Abstract

The development and evaluation of a nonlinear pitch controller for wind turbine blades and the design and modeling of an associated actuator and controller was examined. The pitch actuator and controller were modeled and analyzed using Pneumatically Actuated Muscles (PAMs) for actively pitching the wind turbine blade. PAMs are very light and have a high specific work and a good contraction ratio. Proportional Integral and Derivative (PID) controllers were envisaged for the wind turbine pitching system at the blade tip due to its routine usage in the wind turbine industry. Deployment of controllers enables effective pitch angle tracking for power abatement at various configurations. The controller was subjected to four pitch angle trajectory signals. PID controllers were tuned to achieve satisfactory performance when subjected to the test signal. Low pitch angle errors resulted in satisfactory blade pitch angle tracking. Deployment of these controllers enhances wind turbine performance and reliability. The data suggest that the pitch system and actuator that was modeled using PAMs and PID controllers is effective providing robust pitch angle trajectory tracking. The results suggest that the proposed design can be successfully integrated into the family of wind turbine blade pitch angle controller technologies.

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