Mission-profile based multi-objective optimization of power electronics converter for wind turbines

To help mitigate some of the challenges associated with the wide spread adoption of the stochastic wind power, wind turbine with full-scale power converter (Type D) is preferred. Since full power is processed by the power converter in a type D wind turbine, it is important to improve its efficiency and reduce the cost per kW to achieve lower cost of energy. The power produced by the wind turbine varies in a wide range and the conventional design approach of optimizing converter at a specific loading condition may be sub-optimal. To overcome this challenge, a mission-profile based multi-objective optimization approach for designing power converter is presented. The objective is to minimize the energy loss for a given load profile as against the conventional approach of minimizing power loss at specific loading conditions. The proposed approach is illustrated by designing a grid-side power converter for 2 MW, 690 V wind turbine. The loss and volume models of the semiconductor and passive components have been discussed and design procedure has been demonstrated.