Wind Energy Systems : Control Engineering Design

Presenting the latest developments in the field of advanced robust control engineering design techniques for wind turbines applications, this book introduces a concurrent engineering approach to design efficient and reliable controllers for the most critical problems of multi-megawatt wind energy systems. It describes large aerodynamic flexible structures, which are working under very turbulent and unpredictable environmental conditions and are connected to a variable and demanding electrical grid. Exemplifying how to achieve future control challenges in new energy systems, the text also explores concurrent engineering methods, advanced quantitative (QFT) robust control techniques, and switching control strategies for critical real-world applications.

Presenting the latest developments in the field, Wind Energy Systems: Control Engineering Design offers a novel take on advanced control engineering design techniques for wind turbine applications. The book introduces concurrent quantitative engineering techniques for the design of highly efficient and reliable controllers, which can be used to solve the most critical problems of multi-megawatt wind energy systems.

This book is based on the authors’ experience during the last two decades designing commercial multi-megawatt wind turbines and control systems for industry leaders, including NASA and the European Space Agency. This work is their response to the urgent need for a truly reliable concurrent engineering methodology for the design of advanced control systems. Outlining a roadmap for such a coordinated architecture, the authors consider the links between all aspects of a multi-megawatt wind energy project, in which the wind turbine and the control system must be cooperatively designed to achieve an optimized, reliable, and successful system.

The textbook’s big-picture insights can help students and practicing engineers control and optimize a wind energy system, in which large, flexible, aerodynamic structures are connected to a demanding variable electrical grid and work automatically under very turbulent and unpredictable environmental conditions. The book covers topics including robust QFT control, aerodynamics, mechanical and electrical dynamic modeling, economics, reliability, and efficiency. It also addresses standards, certification, implementation, grid integration, and power quality, as well as environmental and maintenance issues.

To reinforce understanding, the authors present real examples of experimentation with commercial multi-megawatt direct-drive wind turbines, as well as on-shore, offshore, floating, and airborne wind turbine applications. They also offer a unique in-depth exploration of the quantitative feedback theory (QFT)—a proven, successful robust control technique for real-world applications—as well as advanced switching control techniques that help engineers exceed classical linear limitations.