Real-Time Simulation of a Wind Turbine Generator Coupled With a Battery Supercapacitor Energy Storage System

TLDR

Wind power studies of slow phenomena with detailed models are difficult offline, but a real‑time simulator can rapidly run repetitive wind profiles with detailed component models and enable hardware‑in‑the‑loop controller testing. The paper aims to address the challenges of real‑time simulation of complex, high‑frequency switching wind systems. A hybrid flow‑battery supercapacitor energy storage system is coupled to a wind turbine generator and studied via real‑time HIL simulation, with the prototype controller embedded in one simulator while the remaining system components run in a separate simulator. Simulation results demonstrate that the hybrid ESS reduces battery cost, extends battery life, and improves overall efficiency compared to the reference ESS.

Abstract

Wind power generation studies of slow phenomena using a detailed model can be difficult to perform with a conventional offline simulation program. Due to the computational power and high-speed input and output, a real-time simulator is capable of conducting repetitive simulations of wind profiles in a short time with detailed models of critical components and allows testing of prototype controllers through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL). This paper discusses methods to overcome the challenges of real-time simulation of wind systems, characterized by their complexity and high-frequency switching. A hybrid flow-battery supercapacitor energy storage system (ESS), coupled in a wind turbine generator to smooth wind power, is studied by real-time HIL simulation. The prototype controller is embedded in one real-time simulator, while the rest of the system is implemented in another independent simulator. The simulation results of the detailed wind system model show that the hybrid ESS has a lower battery cost, higher battery longevity, and improved overall efficiency over its reference ESS.