In order to lay the research foundation for the protection relay in the wind power integration

this paper analyzes general fault characteristics of wind power system based on the controlled characteristics of wind turbine generators and the features of power electronic devices. The fault characteristics of wind power system are determined by the source and the network topology. The influence factors of wind power source are first analyzed based on the structure of wind turbine generator. Then

depending on the control theory of wind power

the general fault characteristics of wind power source are studied with the test data of a single wind turbine generator in the low-voltage ride through (LVRT) process. Finally the general fault characteristics are verified by wind power system simulation and field fault record data. The research results reveal that under the control effect and the limit of power electronics

the wind power source has the fault characteristics of weak feedback

high harmonics

frequency deviated

and unstable source impedance. This work is supported by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2012CB215105).