RESEARCH ARTICLE Dynamic response and low voltage ride- through enhancement of brushless double- fed induction generator using Salp swarm optimization algorithm Ahsanullah Memon ID 1,2 *, Mohd Wazir Bin Mustafa 1 , Waqas Anjum ID 1,3 , Ahsan Ahmed 4 , Shafi Ullah 5 , Saleh Masoud Abdallah Altbawi 1 , Touqeer Ahmed Jumani 2 , Ilyas Khan 6 , Nawaf N. Hamadneh ID 7 1 School of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai, Johor, Malaysia, 2 Department of Electrical Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, SZAB Campus, Khairpur Mir’s, Sindh, Pakistan, 3 Department of Electronic Engineering, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan, 4 Department of Information Technology, College of Computer and Information Sciences, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah, Saudi Arabia, 5 Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, BUITEMS, Quetta, Pakistan, 6 Department of Mathematics, College of Science Al-Zulfi, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah, Saudi Arabia, 7 Department of Basic Sciences, College of Science and Theoretical Studies, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia * memon.ahsanullah@graduate.utm.my Abstract A brushless double-fed induction generator (BDFIG) has shown tremendous success in wind turbines due to its robust brushless design, smooth operation, and variable speed characteristics. However, the research regarding controlling of machine during low voltage ride through (LVRT) need greater attention as it may cause total disconnection of machine. In addition, the BDFIG based wind turbines must be capable of providing controlled amount of reactive power to the grid as per modern grid code requirements. Also, a suitable dynamic response of machine during both normal and fault conditions needs to be ensured. This paper, as such, attempts to provide reactive power to the grid by analytically calculating the decaying flux and developing a rotor side converter control scheme accordingly. Further- more, the dynamic response and LVRT capability of the BDFIG is enhanced by using one of the very intelligent optimization algorithms called the Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA). To prove the efficacy of the proposed control scheme, its performance is compared with that of the particle swan optimization (PSO) based controller in terms of limiting the fault current, regulating active and reactive power, and maintaining the stable operation of the power sys- tem under identical operating conditions. The simulation results show that the proposed control scheme significantly improves the dynamic response and LVRT capability of the developed BDFIG based wind energy conversion system; thus proves its essence and efficacy. PLOS ONE PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265611 May 12, 2022 1 / 24 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 OPEN ACCESS Citation: Memon A, Wazir Bin Mustafa M, Anjum W, Ahmed A, Ullah S, Altbawi SMA, et al. (2022) Dynamic response and low voltage ride-through enhancement of brushless double-fed induction generator using Salp swarm optimization algorithm. PLoS ONE 17(5): e0265611. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265611 Editor: Wei Yao, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, CHINA Received: November 10, 2021 Accepted: March 5, 2022 Published: May 12, 2022 Peer Review History: PLOS recognizes the benefits of transparency in the peer review process; therefore, we enable the publication of all of the content of peer review and author responses alongside final, published articles. The editorial history of this article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265611 Copyright: © 2022 Memon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the paper.