BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Course no: EEE 6301

Course Title: Power Semiconductor Devices

Assignment on:
Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Controlling Algorithms

Submitted by- Submitted to-

Rejaul Islam Yeasir Arafat Sir
ID: 0422062150 Associate Professor,
MSc in EEE BUET
BUET

Date of submission: 18-11-22

 Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Controlling Algorithms
Abstract

For many years, fossil fuels have been the primary source of energy. However, due to the limited
supply, the rate of deployment of fossil fuels is more rapid than their rate of production, and
hence, fossil fuels will eventually run out. Moreover, the threat of global climate change caused
by carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels is one of the main reasons for the increasing
consensus to reduce the consumption of such fuels. This reduction can be achieved by switching
to renewable energy for many energy-requiring applications since it is “clean” and “green.”
Today, the global trend is to use a nondepletable clean source of energy for a healthier and
greener environment to save the future generation. The most efficient and harmless energy
source is probably solar energy, which is so technically straightforward to use in many
applications. Almost, all renewable energy sources, except nuclear and geothermal, are the
energy forms originating from the solar energy. Solar energy is considered one of the most
promising energy sources due to its infinite power. Thus, modern solar technologies have been
penetrating the market at faster rates, and photovoltaic (PV) technology that has the greatest
impact, not because of the amount of electricity it produces but because photovoltaic cells—
working silently, not polluting—can generate electricity wherever the sun shines, even in places
where no other form of electricity can be obtained. PV is a combination of the Greek word for
light and the name of the physicist Alessandro Volta. PV is the direct conversion of sunlight into
electricity by means of solar cells. Since photovoltaic systems cannot force solar cells to operate
at MPP, a controller is needed to do so. If the controller can operate more accurately, or in other
words, be optimized, the system will have an appropriate output. This explains the performance,
application, advantages and disadvantages of algorithms to be a good reference for selecting the
appropriate algorithm.

1. Introduction

Solar energy is the most important source of energy on the planet, and life would not exist
without it. All of the sun's and sunlight's direct energies can be used to generate electricity;
photovoltaic systems and solar thermal applications are used for heating, cooling, and electricity
generation [1-3]. Because of technological advancements and the use of various types of energy,
it has been determined that the electrical energy produced by solar cells (PV systems) is one of
the most valuable and effective in the world. According to the International Energy Agency's
(IEA) report, the world's energy consumption has increased dramatically in recent years [3-5].

PV power generation has gained popularity around the world due to several factors, including
low maintenance, minimal component depreciation due to the lack of moving parts, low noise,
low fuel costs, and pollution-free operation after installation. PV energy is clean, simple in
design, and has the greatest advantage of producing microwatts to megawatts. Photovoltaic
systems are used for power supply, water pumping, building control, home solar systems,
communications, astronautically applications (space vehicles), and power plants [6-8]. Given the
widespread use of this energy, it is natural for demand to rise in this area on an annual basis.

The maximum possible output power can be found on the peak of the power-voltage (or power-
current) curve of solar cells, taking into account the physical properties of semiconductors (the
main building blocks of solar cells) and their non-linearity behavior. This is known as the
maximum power point (MPP) [9]. MPP varies with temperature and irradiance due to the unique
properties of the solar cell building materials. A maximum power point tracking (MPPT)
controller is required to keep the PV system's operating point at or near the MPP at all times.
Many researchers have worked in this field in recent years due to the importance and practicality
of this issue [10, 11].

Despite numerous maximum power point tracking algorithms, there are researches in this area
that had categorized the relevant articles. Each of them has its own category and has studied a
specific topic. These articles categorize the performance of the algorithms and the articles that
use them.

2. Operation principle of a MPPT system

Because the MPP is affected by solar radiation (S) and temperature (T), and these environmental
conditions change at random, the MPP position is constantly changing. Specific circuits known
as MPP trackers are used to ensure that the operation point is always on or near the maximum
power point. The control signal is also applied by the DC-DC, which raises the output to the
desired level.
 Fig. 1: Implementation of MPPT system.

Thus, by measuring different parameters (voltage, current or temperature), the maximum power
point tracking algorithms calculate the optimal duty cycle (D) and deliver it to the converter to
increase the power. Figure 4 shows the overview of PV system. As it is known, the MPP system
must operate continuously in real time because the parameters to which the system depends
(temperature and radiation) change throughout the day. Changes in the amount of radiations and
temperature during the day are perfectly normal or there may be partial shading [12]. As a result,
duty cycle needs to be updated accurately and rapidly (as appropriate).

3. MPPT Controlling Algorithms

Several proposed algorithms to accomplish MPPT are described in the following sections.

3.1 Perturb and Observe

The perturb and observe (PAO) method has a simple feedback structure and few measured
parameters. It operates by periodically perturbing (i.e., incrementing or decrementing) the duty
cycle while controlling the array current as shown in Fig. 2 and comparing the PV output power
with that of the previous perturbation cycle.

Fig. 2: PAO Technique.

It measures the derivative of power ΔP and the derivative of voltage ΔV to determine the
movement of the operating point. If the perturbation leads to an increase (or decrease) in array
power, the subsequent perturbation is made in the same (or opposite) direction [13].

Fig. 3 shows the PAO flowchart. The method of doing this algorithm shown in the flowchart and
is such that the operating voltage of the PV generator is changed. After the calculations, if the
numerical value of the power difference (ΔP) is positive, the amount of excitation should
increase in the same direction and if ΔP is negative, the amount of excitation should increase in
the opposite direction [14,15].

Fig. 3: PAO algorithm flowchart

This cost-effective technique can be easily implemented and is characterized by continuously

tracking and very efficiently extracting the maximum power from PV. However, such a method
may fail under rapidly changing atmospheric conditions due to its slow tracking speed.

3.2 Incremental Conductance Technique

The incremental conductance technique (ICT) process based on the fact that the derivative of the
power with respect to the voltage (dp/dv) vanishes at the MPP because it is the maximum point
on the curve as shown in Fig. 4. The ICT algorithm detects the MPP by comparing di/dv with
−I
till it attains the voltage operating point at which the incremental conductance is equal to the
V
source conductance. The algorithm starts by measuring the present values of the I and V and then
uses the corresponding stored value (Ib and Vb) measured during the preceding cycle to calculate
the incremental changes as dI = I-Ib and dV = V-Vb.

Fig. 4: The slope “conductance” of the P-V curve.

The MPP can thus be tracked by comparing the instantaneous conductance term (I/V) with the
incremental conductance term (ΔI/ΔV) as shown in the flowchart of Fig. 5. Based on the result
obtained, the control reference signal Vref will be adjusted in order to move the array voltage
−I
toward the MPP voltage. At the MPP, di/dv = , no control action is needed; therefore, the
V
adjustment stage will be bypassed, and the algorithm will update the stored parameters at the end
of the cycle. In order to detect any changes in weather conditions, the algorithm detects whether
a control action took place when the array was operating at the previous cycle MPP (dv = 0).
 Fig. 5: The ICT flowchart

This technique is accurate and well suited for rapid changes in atmospheric conditions; however,
because the increment size approach is used to determine how fast the system is responding, ICT
requires precise calculations of both instantaneous and increasing conductance.

3.3 Constant Reference

One very common MPPT technique is to compare the PV array voltage (or current) with a
constant reference voltage (or current), which corresponds to the PV voltage (or current) at the
maximum power point, under specific atmospheric conditions. The resulting difference signal
(error signal) is used to drive a power conditioner, which interfaces the PV array to the load.
Although the implementation of this method is simple, the method itself is not very accurate
because it does not consider the effects of temperature and irradiation variations in addition to
the difficulty in choosing the optimum point.

3.4 Current-Based Maximum Power Point Tracker

Current-based maximum power point tracker (CMPPT) is another MPPT technique that exists.
Employed numerical methods show a linear dependence between the “cell currents
corresponding to maximum power” and the “cell short-circuit currents.” The current I MPP
operating at the MPP is calculated using the following equation:

IMPP = MCISC (1)

where MC is the “current factor” that differs from one panel to another and is affected by the
panel surface conditions, especially if partial shading covers the panel. Although this method is
easy to implement, an additional switch is added to the power converter to periodically short the
PV array, increase the cost, and reduce the output power. This method also suffers from a major
drawback due to periodic tuning requirement.

3.5 Voltage-Based Maximum Power Point Tracker

Similar to the above-mentioned method, voltage-based maximum power tracking (VMPPT)

technique can also be applied. The MPP operating voltage is calculated directly from VOC:

VMPP = MVVOC (2)

where MV is the “voltage factor.” The open-circuit voltage VOC is sampled by an analog sampler,
and then, VMPP is calculated by Eq. 2. This operating VMPP voltage is the reference voltage for
the voltage control loop as shown in Fig. 6. This method always “results in a considerable power
error because the output voltage of the PV module only follows the unchanged reference voltage
during one sampling period” [16]. Albeit the implementation of this procedure is simple, it
endures several disadvantages such as momentarily power converter shutdown causing power
loss. Furthermore, such process depends greatly on the I-V characteristics and requires periodic
tuning.

Other researchers argue that these two practices are considered to be “fast, practical, and
powerful methods for MPP estimation of PV generators under all insolation and temperature
conditions” [17].
 Fig. 6: The conventional MPPT controller using open-circuit voltage Voc.

3.6 Fuzzy logic control

One of the linkers between human knowledge and linguistic expressions in a control system is
fuzzy logic. A photovoltaic system that optimizes the process of maximum power point tracking
by a FL is known as an intelligent system. Even if the inputs are ambiguous, the system can
track. The convenience of this algorithm in mathematical modeling is one of the important
advantages. The inference system of fuzzy logic illustrated in circulation charts in Fig. 7.

Fig. 7: Circulation chart of FL inference system.

3.7 Other Methods

Automated techniques such as Fibonacci line search, ripple correlation control method, neural
network, and fuzzy logic have also been introduced for MPPT. In order to generate a clear
understanding in determining the advantages and disadvantages of each algorithm, a
comprehensive experimental comparison between different MPPT algorithms was made and run
for the same PV setup at South Dakota State University, and results showed that the ICT method
has the highest efficiency of 98% in terms of power extracted from the PV array, the PAO
technique has the efficiency of 96.5%, and finally, the constant voltage method has the efficiency
of 88%.

The ICT method provided good performance under rapidly changing weather conditions and
provided the highest tracking efficiency, although four sensors were required to perform the
measurements for computations and decision-making. If the system required more conversion
time in tracking the MPP, a large amount of power loss would occur. On the contrary, under
perturb and observe method, losses are reduced if the sampling and execution speed were
increased. The main benefit of this procedure is that only two sensors are required, which
resulted in the reduction of hardware requirements and cost.

4. Conclusion

The use of solar energy as an efficient energy not only reduces the use of fossil fuels but also has
economic benefits. Providing different solutions to eliminate the problems of energy production
can help the technology to progress faster. Photovoltaic systems, a new technology that will
become an increasingly popular option in the future and can help eliminate conventional power
generation systems pollution. The output power of PV systems reaches its maximum value with
the use of the MPP tracker system. According to studies in this field, it has been observed that
research in the field of MPPT control system is very attractive. An investigation area of method
and a table are also provided for comparison. It is still possible to increase the speed, accuracy
and flexibility of MPPT control systems in different condition by introducing new methods,
optimizing previous schemes and combining methods.

One thing that can be mentioned is that the studies of traditional algorithms have been done well,
and their advantages and disadvantages have been mentioned in many articles. In the last few
years, intelligent algorithms have grown significantly, and their use in the MPPT control system
can be seen well. However, there are still disadvantages, low usage and computational
complexity. Introducing new intelligent control methods and optimizing each of them are the
topics that has been explored and have the potential for improvement. Additionally, the
combination of algorithms and the use of metaheuristic method can be added to it, to increase the
efficiency of the system. The application of these methods in partial shading conditions are also
should be considered.

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