown in Fig. 5 , where all the parameters

are referred to the rated frequency [ 11, [7].
-
In Fig. 5 , 4 0

fg
a = p.u. frequency = - (1) 3.5 -
fr
9
and P 3.0 -
N
b = P.U. speed = -. (2) 8 2.5 -
NS
The operating slip of the machine is then : 2.0 -
N;-N a-b
s=-- -- (3) 15 -
N. a
where N; and Ns are synchronous speeds corresponding to 1.0 -
generated frequency and rated frequency, respectively and
N = actual rotor speed. 0.5
IO00 1100 I;m 1300 1400 lXl0 1600 1700
Using this equivalent circuit, expressions for the various mor .p.ad, rev I min

performance quantities of the self-excited induction generator (a)

have been derived; a computer program was developed ear-
lier [ l]. However, when a controlled rectifier is used between
the generator and load resistance, the load resistance has to
be suitably represented in the equivalent circuit discussed as
2.5 i .o

follows:
Neglecting harmonics, the input voltage and current to the
rectifier can be written as [3], [4]

U, = fivsinwt (4)
2&
i, = -Id sin( w t - a) (5)
?r

The rectifier average output voltage is given by o $000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 b

rotor speed, rev I min

(b)
Fig. 6 . Generator load current/speed characteristics for four-pole opera-
From (4) and (3, the equivalent impedance per phase at the tion: (a) R,j = 125 a; @) R,j = 230 n.
generator terminals can be expressed as
formance prediction of induction generators are now ex-
tended to the generator-rectifier combination.
(7)
A. Prediction of Performance
Using (6) and (7), 2, can be written as A self-excited induction generator with four/six-pole com-
?r2R bination is chosen. The equivalent circuit parameters and
Ze =
18~0s = R, + jx, magnetization characteristics of this generator are given in
the Appendix. Let it be assumed that this generator is con-
where nected to a three-phase fully controlled thyristor bridge shown
in Fig. 3. For this system, the variation of generator load
(9) current with rotor speed has been predicted for various
values of a for both four-pole and six-pole settings, each
and with two different load resistances; these characteristics are
?r2Rd shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In all these cases, an excitation
xe= -
18 tan a . (10) capacitance C = 100 pF is assumed. From such curves, the
dc load current can be calculated for any rotor speed and a
The load resistance R is represented as R l a in the using the expression
equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 5. Therefore, the parameters ?r
R e and X e representing the equivalent resistance and reac- Id = -1,. (11)
tance of R should also be represented as R e / a and X , / a , &
respectively. With these modifications, the computer algo- Then, for the particular value of load resistance considered,
rithm and the expressions developed earlier [l] for the per- the dc load voltage and the generator line voltage V, can also
AMMASAIGOUNDEN AND SUBBIAH: MICROPROCESSOR-BASED VOLTA(>E 535

the prediction of performance in Section 111-A, were used,

and load tests were conducted by varying the rotor speed of
the generator. In all these tests, the required dc voltages were
obtained, which establishes the satisfactory working of the
generator-rectifier combination and the associated controls.
Both four-pole and six-pole settings of the generator were
used in the appropriate speed ranges. Variation in firing angle
with rotor speed obtained experimentally is indicated in Fig.
8 along with predicted values, and the agreement between
them is satisfactory.
Oscillographic waveforms of the output voltage and cur-
rent of the rectifier and input voltage and current to the
rectifier at steady state, when supplying 340 V to a load
resistance of 230 62, are shown in Fig. 9 for two different
speeds in the four-pole setting of the generator feeding the
rectifier.
Ideally, the output power of the wind-driven generator
should be proportional to the cube of the wind speed. There-
fore, an attempt was made to achieve this and to maintain a
constant dc voltage using firing angle control and suitable
load resistance variation. Two typical operating points ob-
-
tained in this test with a constant dc voltage of 320 V are as
2.5
follows: generator delivering 2400 W at 1430 r/min with
4
a = 22.3" at a four-pole setting and 504 W at 850 r/min
2 0 -
with a = 49.5" at a six-pole setting; both settings using a
single excitation capacitor of 100 CIF.
1.5-
2
A dc motor has been used as a prime mover, and the speed

- 1.0 -
of the motor is varied over the required speed range to
simulate the expected speed variation of the wind turbine and
the connected gear. In earlier studies, a dc motor has been
0.5 - used as the variable-speed drive for the induction generator
[4], [7]- [lo]. The results of such studies have been found to
O I I I I I I J be of relevance when the generator is installed along with the
600 700 BOO 900 1000 IIW IXK)
rotor s p e e d , rev I min windmill.
@) In the operation of self-excited induction generators, for a
Fig. 7. Generator load current/speed characteristics for six-pole operation:
(a) R , = 125 n; (b) R , = 230 0 . given capacitance value and load, there is a minimum speed
below which the excitation cannot be sustained, i.e., the
be obtained using (6). For example, referring the Fig. 6(a) operating speed range is limited. To extend the speed range,
drawn for Rd = 125 62, the value of I, = 2.0 A for a = 20' pole-changing winding has been employed in the generator.
at a rotor speed of 1295 r/min. Then, using ( l l ) , Id = 2.57 This design consideration along with other practical points
A and from (6), Vd and V, are calculated as 321.3 V and such as variation of frequency and output power with wind
253.2 (= 146.2 x 6 ) V, respectively. speed have been taken into account in the laboratory model.
Since the main requirement is to maintain a specified dc Of course, after the proposed system is installed at site along
load voltage over the working speed range of the wind-driven with the windmill, any required modification appropriate to a
generator, it is of interest to deduce the variation of firing particular location can be easily made either in the hardware
angle with rotor speed. Such curves are shown in Fig. 8 for or in the software of the system.
various values of constant dc voltages and load resistances.
These curves show that the firing angle has to be raised V . CONCLUSIONS
steeply with increase in speed to hold the dc voltage at the 1) A closed-loop system using a microprocessor-based
prescribed level. controlled rectifier has been developed for the voltage control
of wind-driven self-excited induction generators. The details
IV . EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS of the configuration and working of the system have been
The controlled rectifier was actuated by the pP-based fully described. Experimental results on the system amply
controller described in Section II. This setup was connected demonstrate the successful implementation of both the hard-
to the self-excited induction generator with the four/six-pole ware and software of the control scheme and the ease with
combination mentioned in Section 111-A. The generator was which the firing angle is automatically adjusted to maintain
driven by a dc motor. The same excitation capacitance, load the desired load voltage with varying rotor speeds.
resistances, and constant dc load voltage levels, assumed for 2) The steady-state analysis developed earlier for induc-
536 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 37, NO. 6, DECEMBER 1990

6 - pole 4 - pole 6 - pole 4-po1e

60 6C

50 50

40 40

0)
0)
(Y

m 0
0"

9 30 30
# Y

20 20

IO IO

0 0
700 900 1100 1300 1500 7 I 900 1100 1300 1500
rotor speed , rev/ min. rotor s p e e d , r e v / min

(a) (b)

6 - pole 4 -pole
6C

5c

40
c
?
a
30

20

IO

0
700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700
rotor speed, r e v / min

(c)
Fig. 8. Firing angle/speed characteristics of generator-rectifier system for
constant direct voltage ( A four-pole calculated; A four-pole experimen-
tal, 0 six-pole calculated, 0 six-pole experimental): (a) v d = 260 V,
Rd = 125 8;(b) V d = 300 V, R d = 125 8;(c) V d = 340 V, R d = 230
8.

tion generators has been extended for the generator feeding a tor has been well demonstrated in the context of using a
controlled rectifier, and the performance characteristics of controlled rectifier -scheme. The configuration of the entire
the generator-rectifier combination have been predicted. control scheme can be easily adopted for generators of any
3) The advantage of applying pole-changing windings in other rating and pole combination suitable for wind-driven
extending the operating speed range of the induction genera- applications.
AMMASAIGOUNDEN A N D SUBBIAH: MICROPROCESSOR-BASED VOLTAGE 537

E = 1
for the four-pole setting and
263 .O - 0 .05X,, 0 < X , I39 .O
343.4 - 2.16Xm, 39.0 < X, 5 52.5
410.8 - 3.48Xm, 52.5 < X, 5 67.5
850.0 - lO.OX,, 67.5 < X, 5 75.0

for the six-pole setting, where R I ,R , = stator and rotor

(ii) (referred to stator) resistance, respectively; X , , X, = stator
and rotor (referred to stator) reactance, respectively; X,,, =

REFERENCES

~~

141 C. H. Watanabe and A. N. Barreto, “Self-excited induction genera-

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APPENDIX S. S. Murthy, 0. P. Malik, and A. K. Tandon, “Analysis of
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, PAS-103, pp. 612-618, 1984.
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RI R2 x,= x2 1977.
S. B. Dewan and A. Straughen, Power Semiconductor Circuits.
four-pole 1.o 1.66 2.40 New York: Wiley, 1975.
six-pole 4.0 4.25 6.05. Peripheral Design Handbook, Intel Corp., 1981.