Desig n &

Im pl em enta tion of va rious MPPT Al g orithm s for Photovol ta ic Sy stem s using PSIM
A PROJECT REPORT Submitted by ARUMUGAM.R (97408105701) KUTHALINGAM.C (97408105022) PATTUSELVAM .S (97408105035) THIRUVENGADAM.M (97408105059)

Sol a r Cha rg e Controll l er to im prove the effic ienc y of Sta nda l one

In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING in ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, TIRUNELVELI-627007 ANNA UNIVERSITY ::CHENNAI 600 025 APRIL 2012

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified

that this project report Desig n & Im pl em enta tion of va rious

MPPT a l g orithm s for Sol a r Cha rg e Controll l er to im prove the effic ienc y of Sta nd a l one Photovolta ic Sy stem s using PSIM is the Bonafide work of ARUMUGAM.R (97408105701),KUTHALINGAM.C (97408105022),

PATTUSELVAM .S (97408105035),THIRUVENGADAM.M (97408105059) , who carried out the project work under my supervision.

SUPERVISOR

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

CERTIFICATE OF EVALUATION
Government College Of Engineering, Tirunelveli-7 Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Desig n & Im pl em enta tion of va rious MPPT a l g orithm s for Sol a r Cha rg e

Controll l er to im prove the effic ienc y of Sta nd - a l one Photovol ta ic Sy stem s using PSIM Submitted by ARUMUGAM.R (97408105701) KUTHALINGAM.C (97408105022) PATTUSELVAM .S (97408105035) THIRUVENGADAM.M (97408105059) Done under the supervision of Prof. INDRA GETZY DAVID, M.E., The reports of the project work submitted by the above students in partial fulfillment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Anna University Chennai were confirmed and evaluated. Submitted for the Anna University Examinations held at Government College of Engineering, Tirunelveli - 7 on 18.04.2012

INTERNAL EXAMINER

EXTERNAL EXAMINER

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Our first and foremost praises and thanks to God, the almighty for his valuable grace upon us to complete this project. We submit our sincere thanks to our Principal

Dr.V. LAKSHMI PRABHA., Head of the Institution, Government College of Engineering, Tirunelveli who showed a deep solitude on all of us regarding this project work. With great pride and immense pleasure we express our deep sense of gratitude and profound thanks to Prof .INDRA GETZY DAVID, M.E., Head of the Department, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Tirunelveli, for encouraging us to undertake the project work and who was an instrumental brain behind this project. We extend our special thanks to Superintending Engineer Auto Substation Muthaiyapuram,Tuticorin for permitting us for a visit during power apparatus testing. Next we express our sincere thanks to our faculty advisor

Mrs.M.GNANA SUNDARI,M.E, Asst.professor of EEE for leading us in the way of completion of this project. We also express our sincere thanks to all the faculty members of Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering for their cooperation in completing this project. We also offer special thanks to our parents who have sacrificed greatly in making this project possible. We thank all those who have helped directly and indirectly in our project.

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER LIST OF TABLES TITLE PAGE NO (i)

LIST OF FIGURES

(ii)

1 2

INTRODUCTION PV ARRAY MODELLING 2.1 Photovoltaic modules 2.2 Equivalent circuit of a solar cell 2.3 Open circuit voltage, short circuit current and maximum power point 2.4 Fill Factor 2.5 Temperature and irradiance effects

1 5 6 7 8 9 10 15 16 17 17 18 19

SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER 3.1 MPPT based solar charge controller 3.2 Converter choice for MPPT 3.3 Boost converter 3.3.1 Mode1 operation of boost converter 3.3.2 Mode2 operation of boost converter

MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING ALGORITHM 4.1 An overview of maximum power point tracking 4.2 Different MPPT techniques 4.2.1 Perturb and Observe 4.2.2 Incremental conductance method

21

22

24 24 28 34 35 36 37 39

SIMULATION AND EVALUATION 5.1 PSIM 5.2 Circuit structure 5.3 Solar cell models 5.4 Simulation model of Perturb & Observe algorithm for MPPT 5.5 Limitations of Perturb & Observe method 5.6 Simulation model of incremental conductance method for MPPT 5.7 Analysis & discussions of Simulation results 5.8 Conclusion

41 42

43

47

ABSTRACT

This project describes a method for obtaining optimal power from a small PV panel with maximum power point techniques. In an age of dwindling fossil fuels and climate change a lot of attention is being been focused on renewable forms of energy such as photovoltaic (PV) cells. The Photovoltaic cell is a semiconducting device that absorbs light and converts it into electrical energy in the form of DC. The DC power extracted from the PV array is synthesized and modulated by the converter to suit the load requirements. In general, PV system consists of a PV array, solar charge controller, rechargeable battery, solar inverter and loads. The aim of this project work is to study the design of Solar Charge Controller using various Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithms. Further, the various design techniques are simulated in the Power SIM Software Environment and their strengths and weakness are evaluated.

Design & Implementation of various MPPT Algorithms for Solar Charge Controller to improve the efficiency of Standalone Photovoltaic System using PSIM

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

We believe that the clean and inexhaustible power of sunlight will be the most promising resource in mankind's quest to develop sustainable energy in the 21st century and beyond." -Hirofumi Tezuka, director and general manager Kyocera Corporation, Solar Division

1.1 Introduction We have only one planet that we can call home. Yet, we are slowly destroying this home with every litre of fossil fuel that we burn every day. No option, you say? Of course there's an option. The Sun. India is one of the sunniest countries in the world, with 250 300 sunny days every year. And we let this wonderful bounty of nature go to waste. Due to recent developments in photovoltaic technology, one can easily convert solar energy to electrical power and store it for use whenever we need it. Solar energy is free, virtually inexhaustible and does not pollute the planet. Surprisingly, it is also very economical in the long run. As people are much concerned with the fossil fuel exhaustion and the environmental problems caused by the conventional power generation, renewable energy sources and among them photovoltaic panels and wind-generators are widely used now.

The efficiency of a PV plant is affected mainly by three factors: the efficiency of the PV panel (in commercial PV panels it is between 8-15% ) the efficiency of the inverter (95-98 % ) the efficiency of the MPPT algorithm (which is over 98% )

Improving the efficiency of the PV panel and the inverter is not easy as it depends on the technology available, it may require better components, which can increase drastically the cost of the installation. Instead, improving the tracking of the maximum power point (MPP) with new control algorithms is easier, not expensive and can be done even in plants which are already in use by updating their control algorithms, which would lead to an immediate increase in PV power generation and consequently a reduction in its price.

MPPT algorithms are necessary because PV arrays have a nonlinear voltagecurrent characteristic with a unique point where the power produced is maximum. This point depends on the temperature of the panels and on the irradiance conditions. Both conditions change during the day and are also different depending on the season of the year. Furthermore, irradiation can change rapidly due to changing atmospheric conditions such as clouds. It is very important to track the MPP accurately under all possible conditions so that the maximum available power is always obtained.

In this project, the perturb and observe (P&O) and incremental conductance (InCond) algorithms are analyzed in depth and tested according to the standard conditions mentioned above. After that, improvements to the P&O and the InCond algorithms are suggested to succeed in the MPP tracking under conditions of changing irradiance.

To test the MPPT algorithms according to the irradiation profiles proposed in the standard, a simplified model was developed, because the simulation time required in some of the cases cannot be reached with the detailed switching model of a power converter in a normal desktop computer. The reason for that is that the computer runs out of memory after simulating only a few seconds with the complete model. Finally, each method is evaluated and their strengths and weakness are identified.

CHAPTER 2

PV ARRAY MODELLING

2.1 PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES Solar cells consist of a p-n junction fabricated in a thin wafer or layer of semiconductor. In the dark, the I-V output characteristic of a solar cell has an exponential characteristic similar to that of a diode.

Fig 2.1 Basic Solar Cell Construction When exposed to light, photons with energy greater than the band gap energy of the semiconductor are absorbed and create an electron-hole pair. These carriers are swept apart under the influence of the internal electric fields of the p-n junction and create a current proportional to the incident radiation. When the cell is short circuited, this current flows in the external circuit; when open circuited, this current is shunted internally by the intrinsic p-n junction diode. The characteristics of this diode therefore set the open circuit voltage characteristics of the cell.

2.2 Equivalent circuit of a solar cell The solar cell can be represented by the electrical model shown in Figure.

Fig 2.2 Electrical model of Solar cell Its current voltage characteristic is expressed by the following equation: [
( )

(1)

where I and V are the solar cell output current and voltage respectively, I0is the dark saturation current, q is the charge of an electron, A is the diode quality (ideality) factor, k is the Boltzmann constant, T is the absolute temperature and RS and RSH are the series and shunt resistances of the solar cell. RS is the resistance offered by the contacts and the bulk semiconductor material of the solar cell. The origin of the shunt resistance RSH is more difficult to explain. It is related to the non-ideal nature of the pn junction and the presence of impurities near the edges of the cell that provide a short-circuit path around the junction. In an ideal case RS would be zero and RSH infinite. However, this ideal scenario is not possible and manufacturers try to minimize the effect of both resistances to improve their

products. Sometimes, to simplify the model, the effect of the shunt resistance is not considered, i.e. RSH is infinite, so the last term in the above equation is neglected. A PV panel is composed of many solar cells, which are connected in series and parallel so the output current and voltage of the PV panel are high enough to the requirements of the grid or equipment. Taking into account the simplification mentioned above, the output current-voltage characteristic of a PV panel is expressed by an equation, where np and ns are the number of solar cells in parallel and series respectively. [
( )

(2)

2.3 Open circuit voltage, short circuit current and maximum power point Two important points of the current-voltage characteristic must be pointed out: the open circuit voltage VOC and the short circuit current ISC. At both points the power generated is zero. VOC can be approximated from (1) when the output current of the cell is zero, i.e. I=0 and the shunt resistance RSH is neglected. It is represented by equation (3). The short circuit current ISC is the current at V = 0 and is approximately equal to the light generated current IL as shown in equation (4). ( ) (3) (4)

The maximum power is generated by the solar cell at a point of the current-voltage characteristics, where the product VI is maximum. This point is known as the MPP and is unique, as can be seen in Figure 2.3, where the previous points are represented.

Fig 2.3 Characteristics of Solar Cell 2.4 Fill factor Using the MPP current and voltage, IMPP and VMPP, the open circuit voltage (VOC) and the short circuit current (ISC), the fill factor (FF) can be defined as: (5) It is a widely used measure of the solar cell overall quality.

It is the ratio of the actual maximum power (IMPPVMPP) to the theoretical one (ISCVOC), which is actually not obtainable. The reason for that is that the MPP voltage and current are always below the open circuit voltage and the short circuit current respectively, because of the series and shunt resistances and the diode depicted in Figure 2.2. The typical fill factor for commercial solar cells is usually over 0.70. 2.5 Temperature and irradiance effects Two important factors that have to be taken into account are the irradiation and the temperature. They strongly affect the characteristics of solar modules. As a result, the MPP varies during the day and that is the main reason why the MPP must constantly be tracked and ensure that the maximum available power is obtained from the panel. The effect of the irradiance on the voltage-current (V-I) and voltage-power (V-P) characteristics is depicted in Figure 2.4, where the curves are shown in per unit, i.e. the voltage and current are normalized using the VOC and the ISC respectively, in order to illustrate better the effects of the irradiance on the V-I and V-P curves. As was previously mentioned, the photon-generated current is directly proportional to the irradiance level, so an increment in the irradiation leads to a higher photogenerated current. Moreover, the short circuit current is directly proportional to the photon- generated current; therefore it is directly proportional to the irradiance.

Fig 2.4V-I and V-P curves at constant temperature (25C) and three different insolation values.

When the operating point is not the short circuit, in which no power is generated, the photon generated current is also the main factor in the PV current, as is expressed by equations (1) and (2). For this reason the voltage-current characteristic varies with the irradiation. In contrast, the effect in the open circuit voltage is relatively small, as the dependence of the light generated current is logarithmic, as is shown in equation (3).

Figure 2.4 shows that the change in the current is greater than in the voltage. In practice, the voltage dependency on the irradiation is often neglected . As the effect on both the current and voltage is positive, i.e. both increase when the irradiation rises, the effect on the power is also positive: the more irradiation, the more power is generated. The temperature, on the other hand, affects mostly the voltage. The open circuit voltage is linearly dependent on the temperature, as shown in the following equation: ( ) ( ) (6)

According to (6), the effect of the temperature on VOC is negative, because Kv is negative, i.e. when the temperature raises, the voltage decreases. The current increases with the temperature but very little and it does not compensate the decrease in the voltage caused by a given temperature rise. That is why the power also decreases. PV panel manufacturers provide in their data sheets the temperature coefficients, which are the parameters that specify how the open circuit voltage, the short circuit current and the maximum power vary when the temperature changes. As the effect of the temperature on the current is really small, it is usually neglected. Figure 2.5 shows how the voltage-current and the voltage-power characteristics change with temperature. The curves are again in per unit, as in the previous case.

Fig 2.5V-I and V-P curves at constant irradiation (1 kW/m2) and three different temperatures.

As was mentioned before, the temperature and the irradiation depend on the atmospheric conditions, which are not constant during the year and not even during a single day; they can vary rapidly due to fast changing conditions such as clouds. This causes the MPP to move continuously, depending on the irradiation and temperature conditions. If the operating point is not close to the MPP, great power losses occur.

Hence it is essential to track the MPP in any conditions to assure that the maximum available power is obtained from the PV panel. In a modern solar power converter, this task is entrusted to the MPPT algorithms.

CHAPTER 3

SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER

3.1 MPPT based Solar Charge Controller: A maximum power point tracker (or MPPT) based Solar Charge Controller is a high efficiency DC to DC converter which functions as an optimal electrical load for a photovoltaic (PV) cell, most commonly for a solar panel or array, and converts the power to a voltage or current level which is more suitable to whatever load the system is designed to drive.

Fig 3.1 Schematic representation of MPPT charge Controller Typically a charge controller performs the following basic functions: Controls maximum power extraction from a panel by tracking the MPP and ensuring that the panel operates at MPP. Controls battery charging as defined in the battery charge cycle specification to improve usable battery life and protect it against reverse connection, over charging and deep discharging Load protection against overloads and short-circuits Display (LED or LCD) Status indications

3.2 Converter Choice for MPPT Depending on the topology of the power electronics, an MPPT charge controller cans be either: Buck only the PV voltage must be higher than the battery voltage Boost only the PV voltage must be lower than battery voltage Buck-boost both the PV voltage and battery voltage can be variable values with the system switching between buck and boost based on the relative voltages. Fig 3.1 shows the block diagram of a MPPT Charge Controller

3.3 Boost Converter The maximum power point tracking is basically a load matching problem. In order to change the input resistance of the panel to match the load resistance (by varying the duty cycle), a DC to DC converter is required. It has been studied that the efficiency of the DC to DC converter is maximum for a buck converter, then for a buck-boost converter and minimum for a boost converter but as we intend to use our system either for tying to a grid or for a system which requires 230 Vat the output end, so we use a boost converter. Fig 3.2 shows the circuit diagram of Boost Converter.

Fig 3.2 Circuit diagram of Boost Converter 3.3.1 Mode 1 operation of the Boost Converter When the switch is closed the inductor gets energized through the battery and stores the energy. In this mode inductor current rises (exponentially) but for simplicity we assume that the energizing and the de - energizing of the inductor are linear. The diode blocks the current flowing and so the load current remains constant which is being supplied due to the discharging of the capacitor. Fig 3.3 shows the Mode 1 Operation of Boost Converter.

Fig 3.3 Mode 1 Operation of Boost Converter

3.3.2 Mode 2 operation of the Boost Converter In mode 2 the switch is open and so the diode becomes short circuited. The energy stored in the inductor gets utilized through opposite polarities which charge the capacitor. The load current remains constant throughout the operation. Fig 3.4 shows the Mode 1 Operation of Boost Converter. The waveforms for a boost converter are shown in Figure 3.5

Fig 3.4 Mode 2 Operation of Boost Converter

Fig 3.5 Waveforms for a Boost Converter

CHAPTER - 4

MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING ALGORITHMS

4.1 An overview of Maximum Power Point Tracking The power output from the solar panel is a function of insolation level and temperature. But for a given operating condition, we have a curve which gives the voltage level maintained by the panel for a particular value of current. This plot is known as the characteristics of the cell. From the characteristics plot, we will be able to derive the power output with respect to the output current. We adopt the method to find the current which has to be extracted so as to fix the operating point of the cell at its maximum power.

Fig 4.1 PV Panel Characteristic curves

The operating point of any source sink mechanism is the intersection point of load line with the source characteristic plot shown in fig 4.1. What we attempt here to do is change the load angle theta () to intersect the characteristics at maximum power point i.e., nothing but the solution for impedance matching problem. The principle is described below. PV modules have a very low conversion efficiency of around 15% for the manufactured ones. Besides, due to the temperature, radiation and load variations, this efficiency can be highly reduced. In fact, the efficiency of any semiconductor device drops steeply with the temperature. In order to ensure that the photovoltaic modules always act supplying the maximum power as possible and dictated by ambient operating conditions, a specific circuit known as MPPT is employed. In most common applications, the MPPT is a DC-DC converter controlled through a strategy that allows imposing the photovoltaic module operation point on the Maximum Power Point (MPP) or close to it. On the literature, many studies describing techniques to improve MPP algorithms were published, permitting more velocity and precision of tracking.

On the other hand, there is no theory to guide the designer to choose, among the DC-DC converters family, the best one to operate as MPPT, thus, in most cases, the designers are tempted to use the simplest DC-DC converters namely buck converter or boost converter. 4.2 Different MPPT techniques There are different techniques used to track the maximum power point. Two of the most popular techniques are: Perturb & Observe Method Incremental Conductance Method The choice of the algorithm depends on the time complexity the algorithm takes to track the MPP, implementation cost and the ease of implementation. 4.2.1 Perturb & Observe Perturb & Observe (P&O) is the simplest method. Fig 4.2 shows the algorithmic flowchart of Perturb & Observe method for MPPT. In this we use only one sensor, that is the voltage sensor, to sense the PV array voltage and so the cost of implementation is less and hence easy to implement. The time complexity of this algorithm is very less but on reaching very close to the MPP it doesnt stop at the MPP and keeps on perturbing on both the directions. Fig 4.3 shows the Illustration of MPPT Algorithm When this happens the algorithm has reached very close to the MPP and we can set an appropriate error limit or can use a wait function which

ends up increasing the time complexity of the algorithm. However the method does not take account of the rapid change of irradiation level (due to which MPPT changes) and considers it as a change in MPP due to perturbation and ends up calculating the wrong MPP. To avoid this problem we can use incremental conductance method. The Perturb & Observe algorithm states that when the operating voltage of the PV panel is perturbed by a small increment, if the resulting changes in power P is positive, then we are going in the direction of MPP and we keep on perturbing in the same direction. If P is negative, we are going away from the direction of MPP and the sign of perturbation supplied has to be changed.

Fig 4.3 Illustration of P&O MPPT Algorithm

The flowchart for the P&O algorithm is shown in Figure 4.2

Start

Measure V(k)& I(k)

P(k)= V(k)* I(k) P = P(k)-P(k-1)

NO YES

P > 0

V(k) V(k-1) > 0

YES NO NO

V(k) V(k-1) > 0

YES

Decrease Array Voltage

Increase Array voltage

Decrease Array Voltage

Increase Array voltage

Update history V(k-1)= V(k) P(k-1)= P(k)

Fig 4.2 Algorithmic flow chart of Perturb & Observe method for MPPT

Figure 4.1 shows the plot of module output power versus module voltage for a solar panel at a given irradiation. The point marked as MPP is the Maximum Power Point, the theoretical maximum output obtainable from the PV panel.

Consider A and B as two operating points as shown in the figure above, the point A is on the left hand side of the MPP. Therefore, we can move towards the MPP by providing a positive perturbation to the voltage.

On the other hand, point B is on the right hand side of the MPP. When we give a positive perturbation, the value of P becomes negative, thus it is imperative to change the direction of perturbation to achieve MPP.

4.2.2. Incremental Conductance Method The theory of the incremental conductance method is to determine the variation direction of the terminal voltage for PV modules by measuring and comparing the incremental conductance and instantaneous conductance of PV modules. If the value of incremental conductance is equal to that of instantaneous conductance, it represents that the maximum power point is found. The basic theory is illustrated with Fig. 4.4.

Fig 4.4 Illustration of InCond MPPT Algorithm

When the operating behavior of PV modules is within the constant current area, the output power is proportional to the terminal voltage. That means the output power increases linearly with the increasing terminal voltage of PV modules (slope of the power curve is positive, dP/dV> 0). When the operating point of PV modules passes through the maximum power point, its operating behavior is similar to constant voltage. Therefore, the output power decreases linearly with the increasing terminal voltage of PV modules (slope of the power curve is negative, dP/dV< 0). When the operating point of PV modules is exactly on the maximum power point, the slope of the power curve is zero (dP/dV= 0) and can be further expressed as, ( )

( )

By the relationship of dP/dV= 0, (7) can be rearranged as follows, ( ) dI and dV represent the current error and voltage error before and after the increment respectively. The static conductance (Gs) and the dynamic conductance (Gd, incremental conductance) of PV modules are defined as follows, ( ) ( )

The maximum power point (operating voltage is Vm) can be found When

(11) When the equation in (8) comes in to existence, the maximum power point is tracked by MPPT system. However, the following situations will happen while the operating point is not on the maximum power point: ( ( ) ) ( ( ) )

Equations (12) and (13) are used to determine the direction of voltage perturbation when the operating point moves toward to the maximum power point. In the process of tracking, the terminal voltage of PV modules will continuously perturb until the condition of (8) comes into existence. The main difference between incremental conductance and P&O algorithms is the judgment on determining the direction of voltage perturbation. When static conductance Gs is equal to dynamic conductance Gd, the maximum power point is found. From the flow diagram shown in Fig.4.5, it can be observed that the weather conditions dont change and the operating point is located on the maximum power

point when dV= 0 and dI= 0. If dV= 0 but dI> 0, it represents that the sun irradiance increases and the voltage of the maximum power point rises. Meanwhile, the maximum power point tracker has to raise the operating voltage of PV modules in order to track the maximum power point. On the contrary, the sun irradiance decreases and the voltage of the maximum power point reduces if dI< 0. At this time the maximum power point tracker needs to reduce the operating voltage of PV modules. Furthermore, when the voltage and current of PV modules change during a voltage perturbation and dI/dV>I/V (dP/dV> 0), the operating voltage of PV modules are located on the left side of the maximum power point in the P-V diagram, and have to be raised in order to track the maximum power point. If dI/dV<I/V(dP/dV< 0), the operating voltage of PV modules will be located on the right side of the maximum power point in the P-V diagram, and has to be reduced in order to track the maximum power point. The advantage of the incremental conductance method, which is superior to those of the other two MPPT algorithms, is that it can calculate and find the exact perturbation direction for the operating voltage of PV modules. In theory, when the maximum power point is found by the judgment conditions (dI/dV= I/V and dI= 0) of the incremental conductance method, it can avoid the perturbation phenomenon near

the maximum power point which is usually happened for the other two MPPT algorithms. The value of operating voltage is then fixed. However, it indicates that perturbation phenomenon is still happened near the maximum power point under stable weather conditions after doing some experiments. This is due to the reason that the probability of meeting condition dI/dV=I/V is extremely small.

Inputs: V(t),I(t),V(t-t),I(t-t) P(t),P(t-t) calculated from the inputs

V = V(t) V(t-t) P = P(t) P(t -t) I = I(t) I(t - t)

V/P = 0 I/P = 0
NO

YES

V/P >0 I/P < 0

NO YES

Decrease Vref

Increase Vref

Return

Fig.4.5 Algorithmic flowchart of Incremental Conductance method for MPPT

Summarily, the incremental conductance algorithm is based on the fact that the slope of the curve power vs. voltage (current) of the PV module is zero at the MPP, positive (negative) on the left of it and negative (positive) on the right, as can be seen in Figure 4.5: V/P = 0 (I /P = 0) at the MPP V/P > 0 (I /P < 0) on the left

V/ P < 0 (I / P > 0) on the right

By comparing the increment of the power vs. the increment of the voltage (current) between two consecutives samples, the change in the MPP voltage can be determined.

CHAPTER 5

SIMULATION & EVALUATION

5.1PSIM: PSIM is a simulation package specifically designed for power electronics and motor control. With fast simulation, friendly user interface and waveform processing, PSIM provides a powerful simulation environment for power converter analysis, control loop design, and motor drive system studies.

The PSIM simulation package consists of three programs: circuit schematic editor SIMCAD*, PSIM simulator, and waveform processing program SIMVIEW*. The simulation environment is illustrated as follows.

5.2 Circuit Structure A circuit is represented in PSIM in four blocks: power circuit, control circuit, sensors, and switch controllers. The figure below shows the relationship between these blocks. The power circuit consists of switching devices, RLC branches, transformers, and coupled inductors. The control circuit is represented in block diagram.

Components in s domain and z domain, logic components (such as logic gates and flip flops), and nonlinear components (such as multipliers and dividers) can be used in the control circuit. Sensors measure power circuit voltages and currents and pass the values to the control circuit. Gating signals are then generated from the control circuit and sent back to the power circuit through switch controllers to control switches.

5.3 SOLAR CELL MODELS Two types of solar cells models are provided. One is the functional model that requires the minimum parameter inputs, and the other is the physical model that can take into account the light intensity and ambient temperature variations.

Fig 5.1 Physical Model of Solar Cell

Fig 5.2 Characteristics of Solar cell (Physical Model)

Fig 5.3 Functional Model of Solar Cell

Fig 5.4 Characteristics of Solar Cell (Functional model)

5.4 Simulation Model of Perturb & Observe Algorithm for MPPT:

Fig.5.5 Simulation Model of Perturb & Observe Algorithm for MPPT

Fig 5.6 Sub circuit model of P&O MPPT Simulation Output:

Fig 5.7 Simulation output of P&O MPPT Algorithm

5.5 Limitations of Perturb & Observe algorithm

Fig 5.8 Curve showing wrong tracking of MPP by P&O algorithm under rapidly varying irradiance

In a situation where the irradiance changes rapidly, the MPP also moves on the right hand side of the curve. The algorithm takes it as a change due to perturbation and in the next iteration it changes the direction of perturbation and hence goes away from the MPP as shown in the figure. However, in this algorithm we use only one sensor, that is the voltage sensor, to sense the PV array voltage and so the cost of implementation is less and hence easy to implement. The time complexity of this algorithm is very less but on reaching

very close to the MPP it doesnt stop at the MPP and keeps on perturbing in both the directions. When this happens the algorithm has reached very close to the MPP and we can set an appropriate error limit or can use a wait function which ends up increasing the time complexity of the algorithm. 5.6 Simulation Model of Incremental Conductance Method for MPPT:

Fig 5.9Simulation Model Incremental Conductance MPPT Algorithm

Simulation Output:

Fig 5.10 Simulation Output of Incremental Conductance MPPT Algorithm

5.7 Analysis and discussion of Simulation results: In order to compare the accuracy and efficiency of the two MPPT algorithms selected in this project, PSIM Software package is used to implement the tasks of modeling and simulation. The PV module used in the PV system is the product of Solarex whose model is MX64. This kind of PV module is composed of 72 solar cells in series, and the electrical specification tested by the factory under 1000W/m2, AM1.5 and 25oC conditions is listed in Table 1.

Fig. 5.11 is the block diagram of the PV simulation system used in this paper. The hardware specification of the computer used for simulation is Intel Core i3 Processor M 370 @ 2.40GHz.

Ipv

Vpv

DC to DC Converter

Vout

Load

Photovoltaic

Vpv Ipv
MPPT Controller

pulses

Fig 5.11 Block diagram of PV Simulation system

Table 1: PV Panel Specifications

Power output Curve for P&O MPPT Algorithm:

Fig 5.12 MPPT Power output of Perturb and Observe Method

Power output Curve for Incremental Conductance MPPT Algorithm:

Fig 5.13 MPPT Power output of Incremental conductance MPPT Algorithm

The time response, the average power and the ripples amplitude of the output power corresponding to the two treated MPPT controlled methods has been obtained from the output graphs (above) and its comparison details are given below table And moreover, from the data points of the MPPT Power output curve, the efficiency of an individual algorithm is determined. The efficiency of two different methods under two different weather conditions are determined and summarized in the table below. Time Response Perturb & Observe Method Incremental Conductance Method 4.08ms 4.37ms Ripples Amplitude 12 watt 1.6 watt

Average Power 53 watt 59.52 watt

Table 2: Comparison results

Weather Full sun Partial Cloudy 91.4% 95.6%

P&O

IncCond 94.6% 94.9%

Table 3: Comparison of efficiency

In general, the advantages of the incremental conductance method over the perturb and observe method are: Incremental method can calculate the direction, for which the arrays point changed in order to reach the MPP, Incremental method should not oscillate about the MPP once it reaches it, Incremental method does not go on the wrong direction when conditions in the system changed rapidly. 5.8 Conclusion The sun is at the origin of the quasi-totality of the sources of energies used by the humanity for its food, domestic and industrial needs. The solar energy is important because it is non-pollutant energy. In this project, the conversion from solar energy to electrical one is treated. In this case, the model of a photocell and a solar panel are presented. The Perturb and observe and the incremental conductance methods are used to maximize the output power. The flow chart of each method had been explained and discussed. With the incremental conductance method, compared to the perturb and observe method, simulation results underline that the time response is small, the existing ripples have low amplitude and the average power is more important.