Doubly Fed Induction Generator Control Strategies in Renewable Energy Applications

Doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs) serve as the workhorse for variable‐speed wind turbines and emerging microgrid architectures by offering decoupled control of active and reactive power. Their dual‐converter structure—comprising a stator directly connected to the grid or DC bus and a rotor power converter—permits efficient energy capture over a wide wind speed range, enhanced fault‐ride‐through capability and support for grid‐forming functions in islanded operation. Control strategies have evolved from classic field‐oriented control and direct torque control towards advanced model predictive schemes, direct slip‐angle approaches and hybrid vector‐droop mechanisms. These methods target the reduction of torque ripple, harmonics and DC‐bus voltage oscillations while maintaining voltage and frequency stability under variable loads and weak‐grid conditions. Recent trends emphasise converter‐side inertia emulation, sensor‐less operation and integration into low‐voltage DC grids. Taken together, these developments underpin the global transition towards higher renewable penetration by improving dynamic response, power quality and overall system resilience.

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Technical terms

Doubly Fed Induction Generator: A wound‐rotor induction machine with bidirectional power converters on stator and rotor circuits enabling variable‐speed operation and independent active and reactive power control.

Field‐Oriented Control: A vector control method that decouples torque and flux regulation by aligning stator or rotor flux with a synchronously rotating reference frame.

Direct Torque Control: A converter switching technique that directly regulates electromagnetic torque and flux without requiring separate pulse‐width modulation stages.

Space Vector Modulation: A method of synthesising sinusoidal three‐phase voltages by optimally selecting converter switching vectors to approximate a reference vector.

Model Predictive Control: An optimisation‐based control strategy that forecasts future system behaviour and computes converter switching actions to satisfy multiple performance objectives.

Direct Slip Angle Control: A scheme that directly regulates the electrical slip angle of a DFIG to achieve precise torque, flux and DC‐bus voltage management.

References

1. Doubly Fed Induction Machine-Based DC Voltage Generator with Reduced Oscillations of Torque and Output Voltage. Energies (2023).
2. Direct slip angle control for rotor side converter of standalone DFIG‐DC system. IET Renewable Power Generation (2022).
3. Optimizing DFIG‐DC system performance via model predictive control: Torque ripple, DC voltage drop, and THD reduction. Energy Science & Engineering (2024).