An Acceleration-Observer-Based Position and Load Torque Estimation Method for Wind Turbine with Sensor Faults

Speed, position, and load torque information are crucial for the stable control of wind turbines, and existing control methods heavily rely on position and torque sensors to obtain these parameters. However, under the extreme scenario of sensor faults, the performance of these control methods deteriorates significantly, often leading to instability. In this paper, an acceleration-observer-based position and load torque estimation method is proposed for wind turbines, which effectively mitigates the impact of sensor faults. The position, speed, and acceleration estimators are developed based on current and voltage sensors information instead of position and load torque sensors. Then, the load torque can be calculated directly through the current and acceleration information. Thereby, the proposed method reduces reliance on position and load torque sensors for stable control and enables effective load torque estimation even under sensor faults. Rigorous theoretical analysis is provided to show that the proposed estimation method is stable and can effectively estimate position, speed, acceleration, and load torque information. Our numerical simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits excellent dynamics, accuracy, and robustness under various operating conditions.