Adding Feedforward Blade Pitch Control for Load Mitigation in Wind Turbines: Non-Causal Series Expansion, Preview Control, and Optimized FIR Filter Methods

Combined feedback/feedforward blade pitch control is compared to industry standard feedback control when simulated in realistic turbulent winds. The feedforward controllers are designed to reduce fatigue loads, increasing turbine lifetime and therefore reducing the cost of energy. Three feedforward designs are studied: Non-Causal Series Expansion, Preview Control, and Optimized FIR Filter. The input to the feedforward controller is a measurement of incoming wind speed, which could potentially be provided by lidar. Noncausal series expansion and Preview Control methods reduce blade root loads but increase tower bending in simulation results. The optimized FIR filter reduces loads overall, keeps pitch rates low, and maintains rotor speed regulation and power capture, while using imperfect wind measurements provided by a lidar model.