Using position control to improve the efficiency of wind turbine

TELKOMNIKA Telecommunication, Computing, Electronics and Control
Vol. 18, No. 6, December 2020, pp. 3240~3246
ISSN: 1693-6930, accredited First Grade by Kemenristekdikti, Decree No: 21/E/KPT/2018
DOI: 10.12928/TELKOMNIKA.v18i6.16171  3240
Journal homepage: http://journal.uad.ac.id/index.php/TELKOMNIKA
Using position control to improve the efficiency of wind turbine
Roshen Tariq Ahmedhamdi, Salam Waley Shneen
Energy and Renewable Energies Technology Center, University of Technology, Iraq
Article Info ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received Mar 27, 2020
Revised Jun 5, 2020
Accepted Jul 9, 2020
Wind energy is one of the renewable energies that can be using to generate
electricity. Increasing demand for this type of renewable energy for
sustainability and accessibility. Environmentally as it does not cause any
pollution in addition to the abundance of required equipment and less
maintenance and long operation life of its parts despite the high cost of the
system at its installation but at long term, become cheaper. Wind power
generators depend on their operation on wind speed and direction. Therefore,
it should be installing in places where the wind speed is adequate and sufficient
to rotate its rotor, it knows that wind speed is variable in its speed and direction
they change every hour and every season. In this design, many practical and
theoretical (simulation) experiments have been done which will be mentioned
and explained in details in this research shows that this mechanism raises the
efficiency of wind power generators by 80% when the rotor of the wind turbine
directed towards the wind than if they were fixed direction.
Keywords:
Renewable energy
Turbine rotation speed
Wind energy
wind power generators
This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license.
Corresponding Author:
Salam Waley Shneen,
Energy and Renewable Energies Technology Center,
University of Technology,
52 Al-Snaa street, Baghdad, Iraq.
Email: salam_waley73@yahoo.com
1. INTRODUCTION
Clean energy that called renewable energy and there is widespread popular support for using
renewable energy, particularly solar and wind energy, which provide electricity without giving rise to any
carbon dioxide emissions [1-3]. Utilization of wind energy has increased spectacularly in recent years, with
annual increases in installed capacity of around 20% in recent years [4-6]. Research into alternate sources of
energy dated back in the late 90s. Electricity can be used onshore and offshore sites to produce from wind with
a distinct difference for example in 2015, onshore wind averaged 30% capacity, and offshore 41% [5-7].
The world is growing energy need, alongside increasing population led to the continual use of fossil fuel-based
energy sources (coal, oil and gas) which became problematic by creating several challenges such as: depletion
of fossil fuel reserves, greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental [7-9]. Wind energy, the emergence
of wind as an important source of the World’s energy has taken a commanding lead among renewable sources.
Wind exists everywhere in the world, in some places with considerable energy density [10-12]. Wind energy
harnesses kinetic energy from moving air. The primary application of the importance to climate change
mitigation is to produce electricity from large turbines located onshore (land) or offshore (in sea or fresh
water) [13-15]. Onshore wind energy technologies are already being manufacture and deployed on large
scale [16-18]. Wind turbines convert the energy of wind into electricity. Meeting the needs of the developing
world with modern energy and other infrastructure technologies is a critical task for improving quality of life
and enhancing human development [19-21]. The wind turbine need the following requirements, previous
studies, for the performance improvement of a vertical axis wind turbine, aerodynamic analysis, control

TELKOMNIKA Telecommun Comput El Control 
Using position control to improve the efficiency of wind turbine (Roshen Tariq Ahmedhamdi)
3241
mechanism design and its realization of 1kw class model are carrying out. The power output is improving about
60% comparing with VAWT using fixed pitch and symmetric airfoil [22-25].
2. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
2.1. Operating principle of the system modeling
The purpose of this research is to design a wind turbine fan rotating system (yaw angle) to make it
windward, as shown in red in Figure 1. In order to test the system that has designed in this research and show
the effect of wind direction on the efficiency and speed of rotation of the wind turbine fan. A practical
experiment has conducted at the wind energy laboratory/energy and renewable energy technology center at
the University of Technology/Baghdad. Its purpose is to show how the wind direction affects the rotational
speed of the turbine fan. Where a miniature model of a turbine fan has installed, as in Figure 2. A turbine fan
has installed on a base that has the ability to change its angle as required. In addition to linking the fan outlet
with a rotational speedometer in order to provide the possibility of measuring the fan rotational speed when
changing the angle, as shown by the experiment system in Figure 3.
Figure 1. Yaw position control system Figure 2. Small-scale wind turbine rotor
Figure 3. Experimental test for the air angel of attack on the rotor
2.2. Proposed experimental and results
This simulation had two experiment include; Experiment one: This experiment shows the effect of
changing the angle of wind attack on a wind turbine fan. The test focused on the effect of changing the angle
in terms of rotational speed. The rotational speed is very important for generating electricity from wind turbines
and raising their efficiency. The higher the wind speed, the faster the rotational speed, and thus the efficiency
and the generation of wind turbines are better. Certainly, within the reasonable and permissible limits in terms
of design, otherwise at high speed cause the system to collapse. Note that there are many protection systems
for wind turbines in cases of high speed during storms. There is no room for this in this research. In this

 ISSN: 1693-6930
TELKOMNIKA Telecommun Comput El Control, Vol. 18, No. 6, December 2020: 3240 - 3246
3242
experiment, we considered the zero-degree angle to be the highest wind direction on the turbine fan, while we
considered the 90-degree angle as the lowest wind on the turbine. Three values had selected for wind speed:
4 m/s, 3.3 m/s, and 2.6 m s. Table 1 shows the results obtained.
Figure 4 shows the results of the first experiment in the form of curves, through which we can observe
the effect of changing the direction of wind on the rotational speed of the wind turbine fan and thus affect its
efficiency. From these curves we note that the highest rotational speed when the turbine fan is facing the wind
and therefore the highest efficiency and maximum generation are in this case gradually decreasing whenever
the wind angle changes until all the curves meet and become zero when you are not facing the wind despite
changing the wind speed. Table 2 shows the amount of change of the percentage of the turbine rotation speed
when changing the direction of the wind, and therefore the percentage of change of the efficiency of the turbine
obtained from the results of Table 1 as the maximum wind impact value is considered to be (100% maximum
efficiency, it gradually decreases according to the attack angle of the wind on the fan.
Table 1. Output results of experiment 1
Air angle of attack (Degree)
Wind speed = 4 m/s Wind speed = 3.3 m/s Wind speed = 2.6 m/s
Turbine Speed (rpm) Turbine Speed (rpm) Turbine Speed (rpm)
0 Max effect 545.672 450.180 354.687
10 511.568 409.254 327.403
20 477.463 388.791 300.120
30 457.000 300.120 259.194
40 368.329 252.373 177.343
50 263.287 218.269 143.239
0 163.701 184.164 114.591
70 111.862 111.862 83.215
80 13.641 6.820 4.092
90 Min effect 6.820 0.00 0.00
Figure 4. he Wind angle of attack Vs. turbine rotor speed/output results
Table 2. The relation between wind angle and changing of the efficiency according to wind speed
Wind angle of attack
(Degree)
Efficiency (%) wind
speed 4 m/s
Efficiency (%) wind
speed 3.3 m/s
Efficiency (%) wind
speed 2.6 m/s
0 100 100 100
10 94 91 93
20 88 87 85
30 84 68 74
40 68 56 50
50 49 49 41
60 30 41 33
70 21 25 24
80 3 2 2
90 2 0 0
Figure 5 shows the curves of changing the efficiency of the turbine relative to changing the angle of
the wind attack, and we note that whenever the turbines are facing the wind, they give the highest efficiency, i.e.,
a direct relationship between them. Wind direction the system rotates the fan towards the wind to avoid low
generation efficiency. A control system was designing for the angle intended to rotate the turbine fan-fastening tower,
Wind Angle of Attack Vs. Turbine Rotor Speed
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Wind Angle of Attack (Degree)
TurbineRotorSpeed(RPM)
Wind Speed 4m/s
Wind Speed 3.3 m/s
Wind Speed 2.6 m/s

3243
so that it faces winds, Figure 6 showing the box representation of it. This system we note that there are two of
the line. It is possible to work with one of them if the line reveals the angle within it. However, it is better to
use the two because, through the experiments conducted, it has found that when using two lines as a feedback,
the response is better in terms of speed, accuracy, stability and damping of the higher values (damping for
the overshoot).
Figure 5. the relation between wind angle of attack and output efficiency for different wind speed
Figure 6. The designed position block diagram
Experiment two : a practical experiment was conducting in the control laboratory in the control
and systems engineering department at the University of Technology/Baghdad. To link the control system to
the angle, as shown in Figure 7. Where the set value of the system was an electrical signal fed to the system by
means of an input potentiometer, which represents the value of the direction of the wind, which comes from
the wind direction sensor. As for the output of this system, it is an electrical signal that rotates the tower until
the error rate becomes zero between the feed signal and the return signal (set value and feedbacks). Then
the system stops rotating, and this represents that the tower has become windward in order to obtain the highest
speed and working efficiency of the turbines. The idea of this system depends on the use of potentiometers,
which is a resistance of a variable, circular shape that has the ability to rotate by 300 degrees.
Among the characteristics of the rotating resistors that had used in this experiment are the angles
gradations on them in degrees, so that any external voltage can read in voltages or degrees as shown in Figure 8.
Table 3 shows the practical results of the aforementioned experiment, where the wind attack angle is represented by
the value of the output from the input variable (input potentiometer), and the angle of rotation of the tower
(yaw angle) is represented by the output voltage (the output angle) of the output variable resistance (output
potentiometer). Figure 9 shows the results mentioned in Table 3, in the form of curves.
Wind angle of attack Vs. Efficiency
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Wind angle of attack (degree)
Efficiency(%)
Wind speed = 4 m/s
Wind speed = 3.3 m/s
Wind speed = 2.6 m/s

 ISSN: 1693-6930
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Figure 7. designed position control system experimental work Figure 8. Rotary potentiometers used
Figure 9. Output results for Table 3
Table 3. Output results for the position control system test
I/P Air Angle of Attack (Degree)
O/P Angle of the Nacelle (Degree)
at Gain=1.7 with 1 Feedback at Gain=1.4 with 1 Feedback at Gain=1 with 2 Feedback
0 0 0 0
10 17 14 10
20 33 26 21
30 50 38 33
40 67 51 44
50 84 64 54
60 101 76 66
70 116 90 75
80 133 103 87
90 150 118 98
From these curves, it is clear that the Output angle follows the Input angle, taking into account the gain
value used (gain). Where I used several values of gain (1, 1.4 and 1.7), where when the input signal is entered a
signal is generated that powers the engine. The motor is connecting to a gearbox that rotates the variable resisting
output, which in turn gives an electrical signal that is proportional to its rotation angle. It is feeding to the
comparator circuit to give an error signal that powers the system until the error signal becomes zero, then the
system stops. This response is one of its disadvantages. It is slow for increasing its speed; we either increase the
gain value or tie a second return line from the engine. The movement of the engine is converted to an electrical
signal by (tacho generator) and fed through the second reflex line to the comparator in order to be compared with
the input signal and stop when the error rate becomes zero (the direction of the fan in the direction of the wind).
There is an error rate in these readings due to the accuracy of the reading (readings). Loss of electrical
appliances (losses) and accuracy of the devices used (accuracy). In the case of using a single position feedback
line, we notice that the response is slow and for increasing the response speed. The second feed line (velocity
feedback) has linked, which increases the speed, but we see the status of the overshoot signal in addition to
the frequency in the output signal (oscillation), which has reduced by the first feed line. In other words, the two
lines of feeding are better to get the better response, even in terms of the error rate in the response, as shown in
the attached Table 4 and the curves in Figure 10.
Wind Angle of Attack Vs. Output Angle of Nacelle
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Wind of Attack (Degree)
O/pAngleofNacelle(Degree)
Gain=1.7
Gain=1.4
Gain=1

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Table 4. Error signal between I/P and O/P signals
I/P Air Angle of Attack
Error of O/P Angle of the Nacelle according to input
at G=1.7 with 1 F.B at G=1.4 with 1 F.B at Gain=1 with 2 F.B
0 0 0 0
10 0 0 0
20 1 2 1
30 1 4 3
40 1 5 4
50 1 6 4
60 1 8 6
70 3 8 5
80 3 9 7
90 3 8 8
Figure 10. Shows the amount of error between the input signal and the exit signal, and according to the gain
values used. Where we note the lowest percentage of errors is at the highest value of the gain and when
linking the two feeding lines
3. CONCLUSION
Many studies try to make the turbine rotation speed within the normal limits necessary for its operation
and at the same time to protect it from collapse when rotating at high speed due to high wind speed. In this
research, a mechanism has been designed to direct the wind energy rotor of the wind turbine to the wind
direction when the wind change its direction to increase the rotational speed in order to increase the efficiency
of generating electric power and certainly within the limits allowed. The results in this work shows that this
mechanism raises the efficiency of wind power generators by 80% when the rotor of the wind turbine directed
towards the wind than if they had fixed direction.
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BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS
Roshen Tariq Ahmedhamdi is currently lecturer in the Energy and Renewable Energies
Technology Center, University of Technology, Iraq. I received my BSc. degree from University
of Technology, Baghdad, IRAQ (1984) from Control and Systems Engineering Department,
followed by MSc. (2003) in Control Eng. from University of Technology, Baghdad, IRAQ.
His fields of interest are control engineering, Matlab software and Simulink and renewable
energies, E-mail: 11019@uotechnology.edu.iq
Salam Waley Shneen received his BSc. degree in electrical engineering and education from
University of Technology Technical Education Department, Iraq-Baghdad, in 1998. He
received his Msc. degree in electrical engineering and education from University of Technology
Technical Education Department, Iraq-Baghdad, in 2005. Presently, he received his Ph.D in
Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology
(HUST) in 2016. He joined a Lecturer of Energy and Renewable Energies Technology Center,
University of Technology/Baghdad, Iraq. His fields of interest are power electronic, electronic,
control, electric machine and Renewable Energy. E-mail:salam_waley73@yahoo.com.

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