Application of Fuzzy Logic for Charging Control
of Lead-Acid battery in Stand-alone Solar
Photovoltaic System
R.Swathika
Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering
St.Josephs College of Engineering,Chennai
swathi178@yahoo.com
V.Kalaichelvi
Department of Electronics &Instrumentation Engineering
BITS-PILANI, DUBAI CAMPUS, Dubai, UAE
kalaichelvi@dubai.bits-pilani.ac.in
Abstract -- Overcharging in lead acid battery which is widely used
in solar systems is a result of improper charging control.
Overcharging can be prevented by designing a suitable control
system for charging of batteries. A good charging control system
will decrease the storage capacity and service time for power
supply. In the current study, an attempt has been made to design
a PI algorithm based charging control system for a first-order
dynamic model of the lead acid battery system. To track the set-
point response and to reject the disturbances due to external
factors such as change in intensity of the solar radiation, a
feedback control system has been designed. As the problem
approaches to a highly non linear process, conventional control
theory is not an appropriate choice. A fuzzy logic controller with
a specially chosen triangular membership function has been
suggested as an effective alternative approach. It is proved that
by employing fuzzy logic technique, the voltage of the battery can
be controlled effectively than with a conventional controller.
Keywords: Battery charge control; Dynamic modeling of battery,
Conventional controller, Fuzzy LogicController
I. INTRODUCTION
The green energy also known as the regeneration energy, has
gained a lot of attention these days. Among them, solar energy
is the most powerful resource that can be used to generate
power. So far the efficiency of generatingpower of solar
energy is relatively low. Thus, how to increase the efficiency
of generating power of solar energy is very important [1]. In
areas which are not accessible through power lines, a
standalone solar system is broadly implemented. Hence the
system needs to be more durable, reliable, and efficient and
should have an extended service time. The lead acid battery is
used generally in the standalone solar system to meet the said
requirements. But overcharging due to an inefficient charge
control system impairs the lead acid battery. To prevent this, a
suitable charge control system needs to be designed to halt
charging in order to avoid charging to maximum capacity or
more. By doing so, the storage energy capacity and the service
time in power supply is reduced [2].
978-1-4673-6126-2/13/$31.00 2013
c IEEE
R.K.Ganesh Ram
Department of Mechanical Engineering
BITS-PILANI, DUBAI CAMPUS, Dubai, UAE
ganeshrk95@gmail.com
R.Karthikeyan
Department of Mechanical Engineering
BITS-PILANI, DUBAI CAMPUS, Dubai, UAE
ramkalaikarthi@rediffmail.com
In order to continue charging a battery after overcharging
point without impairing it, a proficient charging control
system is necessary [3]. This demands a good knowledge
about the dynamic nature of the battery. The lead acid
operation can be developed concurring to the chemical or else
both physical and chemical model [4]-[8].
Conventional control theory has been successfully applied to
areas where processes are well defined. Many practical
processes exhibit nonlinear behaviour. However most
controller design approaches are based on linear models.
Although linear model based control methods are well
established, they do not give satisfactory control performance
when the controlled process is highly non-linear. Also it is
quite difficult to derive complete knowledge of such non-
linearities [9].
A fuzzy logic controller has been suggested as a promising
alternative approach for controlling processes, especially those
that are too complex for analysis by conventional techniques.
A specially chosen non-uniform arrangement of triangular
membership functions was employed that was strongly
motivated by the theory of fuzzy sets developed by Zadeh
[10]. It has emerged as one of the most active and fruitful
areas in control research and industrial applications. Therefore
fuzzy logic controller based systems have proven to be
superior in performance than conventional system.
In this work straightforward linear model is derived to
precisely enact the batterys dynamic behaviour when it
reaches the overcharging point. Then conventional controller
and fuzzy logic controller are designed and the performances
of both controllers are compared in order to find the controller
which will effectively control the voltage of the battery.
II. DERIVATION OF SYSTEM DYNAMIC MODEL OF A LEAD-ACID
BATTERY
For testing the battery and developing the system dynamic
model at different states of charge (SOC) of the batteries, a
step response method was implemented. Due to the non-
377
linearity of the dynamic model of battery, a linearly perturbed III. DESIGN OF PI CONTROLLER FOR LEAD ACID BATTERY
model is used for system identification at different operational
Feedback controllers are those that control the variable
points. Fig.1 illustrates the input-output relation of the battery.
behavior of a system. These are with a closed loop
Here ) and  are perturbed current
and voltage respectively and s stands for the complex variable
in the Laplace transform. Both perturbed voltage and current
are stated from equilibrium or a steady-state value. s the
batterys perturbed model defined by
(1)
The plant model required for dynamic simulation for the
battery system can be developed by giving a step current as
input from steady state condition and measuring the
corresponding voltage as output. The output response at
different values of current and states of charge were studied. A
value of 1Ampere can be given as input when the set point of
the output response is reached. The linearized model of the
current battery system can be obtained as
arrangement, which uses feedback to control the states of the
system. Negative necessarily associated with feedback
controllers sense the value and subtract it from the desired
value to form the error signal.Determination of the controller
parameters to provide the desired response is known as
controller tuning. Controller tuning can be done by using
synthesis method. Design of controller by synthesis method is
one of the recommended methods in process control. The
synthesis controller is the combination of two parts. The first
part compensates for the process transfer function and the
other is used to obtain a specified closed loop response of the
controlled variable to the set point. When the process transfer
function does not have dead time, the closed loop transfer
function becomes
 (4)

 (2)
Fig.1 Input/output Model of the Battery.
The dynamic model of the system can be obtained using
average value of the plant models obtained for different
simulation conditions as
 (3)
Fig. 2 shows the open loop response of the plant model
developed for the battery system for the step input. The values
of the real system are around the average model and hence this
can be treated as uncertainty in the control design. The
developed model can be used for the design of control system
for the plant. Since the uncertainty is present in the model
developed, the designed control system should have
robustness to handle it [11].
15
The closed loop time constant can be adjusted to shape the
response of the loop, the smaller the the faster controller
response. Thus provides a convenient parameter to reach a
compromise between fast approach to set point and acceptable
variations in the controller output.The PI controller parameters
are,
(5)
Ti = (6)
By applying the above formulae for the transfer function given
in Equation (3), the controller parameters can be obtained as
Kc=2.49 and Ti = 29.411secs.
IV. DESIGN OF FUZZY LOGIC CONTROLLER
Fuzzy logic control is fast emerging as an alternative to
conventional control techniques in situations where it may be
infeasible to formulate an analytic model. A fuzzy logic
system is a type of approximate reasoning system. It can be
considered as universal function approximator. The goal of the
fuzzy logic system is to yield a set of outputs for given inputs

14.9
in a non-linear system by using linguistic rules. The block
14.8
diagram of a Fuzzy Controller is given in Fig. 3.In this figure,
a closed loop fuzzy Controller is identified. The outputs are
Voltage of battery (V)

14.7

14.6
represented as y(t) and the corresponding inputs are
14.5
represented by u(t) and r(t).Here r(t) is the chosen
14.4
representation for the reference input.
14.3

14.2

14.1

14
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Time (s)

Fig. 2. Open loop response of the lead acid

battery system

378 2013 International Conference on Green Computing, Communication and Conservation of Energy (ICGCE)

Fig. 3. Block Diagram of a Fuzzy Logiic Controller
Fuzzy Control mainly consists of four parts which are
explained as follows:[12]
1. The information is held in the rulle base, which is
basically a set of rules. These rulesr provide the
knowledge that helps to control the system in the best
possible manner.
2. The input to the plant should be selected after the
inference mechanism assesses the control rules which
are applicable at the present timee and accordingly
takes decision.
3. The inputs are altered by the fuzzzification block so
that they can be inferred and linked tp the ruled in the
rule base.
4. Decision made by the inferencce mechanism is
translated by the defuzzification bouundary to inputs.
The Fuzzy Control systems are essentiallyy used in machine
control. Essentially, the fuzzy controller is a type of decision
maker which can be considered to possess artificial
intelligence in a system which is close looped. It tries to tries
to meet the performance requirements of o the system by
comparing the system output y(t) with the reference
r input r(t)
and modifying the system input u(t) accordinngly.
A. Linguistic Variables:
Linguistic Variables are used to represeent a fuzzy logic
systems operating parameters. In the presennt work, the fuzzy
parameters of error and change in errorr and output are
considered by the variables Positivee ,Zero and
Negative. The fuzzy variables themselvves are adjectives
that modify the variable. As a minimuum, the variables
positive, zero, and negative can be coonsidered for each
of the parameters.
B. Construction of the Rule Base:
The rules in the knowledge base describe the t functioning of
the controller and may be provided by expperts or extracted
from the operators experience by control engineers. Simple
plain-language IF X AND Y THEN Z rules are used to
describe the desired system response in teerms of linguistic
variables rather than mathematical formulae. The IF part is
2013 International Conference on Green Computing, Communication and Conservation of Energy (ICGCE)
associated with the fuzzy innputs and the THEN part is
associated with the change of thhe fuzzy output.
C. Selection of Membership Fuunction:
The membership function is a graphical representation of the
magnitude of participation off each input. The rules use the
input membership values as weighting
w factors to determine
their influence on the fuzzy output sets of the final output
conclusion. Once the membbership functions are inferred,
scaled, and combined, they aree defuzzified into a crisp output
which drives the system. One of o the most popular choices, the
triangular membership functiion is used in this study. In
practice, fuzzy control input annd output variables all have their
own operating ranges. The operating ranges are defined with
respect to the extreme values of the relevant variables. A fuzzy
logic system is a real tim me intelligent system which
implements some of a human operators
o or process engineers
expertise in fuzzy rules. Fig. 4 shows a fuzzy logic controller
embedded in a closed-loop conntrol system.
Fig. 4. Fuzzy logic control system for Battery charging
Controll System.
The fuzzy controller is insertedd into the closed-loop Lead Acid
battery system. Here the acttual voltage of the battery is
compared with the reference baattery voltage. The present error
e(t) and error change e(t) siignals are then processed by the
fuzzy logic controller to creeate a relevant control output
variable to stabilize the weldinng parameters. In the Fig. 4, Ke
and Kce are input scaling factoors which are used to transform
the real measured values e(t) and e(t) to their respective
ranges. Ku is an output scaling factor which is used to convert
the output of fuzzy controller too the control variable u(t).
The input and output parameters of the fuzzy logic control
system are described by the folllowing equations.[13]
e(t)= VB-VB(t) (7)
e(t)=e(t)e(t-1) (8)
u(t) = F(Kee(t), Kcee(t)) (9)
u(t)= uset + u(t) (10)
379
 where (t) is the present error of the battery charging voltage. 15.4
PI
e(t) is the change of present error, u(t) is the change in 15.2 Set Point
control variable and usetis the preset control variable. A FLC

Voltage of battery (V)

specially chosen triangular membership function is employed 15
in the present work. Error range for the triangular membership 14.8
function is obtained as in Fig.5 by using MATLAB software.
14.6

14.4

14.2

14
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Time (s)

Fig. 7. Closed Loop Response of Battery charging voltage

Under Conventional PI Controller and Fuzzy
Logic Controller (SP = 14.15-14.8)

A. Comparison of Performance Based on ISE and IAE

Fig. 5. Error range for triangular membership function A number of performance measures have been introduced in
respect of dynamic response to step input and higher order
Likewise the range of change in error and output for the inputs. ISE and IAE are given by expressions [14],
triangular membership function is shown in are the same as
2
ISE= (11)
Figure the rule table for triangular membership function is
shown in Table I.
e
0
(t) dt

TABLE I. RULE TABLE FOR TRIANGULAR MEMBERSHIP FUNCTION IAE = e (t) dt (12)

0
e(K) N Z P
Where, e(t) is the deviation of the response from the desired
set points. The evaluation of performance criteria for battery
e(K) charging voltage is shown in Table II .
N N N Z
Z N Z P TABLE II.PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF BATTERY CHARGING
P Z P P CONTROL UNDER CONVENTIONAL CONTROLLER AND FLC
.
V.SIMULATION RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Fig. 6 and Fig.7 show the closed loop responses of battery charging SET POINT (sec) ISE IAE
voltage for various set point changes under Conventional CHANGES IN
CHARGING
Proportional + Integral (PI) Controller and fuzzy logic VOLTAGE
controller. PI FLC PI FLC PI FLC
15
PI
FLC 14.15-14.5 70 4 1.09 0.03 6.21 0.14
14.8 Set Point
Voltage of battery (V)

14.6 14.15-14.8 70 4 3.77 0.08 11.53 0.24

14.4
In this work, Proportional + Integral Controller is achieved
14.2 with the control of a charging voltage of the solar energy.
The proportional band is defined as the error expressed, as a
14 percentage of the range of measures variable. When
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Time (s) Proportional band is decreased, the value of controller gain
Fig. 6.Closed Loop Response of Battery charging voltage ( ) increases. If is increased beyond a certain value, then
Under Conventional PI Controller and Fuzzy Logic the system may become unstable. With proportional action
Controller (SP = 14.15-14.5) only, the control system is able to arrest the rise of controlled
variable and ultimately bring it to rest at a new steady state
value with an off set. The addition of integral action eliminates
the offset. The controlled variable ultimately settles down to

380 2013 International Conference on Green Computing, Communication and Conservation of Energy (ICGCE)
the desired value. This advantage of integral action is balanced
by the disadvantage of a more oscillatory behaviour.
It is interesting observations that many industrial
controllers can have PI action and that in others the derivative
action can be switched off on many control loops. It can be
shown that PI control is adequate for all processes where the
dynamics are essentially of the first order. When observing the
closed loop response of the conventional PI controller the
settling time is more which will affect the performance of the
system. In order to reduce the settling time by a Proportional +
integral action, and to obtain an optimum response, fuzzy
logic controller is implemented for control of charging
voltage. It is observed from simulation results that the ISE ,
IAE and Settling time are reduced considerably for Fuzzy
logic Controller when compared to Conventional PI
controller. The effectiveness of fuzzy logic controller can be
analyzed by giving disturbance in the battery charging voltage.
The PV (photovoltaic) cell takes in solar irradiation and
produces current at a constant PV voltage. The PV units
current response to solar irradiation is within some
milliseconds. This current response is much lesser than that of
the battery. Solar PV unit normally appoints a blocking diode
to a reverse current through the PV during darkness. Hence a
0.6V of diode cut-in voltage is introduced when battery is
charged. The system dynamic model of the PV cell can be
derived as,
 (13)
Fig.8 shows the closed loop response of battery charging
voltage for disturbance due to solar irradiation under
conventional Proportional +Integral Controller(PI) and Fuzzy
Logic controller.
18
16
Voltage of battery (V)
14
12
10
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Time (s)
Fig. 8. Closed loop response of battery charging voltage
For disturbance due to solar irradiation
The simulation results have shown compared to conventional
techniques, fuzzy logic controller offers many important
benefits. Developing a fuzzy logic controller is simpler than
developing a model based controller with equivalent
performance.
2013 International Conference on Green Computing, Communication and Conservation of Energy (ICGCE)
VI. CONCLUSION
This paper describes the design and implementation of
conventional PI controller and fuzzy logic controller for
controlling charging voltage of lead acid battery. A PI
algorithm using synthesis method and a fuzzy logic controller
were used for control purpose. The simulation results indicate
that the PI based controller takes more time to settle, whereas
the Fuzzy Logic controller has a good set point tracking with
minimum time. Hence the proposed controller (Fuzzy Logic
Controller) is the better option to prevent overcharging and to
increase the charge capacity of the battery.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are grateful to authorities of BITS Pilani, Dubai
Campus,UAE and St.Josephs College of Engineering,Chennai
for the encouragement and support.
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