Analysis of wind power for battery charging

One type of wind-powered battery charging will be explored in this paper. It consists of a wind turbine driving a permanent magnet alternator and operates at variable speed. The alternator is connected to a battery bank via a rectifier. The characteristic of the system depends on the wind turbine, the alternator, and the system configuration. If the electrical load does not match the wind turbine, the performance of the system will be degraded. By matching the electrical load to the wind turbine, the system can be improved significantly. This paper analyzes the properties of the system components. The effects of parameter variation and the system configuration on the system performance are investigated. Two basic methods of shaping the torque-speed characteristic of the generator are presented. The uncompensated as well as the compensated systems will be discussed. Control strategies to improve the system performance will be explored. Finally, a summary of the paper will be presented in the last section