Real-time power switch fault diagnosis and fault-tolerant operation in a DFIG-based wind energy system

As wind energy production increases, reliability and fault-tolerant operation capability of wind energy systems are becoming more important. Modern wind energy production systems use power electronic converters which are unfortunately proved to be one of their most fragile parts and responsible for most of the system downtime. Real-time fault monitoring, fault diagnosis and proper system reconfiguration in these converters are therefore mandatory for fault-tolerant operation of the converter and the whole system. In this paper, a comprehensive fault-tolerant power electronics interface for wind energy systems with doubly-fed induction generators is presented and validated. The same power production capability will be guaranteed. The proposed solution also includes a robust and very fast open-circuit switch fault diagnosis algorithm, which is not sensitive to the operation conditions and is therefore suitable for this application. Simulation, Hardware in the Loop validation and experimental tests are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.