Design and Control of a DC Collection System for Modular-Based Direct Electromechanical Drive Turbines in High Voltage Direct Current Transmission

Abstract

In response to an increasing demand for offshore turbine-based technology installations, this paper proposes to design a DC collection system for multi-connected direct drive turbines. Using tidal stream farm as the testbed model, inverter design and turbine control features were modelled in compliance with high voltage ride-through capabilities that operate in isochronous mode suggested by IEEE1547-2018. The aim of the paper is twofold. Firstly, operation analyses in engaging a single-stage impedance source inverter as an AC-link busbar aggregator to pilot a parallel-connected electromechanical drive system. It uses a closed-loop voltage controller to secure voltage-active power (Volt/Watt) dynamics in correspondence with turbine’s arbitrary output voltage level. It also aspires to truncate active rectification stages at generation-side as opposed to a traditional back-to-back converter. Secondly, a proposition for a torque-controlled blade pitching system is modelled to render a close to maximum power point tracking using blade elevation and mechanical speed manipulations. The reserve active power generation aids with compensating an over-voltage crisis as a substitute for typical reactive power absorption. The proposed Testbed system was modelled in PSCAD, adopting industrial related specifications and real-time ocean current profiles for HVDC transmission operations. Analytical results have shown a positive performance index and transient responses at respective tidal steam turbine clusters that observe fault ride-through criterion despite assertive operating conditions.