Sensor fault detection and isolation in doubly-fed induction generators accounting for parameter variations

A fault detection and isolation (FDI) system for monitoring rotor current sensors in a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) for wind turbine applications is presented. The FDI system is designed so that the effect of parameter variations (resistances and inductances) is minimized. The residual generation is based on the generalized observer scheme (GOS) including parameter estimation. A decision system made of a combination of vector CUSUM (Cumulative sum) algorithms is used to process the residual vector and to achieve detection and isolation of incipient (small magnitude) faults. The approach is validated using signals obtained from a simulated vector-controlled DFIG.