Adaptive torque feed-forward control for wind turbine MPPT considering predicted wind speed characteristics

• The tracking bandwidth of conventional OT control is studied. • An adaptive torque feed-forward control (ATFC) approach is proposed. • The gain in torque feed-forward path is adaptively scheduled by the mean wind speed and equivalent turbulence frequency. • ATFC achieves a better trade-off between the power improvement and torque fluctuations. The growing inertia exacerbates the conflict between the slow dynamic response of wind turbines and rapidly changing wind speed, thereby diminishing the effectiveness of maximum power point tracking (MPPT). Conventional optimal torque (OT) control exhibits limited MPPT tracking bandwidth under low wind speeds with high frequency due to its exclusive focus on steady-state performance and neglect of dynamic wind characteristics. In this regard, an adaptive feed-forward torque control (AFTC) approach is proposed to dynamically adjust the MPPT tracking bandwidth in response to wind variations. The approach integrates a Kalman observer for aerodynamic torque estimation and employs the Newton-Raphson method to derive real-time wind speed. A single exponential smoothing method predicts future mean wind speed and equivalent turbulence frequency. These predicted values adaptively schedule the feed-forward gain, enabling bandwidth adaptation without altering steady-state equilibrium. Comparative analyses with the conventional OT control and the typical feed-forward control demonstrate that ATFC achieves a better trade-off between the power improvement and torque fluctuations.