Dynamics and Control of an Energy-Efficient, Power-Regenerative, Hydrostatic Wind Turbine Dynamometer
Dynamometers are used to evaluate the real-world performances of drivetrains in various loading conditions. Due to its superior power density, high bandwidth, and design flexibility, a hydrostatic power-regenerative dynamometer is an ideal candidate for hydrostatic wind turbine transmission testing....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/8/2868 |
| _version_ | 1797434785798291456 |
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| author | Biswaranjan Mohanty Kim A. Stelson |
| author_facet | Biswaranjan Mohanty Kim A. Stelson |
| author_sort | Biswaranjan Mohanty |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Dynamometers are used to evaluate the real-world performances of drivetrains in various loading conditions. Due to its superior power density, high bandwidth, and design flexibility, a hydrostatic power-regenerative dynamometer is an ideal candidate for hydrostatic wind turbine transmission testing. A dynamometer can emulate the wind turbine rotor dynamics and allow the investigation of the performance of a unique hydrostatic drivetrain without actually building the physical system. The proposed dynamometer is an energy-efficient system with counter-intuitive control challenges. This paper presents the dynamics, control synthesis, and experimental validation of a power-regenerative hydrostatic dynamometer. A fourth-order non-linear model with three inputs was formulated for the dynamometer. The strength of input–output couplings was identified, and two different decoupling controllers were designed and implemented. During wind turbine testing, the synchronous generator turns at a constant speed and the system model is linear. A steady-state decoupling controller was developed for independent control of the drive and transmission. The implemented decoupling controller demonstrated a negligible change in rotor speed for a 40 bar step increase in pressure, but a 20 bar pressure spike for a 4 rpm step change in rotor speed. However, during starting and stopping, the synchronous generator speed is not constant, and the system model is nonlinear. Therefore, a steady-state decoupling controller will not work. Thus, a decentralized controller with feed-forward control and gain scheduling was designed and implemented. A reference command was designed to avoid cavitation, pressure spikes, and power flow reversal during start-up. The experimental results show precise tracking in steady-state and transient operations. The decentralized controller demonstrated a negligible change in rotor speed for a 40 bar step increase in pressure but a 100 bar pressure spike for a 4 rpm step increase in rotor speed. The pressure spike was reduced by 80 bar with the implementation of feed-forward gain. The proposed electro-hydro-mechanical system requires less power and has the potential to reduce energy expenditure by <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>50</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:38:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-410ad8a5b2684e8b8ad115f61f79d05e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:38:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-410ad8a5b2684e8b8ad115f61f79d05e2023-12-01T20:49:15ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732022-04-01158286810.3390/en15082868Dynamics and Control of an Energy-Efficient, Power-Regenerative, Hydrostatic Wind Turbine DynamometerBiswaranjan Mohanty0Kim A. Stelson1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USADynamometers are used to evaluate the real-world performances of drivetrains in various loading conditions. Due to its superior power density, high bandwidth, and design flexibility, a hydrostatic power-regenerative dynamometer is an ideal candidate for hydrostatic wind turbine transmission testing. A dynamometer can emulate the wind turbine rotor dynamics and allow the investigation of the performance of a unique hydrostatic drivetrain without actually building the physical system. The proposed dynamometer is an energy-efficient system with counter-intuitive control challenges. This paper presents the dynamics, control synthesis, and experimental validation of a power-regenerative hydrostatic dynamometer. A fourth-order non-linear model with three inputs was formulated for the dynamometer. The strength of input–output couplings was identified, and two different decoupling controllers were designed and implemented. During wind turbine testing, the synchronous generator turns at a constant speed and the system model is linear. A steady-state decoupling controller was developed for independent control of the drive and transmission. The implemented decoupling controller demonstrated a negligible change in rotor speed for a 40 bar step increase in pressure, but a 20 bar pressure spike for a 4 rpm step change in rotor speed. However, during starting and stopping, the synchronous generator speed is not constant, and the system model is nonlinear. Therefore, a steady-state decoupling controller will not work. Thus, a decentralized controller with feed-forward control and gain scheduling was designed and implemented. A reference command was designed to avoid cavitation, pressure spikes, and power flow reversal during start-up. The experimental results show precise tracking in steady-state and transient operations. The decentralized controller demonstrated a negligible change in rotor speed for a 40 bar step increase in pressure but a 100 bar pressure spike for a 4 rpm step increase in rotor speed. The pressure spike was reduced by 80 bar with the implementation of feed-forward gain. The proposed electro-hydro-mechanical system requires less power and has the potential to reduce energy expenditure by <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>50</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/8/2868hydrostatic transmissionwind turbine transmissionpower regenerative dynamometernonlinear systemdecoupling controllerdecentralized controller |
| spellingShingle | Biswaranjan Mohanty Kim A. Stelson Dynamics and Control of an Energy-Efficient, Power-Regenerative, Hydrostatic Wind Turbine Dynamometer Energies hydrostatic transmission wind turbine transmission power regenerative dynamometer nonlinear system decoupling controller decentralized controller |
| title | Dynamics and Control of an Energy-Efficient, Power-Regenerative, Hydrostatic Wind Turbine Dynamometer |
| title_full | Dynamics and Control of an Energy-Efficient, Power-Regenerative, Hydrostatic Wind Turbine Dynamometer |
| title_fullStr | Dynamics and Control of an Energy-Efficient, Power-Regenerative, Hydrostatic Wind Turbine Dynamometer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dynamics and Control of an Energy-Efficient, Power-Regenerative, Hydrostatic Wind Turbine Dynamometer |
| title_short | Dynamics and Control of an Energy-Efficient, Power-Regenerative, Hydrostatic Wind Turbine Dynamometer |
| title_sort | dynamics and control of an energy efficient power regenerative hydrostatic wind turbine dynamometer |
| topic | hydrostatic transmission wind turbine transmission power regenerative dynamometer nonlinear system decoupling controller decentralized controller |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/8/2868 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT biswaranjanmohanty dynamicsandcontrolofanenergyefficientpowerregenerativehydrostaticwindturbinedynamometer AT kimastelson dynamicsandcontrolofanenergyefficientpowerregenerativehydrostaticwindturbinedynamometer |