Thermal loading of wind power converter considering dynamics of wind speed

The thermal loading of power semiconductors is a crucial performance related to the reliability and cost of the wind power converter. However, the thermal loading impacts by the variation of wind speeds have not yet been clarified, especially when considering the aerodynamic behavior of the wind turbines. In this paper, the junction temperatures in the wind power converter are studied under not only steady state, but also turbulent wind speed conditions. The study is based on a 1.5 MW direct-driven turbine system with aerodynamic model described by Unsteady Blade Element Momentum Method (BEMM), and the thermal stress of power devices is investigated from the frequency spectrum point of view of wind speed. It is concluded that because of the strong inertia effects by the aerodynamic behavior of wind turbines, thermal stress of the semiconductors is relatively more stable and only influenced by the low band frequency of wind speed variations.