Multiobjective QFT control as enabler for wind turbines with soft-soft towers

Wind energy tendency towards larger rotors and higher hub heights reach a limit when wind turbine pitch controller bandwidth is constrained by the first tower fore-aft bending moment. While most manufacturers try to find a workaround with alternative nonstandard tower designs, this paper presents a...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Arellano Aguado, Jesús, Elso Torralba, Jorge
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad Pública de Navarra
Repositorio:Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
OAI Identifier:oai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/54254
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2454/54254
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:QFT
Robust control
Soft-soft tower
Wind turbine
Descripción
Sumario:Wind energy tendency towards larger rotors and higher hub heights reach a limit when wind turbine pitch controller bandwidth is constrained by the first tower fore-aft bending moment. While most manufacturers try to find a workaround with alternative nonstandard tower designs, this paper presents a control solution based on quantitative feedback theory (QFT) that provides effective disturbance rejection while maintaining cost-effective conventional tower design for very high hub heights. Frequency domain specifications on measured and nonmeasured variables provide the control designer the insight to make the best use of the available feedback. The new control design procedure is applied to a realistic wind turbine example of 180-m hub height, showing the technical viability of the solution and a profitable business case.