CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
It's certainly clear that fossil fuels are mangling the climate and that the status quo is
unsustainable. There is now a broad scientific consensus that the world needs to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions more than 25 percent by 2020 -- and more than 80
percent by 2050. The idea of harnessing the suns power has been around for ages.
The basic process is simple. Solar collectors concentrate the sunlight that falls on
them and convert it to energy. Solar power is a feasible way to supplement power in
cities. In rural areas, where the cost of running power lines increases.
Solar power, a clean renewable resource with zero emission, has got tremendous
potential of energy which can be harnessed using a variety of devices. With recent
developments, solar energy systems are easily available for industrial and domestic
use with the added advantage of minimum maintenance. Solar energy could be made
financially viable with government tax incentives and rebates. An exclusive solar
generation system of capacity 250KWh per month would cost around Rs. 20 lakhs,
with present pricing and taxes (2013). Most of the developed countries are switching
over to solar energy as one of the prime renewable energy source.

1.1 THE NEED FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY

Renewable energy is the energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight,
wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat. These resources are renewable and can be
naturally replenished. Therefore, for all practical purposes, these resources can be
considered to be inexhaustible, unlike dwindling conventional fossil fuels. The global
energy crunch has provided a renewed impetus to the growth and development of
Clean and Renewable Energy sources. Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs) are
being adopted by organizations all across the globe. Apart from the rapidly decreasing
reserves of fossil fuels in the world, another major factor working against fossil fuels
is the pollution associated with their combustion. Contrastingly, renewable energy
sources are known to be much cleaner and produce energy without the harmful effects
of pollution unlike their conventional counterparts.

1.2 DIFFERENT SOURCES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

1.2.1 WIND POWER
Wind turbines can be used to harness the energy available in airflows. Current day
turbines range from around 600 kW to 5 MW of rated power. Since the power output
is a function of the cube of the wind speed, it increases rapidly with an increase in
available wind velocity. Recent advancements have led to aerofoil wind turbines,
which are more efficient due to a better aerodynamic structure.
1.2.2 SMALL HYDROPOWER
Hydropower installations up to 10MW are considered as small hydropower and
counted as renewable energy sources. These involve converting the potential energy
of water stored in dams into usable electrical energy through the use of water turbines.
Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity aims to utilize the kinetic energy of water without
the need of building reservoirs or dams.
1.2.3 BIOMASS
Plants capture the energy of the sun through the process of photosynthesis. On
combustion, these plants release the trapped energy. This way, biomass works as a
natural battery to store the suns energy and yield it on requirement.
1.2.4 GEOTHERMAL
Geothermal energy is the thermal energy which is generated and stored within the
layers of the Earth. The gradient thus developed gives rise to a continuous conduction
of heat from the core to the surface of the earth. This gradient can be utilized to heat
water to produce superheated steam and use it to run steam turbines to generate
electricity. The main disadvantage of geothermal energy is that it is usually limited to
regions near tectonic plate boundaries, though recent advancements have led to the
propagation of this technology.
1.2.5 SOLAR POWER
The tapping of solar energy owes its origins to the British astronomer John Herschel
who famously used a solar thermal collector box to cook food during an expedition to
2

Africa. Solar energy can be utilized in two major ways. Firstly, the captured heat can
be used as solar thermal energy, with applications in space heating. Another
alternative is the conversion of incident solar radiation to electrical energy, which is
the most usable form of energy. This can be achieved with the help of solar
photovoltaic cells or with concentrating solar power plants.
As the Photovoltaic module exhibits non-linear V-I Characteristics, which are
dependent on solar Insolation and environment factors, the development of an
accurate power electronic circuit oriented model is essential to simulate and design
the photovoltaic integrated system. In this paper, the design of PV system using
simple circuit model with detailed circuit modelling of PV module using
MATLAB/Simulink and the physical equations governing the PV module is
presented.

1.3 LITERATURE REVIEW

Studies show that a solar panel converts 21-40% of energy incident on it to electrical
energy. A Maximum Power Point Tracking algorithm is necessary to increase the
efficiency of the solar panel.
There are different techniques for MPPT such as Perturb and Observe (hill climbing
method), Incremental conductance, Fractional Short Circuit Current, Fractional Open
Circuit Voltage, Fuzzy Control, Neural Network Control etc. Among all the methods
Perturb and observe (P&O) and Incremental conductance are most commonly used
because of their simple implementation, lesser time to track the MPP and several other
economic reasons.
Under abruptly changing weather conditions (irradiance level) as MPP changes
continuously, P&O takes it as a change in MPP due to perturbation rather than that of
irradiance and sometimes ends up in calculating wrong MPP. However this problem
gets avoided in Incremental Conductance method as the algorithm takes two samples
of voltage and current to calculate MPP. However, instead of higher efficiency the
complexity of the algorithm is very high compared to the previous one and hence the
cost of implementation increases. So we have to mitigate with a trade-off between
complexity and efficiency.
It is seen that to get maximum efficiency we are getting which type of converter. We are
choosing here boost converter because it provide us more voltage at output then
3

input. We can also choose buck-boost converter but due to our simplification and
requirement we are selecting boost converter. It is very simple to implement and has
high efficiency both under stationary and time varying atmospheric conditions.

N. Pandiarajan and Ranganath Muth, This paper presents a unique step-by-step

procedure for the simulation of photovoltaic modules with Matlab/ Simulink. Onediode equivalent circuit is employed in order to investigate I-V and P-V
characteristics of a typical 36 W solar module. The proposed model is designed with a
user-friendly icons and a dialog box like Simulink block libraries [1].
Alpesh P. parekh, Bhavarty N. Vaidya and Chirag T. Patel, In this paper, the
design of PV system using simple circuit model with detailed circuit modelling of PV
module is presented. In this paper, Equivalent circuit of the PV module & Simulink
model for each equation has presented and complete circuit oriented model has also
presented [2].
Pandiarajan N, Ramaprabha R and Ranganath Muthu, Circuit model of
photovoltaic (PV) module is presented in this paper that can be used as a common
platform for the material scientists as well as power electronic circuit designers to
develop the better PV power plant. Detailed modeling procedure for the circuit model
with numerical dimensions is presented using power system block set of MATLAB/
Simulink. The developed model is integrated with DC-DC boost converter with
closed loop control of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm. The
simulation results are validated with the experimental set up [3].
P.Sathya, Dr.R.Natarajan, this paper presents the design and implementation of high
performance closed loop Boost converter for solar powered HBLED lighting system.
The proposed system consists of solar photovoltaic module, a closed loop boost
converter and LED lighting module. The closed loop boost converter is used to
convert a low level dc input voltage from solar PV module to a high level dc voltage
required for the load. To regulate the output of the converter, closed loop voltage
feedback technique is used. The feedback voltage is compared with a reference
voltage and a control signal is generated and amplified. The amplified signal is fed to
555 Timer which in turn generates a PWM signal which controls the switching of
4

MOSFET. Thus by switching of MOSFET it would try to keep output as constant.

Initially the boost converter, timer circuit, amplifier circuit and LED light circuits are
designed, simulated and finally implemented in printed circuit board. The simulation
studies are carried out in MULTISIM. The experimental results for solar PV and boost
converter obtained in both software and hardware was presented in this paper [7].
Vandana Khanna, Bijoy Kishore Das, Dinesh Bisht, A Simulation model for
simulation of a single solar cell and two solar cells in series has been developed using
Simelectronics (Matlab/Simulink) environment and was presented in this paper. A
solar cell block is available in simelectronics, which was used with many other blocks
to plot I-V and P-V characteristics under variations of parameters considering one
parameter variation at a time. The effect of variation of parameters such as series
resistance, Rs, shunt resistance Rsh, diode parameters: diode saturation current, Is and
ideality factor, N, could be seen on the characteristics of a single solar cell. Effect of
two environmental parameters of temperature and irradiance variations could also be
observed from simulated characteristics. Matlab coding has been done to find the
maximum power output, Pm, and voltage at maximum power output, Vm, of a single
solar cell and two solar cells (in series) under different values of parameters. The
Pmand Vm values are tabulated here in this paper for variation of one parameter at a
time, considering the diode parameters: Is and N, resistances: series and shunt,
temperature and irradiance [5].
G. Venkateswarlu and Dr.P.Sangameswar Raju, The study of photovoltaic systems
in an efficient manner requires a precise knowledge of the IV and PV characteristic
curves of photovoltaic modules. A Simulation model for simulation of a single solar
cell and two solar cells in series has been developed using Sim electronics (Mat lab
/Simulink) environment and is presented here in this paper. A solar cell block is
available in simelectronics, which was used with many other blocks to plot I-V and PV characteristics under variations of parameters considering one parameter variation
at a time. Effect of two environmental parameters of temperature and irradiance
variations could also be observed from simulated characteristics [4].

1.4 OBJECTIVE
The basic objective would be to study FUZZY BASED MPPT and successfully
implement the MPPT algorithms either in code form or using the Simulink/Simscape
model. Modelling of the solar cell in Simulink/Simscape and interfacing both with the
MPPT algorithm to obtain the maximum power point operation would be of prime
importance. After simulating our result with the help of Simulink/Simscape we would

Fig.1.1 MPPT Technique with Solar Cell

1.5 FUTURE SCOPE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES

The current trend across developed economies tips the scale in favour of Renewable
Energy. For the last three years, the continents of North America and Europe have
embraced more renewable power capacity as compared to conventional power
capacity. Renewables accounted for 60% of the newly installed power capacity in
Europe in 2009 and nearly 20% of the annual power production.

Fig.1.2 Global Energy Consumption in the Year 2008

1.6 THESIS OUTLINE

This thesis has been broadly divided into 7 chapters. The first one being the
introduction, chapter 2 is on photovoltaic effect and modelling of solar cell with
Matlab Simulink/Simscape and effect of load mismatching. In chapter 3 we will study
about Boost Converter. Chapter 4 is on maximum power point tracking and study of
the various algorithms. Result and conclusion is discussed in chapter 6 & 7.

CHAPTER 2
MODELLING OF PV PANEL
2.1 PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL
A photovoltaic cell or photoelectric cell is a semiconductor device that converts light
to electrical energy by photovoltaic effect. If the energy of photon of light is greater
than the band gap then the electron is emitted and the flow of electrons creates
current.
However a photovoltaic cell is different from a photodiode. In a photodiode light falls
on n-channel of the semiconductor junction and gets converted into current or voltage
signal but a photovoltaic cell is always forward biased.

2.2 PV MODULE
Usually a number of PV modules are arranged in series and parallel to meet the
energy requirements. PV modules of different sizes are commercially available
(generally sized from 60W to 170W). For example, a typical small scale desalination
plant requires a few thousand watts of power.

2.3 PV ARRAY
A PV array consists of several photovoltaic cells in series and parallel connections.
Series connections are responsible for increasing the voltage of the module whereas
the parallel connection is responsible for increasing the current in the array.

Fig.2.1 Different Solar Modules

8

2.4 PV MODELLING
Typically a solar cell can be modelled by a current source and an inverted diode
connected in parallel to it. It has its own series and parallel resistance. Series
resistance is due to hindrance in the path of flow of electrons from n to p junction and
parallel resistance is due to the leakage current.
When irradiance hits the surface of solar PV cell, an electrical field is generated inside
the cell. As seen in Fig.3 this process separates positive and negative charge carriers
in an absorbing material (joining p-type and n-type). In the presence of an electric
field, these charges can produce a current that can be used in an external circuit. This
generated current depends on the intensity of the incident radiation. The higher the
level of light intensity, the more electrons can be unleashed from the surface, the more
current is generated.

Fig.2.2 Schematic Cross-Section of a Typical Solar Cell

The most important component that affects the accuracy of the simulation is the PV
cell model. Modelling of PV cell involves the estimation of the I-V and P-V
characteristics curves to emulate the real cell under various environmental conditions.
An ideal solar cell is modelled by a current source in parallel with a diode. However
no solar cell is ideal and thereby shunt and series resistances are added to the model as
shown in the Fig.4

Fig.2.3 Equivalent Circuit of PV Cell

9

The current source Ipv represents the cell photo current, Rsh and Rs are used to
represent the intrinsic series and shunt resistance of the cell respectively. Usually the
value of Rsh is very large and that of Rs is very small, hence they may be neglected to
simplify the analysis.
The PV mathematical model used to simplify our PV array is represented by the
equations (1)-(4)
Module Photo Current
[

)]

()

Module Reverse Saturation Current

(

()

Module Saturation Current

[

[(

)(

)]

()

The Current Output of PV module is

[

Where
Vpv is output voltage of a PV module (V)
Ipv is output current of a PV module (A)
Tr is the reference temperature = 298 K
T is the module operating temperature in Kelvin
Iph is the light generated current in a PV module (A)
Io is the PV module saturation current (A)
A = B is an ideality factor = 1.6
k is Boltzmann constant = 1.3805 10-23 J/K
q is Electron charge = 1.6 10-19 C
Rs is the series resistance of a PV module
o

ISCr is the PV module short-circuit current at 25 C

and 1000W/m2 = 2.55A
Ki is the short-circuit current temperature co-efficient at
o

ISCr = 0.0017A / C
2

is the PV module illumination (W/m ) = 1000W/m

10

()

Ego is the band gap for silicon = 1.1 Ev

Ns is the number of cells connected in series
Np is the number of cells connected in parallel
Table 2.1 Electrical Characteristics Data of Green SolarIndia37W (AT-37) PV
Module
Electrical Characteristics
Maximum power - Pmax

36.917 W

Voltage at Pmax - Vmp

17.905 V

Current at Pmax - Imp

2.062 A

Short-circuit current - Isc

2.226 A

Open-circuit voltage - Voc

21.425 V

Total number of cells in series (Ns)

Total number of cells in parallel (Np)

36
1

2.5 MATLAB SIMULINK MODEL OF PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL

(A) Temperature Conversion (C to F)
Trk=273+25(ref.temp.)
Tak=273+Top(operating Temp.)

11

Fig.2.4 Block For Temperature Conversion

(B) Module Photo Current
[

(-

)]

Fig.2.5 Block For Module Photo Current

12

(C) Module Reverse Saturation Current

Fig.2.6 Block For Reverse Saturation Current

13

(D) Module Saturation Current

Fig.2.7 Block for Saturation Current

(E) The Output Current of PV module
[

14

Fig.2.8 Block for Output Current

(F) The Nsakt Will Be Prepared As Show Below

Fig.2.9 Block for NsAkT

15

Fig.2.10 Interconnection of All Blocks

Fig.2.11 Complete Block of PV Module

Now we have to add a current controlled source which is connected with Ipv of panel.
The series and parallel resistances are also connected to make this model
practicle.Fig.2.12 show the complete model.

16

Fig.2.12 Detailed circuit model of PV module.

2.6 EFFECT OF LOAD MISMATCHING

From PV module P-V characteristics we have seen there is only one point where
power is maximum, the corresponding voltage is VMPP and current is IMPP. If load
line crosses this point the maximum power is transferred to load. This value of load
resistance is given by:

Fig.2.13 PV Interfacing to Load

A PV cell behaves differently depending on the size/type of load connected to it. The
output power of PV panel is greatly depended upon the load at output side. The
delivered power cannot be maximum if there is load mismatching. Load mismatching
is a difference between the internal resistance of source and load at output side.
According to maximum power transfer theorem, when the equivalent resistance of
source is equal to the load resistance, the maximum power will delivered. The
17

equivalent resistance is called characteristics impedance which can be easily find out
from the data sheet given by manufacturer. If load is equal to this characteristic
impedance, then we will get maximum power from the solar panel. We can calculate
characteristic impedance from VMPP and IMPP values given in data sheet. For present
case RMPP is 7.9. Here we take three conditions.
Case (1): When Load resistance is more than characteristic impedance in Fig.15. The
output power is 19.83Watt which is less than its rated maximum power 36 Watt (at
2

1000W/m ).
Case (2): When Load resistance is less than characteristic impedance in Fig.16 The
output power is 32 Watt which is less than its rated maximum power 36 Watt (at
2

1000W/m ).
Case (3): When Load resistance is equal to characteristics impedance in Fig.17. The
2

output power is about 36 Watt which is maximum at 1000 W/m .

Fig.2.14 Output Power of PV Module At Rload > Rmpp

18

Fig.2.15 Output Power of PV Module at RLOAD < RMPP

Fig.2.16 Output Power of PV Module at RLOAD = RMPP

Figure 2.14, 2.15 & 2.16 shows the effect on efficiency of PV module due to different
load applied by user. The PV module power reduces if the load is not properly match
with the characteristics resistance of the PV module. This problem can be solved by
applying DC-DC converter in between PV module & Load.

19

CHAPTER 3
BOOST CONVERTER
A boost converter is designed to step up a fluctuating or variable input voltage to a
constant output voltage of 24 volts with input range of 6-23volts in. To produce a
constant output voltage feedback loop is used. The output voltage is compared with a
reference voltage and a PWM wave is generated, here Spartan 6 FPGA kit is used to
generate PWM signal to control switching action.
A DC to DC converter is used to step up from 12V to 24V. The 12V input voltage is
from the battery storage equipment and the 24V output voltage serves as the input of
the inverter in solar electric system. In designing process, the switching frequency, f is
set at 20 kHz and the duty cycle, D is 50%.
Here we want to introduced an approach to design a boost converter for photovoltaic
(PV) system using microcontroller. The converter is designed to step up solar panel
voltage to a stable 24V output without storage elements such as battery. It is
controlled by a FPGA unit using voltage-feedback technique. The output of the boost
converter is tracked, measured continuously and the values are sent to the
microcontroller unit to produce pulse-width-modulation (PWM) signal. The PWM
signal is used to control the duty cycle of the boost converter. Typical application of
this boost converter is to provide DC power supply for inverter either for gridconnected or standalone system. Simulation and experimental results describe the
performance of the proposed design. Spartan 6 FPGA is used to perform tasks in the
proposed design.
As stated in the introduction, 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 water pumping
system which requires 230 Vat the output end, so we use a boost converter.

20

Fig.3.1 Circuit Diagram of a Boost Converter

3.1. MODE 1 OPERATION OF THE BOOST CONVERTER

When the switch is closed the inductor gets charged through the battery and stores the
energy. In this mode inductor current rises (exponentially) but for simplicity we
assume that the

charging and the discharging 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 g of the capacitor.

Fig.3.2 Mode 1 Operation of the Boost Converter

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 discharged through opposite polarities which charge the
capacitor. The load current remains constant throughout the operation. The waveform
for a boost converter are shown in figure.

Fig.3.3 Mode 2 Operation of the Boost Converter

21

3.3. MODELING OF BOOST CONVERTER USING MATLAB

SIMSACPE

Fig.3.4 Modelling of Boost DC-DC Converter

3.4. DESIGN APPROACH OF PROPOSED BOOST CONVERTER

Load Requirement: The load is a simple 4 x 4 LED panel and each row containing 4
LED in a line would require a current of 10- 15 mA and thus total of 60 mA to all four
branches and thus having a resistance of 570. As each LED gives a drop of 2.1 volts
to become forward biased, so a minimum of 8.4 volts is required to glow 4 LED in
series, for this a voltage of 24 V is required to be supplied to LEDs. Thus the load
requirement is 570 with 42 mA of total current thus required voltage was 24 V.
Since a potential divider is used whose total resistance is 1100 so total equivalent
resistance is Req = (1100) (570) = 375.Based on this load requirement the other
parameters would be calculated and the specifications are tabulated in the following
table.

22

Table 3.1 Specification for Boost Converter

S.No.
1
2
3
4
5
6

Component
Inductor
MOSFET 1N5408
Power Diode
Input Capacitor
Output Capacitor
Resistive Load

Value
290H
IRF 840
IN5408
470F
330 F
50, 50W

Duty Cycle:
The duty cycle can be found using the following relation-

Inductor value:
The value of inductor is determined using the following relation
2

Lmin=D (1-D )*R/2*Fs

An inductor is practically designed using the following parameters and is shown in
the figure 22.
Formula for inductor design, L = (d2n2) / (l + 0.45d)
Required dimensions of inductor
Coil length, l= 8.1 cm
Diameter, d= 6.3 cm

Inductance value required, L= 151 H

Number of turns, n=64
Where L is inductance in micro Henrys,
d is coil diameter in meters,
l is coil length in meters, and
n is number of turns
Capacitor value:
The value of capacitor is determined from the following
equation C=D/Fs*R*Vr
Where
C is the minimum value of capacitance,
23

D is duty cycle,
R is output resistance,
Fs is switching frequency, and
Vr is output voltage ripple factor.

24

CHAPTER 4
MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING ALGORITHM
4.1. AN OVERVIEW OF MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING
A typical solar panel converts only 30 to 40 percent of the incident solar irradiation
into electrical energy. Maximum power point tracking technique is used to improve
the efficiency of the solar panel.
According to Maximum Power Transfer theorem, the power output of a circuit
is maximum when the Thevenin impedance of the circuit (source impedance) matches
with the load impedance. Hence our problem of tracking the maximum
power point reduces to
In the

an impedance matching problem.

source side we are using a boost convertor connected to a solar pan el in

order to enhance the output

applications like motor

load.

voltage so that it can

be used for different

By changing the duty cycle of the boost converter

appropriately we can match the source impedance with that of the load impedance.

4.2. DIFFERENT MPPT TECHNIQUES

There are different techniques used to track the maximum power point. Few of the
most popular techniques are:
1) Perturb and Observe (hill climbing method)
2) Incremental Conductance method
3) Fractional short circuit current
4) Fractional open circuit voltage
5) Neural networks
6) Fuzzy logic

25

4.3 PERTURB & OBSERVE

Perturb & Observe (P&O) is the simplest method. 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. 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.

4.4. INCREMENTAL CONDUCTANCE

Incremental conductance method uses two voltage and current sensors to sense the
output voltage and current of the PV array. At MPP the slope of the PV curve is 0.
(dP/dV)MPP=d(VI)/dV
0=I+VdI/dVMPP
dI/dVMPP = - I/V
The left hand side is the instantaneous conductance of the solar panel. When this
instantaneous conductance equals the conductance of the solar then MPP is reached.
Here we are sensing both the voltage and current simultaneously. Hence the error due
to change in irradiance is eliminated. However the complexity and the cost of
implementation increases. As we go down the list of algorithms the complexity and
the cost of implementation goes on increasing which may be suitable for a highly
complicated system. This is the reason that Perturb and Observe and Incremental
Conductance method are the most widely used algorithms. Owing to its simplicity of
implementation we have chosen the Perturb & Observe algorithm for our study
among the two.
26

4.5. FRACTIONAL OPEN CIRCUIT VOLTAGE

The near linear relationship between VMPP and VOC of the PV array, under varying
irradiance and temperature levels, has given rise to the fractional VOC method.
VMPP = k1 Voc
where k1 is a constant of proportionality. Since k1 is dependent on the characteristics
of the PV array being used, it usually has to be computed beforehand by empirically
determining VMPP and VOC for the specific PV array at different irradiance and
temperature levels. The factor k1 has been reported to be between 0.71 and 0.78. Once
k1 is known, VMPP can be computed with VOC measured periodically by momentarily
shutting down the power converter. However, this incurs some disadvantages,
including temporary loss of power.

4.6. FRACTIONAL SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENT

Fractional ISC results from the fact that, under varying atmospheric conditions, I MPP is
approximately linearly related to the ISC of the PV array.
IMPP =k2 Isc
Where k2 is a proportionality constant. Just like in the fractional VOC technique, k2
has to be determined according to the PV array in use. The constant k2 is generally
found to be between 0.78 and 0.92. Measuring ISC during operation is problematic. An
additional switch usually has to be added to the power converter to periodically short
the PV array so that ISC can be measured using a current sensor.

4.7. FUZZY LOGIC CONTROL

Microcontrollers have made using fuzzy logic control popular for MPPT over last
decade. Fuzzy logic controllers have the advantages of working with imprecise inputs,
not needing an accurate mathematical model, and handling nonlinearity.

27

Table4.1 Characteristics of Different MPPT Technique

4.9. DETAILS OF PERTURB & OBSERVE ALGORITHM

The Perturb & Observe algorithm states that when the operating voltage of the
PV panel is perturbed

by a small increment, if the

resulting change 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

be changed.

perturbation supplied has to

Fig.4.1 Solar Panel Characteristics Showing MPP And Operating Points A AndB
Figure 4.1 : Solar panel characteristics showing MPP and operating points A and B
Figure 4.1 shows the plot of module output power versus module voltage for a
solar pan el at a given irradiation. The point marked as MPP is the

Maximum

Power Point,

PV panel.

the theoretical maximum output obtainable from the

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 g a positive perturbation to the voltage. On the other

hand, point B is

on the right hand side

of the MPP.

perturbation, the value of P becomes negative, thus it

When we give a positive

is imperative to change

the direction of perturbation to achieve MPP. The flowchart for the P&O algorithm
is shown in Figure

29

Fig.4.2 Flowchart Of Perturb & Observe Algorithm

We implement above algorithm on FPGA using Hardware Description Language
Verilog. Hardware implementation will be discuss in next chapter.

30

4.10. MODELLING OF P&O ALGORITHM

Fig.4.3 Modelling of P&O Algorithm

31

4.11. COMPLETE MODEL OF PV PANEL WITH MPPT

Fig.4.4 Complete Model of PV Panel With MPPT

32

CHAPTER 5
FUZZY Based MPPT
Fuzzy MPPT algorithms
This study made a thorough investigation on common fuzzy input variables for fuzzy logic based
MPPT algorithms by reviewing the characteristics of PV cells and past literature on fuzzy MPPT
controller designs. Advantages and disadvantages of various designs were reviewed and provided with
detailed discussions on issues encountered during the design process. Finally, the designs were verified
using computer simulation.
Algorithm (i): P-V Slope and Variation of Slope as the Inputs
Algorithm (i) of the fuzzy logic MPPT system used the slope of the PV cells Power-Voltage (P-V)
curve ( S (k) ) and variation of slope ( S ( k) ) as the fuzzy input variables. These variables were defined
using the following equations:
S (k)

PPV

I PV (k ) VPV (k ) I PV (k 1) VPV (k 1)

VPV

VPV (k ) VPV (k 1)
S (k ) S (k ) S (k 1)

(3)
(4)

Figure 6 shows the database for fuzzy rules designed according to the fuzzy input variables. A fiveterm fuzzy set, positive big (PB), positive small (PS), zero (ZE), negative small (NS), and negative big
(NB), is defined to describe each linguistic variable. Output from the fuzzy controller (duty ratio
command of the buck-boost converter) would change the output voltage and current of the PV cell.
Once PV cell outputs change, it would affect the values of the next round of fuzzy input variables. The
controller would then re-adjust the output commands accordingly. According to fuzzy logic, the
selection of the domain of the inputs and outputs (universe of discourse) will also directly affect the
results, so careful designs must be implemented. The general guidelines for determining the
membership functions are: (1) defining the boundaries of the PB and NB regions first based the
characteristics of the input variables; (2) the range of ZE is then determined based on the
predetermined MPPT goal (efficiency criteria); (3) the boundaries of PM and NM are then determined
following the selection of the boundaries of PB, NB, and ZE. Design iterations are usually required to
reach a satisfactory result. Figure 7 shows the corresponding input and output membership functions.
(a)
S ( k)

Fuzzy Rule

S ( k)

NB

NS

ZE

PS

PB

NB

ZE

PB

PS

ZE

NB

NS

PB

PS

ZE

ZE

NB

ZE

PB

PS

ZE

NS

NB

PS

PB

ZE

ZE

NS

NB

PB

PB

ZE

NS

NB

ZE

Region 1

Region 2

Region 3

er
30
90
80
70

Pow(W)

60
50
40

20
10

10
15
Voltage (V)

(b)
Figure 6. Fuzzy rules for P-V slope and changes of slope as the inputs.

20

25

Algorithms 2015, 8

106

(a )

(b)

(c)
Figure 7. Membership functions for Algorithm (i): (a) Membership function for P-V slope,
(b) Membership function for changes of slope; (c) Membership function for increment of
duty ratio command.
According to Figure 6, the fuzzy rule database was divided into three regions. The following
provides detailed explanations on the design considerations for the rule database of each region.
Region 1. The slope is negative in this region, showing that the operating point of the PV cell is
located on the right side of the MPP. At this time, duty ratio should be increased in
order to track and achieve the MPP. The second set of input variables would be used to
determine the magnitude of the duty ratio to be increased. However, when S (k) and
S (k) are both NB, the calculations may lead to the wrong outputs given that S ( k ) PPV
/ VPV . When the operating point is close to the MPP with both PPV and
VPV

being very small values, output would be set as ZE in order to avoid S (k) from
becoming NB and generate error output after division. When S (k) is NS and
S (k) is
either negative or zero, it would mean that the operating point would be located on the
right side of the MPP and is tending to move to the right side further. Hence, the rule
database was set to increase duty ratio under this condition. If S (k) is positive at this
point, it would mean that the operating point is approaching the MPP from the right
side. At this time, the output would be set to ZE in order to prevent over-increasing the
duty ratio and causing the system to oscillate.

Region 2. In this region, S (k) is ZE, meaning that the operating point would be close to the MPP.
Hence, the principle would be to maintain the same duty ratio under such
conditions. If

Algorithms 2015, 8
S (k) is NB, then the operating point would be rapidly approaching the
MPP from the
left side (duty ratio decreased). In order to prevent the operating point
from moving to
the right side of the MPP, the controller would use PS to suppress the
change of magnitude of the duty ratio in the opposite direction. When S
(k) is PB, the operating
point would be located on the right side of the MPP. In order to prevent
sudden over-increases of the duty ratio that may cause the operating point
to cross-over to the left side of the MPP, the controller would use NS to
suppress the magnitude of change
of the duty ratio.
Region 3. When S (k) is positive, the operating point would be located on the left
side of the
MPP. Under such conditions, the duty ratio should be decreased for
MPPT. A second
set of input variables would be used to determine the magnitude of duty
ratio to be decreased. When both S (k) and S (k) are PB, the controller
may generate the wrong
outputs owing to the reasons similar to that with Region 1. Hence, the
output should be set to ZE to avoid such conditions. When the system
determines that S (k) is PS and
that S (k) is positive or zero, the operating point would be on the left
side of the MPP
and is tending to move to left further. The rule database would be set to
reduce duty ratio under such conditions. When S (k) is negative at this
point, the operating point
would be approaching the MPP from the left side. At this time, the output
would be set to ZE in order to prevent over-decreasing the duty ratio and
system oscillation.
In order to verify the design of the fuzzy logic MPPT algorithm, a solar power MPPT
simulation system was established on MATLAB as the verification model. As the MPPT
system must be capable of maintaining normal operations during changing irradiations,
the simulation system would therefore change irradiation levels every 0.2 seconds using
the sequence G 1 0.8 0.5 0.6 0.4 . Updating rate of the fuzzy controller was set to 100 Hz
and the load resistance set to 8 . Figure 8 shows the simulation results. Dotted red lines
in the figure show the maximum power output under different irradiation. The marks
with (X, Y) values show the steady state results. Y-value indicates power delivered from
the PV panel. X-value is the corresponding instant of time. Results show that even with
changing irradiation, the MPPT system was still capable of successfully tracking the
MPP. Hence, this MPPT system design would be considered successful.

10

CHAPTER 6
RESULT
SIMULATION RESULT FOR 37 WATT SOLAR PANEL

Fig.6.1 P-V Characteristic of Solar Panel

Fig.6.2 I-V Characteristic of Solar Cell

51

CASE I. Output Power at Constant Irradiation (1000W/m2)

40
35

Output

Power

30

Output Power with MPPT

Output Power without MPPT

25

Actual Power

20
15
10
5
0 0

Time

10

12

14
4

x 10

Fig.6.3 Output Power of 37W PV Module at Fixed Irradiation (1000W/m )

Above graph shows that when we are using MPPT and taking irradiance is constant
then the power become increased.

CASE II. With Varying Irradiation

1000

Irradiation(W/m2)

950
900
850
800
750
700 0

Time

Fig.6.4 Change in Irradiation

5
2

10

12

14
4

x 10

40

Output

Power (Watt)

35
30
25
20

Output Power with MPPT

Output Power without MPPT

15

Actual output Power

10
5
0 0

Time (usec)

10

12

14
4

x 10

Fig.6.5 Output Power of 37W PV Module With Change In Irradiation

Efficiency = Total Power (with MPPT) Total Power (without MPPT) * 100
Total Power (with MPPT)
= 42.489 16.824 *100
42.489
= 60.40%
Above table shows the change in performance of PV module by using MPPT. It
shows that efficiency is increased up to 60% by using MPPT.

54

CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
The model shown in above Figure was simulated using SIMULINK and MATLAB.
The plots obtained in the different scopes have been shown in Chapter 6. The
simulation was first run with the switch on no MPPT mode, bypassing the MPPT
algorithm block in the circuit. It was seen that when we do not use an MPPT
algorithm, the power obtained at the load side was more fluctuating for a solar
irradiation value of 1000 Watts per sq. cm. Therefore, the conversion efficiency came
out to be very low. The simulation was then run with the switch on MPPT mode. This
included the MPPT block in the circuit and the PI controller was fed the Vref as
calculated by the P&O algorithm. Under the same irradiation conditions, the PV panel
continued to generate around 36.8 Watts power. In this case, however, the power
obtained at the load side was found to be around 36.8 Watts, thus increasing the
conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic system as a whole. The loss of power from
the available 36.8 Watts generated by the PV panel can be explained by switching
losses in the high frequency PWM switching circuit and the inductive and capacitive
losses in the Boost Converter circuit.
Therefore, it was seen that using the Perturb & Observe MPPT technique increased
the efficiency of the photovoltaic system. And the obtained output power is 37.8watt.
This project summarized the designs of six fuzzy MPPT algorithms using
different input variables. Detailed considerations, determinations of the fuzzy rules
associated with the different fuzzy input variables, as well as the advantages and
disadvantages of the algorithms have also been summarized in the paper. which
used the sum of the angles of the arctangent of the conductance and the arctangent
of the incremental conductance as the input variable, was considered the most
promising MPPT algorithm according to our considerations as the MPP conditions
would have a well-defined range for both the sum ( 180 o ) and the range, When
compared to other algorithms, made it easier to determine the range of the universe
of discourse, fuzzy rules, and the associated membership functions for the MPPT
algorithm. Computer simulation also confirmed that, provided better MPPT
performance. Additionally, the MPPT function could also be formulated as a form
of feedback control using 180o as the reference input and be applied in multipurpose
controller designs such as by incorporating of voltage regulation purposes.