Comparison of sensorless control methods for small permanent magnet synchronous generators in wind energy systems

Abstract

The model reference adaptive system, the phase-locked loop, and the Arctangent approach are the three sensorless control strategies for permanent magnet synchronous generators utilized in wind energy conversion systems that are thoroughly compared in this work. To maximize wind energy extraction and guarantee precise speed/position monitoring, these estimators using only voltage and current measurements, are combined with vector control. According to MATLAB/Simulink simulation results, the model reference adaptive system’s better dynamic performance was confirmed by achieving the lowest mean absolute error of 0.0063 and a root mean square error of 0.0222. Despite having slightly higher errors, the phase-locked loop remained remarkably stable. The susceptibility of the Arctangent approach to model fluctuations was demonstrated by its larger estimation deviations. A sensitivity analysis showed that while inductance variations had a considerable impact on performance, particularly for the model reference adaptive system, a ±20% change in stator resistance had almost no effect.