LADRC applied to variable speed micro-hydro plants: Experimental validation

To track the maximum power of a hydraulic turbine, the rotational speed needs to be adapted to flow rates variations, enabling higher speed tracking demands. Moreover, a Variable Speed Micro-Hydro Plant (VS-MHP) is a complex nonlinear system affected by large uncertainties. Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) can estimate and compensate the total disturbances in real-time, achieving higher robustness. A Linear-ADRC (LADRC) with the torque compensation is implemented to the speed control loop of a VS-MHP, which is tested under a real-time power Hardware-In-the-Loop benchmark. Experimental results prove its advantages for VS-MHP applications.