Winding Layout Considerations for an Integrated Generator-Rectifier System

An integrated generator-rectifier system is a promising architecture to harvest energy in offshore wind turbines. The system processes the majority of the incoming power using reliable, efficient, and inexpensive passive diodes operating at the generator line frequency. Elimination of capacitors at the diode rectifiers' output by appropriately phase shifting the voltages of a multiport generator further improves the reliability of the overall architecture. This article creates a generalized framework to evaluate the interactions among different generator ports, diode-bridge rectifiers, and the active rectifier that is used to control the power flow. The framework enables quantifying the effect of integration on the dc bus power ripple and power imbalance among different generator ports. An exemplary winding layout is proposed that ensures theoretically zero interaction between the passive ports, although all the ports are mounted on a magnetic structure. A 10-MW integrated generator-rectifier design and simulation proves the accuracy of the framework using coupled circuit and finite-element simulation. Finally, a laboratory prototype shows the realization of the winding layout. The proposed inductance-matrix-based framework can be used to evaluate other winding layouts to estimate the effect of magnetic coupling on the performance of the system.

Automated summary

An integrated generator-rectifier system is introduced for offshore wind turbines to harvest energy efficiently and reliably. The system utilizes passive diodes for power processing and eliminates capacitors at the rectifiers' output for improved reliability. A framework is created to evaluate the interaction among different generator ports and rectifiers, and a theoretical winding layout is proposed to ensure minimal interaction between passive ports. The accuracy and feasibility of the framework are demonstrated through design, simulation, and a laboratory prototype.