<p>The inclusion of renewable energy as wind turbines on microgrids has been increasing in popularity. However, commercial small wind turbines lack of advance electronic control systems to monitor the turbine and automatically brake for safety purposes. This paper presents the design of a modular electronic braking and monitoring system architecture that use off the shelf electronic components and open-source software. The proposed system records the turbine operational parameters and triggers a braking system when an emergency stop button is closed or when a desired electrical parameter exceeds an established threshold. The braking is accomplished by a back electromotive force created through a MOSFET that short-circuits the turbine. A capacitor is used to increase the relaxation time and protect the turbine during the transistor activation. This proposed electronic braking is a low-cost alternative that needs less maintenance, space, and mechanical complexity in comparison to other alternatives such as friction and aerodynamic braking. In addition, serial communication is used between the control system and a single board computer for user visualization and storage purpose. This system architecture was implemented in a commercial 400W micro wind turbine located at 17 feet above ground level and exposed to variable wind conditions. Testing results of turbine operating under different wind conditions demonstrate accuracy in the stored data and a noticeable drop in both the rotational speed and turbine generation when the electronic brake is triggered. Due to its adaptability, this system architecture can be implemented for micro wind turbines in any existing polygeneration microgrid as an add-on.</p>

Automatic Electronic Braking System for Commercial Micro Wind Turbine

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/POWER/POWER2021/volume/85109

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