NOLCO — Nonlinear Control Lab for Wind Turbines

A two-part lab on nonlinear control design for variable-speed wind turbines, covering aerodynamic torque/pitch control and PMSG electrical control, from feedback linearization to sliding mode and super-twisting algorithms.

Instructor: Moein Sarbandi, Prof. Franck Plestan

Term: Fall

Location: École Centrale de Nantes — EU-CORE Master Programme

Time: TBD

Course Overview

NOLCO is a hands-on lab for the EU-CORE Master Programme (European Master on Control of Renewable Energy Systems), focused on designing nonlinear controllers for variable-speed wind turbines operating in Region III (rated power regulation). By the end of the lab, students will be able to:

  • Derive and linearize the nonlinear aerodynamic model of a wind turbine rotor
  • Design an input-output linearization controller for rotor-speed regulation
  • Analyze closed-loop robustness under wind-speed disturbances and model uncertainty
  • Design and tune first-order sliding mode and super-twisting controllers, including dynamic-gain variants
  • Model a permanent-magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) in the dq-frame
  • Design a coupled electro-mechanical control scheme integrating aerodynamic and electrical control
  • Design and analyze an adaptive super-twisting controller under parameter uncertainty

Prerequisites

  • Nonlinear control theory (feedback linearization, Lyapunov stability)
  • Sliding mode control fundamentals
  • Basic familiarity with Simulink

Materials

The full lab subject (Parts I and II) is attached to each session above, alongside the provided Simulink model used for evaluating all controllers.

Schedule

Week Date Topic Materials
1 TBD Part I — Aerodynamic control

Nonlinear model of the aerodynamic subsystem, region-III power regulation, input-output linearization, and robustness under disturbances. Progresses to first-order sliding mode control with an equivalent control term, a dynamic-gain variant, and a super-twisting algorithm to reduce chattering.
2 TBD Part II — Electrical part control (PMSG)

Introduces the permanent-magnet synchronous generator model and couples it with the aerodynamic subsystem. Covers input-output linearization for full electro-mechanical control, robustness to parameter uncertainty, and an adaptive super-twisting controller with a tuned adaptation law.