Grid-side inverter thermal cycling analysis of 1.6 MW Doubly-Fed Induction Generation wind turbine and life-time estimation

摘要

This paper presents a simulation of wind turbine driven by a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG), the rotor is fed through a two level inverter using Space Vectors Pulse Width Modulation (SVM). LabVIEW and Multisim are used to co-simulate the control and power electronics steps respectively. The thermal models of Multisim are used in order to analyze the thermal performance of IGBTs under different zones of operation of the electric machine. After that, the lifetime of the power electronics devices is estimated using the modified Coffin-Manson law of the LESIT project. The work demonstrate that the most demanding conditions are at nominal power of the converter while for underrated condition the damage due to thermal loading is minimum. This could be exploit increasing the switching frequency in order to enhance power output to the electric grid.