Digitallycontrolledwindturbinesinmegawattsize

withdoublyfedinductiongeneratorwithoutpositionsensor
Thetechnologyinwindturbinesisinfullprogressandforeverynewturbinenewtechnologiesemerge.Thepurposeofthis
publicationistodescribeoneofthesetechnologies,theOptiSpeedTM,bothinapopularandamorecomprehensiveform.
Mostwindturbinesuseasocalledthreephasegenerator,alsocalledan
inductiongeneratortogeneratealternatingcurrents.Areasonfor
choosingthistypeofgeneratoristhatitisveryreliable,andtendstobe
comparativelyinexpensive.Thegeneratoralsohassomemechanical
properties,whichareusefulforwindturbines.Therotoroftheinduction
generatorwithshortcircuitrotorwindingcomprisesanumberofcopper
oraluminiumbars,whichareconnectedelectricallybyaluminiumend
rings.Thespeedoftheinductiongeneratorwillvarywiththerotational
forceappliedtoit.Inpractice,thedifferencebetweentherotational
speedatpeakpowerandatidleisverysmall,about1percent.






V802.0MWWindTurbinenearSrup
Thisdifferenceinpercentofthesynchronousspeediscalledthegenerator'sslip.Thusa4polegeneratorwillrunidleat1500rpm
ifitisattachedtoagridwitha50Hzcurrent.Ifthegeneratorisproducingatitsmaximumpower,itwillberunningat1515rpm.
Thisiswhytheinductiongeneratoriscalledanasynchronousgenerator.Itoperatesasynchronoustothesynchronousspeed.Itisa
veryusefulmechanicalpropertythatthegeneratorwillincreaseordecreaseitsspeedslightlyifthetorquevaries.Thismeansless
wearandtearonthetower,gearboxandothercomponentsinthetransmissionline,i.e.lowerpeaktorque,whichisoneofthemost
importantreasonsforusinganasynchronousgeneratorratherthanasynchronousgeneratoronawindturbinewhichisdirectly
connectedtotheelectricalgrid.
Theslipintheinductiongenerator,however,isafunctionofthe(DC)resistance(measuredinohms)intherotorwindingsofthe
generator.Thehigherresistance,thehighertheslip.Soonewayofvaryingtheslipistovarytheresistanceintherotor.Inthisway
onemayincreasegeneratorsliptoe.g.10%.Onmotorsthisisusuallydonebyhavingawoundrotor,i.e.arotorwithcopperwire
windingswhichareconnectedinstar,andconnectedwithexternalvariableresistors,plusanelectroniccontrolsystemtooperatethe
resistors.Theconnectionhasusuallybeendonewithbrushesandsliprings,whichisacleardrawbackovertheelegantlysimple
technicaldesignofacagewoundrotormachine.Italsointroducesparts,whichweardowninthegenerator,andthusthegenerator
requiresextramaintenance.TheVestasOptiSlipfunctiondealswiththat,avoidingtheproblemofintroducingsliprings,brushes,
externalresistors,andmaintenancealtogether.
Bymountingtheexternalresistorsontherotoritself,andmountingtheelectroniccontrolsystemontherotoraswell,youjusthave
tocommunicatetheamountofslipyouneedtotherotor.Thiscommunicationisdoneveryelegantly,usingopticalfibre
communications.
TheneweststageofthetechnologyoftheslipiscalledOptiSpeedTM ,givingpossibilityofvaryingthespeedupto30%.Inadditionto
thefact,thatthepreviouslymentionedadvantagesarefurtherenhanced,itisalsopossibletodesignspecialoperatingstrategies,
wherethepossibilityofoperatingatlowerspeedisutilised.Thisfeatureisusedinconnectionwithreductionofnoise.Another
advantageoftheOptiSpeedTMfeatureisthepossibilitytoexploitevenmoreoftheenergyintherotorandtransferittothegrid,not
forgettingthehighqualityofthepowerdeliveredtothegrid.Thefollowingchaptersofthisdocumentgivesamuchmore
comprehensivedescriptionoftheOptiSpeedTM advantages,togetherwithadetailedlookintothetechnologybehind.
Ecologicalaspects
Releasedbytheoilcrisisandinviewofthelimitedresourcesofthefossilsourcesofenergy,therewassetfocusonthepossibleuse
ofrenewableenergysourcesforproductionofpower.Reactoraccidentsandproblemswiththedisposalaswellastheirreversible
damageofthebiospherebyincreasingCO2loaddidnotstrengthenadditionallytheinterestinnewandexhaustiveenergysources.
Inthemeantimeeconomicalconceptswithintheareaofthesolarandwindenergyarose.Andthewindpowertechnologyhadthe
largestfocus,becauseoftherelativelyhighefficiencyconvertingthemechanicalenergyintoelectricity.
Thenatureofthewindenergyproduction
Withalladvantagesofthewindenergyalsodisadvantagescanbefound.Ontheonehanditisthesmallpowerdensityofthewind,
leadingtothosewide,materialintensivewindrotorsandontheotherhandtheheavilyvaryingwindsupply,whichleadstofast
fluctuationsofthemechanicalload,proportionalin3.rdpowertothewindvelocity.Inordertobeabletoperforminbothweak
windsandstorms,highdemandsisset,notonlyforthematerials,butalsotothedynamicsofthecontrollingmechanisms.Exploiting
windenergyturnsupthebasicproblemthatthepowerrequirementsusuallydonotcorrespondtotheactualproduction.This
problemcanbeminimisedbyfeedingthepowerintoahugegridwithalternativepowersources,andinthiswaybeabletomatch
supplyanddemand.Itbecomesproblematichoweveragainforwindturbinesinthemegawattclass,becausetheyareabletobring
thewindguststothegridaslargeenergyportions,causingvoltagefluctuations.
Thetechnicalchallenge
Duetothefastwindspeedvariationsthedemandrisesforgeneratorsfeaturingvariablespeed.Theresultofsuchafeature,varying
therpmaroundthenominalpoint(e.g.1500rpm),isthatnolargeadditionalportionsofenergyisputintothegrid.Thehighvarying
windenergy(turbulence)canbestoredforsecondsaspotentialenergyintherotorblades,bychangingtheirspeedwithinan
admissiblearea.Thisincreasednumberofrevolutionspreventsfluctuationsonthegridandrelievesalltheturbinemechanics.
Furthermore,theloadonthemechanismturningthebladesangleofattack(pitchmechanism)isreduced.Bychangingtheangleof
theblade,thispitchcontrolchangestheimpactofthewindontherotorinsuchawaythatitremainsatthedesirednumberof
revolutions.Thepitchmechanismmustthengoactiveonly,iftherotorthreatenstoleavetheadmissiblespeedrange.Therearetwo
technicallyrelevantgeneratortypesmeetingtherequestofvaryingnumberofrevolutions.Bothtypesarerepresentedonthe
market.
Synchronousgenerator

Home

SynchronousgeneratorisconnectedwithitsstatortoDClinkconvertersystem.Theprincipleisagenerator,whichsuppliesa
voltageandafrequencydependentonthenumberofrevolutions.Sincethesedonotfitdirectlyarigidgrid,theoutputvoltagesfrom
thegeneratormustbetransformedoverabridgerectifierintoDCvoltage(intermediatecircuit).BymeansofaconvertertheseDC
voltagesaretransformedtoACandshapedregardingamplitude,frequencyandphaseintoavoltagesuitableforthegrid.This
principleenablesapowerproductionstartingfromalownumberofrevolutionsuptothemaximumspeed.Thiswidespeedrange
meansahighenergyyield.Theentireamountofenergytothegridmustbeledhoweverbyoneormoreparalleloperating
converters.Inordertocontrolandlimitthepoweroutputtothegrid,therotorfieldhastobecontrolledfromitsownconverter
throughasetofsliprings.Thecomplexityofthisconstruction,andtherebytheexpenditure,affectstheefficiencyunfavourably.

Figure1:Synchronousgeneratorongrid
Doublyfedasynchronousgenerator
DoublyfedthreephasegeneratorisconnectedwithitsrotortoDClinkconvertersystemandwithitsstatortothegrid.The
advantageisthattheslipisproportionaltothepowerflowingthroughtheintermediatecircuit.Inordertopreventexcessiveloadof
thefrequencyconverter,onlyspeedfluctuationswithintherangeof+/30%(slips)aroundtheratedspeed(n0=1500rpm)are
allowed.Thegeneratordeliveroversynchronised(s<0,n>n0)aswellasundersynchronised(s>0,n<n0)energytothegrid.
Activepoweratstatorconnectors:
PS=(1+s)Pmech
Activepoweratrotorconnectors:
PR =sPS
Activepowersum:
PS+PR =Pmech
Slip:
s=(GPSm )/G
(PS=statorpolepairs)
Exceptfromthelosses,themainpartoftheenergyistransferredtothegridviathestatorterminals.Thusthestaticfrequency
changercanbedesignedsubstantiallysmaller.InordertominimisethelossduetotherotorefficiencyPR,therotorenergyis
suppliedtothegridthroughtheintermediatecircuitandacontrollableelectricrectifier.Byarelativelysimpleconstructioneffort,a
veryhighefficiencyisobtained.

Figure2:Doublefed3phasegenerator.
Reasonforthechoiceofthedoublefedthreephasegenerator
TheOptiSlip conceptwasmentionedintheintroduction.TheOptiSlipconceptisbasedontheinductiongeneratorwithwoundrotor
circuit,andexternalrotorresistorsmountedontheshaft.Thisconcepthassuccessfullybeenusedonseveralthousandsofturbines.
AttheOptiSpeedTM conceptthesametypeofgeneratorisused.Theonlydifferenceisthattheexternalresistorsarereplacedby
highlyreliablesliprings.Alltheexperiencefromthepreviousyearsofoperationisretained,soahighlyreliablegeneratorsystem
withwoundrotorcircuitisutilisedintheOptiSpeedTMsystem.OnenewandverypowerfulfeatureintheOptiSpeedTMsystemisthe
activetransmissionoscillationdampingsystem.Thissystemconstantlymonitorsoscillationsinthespeedofthegenerator,andif
neededactivedampingofthisisperformed.Thissystemhelpstoincreasethelifetimeofthedrivetrain.
Systemconfiguration
Fig.3depictsthatVestasstructuredthegeneratorsystemaccordingtotheconfigurationpresentedinfig.2.Theshowndirectionsof
thevoltagesandcurrentsareinconformitywiththefollowingpictures.Thestatorofthegeneratorcanbeswitchedtothegridbothin
starandindeltamode.Itkeepsthecurrentinthestatorrelativelylowalsoathighyield.Uptoapprox.800kWthesystemoperates
instarmode,andaboveandupto2MWindeltamode.This2wayoperationmodedemandsfrequentlyconnectingand
disconnectingtothegrid,forthesystemtoconfigureeitherstarordeltamode.Thisswitchingprocesscanoccurquitefrequentlyin
themiddleofthecapacityrange,anditprovestheadvantageofbeingabletoswitchonanoffrapidly.Thepresentsystemisableto
switchoffin3gridperiodsandonagain.Inpracticesuchquickswitchonandoffispreventedbyinvokingahysteresismechanism.

Figure3:Electricalsystemconfiguration
&RQWUROKDUGZDUH
Thecomplexityofthesoftwaresolutionmadeitnecessarytoutilisea3processorhardwareconstruction(Fig4).Thehostprocessor
dedicatedtothemainfunctionsandcommunicationissupportedbyveryfastDSPsinMaster/Slaveconfigurationforthecontrol
functions.AlthoughtheDSPsarefloatingpointcomputersandprogrammedinC,themasterDSPcalculatesandcontrolstherotor
connectedconverterwithasamplefrequencyof5kHz(switchingfrequency2.5kHz)and10kHz(switchingfrequency5kHz)forthe
converteronthegridside.Inordertosupportnecessarybandwidthforthereductionofcurrentharmonics,theautomaticcontrollers
forthegridconverter(SlaveDSP)haveanextrahighclockfrequency.

Figure4:Structurecontrollerboard
ThedualportRAMspermitsveryeffectivecommunicationbetweenallprocessors.OveraRS232interfacetheDSPsystemandthus
thecontrolfortestandlineupcanbeoperatedindependentlyofthehostandtheArcNetconnection.Tobeabletokeepall
parametersandvariablesincaseofpowerfailures,alldataarestoredinastaticRAM.Timecriticalmonitoringandcontrolfunctions
aresupportedbymeansoflogicdevices(LSI).ByaLSIthesampletimingoftheADCissynchronisedwiththeswitchfrequencyand
therebythecontrolfrequency.Thisensuresaminimumselfandmutualdisturbanceofthemeasuredvalues.Thehost
communicatesinthedualportRAMoveranasynchronoushandshakeprotocolwiththemasterDSP.

Theoreticalbasisofthecontrolstructures
Thetwofollowingpicturesshowtheelectricalcircuitdiagramsofthegenerator,thegridconnectedfrequencyconverterwiththe
chokecoil,thetransformerandthegrid.Additionallythecurrentandvoltagevectorswiththeappropriateanglesaredrawnin.Thus
thebasisforthedevelopmentofthecontrolalgorithmsisdetermined.

Figure5.a)Vectorschemeatgenerator

Figure5.b)Vectorschemeatgridsideinverter

OveraPLLfromthemainsvoltageU L thephaseangleisthebasisfortherotatingstatorfieldcoordinatesystem.Withinthat,red
drawnrotorcurrentcomponentsIRd andIRq aredefined(Fig.5a).ThisstatorfieldchartisidenticaltothemainsvoltagechartinFig.
5b.Theshiftofthesecoordinatesystemsaround/2oppositeG leadstothefactthatintherotatingcoordinatesystemallactive
sizesintheqaxisandallreactivevaluesinthedaxisarerepresented.Thusitisformingthebasisforthecontroloftheconverter.
ThemeasuredrotorcurrentIR runswithslipfrequencyR andtheangleoffthemechanicallyrotatingrotorandthereforealways
anACwithvariablefrequencyisalsostationary.WitharotorpositiongivertheslipangleisfoundfromandG oriscalculated
(formulainFig.5a)andthuscouldthemeasuredrotorcurrentofthecomponentsIRd andIRq bedetermined.
Controlofthestaticrotorsideinverter
WithoutrotorpositionsensortheslipangleneededforthetransformationcanbecalculatedfromthedifferenceofTheelectrical
angleissimplycalculatedfromthemeasuredrotorcurrentvaluesIRa ,IRb(theslipringscarrythismechanicaltransformationout),
whiletheanglefromtherotorcurrentvaluesmeasuredintherotorvectorchartonlycanbecalculatedindirectlyoverthegenerator
model(Fig.6).ThegeneratormodelsuppliestherotorcurrentvaluesISd,ISqwithdetailedstatorcurrentvaluesIRd,IRqinthe
rotarystatorfieldchart.Fromtheseitiseasytocalculate.Fig.5bdepictsthechartforthegridsiderotaryfrequencyconverter
andforthestationaryearthconnection.Bothcoordinatesystemshavetheircongruentcorrespondencesintherotarystatorfieldand
stationarystatorcoordinatesysteminFig.5a.Theequalityofthecoordinatesystemsleadstousingthesameangleandmakesit
veryeasytocalculatethelevelsofthecontrolsdistributedondifferentprocessorstogether.

Figure6:Rotorsideinvertercontrolstructure
Thefeedingpowerintothegridisregulatedviatherotorcurrent(Fig.6ontherightabove).Thecontroloftherotorcurrenttakes
placeinthecoordinatesystemrotatingwithslipfrequencyR ,accordingtoitstransformationoftheslipangle.Sincethe
measuredrotorcurrentshavetheslipfrequencyaselectricalfrequencylikewise,itleadstothefactthattheautomaticcontrollersin
thestationarypositionseeonlydirectcurrentsandtheautomaticcontrollerinterpretationtherebybecomesverysimple.The
allocationoftherotorcurrentinfieldbuildingdcomponentandamomentbuildingqcomponentenablesthecascadeoverlaytothe
rotorcurrentcontrolwithagrideffect,e.g.anautomaticgridreactivepowercontroller(PMG,QMG).
Inthelowerhalfoffig.6isseenthecalculationoftheslipangleSIGMAfromthegrid,indispensableofthecoordinateconversionto
therotorcurrent(IL,IR).Duetotherelativelyhighlevelofharmonicsintherotorcurrent,theanglecalculationisfiltered.This
leadstoasubstantialphaseshift,whichisdependentontheslipfrequency.Bymeansofadifferentiatingthefeedbackofthe
calculatedslipangleSIGMAtheslipfrequencyOMEGARiscalculatedandafterpriorityofthesewiththefiltertimeconstantsTI_IR,
anarctangentoperationleadstothecurrentangleofthephaseshift.Viaadditiontothecalculatedanglevalue(EPS)a
compensationofthetrackingcausedbythefiltertakesplace.InordertocalculatethestationaryangleLAMDA,thestatorcurrent
mustbecalculated.FromthistherotorcurrentIRQ_SNL,IRD_SNLinstatorfieldcoordinatescanbecalculatedbymeansofasimple
generatormodel(infig.5aitisthereddrawncomponentsIRqundIRd).ThesecurrentsmaynotbeequatedwithIRQandIRDinthe
fig.6,sinceIRQandIRDarecomponentsoftherotorslipanglecoordinatesystem.
Controlofthestaticgridsideinverter
Thecontrolofthegridsidestaticfrequencyinverter(Fig.7)takesplaceintheSlaveDSP.Apartfromtheentryofthegridandthe
statorvoltageangle(G,S)theintermediatecircuitvoltageUDConconstantly800Viscontrolledhere.AccordingtoFig.5bthe
differenceinphaseangleofcurrentandmainsvoltageisregulatedtozero.Theactivepoweristhustransportedinbothdirections
powerbythegridsidestaticfrequencyinverter.Thecontroloperatesinmainsvoltagecoordinates,sothattheautomatic
controllershavetodoitinthestationarystatusonlywithequalsizes.Overasuperiorcontrolalsodirectedreactivepowerover
IRD_REFcanbeplacedandbeimplementedthroughreactivepowercompensation(phaseshifters).

Figure7:Gridsideinvertercontrolstructure
Synchronisingtothegridwithoutrotorpositionsensor
Beforethegeneratorcanbeswitchedtothegrid,itshallbeensuredthatthevoltagescorrespondregardingamplitude,frequency
andphase.Thelargerthedeviationattheconnectingis,thehigherbalancecurrentflows.Itcanleadtomonitoringthecurrentand
topoweroffofthesystem.Inordertoavoidanydisturbanceofthegrid,thedifferentialvoltagebetweengeneratorstatorandthe
gridiskeptonaninsignificantlevel.Thisisnoteasytoimplementduetotheharmonicsinthegeneratorvoltage.Fig.8depicts
stepsinsynchronisationtothegrid.Inordertoenablethesynchronisation,thevoltagesbetweenthelines1and2ofthegridand
thestator(U L12,U S12)iscomparedregardingamplitude,frequencyandphaseposition.U D12showtheinstantdifferencesthe
amplitudedifferencedeltaU,thefrequencydifferencedeltafandtheangledifferencebetweenthesetwovoltages
DELTA_GAMMAGS.Atthebeginningofthesynchronisationprocessthestatorvoltageusuallydeviatesregardingamplitudeand
frequencyfromthemainsvoltage.Point(1)inFig.8depictshowtheamplitudeequalityisobtainedbyanamplitudecontrol.The
frequencyofthestatorvoltageU S12 isunknown,sinceitconsistsoftheunknownmechanicalrotationalfrequencymandthegiven

electricalslipfrequency R.Assoonasthestatorvoltagereachessufficientamplitude,thefrequencysofthestatorvoltagecanbe
determinedbyzerocrossoversandthedifferencetothefrequencyGonthecontrollablevaluefortheslipfrequencycanbeadded
(2).Therebythefrequencydifferencebecomes0.Inrealitythezerocrossoverrecognitionreflectsalsotheharmonicsinthe
generatorvoltage,soitbecomesameasuringerrorregardingthebasicfrequencyofthestator.Theswitchingofthefrequency
differencescauseshoweveratleastthattheanglesdifferenceslowlychanges.Thustheangledifferenceinafurtherstepcanbe
diminished(3).Evenifitcouldbediminishedwithinonescanningstep,thereductionisslowlycarriedout,inordertoavoidvoltage
stepsintherotor.Thesewouldreleasenaturaloscillationsintherotorandwoulddelayreachingthesteadybiaspointbefore
connectingtothegrid(4).








Figure8:Functionofgridsynchronisation
Duetotheharmonicscontentsoftheamplitude,frequencyphase
controllersduringtheentiresynchronisationprocess,theprocess
becomesmoredifficultwhenoperatingwithoutrotorpositionsensor.A
reasonforthatismutualinfluencinginthecontrollers.Byoptimisationof
theparametersinthecontrollers,asynchronisationtimebetween0.2
and0.3secondscouldbeachieveddespitethesecircumstances.
Reductionofthecurrentharmonicscausedbythegenerator
Withanextensioninthegridsideinvertercontrolthe5thand7thgrid
harmonicstogetherwiththeslipharmonicsaresignificantlyreduceduntil
theTHDvalueofthelinecurrentsreachesavaluelessthan1%.

Measurementsatthe2MWprototype
Feedingperformanceindependentlyoffastwindmodifications
Avariationofthesuppliedwindenergyfromthefactor8(proportionally
tothe3rdpowerofthewindvelocity)remainsthefeedingperformance
ofthegeneratorintothegridconstantlyonthedesiredvalue.These
substantialenergyfluctuationsareconvertedintorotationenergy,
wherebytheadjustmentoftheangletherotorblades(pitchangles)
ensuresthatthegeneratorratecannotrunoutofthebiaspoint(1680rpm).

Figure9:Feedingperformanceindependentlyofthewindfluctuations
Dynamicsandstiffnessofthepoweradjustmentat1MWoperatingpoint

Figure10a)150KWactivepowerchange(Ch1:PMG_REF,Ch2:PMG,Ch3:QMG)

Figure10b)Speedvariationwith200rpm(Ch1:PMG,Ch2:QMG,Ch3:SPEED)
Theverygoodperformanceofthewindturbineisreflectedalsoinastableandfastpoweradjustmentunderextremeconditions.Fig.
10adepictsthatthepoweradjustmenthasaresponsetimeofapprox.40msequaltoapprox.twogridperiods.Thusastable
operationisensuredalsoatweakgrids.Fig.6adepictsthatthedecouplingofactiveandreactivepowerisveryeffective.Fig.6b
depictsthatevenwiththechangefromundertooversynchronousoperationthepoweroutputcanbekeptconstantandthereactive
powerwith0kVAiskeptconstant,whichcorrespondstoapowerfactorof1.Thisfastpoweradjustmentenablesafastresponseto
windturbulencesorchangesinthegridload,sothatastableoperationisobtained,evenunderextremewindorgridconditions,with
thegridreactionsremaininginsignificant.
GridSynchronisationandConnection
Fig.11depictsthesequencewherethegeneratorisconnectedtothegrid.ThelinecurrentIL1isthetotalofstatorcurrentandgrid
sidestaticfrequencyconvertercurrent.Itisseenthatnosignificantcurrentspikesorinrushcurrentispresentduringgrid
connection,whenK500isswitchedfrom0to1.

Figure11:Synchronisationandconnection(Ch1:US12,Ch2:UL12,Ch3:IL1,Ch4:connector)
Effectoftheharmonicsreduction

Figure12a:Withoutharmonicsreduction

Figure12b:Withharmonicsreduction
Thetwoplotsdemonstratetheeffectivenessofthecompensationuptothe10thorderofthegeneratorandgridharmonics.

Figure13a:Flickersuppressioninactivepower

Figure13b:Flickersuppressioninreactivepower
AsitcanbeseenatFig.13powerfluctrationsarecontrolledeffectivelysothatexternaldisturbancesex.theblade/towerssageisnot
presentinthepowersignal.Duetothiseffectivepowercontrolflickercanbekeptatalowlevel.AlltogethertheOptiSpeedTMconcept
resultsinhighpowerquality.
Operation,safetyandmaintenanceconcept
Theoperationstrategyisasfollows.Atverylowwindspeedsthebladesoftheturbinewillbeplacedin45andtherotorwillstart
rotating.AtincreasedwindspeedtherotorwillaccelerateandgridconnectionofthegeneratorinStarconnectionwillhappenvery
smoothly.TheOptiTipcontrolwillnowbringtheangleofthebladestoanoptimumangle,andspeedoftherotorandthepowerto
thegridwillfollowapowerversusspeedreferencecurve.Ifthewindspeedincreasesfurtherthenthespeedoftherotorwill
increaseandhencethepowerledtothegridwillincreasealso.OperatinginStarconnectionofthestatorwindingmeansreduced
lossesingenerator,butStarconnectionisnotpossibleatnominalpower,soatacertainpowerthegeneratormustswitchfromStar
toDeltaconnection.Thisisduetothefastandeffectivecontroloftherotorcurrentspossibletodowithinjustafewseconds.At
nominalwindandatnominalpowerthepowerisnolongerincreasedwhenthewindspeedincreases.Herethepitchcontrol
combinedwiththebufferingeffectoftheinertiaintherotorenablesthepowertobecontrolledconstant.
ThesafetystrategyfortheOptiSpeedTMsystemisthesameasknownfromtheV29,V29,V39,V42,V44,V47,V63andV66
turbines.Forturbineswithindividuallycontrolledandactuatedpitchsystemforeachbladethisconceptincludesthreecompletely
separatedcontrolsystems.Justoneoftheseisabletobringtheturbineoutofoperationinacontrolledmanner.Themechanical
brakeisnotasafetycomponentanditsfunctionistohelpthepitchsystemtostoprotationcompletely.Forsmallerturbineswithone
commonpitchsystemforthethreebladesintherotor,herethebrakeisasafetycomponent.Whensuchaturbinehastobestopped
boththepitchsystemandthebrakeisutilised.
Thespeedofboththerotorandthegeneratorismonitoredbytheturbinecontroller.Furtheraseparateandexternaloverspeed
guardispresent.Bothoftheseindependentsystemsconstantlymonitorthewindturbine.Everysixmonthstheturbineneedsa
scheduledservicecheck.AdditionallytheturbineiscapabletocontactVestasServicedepartmentifanythingextraordinaryhappens.
ThisisdonethroughtheremotecontrolsystemconnectedtoalmostanyVestaswindturbine.Theservicedepartmentisthencapable
ofcheckingallsensorsintheturbine.ThisalwaysenablesVestastobringthewindturbinebackinoperationwithinveryshortwhile.
Summaryandoverview
TheOptiSpeedTMsystemisanoptimalandpowerfulsystemwhichmakesaVestaswindturbineevenmoreefficient,moreflexible
withregardstoacousticnoise,andthepowerqualityisexcellent.TheOptiSpeedTMsystemisofferedintheturbines:V52850kW,
V661.75/2.0MW,V802.0MW.AV803.0MWturbineOptiSpeedTMturbineisunderdevelopment.Theabovementionedturbineswill
notbeofferedintheUSAandinCanada.HeretheOptiSlipsystemisoffered.InthecomingyearsVestasWindSystemsexpectsto

erectturbinesallovertheworld.Inthecountryside,inmountains,offshoreanyplacewhereutilisationofthewindenergyis
economicallyfeasible.Thephysicaldimensionsoftheturbinesseemstobewithoutanylimits.Thereforetheturbineswillgrowin
sizeandinpower.TechnicallytheOptiSpeedTMisthemostoptimalandpowerfultechnologyeverlaunchedbyVestasWindSystems.
Thecontentsoftheaboveapplicationdescriptionwaswritten,togeherwithVestasWindSystems,inthefollowingpublication
Ehrenberg,J.Andresen,B.Rebsdorf,A.:
WindkraftanlagenfrdenMegawattbereich,DigitaleSteuerungeinesdoppeltgespeistenAsynchrongeneratorsohneLagegeber,Teil1
MagazineElektronik2001,Issue18,p60...67
Ehrenberg,J.Andresen,B.Rebsdorf,A.:
WindkraftanlagenfrdenMegawattbereich,DigitaleSteuerungeinesdoppeltgespeistenAsynchrongeneratorsohneLagegeber,Teil2
MagazineElektronik2001,Issue19,p78...87