17.2.

2014
1
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mutlu BOZTEPE
Ege University, Department of Electrical and
Electronics Engineering
Global MPPT Scheme for Photovoltaic String
Inverters Based on Restricted Voltage
Window Search Algorithm
3
rd
Renewable Energy Systems Winter School
21-25 January 2014
http://www.reswinterschool03.com
Outline
Introduction to solar cells
Electrical characteristics of Photovoltaic (PV) modules
Effect of non-uniform operating conditions on PV
module electrical characteristics.
Global MPPT tracking methods
Restricted Voltage Window method
Conclusion

3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 2
Operation of solar cells
P-N junction inside the solar cell induces a built-in
electric field (E).
The photon which has higher energy
than bandgap of material (1.12eV
for Si) can generate electron-hole
pair in the diffusion region.
The generated carriers (electrons
and holes) are separated into opposite sides of junction
by electric field, and became majority carriers.
Carriers are collected by metallic grid and finally the
current flows through the load
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 3
P
N
+
-
E
+ -
+ -
Electrical equivalent circuit
4
+
-
V
PV
I
PV
Light generated
Current I
L
I
D
Parallel
resistance
R
P
R
S
Series resistance
I
Rp
( )
P
S PV PV nkT
R I V q
S L R D L PV
R
R I V
e I I I I I I
S PV PV
P
+

|
|
.
|

\
|
= =
+
1
q: Electron charge
n: Diode ideality factor
K: Boltzmann constant
Is: Diode saturation current
T: Cell temperature (K)
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014
17.2.2014
2
Current-voltage characteristics
V
PV
I
SC
~I
SC
I
PV
V
OC Open circuit
voltage
Short
Circuit
current
Slope R
p
5
( )
P
S PV PV nkT
R I V q
S L PV
R
R I V
e I I I
S PV PV
+

|
|
.
|

\
|
=
+
1
Slope R
s
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014
The effect of irradiation and cell temperature
As solar radiation increases, I
SC

increases proportionally and
V
OC
decreases logarithmically.



As cell temperature increases,
I
SC
increases very little, but V
OC
decreases linearly (~-1.52
mV/C)
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 6
Parallel connection of solar cells
Only equivalent cells can be connected in parallel!

3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 7 7
Series connection of solar cells
Only equivalent cells can be connected in series!
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 8
17.2.2014
3
Solar photovoltaic modules
A number of solar cells are usually connected in series
to compose of a solar PV module.
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 9
Typical 80W crystal Si PV module
At STC conditions (1000 W/m
2
, 25C, AM1.5)
36 cells (125x125 mm
2
)
Pm=80 W @ Vm=18V, Im=4,5A
Voc=22V (0,6Vx36=21,6V)
Isc=4,9A (3Ax125
2
/100
2
=4,69A)
Max. installation voltage 600V
8 kg/module
0,65 m
2
/module
958x680x30 mm
90% power output warranty for 10 yrs.
80% power output warranty for 20-25 yrs.

10 3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014
PV module examples
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 11
140Wp
72 cells (125x125mm
2
)
17.2 kg, 1.32m
2

300Wp
72 cells (156x156mm
2
)
30.5 kg, 1.94m
2

410Wp
96 cells (156x156mm
2
)
34 kg, 2.58m
2

PV module current-voltage characteristics
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 12
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
Voltage [V]
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

[
A
]
Single cell

36 cells
0 5 10 15 20 25
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
Voltage [V]
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

[
A
]
17.2.2014
4
PV module current-voltage characteristics
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 13
Power-voltage characteristics
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 14
V
M

I
M

V
OC

I
SC

Maximum
Power point
(MPP)
Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT)
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 15
Constant resistance as load

Battery
as load

MPP tracking

1000 W/m
2
750 W/m
2
500 W/m
2
250 W/m
2
k gc [W]
Radiation
(W/m2)

Constant
R

Battery
MPP
tracking
1000 79,3
(%99)
68,0
(%85)
80,0
(%100)
750 48,0
(%81,2)
50,5
(%85,4)
59,1
(%100)
500 21,3
(%56)
33,3
(%87,6)
38,0
(%100)
250 5,3
(%30)
16,3
(%92)
17,7
(%100)
MPPT realization
By using control input;
Converter (or inverter) input impedance can be controlled
Or PV voltage (or current) can be controlled



3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 16
17.2.2014
5
MPPT Methods
Fractional open-circuit voltage: (V=k
1
*Voc, k
1
=0.750.8)
Fractional short-circuit current: (I=k
2
*Isc, k
2
=0.780.92)
Incremental conductance:
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 17
I V P . =
dV
dI
V I
dV
dP
+ =
0 >
dV
dP
MPP at
dV
dP
0 =
0 <
dV
dP
P-V curve

Perturbation & Observation algorithm:
MPPT Methods
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 18
Vstep
Other MPPT Methods
Fuzzy logic control
Neural network
Ripple correlation control
Current sweep, etc

Most widely used ones;
Perturbation&Observation (P&O)
Incremental conductance
Both method are designed to track only single power
peak, and exhibits local maximum tracking behaviour
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 19
Non-uniform operating conditions
Irradiation differences
Partial shading, dissimilar inclination&orientation
Temperature differences
Non-unifom heat flow, cooling differences
Parameter differences
Aging, production tolerances

The power-voltage and current voltage curves of a PV
module are affected by these non-uniform operating
conditions drastically!
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 20
17.2.2014
6
Shading problem

3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 21
Energy losses due to partial shading
German 1000 roofs programme were affected by
shading causing 10% energy loss [Renew. Energy, 33(9), 2048
2056, 2008]
The power loss due to the improper MPPT may be as
high as 70% according to the real measurements [IEEE T.
Ind. Electron., 55(7), 25692580, 2008]
Thus, in recent years,
numerous studies worldwide
have been performed to
mitigate the power loss
due to partial shading
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 22
IEEE T.En.Conv. 22(2),2007,439-449
The effect of shading on series solar cells
Shaded cell has lower I
sc
current than other cells.
If I
pv
>I
sc_shaded
then the cell voltage can reverse, and it
behaves as a load!!!
If reverse voltage exceeds breakdown limit of the cell,
dissipated power increases significantly.
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 23
I
A
B
+
-
V
A

+
-
V
B

+
-
V
G

A
B
-V
B
V
A

Operating
current
Ipv
Vpv
Hot spot effect
Dissipated power raises the cell temperature, and
creates hot spot effect.
If Tc>Tmax, the module can be damaged permanently!!!

3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 24
Heat dissipated in a
shaded cell caused the
module to crack.
http://pveducation.org/pvcdrom/modules
/hot-spot-heating
17.2.2014
7
Improve the solar cell model
We have to model the 2
nd
quadrant of the I-V curve.

3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 25
V
PV
I
PV
( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
| +
+
+

|
|
.
|

\
|
=

+
m
br
S PV PV
P
S PV PV nkT
R I V q
S L PV
V
R I V
a
R
R I V
e I I I
S PV PV
1 1 1
a and m: constant
Vbr: breakdown voltage
(~18-30V)
avalanche breakdown
voltages range from 12-20V
for poly-Si cells and up to 30V
for mono-Si ones
Mitigating hot spot effect-Bypass diodes
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 26
V
PV
I
PV
Bypass diode prevents the
cell voltage from exceeding
breakdown
Bypass diode installation
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 27
27
2 bypass diode
(36 cells)
~50-110W
3 bypass diode
(72 cells)
~150-350W
4 bypass diode
(96 cells)
>350W
+
-
+
-
+ -
Bypass diode placement
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 28
Vishay app. note.
sargosis.com
17.2.2014
8
How bypass diode affects the I-V curve?
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 29
Shaded unshaded.
Without bypass
diode
How bypass diode affects the P-V curve?
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 30
Shaded unshaded.
Without bypass diode
Shading problem

3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 31
Prog. Photovolt Res. Appl., 16,529536, 2008.
Shading problem
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 32
17.2.2014
9
Central inverter
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 33
Prog. Photovolt Res. Appl., 16,529536, 2008.
Extracted power: 3230 Watt or 2971 Watt?
String inverter
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 34
Prog. Photovolt Res. Appl., 16,529536, 2008.
Extracted power: 1568+2046=3614 Watt?
or 529+2046=2575 Watt?
Micro-inverter
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 35
Global MPPT methods
Hardware based
Dynamic reconfiguration, Distributed MPPT concept, Module
integrated DC/DC converter, constant input power converter
etc.
Software based (Can be realized only by software
modifications)
Complex methods: Fibonacci search algorithms, ANN or Fuzzy
controllers, Bayesian fusion technics, differential evolution,
sequential extremum seeking, ant colony optimization, etc.
Less complex: Two stages MPPT methods, global peak search
algorithm, DIRECT search algorithm, etc..

3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 36
17.2.2014
10
Global MPPT methods
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 37
Global MPPT methods
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 38
Global MPPT methods
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 39
Global MPPT methods
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 40
17.2.2014
11
Global MPPT methods
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 41
Global MPPT methods
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 42
Global MPPT methods
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 43
Two algorithm together:
Local search algorithm:
P&O algorithm with small voltage
steps.
Global search algorithm:
Global peak search with fixed large
voltage step (0.8Voc)

If sign of dP/dV changes between
two successive large step, it means
there is local peak in between.


Global MPPT methods
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 44
17.2.2014
12
Choice of the Global Voltage Step AV
GSTEP

The choice of AV
GSTEP
directly affects both the scanning time
and the algorithm accuracy. However the optimum value
should be around the voltage difference between two adjacent
local power peaks.
MATLAB Simulink
simulations for 1000
random irradiance values
between 1001000W/m2.
Voltage difference between
two adjacent local power
peak larger than 0.5V
ocP
,
but mostly around of
0.8V
ocP

3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 45
Choice of the Global Voltage Step AV
GSTEP

0.5V
ocP
and 1.0V
oc
reach
global maximums B and D.
On the contrary, 1.5V
ocP
misses point B and evolves
towards B.
1.0V
oc
can miss a peak if
adjacent peaks have nearly
equal power.
So, AV
GSTEP
is selected
between 0.5V
ocP
and
1.0V
oc
by balancing
tradeoff tracking eff. and
convergence speed
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 46
Power operating triangle (POT) and
Voltage Window (VW)
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 47
Minimum and
maximum value
for VW are point
A and B
respectively

The global
power peak must
be in the range
of VW, in other
words between A
and B.
Narrowing the upper limit of the VW
Narrowing the VW
reduce the
searching steps and
therefore decrease
the convergence
time
2000 random
irradiation values
0.9 Voc is selected
as upper limit for
VW
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 48
17.2.2014
13
POT update
The proposed algorithm uses datasheet values of both I
SC
and
V
OC
to define the first triangle POT
STC
.
POT
STC
is not closely cover
P-V curve
After measuring current
at Vmin, the algoritm finds
point A.
And then new triangle POT1
is defined which is closely
covers P-V curve
VW=[Vmin Vmax]
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 49
VWS algorithm flowchart
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 50
Sudden shading detection method
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 51
Shading is detected if k: sensitivity
parameter
Slope2 is
always higher
than slope1
Algorithm operation
Lets assume
operating point
is Q.
1,2,3,4 and 5
are checked.
a,b,c and d
are omitted
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 52
17.2.2014
14
Algorithm evaluation (Uniform non-uniform)
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 53
Algorithm evaluation (During non-uniform)
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 54
Algorithm evaluation (uniformnon-uniform)
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 55
Power,
voltage and
current plots
with respect
to time
Algorithm evaluation (non-uniformuniform)
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 56
17.2.2014
15
Algorithm evaluation (during uniform)
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 57
Algorithm evaluation (during uniform)
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 58
Power,
voltage and
current plots
with respect
to time
Experimental setup
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 59
P-V curves programmed in the SAS.
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 60
17.2.2014
16
Proposed VWS Agarwal
algorithm algorithm
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 61
Comparison
3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014 62
63 3rd Renewable Energy Systems Winter School, 21-25 Jan. 2014