CAREER: Control of Integrated Wind Turbine and Rechargeable Battery Systems

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award is to establish a long-term research and educational program in renewable energy, with an initial research focus on the control of an integrated wind turbine and rechargeable battery system to mitigate the effect of wind power intermittency and to maximize the life of rechargeable batteries. The integrated wind turbine and rechargeable battery system provides key enabling technology for broad installation of wind turbines nationwide. The integrated system is a switched system and presents significant challenges for control design. This research aims at understanding the complex system dynamics between the different operating modes and establishing a novel control paradigm to ensure the optimal system performance. The approach includes explicitly deriving a lower bound of the dwell time for a class of switched systems, formulating an innovative optimal nonlinear trajectory control methodology, and developing a physics-based, control-oriented battery state-of-charge model for observer design. Control algorithms will be developed and tested on an industrial-size integrated wind turbine and battery system. This research will potentially pave the road for wind energy to transform into a major contributor to the nation's overall power supply, help create clean energy jobs, and benefit society at large. The technology developed in this research could be adapted to inland, offshore, and deep-sea floating wind turbine applications. It can be used for megawatts wind farm installations, as well as roof-top single home units. The educational component of the proposal seeks to broaden the participation of members from underrepresented groups in engineering. It also focuses on engaging middle school and high school students, and their teachers in science and engineering.