Energies, Vol. 18, Pages 6154: Adaptive Determination of Damping Coefficient for Torsional Vibration Mitigation in Type-4 Wind Turbines Under LVRT Conditions

Energies, Vol. 18, Pages 6154: Adaptive Determination of Damping Coefficient for Torsional Vibration Mitigation in Type-4 Wind Turbines Under LVRT Conditions

Energies doi: 10.3390/en18236154

Authors:
Min-Jun Jo
Ye-Chan Kim
Seung-Ho Song

With the increasing grid integration of wind turbines, mechanical reliability issues have become more critical. In particular, two-mass drivetrains undergo severe torsional vibrations due to abrupt torque fluctuations during low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) events. To address this, this paper proposes an adaptive damping coefficient determination method that differs from conventional pole-based approaches. The generator speed is decomposed into steady-state and transient components, and the maximum torsional angle is directly computed by integrating the transient component to derive the optimal damping coefficient. An adaptive algorithm adjusts this coefficient in real time according to operating conditions. The proposed approach is verified through PSCAD simulations of a 4.5 MW Type-4 permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) wind turbine with a fully grid-decoupled back-to-back converter. Simulation cases combining active power levels (100% and 20%) with fault durations (20 ms and 400 ms) demonstrate that, compared with the conventional pole-based approach, applying the optimal damping coefficient reduces the maximum torsional angle by 30–37%, accelerates transient damping, and stabilizes speed and torque responses. The proposed method effectively mitigates drivetrain stress during LVRT, providing practical guidelines to enhance drivetrain reliability in Type-4 wind turbines.