A commercial-off-the-shelf synchronous reluctance motor as a generator for wind power applications

Abstract

This paper studies the feasibility of the use of a synchronous reluctance machine (SynRM), working as a generator, in a wind power generation system. The main goal of this research is to develop a reliable and inexpensive alternative for power generation with no rare-earth materials and good performance and efficiency. A full-power back-to-back converter is used to inject the converted energy into the utility. This configuration allows to supply the SynRM with the required reactive power and to manage the speed variations due to the wind. An operating mode selector is developed to provide a wide speed range of operation. The analysis is carried out based on the models and parameters of an actual commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) SynRM and a wind turbine prototype. Numerical simulation shows that the synchronous reluctance machine can operate satisfactorily converting energy in the whole wind speed range that is tolerable by the turbine.