Feedforward maximum power point tracking of PV systems using fuzzy controller

A feedforward maximum power (MP) point tracking scheme is developed for the interleaved dual boost (IDB) converter fed photovoltaic (PV) system using fuzzy controller. The tracking algorithm changes the duty ratio of the converter such that the solar cell array (SCA) voltage equals the voltage corresponding to the MP point at that solar insolation. This is done by the feedforward loop, which generates an error signal by comparing the instantaneous array voltage and reference voltage. The reference voltage for the feedforward loop, corresponding to the MP point, is obtained by an off-line trained neural network. Experimental data is used for off-line training of the neural network, which employs back-propagation algorithm. The proposed fuzzy feedforward peak power tracking effectiveness is demonstrated through the simulation and experimental results, and compared with the conventional proportional plus integral (PI) controller based system. Finally, a comparative study of interleaved boost and conventional boost converter for the PV applications is given and their suitability is discussed.     

Voltage-based maximum power point tracking control of PV system

Photovoltaic (PV) generators exhibit nonlinear v-i characteristics and maximum power (MP) points that vary with solar insulation. An intermediate converter can therefore increase efficiency by matching the PV system to the load and by operating the solar cell arrays (SCAs) at their maximum power point. An MP point tracking algorithm is developed using only SCA voltage information thus leading to current sensorless tracking control. The inadequacy of a boost converter for array voltage based MP point control is experimentally verified and an improved converter system is proposed. The proposed converter system results in low ripple content, which improves the array performance and hence a lower value of capacitance is sufficient on the solar array side. Simplified mathematical expressions for a PV source are derived. A signal flow graph is employed for modeling the converter system. Current sensorless peak power tracking effectiveness is demonstrated through simulation results. Experimental results are presented to validate the proposed method     

MPPT of photovoltaic systems using extremum - seeking control

A stability analysis for a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) scheme based on extremum-seeking control is developed for a photovoltaic (PV) array supplying a dc-to-dc switching converter. The global stability of the extremum-seeking algorithm is demonstrated by means of Lyapunov's approach. Subsequently, the algorithm is applied to an MPPT system based on the "perturb and observe" method. The steady-state behavior of the PV system with MPPT control is characterized by a stable oscillation around the maximum power point. The tracking algorithm leads the array coordinates to the maximum power point by increasing or decreasing linearly with time the array voltage. Off-line measurements are not required by the control law, which is implemented by means of an analog multiplier, standard operational amplifiers, a flip-flop circuit and a pulsewidth modulator. The effectiveness of the proposed MPPT scheme is demonstrated experimentally under different operating conditions.     

基于预测电流控制的光伏并网系统最大功率点跟踪算法

针对光伏发电的突变性及昼发夜停特性提出一种新型的基于预测电流控制的光伏并网系统最大功率点跟踪(MPPT)算法。根据实际情况考虑光伏阵列的非线性特性,最大功率点周围光伏电压的振荡及逆变器、滤波器的设计等。为了确保系统采用控制算法的稳定性,MPPT的设计应运而生,在此基础上通过改进算法从光伏系统的电压与电流预测基准电流进而控制光伏并网系统。通过与传统的波动相关控制方法对比给出了仿真结果。仿真结果表明:在光照发生突变时,与传统的波动相关控制法相比,提出的改进算法的跟踪速度较之提升9.3%,并能够准确跟踪光伏并网系统最大功率点,且性能稳定可靠。     

Single-Stage Single-Switch Switched-Capacitor Buck/Buck-Boost-Type Converter

A new dc-dc converter featuring a steep step-down of the input voltage is presented. It answers a typical need for on-board aeronautics modern power architectures: power supplies with a large conversion ratio able to deliver an output voltage of 1–1.2 V. The proposed structure is derived from a switched-capacitor circuit integrated with a buck converter; they share the same active switch. The proposed solution removes the electromagnetic interference (EMI) emission due to the large di/dt in the input current of the switched-capacitor power supplies. Compared with a quadratic buck converter, it presents a similar complexity, a smaller reduction in the line voltage at full load (but less conduction losses due to smaller input inductor current and capacitor voltage), lower voltage stresses on the transistor and diodes, lower current stresses in the diodes, and smaller size inductors. A similar structure using a buck-boost converter as the second stage is also presented. The experimental results confirm the theoretical developments.     

Single-phase grid-connected PV system using three-arm rectifier-inverter

A grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) power supply system with on-line voltage regulation capability is presented. It employs the three-arm rectifier-inverter topology with PV modules connected directly on the dc-link. The common-arm is with line-frequency switching and synchronous to the input voltage, aiming for a lower switching loss and decoupling the control of rectifier and inverter portions. As a result, the rectifier and inverter portions can be controlled independently with the rectifier-arm and inverter-arm, respectively. For maximum power point tracking (MPFF) of the PV modules and balancing the power among utility, PV, and the load, a variable dc-link voltage is adopted and controlled by the rectifier-arm based on the MPPT control algorithm. The inverter-arm then regulates the load voltage with good regulation and low distortion. Due to large variation of the dc-link voltage, a feedforward plus feedback control technique with variable gain is developed to keep constant bandwidth of the current loop at any operation condition. Therefore, the performance of the rectifier and inverter portions can be ensured. A system containing a 2 kVA converter and a 1.2 kW PV module is set up, and some experimental results are provided for demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

考虑局部遮挡的太阳能无人机能源控制

针对太阳能无人机在飞行状态下可能出现的太阳能电池局部遮挡情况，开展相应的太阳能电池最大功率点追踪算法和能源控制研究。通过将发光亮度引入相对吸引力计算过程对萤火虫算法进行改进，实现了局部阴影情况下太阳能电池最大功率点的高效追踪。以此为基础，设计了考虑局部遮挡情况下太阳能无人机的太阳能电池/蓄电池混合能源状态机控制规则。以"蒲公英I"无人机为例，建立了太阳能电池阵列模型，开展了考虑局部遮挡情况下太阳能电池最大功率点追踪仿真实验；基于"蒲公英I"飞行剖面，开展了考虑局部遮挡情况的混合能源控制仿真试验。研究结果表明：改进的萤火虫算法可以实现在局部阴影情况下太阳能电池最大功率点的有效跟踪，与萤火虫算法相比收敛时间更短、且功率波动幅度更小；采用改进萤火虫算法和状态机能源管理策略，在考虑局部遮挡的飞行状态下可以实现太阳能电池/蓄电池之间的合理功率分配与控制。     

Next-Generation Thin-Film Photovoltaics

Future spacecraft and high-altitude airship (HAA) solar array technologies will require high array specific power (W/kg), which can be met using thin-film photovoltaics (PV) on lightweight and flexible substrates [1]. Thin-film array technology, with thin-film specific array support structure, begin to exceed the specific power of crystalline multi-junction arrays with thin-film device efficiencies as low as 8.5% [2]. Thin-film PV devices have other advantages in that they are more easily integrated into HAAs, and are projected to be much less costly than their crystalline PV counterparts. Furthermore, it is likely that only thin-film array technology will be able to meet device specific power requirements exceeding 1 kW/kg (photovoltaic and integrated substrate/blanket mass only).     

Table-Aided Design of the Energy-Storage Reactor in DC-to-DC Converters

A new procedure for the selection of magnetic cores for use in energy-storage dc-to-dc power converters that eliminates the need for an automated computer search algorithm and stored data file is presented. The converter configurations included in the procedure are the three commonly encountered single-winding converters for voltage stepup, for current stepup and voltage stepup/current stepup, and for the two-winding converter for voltage stepup/current stepup. For each converter configuration, three types of controllers are considered: constant-frequency, constant on-time, and constant off-time. Using concepts developed from analyses of these converters by considering the transfer of energy by means of an energystorage inductor or transformer, a special table of parameters calculated from magnetic core data is constructed, which leads to a considerably simplified design procedure.     

Single-stage converters for PV lighting systems with MPPT andenergy backup

Single-stage converters (SSCs) are proposed for applications of photovoltaic powered lighting system (PPLS). The synchronous switch technique is employed to develop the SSCs which can fulfill maximum power point tracking (MPPT), battery charging, discharging, and lamp ballasting features. Several typical SSCs are discussed. One of the proposed SSCs, which is the integration of a buck-boost charger/discharger and a class-D series resonant parallel loaded inverter, is analyzed and designed into a PPLS. Both pulsewidth modulation (PWM) and variable-frequency controls are used to govern the system operation. The controller is implemented on a single-chip microprocessor. Simulated and experimental results of the proposed system for driving up to sixteen GE TBX 26 W fluorescent lamps are used to verify the theoretical prediction and feasibility. The proposed system has a simple configuration, as well as a zero voltage switching (ZVS) feature, and can achieve the same functions as those in conventional systems when abrupt insolation changes do not occur frequently. These result in the inherent merits of lower cost, more compact size and possibly achieving higher reliability over conventional systems     

Simplified analysis of PWM converters using model of PWM switch.II. Discontinuous conduction mode

For pt.I see ibid., vol.26, no.3, p.490-6 (1990). According to the method of state-space averaging, when a pulsewidth modulation (PWM) converter enters discontinuous conduction mode (DCM), the inductor current state is lost from the average model of the converter. It is shown that there is neither theoretical nor experimental justification for the disappearance of the inductor state as claimed by the method of state-space averaging. For example, when the model of the PWM switch in DCM is substituted in the buck, boost, or buck-boost converter while the inductor is left intact, the average model has two poles: the first pole f_p1 agrees with the single pole of state-space averaging, while the second pole f_p2 occurs in the range f_p2⩾F_s/π. It is shown that the right-half plane zeros present in the control-to-output transfer functions of the boost, buck-boost, and Cuk converters in continuous conduction mode are also present in discontinuous conduction mode     

Design and integration of a solar AMTEC power system with anadvanced global positioning satellite

A 1,200-W solar AMTEC (alkali metal thermal-to-electric conversion) power system concept was developed and integrated with an advanced global positioning system (GPS) satellite. The critical integration issues for the SAMTEC with the GPS subsystems included: (1) packaging within the Delta II launch vehicle envelope; (2) deployment and start-up operations for the SAMTEC; (3) SAMTEC operation during all mission phases; (4) satellite field of view restrictions with satellite operations; and (5) effect of the SAMTEC requirements on other satellite subsystems. The SAMTEC power system was compared with a conventional planar solar array/battery power system to assess the differences in system weight, size, and operations, Features of the design include the use of an advanced multitube, vapor anode AMTEC cell design with 24% conversion efficiency, and a direct solar insolation receiver design with integral LiF salt canisters for energy storage to generate power during the maximum solar eclipse cycle, The modular generator design consists of an array of multitube AMTEC cells arranged into a parallel/series electrical network with built-in cell redundancy. Our preliminary assessment indicates that the solar generator design is scaleable over a 500 to 2,500-W range. No battery power is required during the operational phase of the GPS mission. SAMTEC specific power levels greater than 5 We/kg and 160 We/m² are anticipated for a mission duration of 10 to 12 years in orbits with high natural radiation backgrounds     

Space vector modulation strategy for an eight-switch three-phase NPC converter

A three-phase neutral point clamped (NPC) converter is presented for power factor correction and dc-link voltage regulation. A simplified space vector pulsewidth modulation scheme (SVPWM) is adopted to track line current commands. Using a simplified SVPWM algorithm, the calculated time for the time duration of voltage vector is reduced. The adopted NPC converter has less power switches compared with the conventional three-level NPC converter. Only eight power switches and four clamping diodes with voltage stress of half the dc bus voltage are used in the circuit configuration. Based on the proposed control algorithm, a reference voltage vector is generated on the ac terminal for drawing the sinusoidal line currents with unity power factor. Computer simulation and experimental results based on a laboratory prototype are presented to verify the validity and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.     

Computer Simulations of Optimum Boost and Buck-Boost Converters

The development of mathematical models suitable for minimum weight boost and buck-boost converter designs are presented. The facility of an augumented Lagrangian (ALAG) multiplier-based nonlinear programming technique is demonstrated for minimum weight design optimizations of boost and buck-boost power converters. ALAG-based computer simulation results for those two minimum weight designs are discussed. Certain important features of ALAG are presented in the framework of a comprehensive design example for boost and buck-boost power converter design optimization. The study provides refreshing design insight of power converters and presents such information as weight and loss profiles of various semiconductor components and magnetics as a function of the switching frequency.     

Suitability of pulse train control technique for BIFRED converter

Pulse Train/spl trade/ control scheme is presented and applied to a boost integrated flyback rectifier/energy storage dc-dc (BIFRED) converter operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM), which avoids the light-load high-voltage stress problem. In contrast to the conventional control techniques, the principal idea of Pulse Train technique is to regulate the output voltage using a series of high and low energy pulses generated by the current of the inductor. The applicability of the proposed technique to both the input and magnetizing inductances of BIFRED converter is investigated. Analysis of BIFRED converter operating in DCM as well as the output voltage ripple estimation is given. Experimental results on a prototype converter are also presented.     

Novel single-stage half-bridge series-resonant buck-boost inverter

A novel single-stage half-bridge series-resonant buck-boost inverter (HB-SRBBI) is proposed. The main attribute of the novel inverter topology is the fact that it generates an ac output voltage larger or lower than the dc input one, depending on the instantaneous duty cycle. This property is not found in the classical voltage source inverter (VST), which produces an ac output instantaneous voltage always lower than the dc input voltage. The proposed inverter circuit topology provides the main switch for turn-on at zero-current-switching (ZCS) by an auxiliary resonant cell built before the output choke. A state-space averaging approach is employed to analyze the system. A design example of 500 W ac/dc inverter is examined to assess the inverter performance and it provides high power efficiency above 90.7% under the rated power.     

Analysis of a PWM-resonant converter

When a parallel resonant tank is excited by a bipolar current pulse train a sinusoidal voltage develops across the tank whose amplitude depends on the duty cycle of the pulse train. An isolated secondary can be derived by applying the tank voltage to an isolation transformer whose magnetizing inductance acts as the resonant inductor of the tank circuit. A dc output voltage is obtained after rectification and filtering of the sinusoidal secondary voltage and regulation is achieved by controlling the duty cycle of the pulse train. The sinusoidal nature of the voltage across the isolation transformer alleviates some of the noise problem associated with parasitic capacitances of an isolation transformer when operated with square voltage waveform. In this work the dc and small-signal analysis of the converter is given and an equivalent small-signal circuit model is derived. Experimental results which confirm the validity of the model are presented.     

Buck-flyback DC-DC converter

It is difficult to obtain a large input/output voltage ratio with a DC-DC converter, because the duty factor d may not reach very small values. For the same reason, it is difficult to obtain an output voltage that is adjustable in a large range. A DC-DC converter circuit is proposed that overcomes this limitation by performing a voltage ratio d²/(1-d) in the best operating mode. Circuit operation is analyzed, operating modes are evidenced, and the voltage ratio is deduced in each operating mode as a function of output current, duty factor, and circuit component values. Boundary conditions between different operating modes are obtained; consequently, it is concluded that these conditions do not occur for some operating modes. Component ratings are summarized, to facilitate circuit design. The buck-flyback DC-DC converter is very suitable for low-voltage (e.g. computer) power supplies and for power supplies with the output voltage (adjustable in a large range) supplied from the mains without a mains voltage transformer     

Steady-State Analysis of the Series Resonant Converter

The series resonant converter is analyzed in steady state, and for constant switching frequency the output current and voltage characteristics are found to be ellipses. The converter operating point can then be easily obtained by superimposing a load line on these elliptical characteristics. Peak resonant capacitor voltage and inductor current are also plotted in the output plane and are dependent to first order only on output current. When peak voltage and current are plotted in this manner, the dependence of component stresses on operating point is clearly revealed. The output characteristics are modified to include the effect of transistor and diode voltage drops, and experimental verification is presented.     

Design of the Series Resonant Converter for Minimum Component Stress

For a given output voltage and power, the peak resonant capacitor voltage and peak inductor and switch currents of the series resonant converter depend strongly on the choice of transformer turns ratio and of tank inductance and capacitance. In this paper the particular component values which result in the smallest component stresses are determined, and a simple design strategy is developed. The procedure is illustrated for an off-line 200 W, 5 V application, and it is shown that an incorrect choice of component values can result in significantly higher component stresses than are necessary.