20th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 6 –10 June 2005, Barcelona, Spain

NEW I-V PHOTOVOLTAIC CURVES TRACER BASED ON DC- DC CONVERTERS

WITH COUPLED-INDUCTORS

E. Durán1, M. Sidrach-de-Cardona2, J.M. Enrique1, M.A. Bohórquez1, J.E. Carretero2, J.M. Andújar1
1
Dpto. de Ing. Electrónica, de Sist. Infor. y Aut.- Universidad de Huelva.
Tel.: +34 959 217655, Fax: +34 959 217348, e-mail: {aranda, juanm.enrique, bohorquez, andujar}@diesia.uhu.es
2
Dpto. de Física Aplicada II- Universidad de Málaga.
Tel.: +34 952 132722/23, Fax:+34 952 131450, e-mail: {msidrach@ctima, jecarretero@}uma.es

ABSTRACT: The achievement of I-V and P-V curves of photovoltaic panels gives the possibility to obtain the exact
operation point, the short-circuit current (Isc), the open-circuit voltage (Voc), the maximum power point (MPP) and
the Fill Factor (FF). These are significant parameters for the design and for the start-up of a photovoltaic installation.
In this paper, we propose and analyse by means of simulation two topologies of DC-DC converters candidates to
implement I-V and P-V curves tracers of photovoltaic modules. This capacity must that mainly as much structure
SEPIC (Single-Ended Primary Inductance Converter) as the Cuk they present a relation of conversion buck-boost.
Thanks to this property, a complete sweep of the voltage and the current given by a photovoltaic panel can be made,
including Voc and Isc. Both structures allow in addition, the incorporation of magnetic coupling between his
inductors. These structures are implemented by coupled inductors and present two fundamental advantages: (1) they
allow to emulate a resistance at the input converter within the range [0,∞) and (2) they guarantee a null ripple in the
input current when the magnetic coupling of its two inductors fulfils ZRC (Zero Ripple Condition).
Keywords: DC-DC converters, I-V and P-V tracers, Coupled-inductors.

1 INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the utilization of renewable energy

sources has become an attractive alternative to fossil
fuels, because of their environmental problems and
energy saving. Solar energy is one of the most important
elements of renewable energy sources, because it does
not generate any dirty substances that are polluting the
water, or air, and it is abundant and inexhaustible, and a) I-V Curve.
the photovoltaic (PV) systems are stand-ing at its heart.
Solar cells represent the fundamental power conversion
unit of a PV system. Crystalline silicon cell technology is
well established. Two of the key elements in analyzing
the performance of solar cell driven loads is the I–V and
P-V characteristic of PV panels.
The simplified exponential expression, equation (1),
proposed by Gow & Manning [1], describes the b) P-V Curve.
relationship between voltage (V) and current (I) given by
a PV module. Figure 1. Characteristics of a PV panel.
Eq.(1) (considering the dependence of its parameters
The capacity of the DC-DC converters to emulate a
⎡ I RS ⎤ resistance has been investigated and analyzed for the
⎡
⎛
q⎜V
IR
+ S
⎞
nP ⎠⎟
⎤ V +
⎢ ⎝ nS
⎢ ⎥ nS nP ⎥ power factor correction (PFC) in several applications [2].
AKT
I = nP ⎢ I L − I s ⎢ e − 1⎥ − ⎥ In these cases the converter is connected between the
⎢ ⎢ ⎥ RP ⎥ rectifier and the bulk capacitor, to obtain a theoretical
⎢⎣ ⎣ ⎦ ⎦⎥ power factor near to the unit. This property is related
on T and S), provides the so-called I-V curves of a with the process of DC-DC conversion to act as
photovoltaic panel and the multiplication result of both emulators of resistance [3], that can be applied to obtain
magnitudes provides the supplied power. Fig. 1 shows the I-V and P-V curves of PV panels [4]. This improves
the curves of a PV module, as well as its dependency the procedures used experimentally which are based on
with the temperature and the solar radiation. From these the connection of an adjustable impedance at the
curves, it is observable that the characteristics of a solar terminals of the panel and immediately afterwards to
panel are non-linear and they vary with the solar measure the voltage and the current provided by the
radiation, and temperature. Each curve has a maximum module. In contrast, the aforementioned impedance
power point (MPP) which provides the optimal operation changes between short-circuit and open-circuit [5]-[6].
point for an efficient use of the panel (VP is the The same strategy has been implemented in this work
coordinate of the MPP for 100mW/cm2 and 50ºC in the using a DC-DC converter making changes on its duty
Fig. 1). Other two important points of this curve are the cycle. The possibility of annulling the ripple in the
open-circuit voltage (Voc) and the short-circuit current current provided by the PV panel produces a substantial
(Isc), being both parameters related by means the Fill improvement in the utilization of the module, due to the
Factor (FF). increased stability of the operation point, and the
reproduction capacity of the whole I-V curve by the

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 20th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 6 –10 June 2005, Barcelona, Spain

converter with minor noise. This can be obtained by
means of the employment of coupled inductors.
The property of small ripple current can be
implemented using SEPIC and Cuk structure [7]. The
electrical circuit of these two structures is shown in Fig.
2, where Vg and ig represents the voltage and the current
provided by the PV panel. Actually both topologies
present very similar characteristics, since they have the
capability of buck-boost conversion, which allows
fulfilling the complete sweep of the curves I-V and P-V
of the panel (included Voc and Isc). Both use the same
number of components; both submit to the switches to
the same stresses and provide similar efficiency.
Nevertheless, the principal advantage of the SEPIC
topology is the facility in the incorporation of galvanic
isolation, and that there is no inversion in the output
voltage with respect to the common reference. In this
paper a new method for making the complete sweep of
the voltage and the current supplied by a PV panel based
on coupled-inductors SEPIC and Cuk converter is
described. This allows avoiding the ripple in the current
given by the module, without to increase the switching
frequency and the value of the inductances, moreover it is
not necessary to use additional filters in the input.
the input resistance Ri, (at the output of the PV panel),
the equivalent inductance (Leq), and the load connected to
the converter (R) for CCM and DCM listed in Table I,
have been obtained assuming converters without losses
and that the switching ripple magnitudes are small
compared to their respective dc components. In each
case, the dimensionless parameter K is a measure of the
tendency of a converter to operate in the DCM. Large
values of K lead to CCM, while small values lead to the
DCM. The critical value of K at the boundary between
modes (Kcrit.) is a function of the duty cycle. If K is
greater than one, then the converter operates in the CCM
for all duty cycles.
Taking into account the D ranges (from 0 to 1) and
the expressions of Ri from Table I, it can be deduced that
Buck-Boost-derived converters are the only structures
capable of sweeping the whole curve I-V of a module in
CCM, from the open-circuit voltage (Voc) to short-circuit
current (Isc). Several configurations such as Buck-Boost,
Zeta, Cuk and SEPIC, provide the same conversion
relation and same input resistance. Nevertheless, whereas
the topologies Buck-Boost and Zeta, the input current is
always discontinuous (because the switch is located in
series with the panel, that causes a great harmonics
current content), for the Cuk and SEPIC topologies the
input current can be continuous, when certain conditions
are fulfilled.

TABLE I. Values of Ri, Rcrit., and Kcrit. for different

DC-DC converters.
Buck-
a) SEPIC converter. Converter
Buck Boost Boost-
Converter Converter Derived
Converters
Kcrit. 1− D D (1 − D )
2
(1 − D )2
2 Leq . 2 Leq. 2 Leq.
Rcrit.
(1 − D ) TS D (1 − D ) TS
2
(1 − D)2 TS
R (1 − D )
2
R
R (1 − D )
2
Ri (CCM)
D2 D2
4⋅R
R ⎛ 2
K⋅R
b) Cuk converter. ⋅ ⎜1 + 1 + 4 K 2 ⎞⎟
2
Ri (DCM) ⎛ 2 ⎞
4 ⎝ D ⎠ ⎜1 + 1 + 4 D K ⎟ D2
⎝ ⎠
Figure 2. SEPIC and Cuk converts with coupled
2 Leq
inductors. With K= DCM occurs for K<Kcrit.
RTS or R>Rcrit.

2 DC-DC CONVERTERS AS EMULATORS OF

VARIABLE RESISTENCE 3 ZERO RIPPLE CONDITION (ZRC)

DC-DC converters are widely used in photovoltaic
systems as interface between the PV panel and the load,
allowing the tracking of the maximum power point
(MPPT). Principally, their mission is to adapt the energy
produced by the set of cells. This is done by using the
pulse width modulation technique (PWM), usually to
constant frequency. The duty cycle (D) is the relationship
between the time of conduction (TON) and the switching
period (TS).
The three basic converter configurations (Buck,
Boost, and Buck-Boost) are similar to a DC transformer
both in Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM) as in
Discontinuous Conduction Mode (DCM). In a DC
transformer the relationship of transformation can be
controlled electronically by changing the duty cycle of
the converter in the range [0,1]. The relations between
The zero ripple condition and the ripple-steering
phenomenon were originally investigated in the Cuk
converter [7]. However it can be extended to the other
configurations by two or more inductors submitted to the
same voltage waveforms. The decrease of size and weight
and the improvement of the system efficiency are enough
to motivate its study and research.
Nevertheless, the most important advantage, that
contributes the magnetic coupling on the SEPIC and Cuk
structures, is the practical elimination of the input current
ripple, due to the magnetic coupling between the
inductances (L1 and L2) of the converter. This technique
is especially attractive for obtaining electrical
characteristic curves of PV panels. The quantitative
analysis of the reduction in the input current ripple can be

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 20th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 6 –10 June 2005, Barcelona, Spain
done using the "T" model of a two-winding coupled-
inductor.
Lμ N2
Kr = = (2)
Lμ + Ll2 N1
Where, Kr is defined as secondary coupling
coefficient, Ll2corresponds to the inductance of
dispersion (leakage inductor) due to non-concatenate
magnetic fluxes between windings, and Lµ is the
magnetizing inductance.
Really, the input current ripple of L1 does not
disappear, but it is “steered” into the other inductance L2.
In the practice, there are two main causes that
produce a residual ripple at the input current [7]: Zero
ripple condition mismatch (due to the integer number of
turns and difficulty to set the gap thickness to the exact
value required) and Applied voltage mismatch (due to
differences between the applied voltages to both
inductive windings). Quantification of the residual input
current ripple can be obtained reporting all the
inductances to the primary side, and introducing in the
analysis the two previous non-idealities [7].
4 DESIGN CRITERIA AND SIMULATION
RESULTS
4.1 Design Criteria
From an analytical point of view, Cuk and SEPIC
topologies also are similar. For the SEPIC converter, the
C1 capacitor voltage is equal to the input voltage (see Fig.
2), whereas for the Cuk converter, it is the sum of the
input and output voltage.
In conventional SEPIC and Cuk converters, the
capacitor C1 voltage is assumed to be constant. When
operating as a tracker of PV curve, the capacitor voltage
is under the following two conflicting constrains: 1) to
present a nearly constant value within a switching period
and 2) to follow the input voltage profile of the I-V curve
of PV panel (frequency of the sweep of cycle duty, ωD).
Therefore, resonant frequency (ωr) of C1, L1, and L2 must
grater than the sweep frequency to avoid input current
oscillations. Also, the ωr must be lower than the
switching frequency (ωS) to assure almost constant
voltage; the resonant frequency has to be in such a way
that the converter operation mode is neither DQRM
(discontinuous quasi-resonant mode) nor DCVM
(discontinuous-capacitor-voltage mode). Therefore, the
selection of the capacitor C1 must fulfil (3).
1 5Ω). In these figures the predictions of the theoretical
ω S > ω r > ω D ; with ω r2 =
C1 ( L1 + L2 ) (3)
If fS=100fr and fr=10fD are chosen, with a switching
period (Ts) of 40μs, the previous inequality is satisfied for
C1=330μF.
The selection of L1 and L2 is made using the desired
ripple value of the input current. Its peak-to-peak value is
given in (4).
Vg
ΔiL1 =
L1
DTS
(4)
Its maximum value occurs for D=1 and Vg=Voc;
therefore L1 can be obtained considering the specified
maximum current ripple. Usually the value of ∆iL1 is a
percentage of the value of average input current. It is
undesirable to allow ∆iL1 to become too large; because it
would increase the peak currents of the inductor and of
the semiconductor switching devices, and would increase
their size and cost. We have considered Leq=160μHr and
L1=800μHr, which provides a maximum ripple smaller
than ISC and L2=200μHr.
Beside, to operate in Continuous Conduction Mode
(CCM) as a I-V curves tracer, the following inequalities
must hold (see Table I).
2 Leq
> (1 − D )
2
K > K crit . ⇒ (5)
R TS
Which must also be fulfilled for D=0.
Choosing to switching period (Ts) of 40μs and
Leq=160μHr, the inequality (5) is satisfied for R=5Ω.
4.2 Simulation Results
The theoretical analysis exposed in section 2 and 3
has been checked using PSpice©. We have used a model
of panel implemented with blocks ABM (Analog
Behavioral Modeling) and based on eq. (1). Parameters
of the model correspond to the module BP Saturno
(ns=60 and np=1) [5].
Fig. 3.a shows the curves I-V and P-V of the
aforementioned module to 27ºC and 1000W/m2. To
obtain a set of values (V, I) at the module output, we
need to implement a variable input resistance Ri (since Ri
fixes the point of operation of the module).
The sweep of the duty cycle has been done by means
of the comparison of two triangular signals of similar
amplitude (5V) and a frequency relation of 103. At the
output comparator, we obtain a signal PWM of 25KHz
and with D between 0 and 1. The switching frequency of
the converter is established by the fast signal and the low
frequency signal determines the number of points of the
sweeping.
The ZRC for the model used by PSpice© can be
easily derived from (2):
Lm = L2
And therefore:
Lm L2
K coupling = =
L1 ⋅ L2 L1
Figs. 3.b and 3.c present the simulation results
obtained with the Boost and SEPIC structures, for the
same conditions of radiation, temperature and load (R=
analysis done in section 2 and 3 are compared, it can be
observed the impossibility of reproducing the points near
to the VOC for the Boost topology, and the capacity of the
SEPIC structure, to represent all the points of the I-V
characteristic of a panel, including VOC and ISC.
Nevertheless, though the SEPIC topology is capable
of making a complete sweep of the curve I-V of the PV
panel due to its buck-boost characteristic, significant
differences exist when the inductors which composes the
structure fulfil the ZRC. When Kcoupling=0 (inductors
uncoupled), both the voltage and the current provided by
the module contain high ripple (Fig. 3.e), and they submit
to the panel to an excessive electrical stress; when the
inductors fulfil (Kcoupling=0.5) the ZRC, both the voltage
and the current provided by the panel lack ripple (Fig.
3.f) and the sweep of the curve I-V can be obtained and
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measured of trustworthy form and also the PV stress is components, the first one is a resistive component with
minimized. an average value of Ri and the second one is a superposed
component whose value is δri (6).
Where δri is generated by harmonics of current and
voltage produced in the input of the converter. This is
due to the fact that the inductor current waveform
contains a dc component I, plus a switching ripple of
peak amplitude ∆iL1. The characterization of the
switching ripple in the input current to the converters can
be made using Fourier analysis. Which indicate the
a) I-V and P-V curves of BP Saturno panel. dependency of the harmonics with respect to duty cycle.
This result contrasts with the case of coupled inductors,
since when the sweep is realized with coupled inductors,
the ripple is eliminated by them and the high frequency
harmonics are attenuated.
ri = Ri + δ ri (6)

5 CONCLUSIONS
b) Curves achieved with Boost converter.
In this paper, a new approach of characterizing the
curve I-V of a photovoltaic module by means of DC-DC
converters with coupled-inductors is proposed and
analyzed. When SEPIC or Cuk structures with coupled
inductors are used, the reproduction of the curve I-V of
the photovoltaic panel is done in a reliable way and also
the PV stresses are limited. This implies that these
topologies are candidates to implement I-V and P-V
c) Curves achieved with SEPIC converter. curves of photovoltaic panels. An adequate choice of the
intermediate capacitor C1 is fundamental, and can be
used to establish a new design criteria for this
application. The static and dynamic simulation results
have confirmed the validity of the analysis.

6 REFERENCES

[1] J.A. Gow, C.D. Manning: "Development of a

d) Curves of BP Saturno panel in the time. photovoltaic array model for use in power-
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193-200, March 1999.
[2] N. Jayaram, D. Maksimovic: "Power factor
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CUK converters with nonlinear-carrier control".
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[3] S. Singer: "The application of loss-free resistors in
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