2010 2nd IEEE International Symposium on Power Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems

Sliding Mode Control for Stabilizing DC-link of

DC-DC Converter in Photovoltaic Systems
W. Thammasiriroj*, T. Nuchkrua*, and S. Ruayariyasub*, **
* King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand
** Provincial Electricity Authority, Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract--As the maximum power point of a photovoltaic
(PV) cell varies mainly with incident illumination and
ambient temperature, the PV cell may generate a wide
range of voltages and currents at the terminals. As a
consequence, the PV cell itself cannot maintain a constant
DC voltage and function as a DC voltage power supply
source. To overcome this problem, a DC-DC converter with
the nonlinear control scheme, sliding mode control (SMC)
may be used. In this paper, the SMC is proposed to
controlling the output voltage of the DC-DC converter, in
order to maintain and stabilize the constant DC-link voltage
in both line and load variations. Furthermore, classical
controls such as PI and PID are compared with the SMC in
the simulation both transient and steady state responses.
The results show that the SMC technique is more suitable
than those classical controls. It improves the transient
response and reduces the steady state error of the DC-link
voltage.
Index Terms--Sliding mode control, DC-DC converter,
PV characteristics, DC-link stabilization
published papers [1]-[9] presented linear and nonlinear
control techniques, which showed the performances of
their topologies either to control the MPPT or to control a
DC-AC inverter. In this paper, a nonlinear control, SMC,
designed for controlling DC-link voltage is illustrated and
implemented in both line and load variations, and to
compare with the well-known classical controls, i.e. PI
and PID [10]-[11]. The proposed control strategy is
proved in a simulation using MATLAB/Simulink
software.
II. DYNAMIC MODEL OF DC-DC BOOST CONVERTER
The dynamic model of the boost type DC-DC
converter in state space form is obtained by the
application of basic laws governing the operation of the
system. The schematic diagram of DC-DC boost
converter is shown in Fig. 1. The dynamic equations of
this converter can be written as:

I. INTRODUCTION
It was only the last few decades when growing energy
demands, increased environmental problems and
declining fossil resources made the world realize and
search for energy alternatives. Renewable energy from
natural resources such as sunlight, water, wind, and
geothermal heat has been focused and involved
technologies are being developed. With the unlimited Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of DC-DC boost converter.
resource availability, solar energy is considered one of
the most potential options. The PV solar energy system is
a candidate technology that can be used in an extensive diL v E
= −(1 − u ) C + (1)
range of applications such as in households, industries, dt L L
and vehicles. PV module is a flat panel, which generates
electricity using the photoelectric principle. In order to dvC i v
maximize the output power from the PV module, = (1 − u ) L − C (2)
dt C RC
Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) which is a fully
electronic equipped system is installed. The MPPT varies
the electrical operating point of the PV modules. This Where vC and iL are the output capacitor voltage and
allows the maximum available power to be delivered. A inductor current, respectively. The control input u is the
DC-DC converter is also required in the operation by switch position function in the set of {0, 1}. Let 1 − u be
taking DC input from PV module and converting it back the mathematical function of electronic switch. In state
to a different DC voltage and current. These DC voltage equation, let x1 = iL and x2 = vC , yields:
and current are exactly matched to the load system
requirement. 1 E
As a consequence, the control strategy of the DC-DC x1 = −(1 − u ) x2 + (3)
L L
converter is one of the most important components that
facilitate the system to meeting the user requirement. It is
designed to control and accurate the DC voltage, 1 1
x2 = (1 − u ) x1 − x2 (4)
providing a suitable quality of power. Some previously C RC

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In state space form ( x = Ax + Bu ):
⎡ x1 ⎤ ⎡ 0 − (1 − u ) L1 ⎤ ⎡ x1 ⎤ ⎡ L1 ⎤
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ = ⎥⎢ ⎥+⎢ ⎥E (5)
⎣ x2 ⎦ ⎣⎢(1 − u ) C − RC ⎦⎥ ⎣ x2 ⎦ ⎣0 ⎦
1 1
It is assumed that the boost converter is working in
continuous conduction mode (CCM), in which the
average value of the inductance current never drops to
zero due to load variations.
III. SLIDING MODE CONTROL DESIGN
The primary objective of control strategies is to satisfy
the total instantaneous power demand in highly disturbed
environments by controlling the power generated in the
PV array.
SMC [1]-[9] is a type of nonlinear controls, which is
robust in the presence of parameter uncertainties and
disturbance. It is capable of confining the system status to
follow trajectories, which lie on a suitable surface of the
sliding surface.
The approach is realized by the use of a high speed
switching control law, which forces the trajectory of the
system to move to a predetermined path in the state
variable space and remain in that surface thereafter. The
regime of a control system in the sliding surface is called
sliding mode. In the sliding mode, the system response
remains insensitive to some parameters variations and
unknown disturbances.
The variable structure system (VSS) theory has been
applied to nonlinear systems. A highlighted feature of
this method is that the system, which is switched to the
sliding mode when the error is driven to a switching
surface, is robust against modeling uncertainties and
disturbances. Basically, a VSS includes several different
continuous functions that map plant state to a control
surface, and the switching among different functions is
determined by plant state represented by a switching
function. The state space form x (t ) = Ax(t ) + Bu (t ) can
be rewritten as:
x (t ) = f ( x, t , u ) (6)
Where x is the state vector, u is the control input signal
vector, and f is a function vector. In the sliding mode
theory if the function vector is discontinuous on a surface
S ( x) = 0 (known as sliding surface), then:
⎪⎧ f ( x, t , u ), S > 0
+ +
f ( x, t , u ) = ⎨ − −
(7)
⎪⎩ f ( x, t , u ), S < 0
The system is in a sliding mode when its
representative point moves on the sliding surface
( S ( x) = 0 ). The sliding surface is so-called switching
function, since the control signal depends on the sign on
two sides of the sliding surface.
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In the sliding mode theory, the control signal problem
is to find a control input signal u such that the state
vector x tracks a desired trajectory x∗ in the presence of
model uncertainties and disturbances. The sliding surface
may then be set to be of the form:
S ( x) = x − x∗ (8)
If the initial condition S (0) = 0 is not satisfied then
the tracking can only be achieved after a transient phase
in the reaching mode has passed.
Since the aim is to force system states to the sliding
surface, the adopted control strategy must assure that the
system trajectory from any initial condition will move
toward and remain on the sliding surface while the
following condition is met:
SS ≤ −η S (9)
Where η is a positive constant that guarantees the system
trajectories are to hit the sliding surface in finite time.
The required sliding mode controller achieving finite time
convergence to the sliding surface is given by:
⎧1, S > 0
u=⎨ (10)
⎩0, S < 0
Taking x1 = iL and x2 = vC as the state variables of the
system and using the state equations given in equations
(3) and (4) with the aim of achieving a desired constant
output voltage V ∗ , the state variable x2 can be obtained
as follows:
x2 = V ∗ = 0 (11)
Let the state variable error be zero. It can be defined
by the difference to the reference value as follows:
S = x1 − x1∗ = 0 (12)
The reference value x1∗ is derived internally to the
controller from the output of the linear voltage controller.
The control signal for enforcing sliding mode in the
manifold S = 0 is given by:
1
u= (1 − sign( S )) (13)
2
In order to guarantee the state trajectory of the system on
the sliding surface S = 0 and to slide over it, a suitable
design of control law requires the reaching condition:
ST S < 0 (14)
where S = x1 − x1∗ . Equation (14) is proved in order to
guarantee the stability of Lyapunov function.
 The steady state values of state variables coincide with
the corresponding reference values, and they are
constants. We obtain:
x2 > E (15)
This can be interpreted that the sliding mode exists
when the output voltage is higher than the source voltage
(PV output voltage)
A variable structure system has a defined number of
sub structures, based on the condition of some non-linear
elements. The SMC is a control technique in which the
state trajectory is directed towards an invariant surface on
the phase plane to achieve a desired system behavior. The
SMC structure used in this study is shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. SMC structure.
IV. SYSTEM CONFIGURATION AND EXPERIMENTAL
CONDITIONS
The proposed diagram shown in Fig. 3 is to interface
the PV array with the DC load. A DC-DC converter is
directly connected to the PV array with MPPT for
operating at the maximum power point. Without any
voltage regulating capacitors, the output voltage of PV
array vpv normally fluctuates in a wide range. To achieve
a constant DC-link voltage, a robust controller is required
in this application.
Fig. 3 Proposed diagram of the system.
Although the MPPT gains maximum power available
from a cell, the maximum power point only occurs at a
single operating point in an individual condition. The
power-voltage curves, at various levels of irradiance at
25ºC, are provided by a manufacturer as shown in Fig.4.
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Fig. 4. Power-voltage curves at various levels of irradiance at 25ºC.
At the MPP of sunlight incident on a clear day
(irradiance Φ = 1000 W/m2), the output voltage of 17.1 V
is obtained where losses are negligible. On the other hand,
in shading condition (Φ = 200 W/m2) the output voltage
is approximately 13.7 V. The voltage gap between the
maximum irradiance of 1000 and 200 W/m2 is 3.6 V, or
approximately 20% reduction in case of Φ = 200 W/m2 at
the MPP.
The simulation conditions of this study are set with an
aim to control the output voltage of the DC-DC converter
to be 320 V [12] using PI, PID and SMC. The output
voltage of PV array vpv is supplied as the input to the
DC-DC boost converter following to the power-voltage
curves (Fig.4). The selected polycrystalline PV array is
composed of 36 modules (18 in series and 2 in parallel),
capable of supplying more than 2 kW of output power
from output voltage between 240V and 300 V. The
voltage changing rate of this PV varies with incident
illumination and temperature. The dynamic behaviors of
the system to a step input are shown in Fig. 5. The
voltage changing rate of 80V/s (from 300 V to 240 V or
20% from the maximum voltage within 750 ms) is
selected for control algorithm testing in the simulation
(Fig. 6(a)). On the other hand, the load variation is also
one of the interesting points. In this study, a step function
is used to vary the load from 1kW to 2kW (Fig. 7(a)).
The selected controllers including PI, PID and SMC are
used for both experiments to maintain the constant DC
output voltage of the DC-DC boost converter.
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The simulation results of line variation (Figs. 5 and 6)
show significant aspects of the system behaviors under
irradiance variation. In transient responses (Fig. 5), the
overshoot of DC-link voltage can be reduced by
approximately 150 V when operated under SMC scheme
(Fig. 5(d)) in comparison to PI and PID schemes (Figs.
5(b) and 5(c)). In order to maintain the constant voltage,
the operation of the PV power source follows its
characteristics as in Fig. 6(a). The regulated DC-link
voltage of 320 V (dash lines) is controlled by PI, PID and
SMC (solid lines) in Figs. 6(b), 6(c) and 6(d)
respectively. At steady state, the output signal of the PI
exhibits a sinusoidal oscillating error, while the output
signal of the PID does not meet the desired voltage. The
SMC scheme improves those drawbacks of PI and PID
controls. Moreover, it is also robust against the climatic
disturbances to maintain the DC-link voltage.
The simulation results of load variation are shown in
Fig. 7. When the converter output power changes from
1 kW to 2 kW, a 50-V oscillating voltage occurs on the
DC-link of the PI scheme and a 30-V oscillating voltage
on the DC-link of the PID scheme (Figs. 7(b) and 7(c)).
In contrast, the DC-link voltage controlled by SMC
scheme (Fig. 7(d)) is nearly smooth. The SMC scheme Fig. 5. Transient response curves.
improves the transient response and also reduces the (a) Converter input voltage (PV output voltage),
steady-state error of the DC-link voltage. (b) PI, (c) PID, and (d) SMC controlled converter output voltages.

VI. CONCLUSION
Different control strategies of the PV power supply
system including SMC, PI and PID are compared in this
paper. These control strategies are implemented in
MATLAB/Simulink software. The dynamic behaviors of
the PV under standard climate conditions using the
operation of MPPT are also described. The simulation
results are obtained for the normal regime. In the study,
the SMC scheme which is a non-linear control type is
used to stabilize DC-link voltage, and the result is
compared with PI and PID controls. The simulation
results indicate significant steady state errors from PI and
PID, as these classical controls are not robust against line
and load variations. On the other hand, the modern SMC
technique shows a highly satisfactory result in both
transient and steady state responses. The SMC scheme is Fig. 6. Simulation results of line variation.
thus suitable for the use as control strategy in various (a) Converter input voltage (PV output voltage),
DC-DC converter structures and the use in changing (b) PI, (c) PID, and (d) SMC controlled converter output voltages.
environments due to the unpredictable nature of the sun
irradiation. This scheme is a promising technique not
only improving the transient response, but also reducing
the steady state error of the DC-link voltage.
In addition, the concept of this whole system may be
adapted to utilize in battery charging systems or inverted
to standard alternating-current (AC) for stand-alone
systems or utility-interconnected PV systems, in which a
reliable stability of the sourced DC supply is required.

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