Experimental Investigation of Controlled and Uncontrolled Rectifiers for Low-Power Wind Turbines

Abstract

The holistic objective of producing 100% renewable generated electricity motivates the development of low-power and efficient domestic wind turbines. The wind turbine’s efficiency can be maximized by operating it in a variable speed configuration, thus harvesting all the wind power. However, the harvesting process requires a two-stage conversion from AC to DC and from DC–DC or DC–AC. The paper aims to analyze the performance of the first stage of AC–DC rectification in terms of output voltage ripple and voltage regulation when the loading conditions vary abruptly. In addition, this work investigates the basic uncontrolled and controlled rectification methods for low-power wind turbines. The role of the output capacitance and its effect on output voltage ripples is illustrated. Finally, the paper highlights the design of a three-phase controlled rectifier using a simple yet effective firing angle control of a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) device. The delay caused due to the firing angle variations is reported in the simulations and experimental results to support the conclusion drawn from this study.