DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF A MICROCONTROLLERBASED DEVICE FOR SPEED COMPENSATION IN WIND TURBINE IN MINNA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This work provides the solutions to the technical challenges of output power fluctuations and intermittencies associated with wind turbines due to a continuously varying input of wind speed and an everchanging wind direction. The design comprises of the wind sensing, electronic control and electric motor sections. Microcontroller technology using Atmega328P, integration of control algorithms, local wind data from wind sensors, precise motor control mechanisms and simulation techniques were applied. When incorporated into a conventional wind turbine, it equips the turbine with a wind-speed reinforcement capability. Simulation results show that the designed circuit has demonstrated tremendous capability to making-up for low power output emanating from low wind speed and to harvest available wind irrespective of originating wind direction. This, it does by generating appropriate speed compensation data in order to reinforce the rotors speed. It was recommended that the wind turbine control device so designed be modelled and evaluated in order to validate the optimized performance.