ISTSMC: An improved super-twisting sliding mode control scheme for enhanced power quality and stability in SynRG-based wind power systems

Wind energy is a powerful renewable resource, but capturing maximum power while seamlessly integrating with the electrical grid is a complex task. To strike this critical balance between efficiency and stability, sophisticated control mechanisms are essential. This paper presents a comprehensive control strategy for wind power systems (WPS) that use synchronous reluctance generators (SynRGs). The strategy uses two key components: a conventional super-twisting sliding mode (CSTSMC) control for the machine-side converter (MSC) to ensure the system tracks the wind speed reference generated by the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm, maximizing power output. However, while CSTSMC is effective for the MSC, it can cause a phenomenon chattering in the grid-side converter (GSC). To address this, the improved super-twisting sliding mode (ISTSMC) control is introduced for the GSC. This enhanced control method uses a specially designed sliding surface to significantly reduce chattering, leading to improved control reliability. This study tackles the challenges of power and current quality by proposing the ISTSMC, a robust and high-performance control technique. The paper's key contribution lies in its comparative analysis through MATLAB/Simulink simulations under varying wind speed condition. These simulations demonstrate that the proposed ISTSMC method offers significant advantages over the traditional CSTSMC approach. It achieves superior accuracy, stability, and a notable reduction in output current ripple. Notably, the ISTSMC achieves a remarkable 32.91% reduction in power ripples for grid active power and a 34.26% reduction in grid reactive power, showcasing its effectiveness in optimizing wind energy generation systems.