Protection for DFIG using the d-q Equivalent Circuit

A doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) system has been widely used in the modern wind turbines due to variable-speed operation, high efficiency and small converter size. It is well known that an inter-turn fault of a generator is very difficult to be detected. The DFIG system uses a wound rotor induction machine so that the magnetizing current of the generator can be fed from both the stator and the rotor. This paper proposes a protection algorithm for a DFIG using the d-q equivalent circuit in the time domain. In the case of a DFIG, the voltages and currents of the rotor side as well as the voltages and currents of the stator are available. The proposed algorithm estimates the instantaneous (i.e., converted into the stationary frame) induced voltages from the rotor and the stator sides. If the difference between the two estimated induced voltages exceeds the threshold, the proposed algorithm detects the inter-turn fault. The algorithm can detect a inter-turn fault of a winding. The performance of the proposed algorithm is validated using a PSCAD/EMTDC simulator under inter-turn fault conditions and normal operating conditions such as an external fault and the change of the wind speed.