Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

PROJECT REPORT ON FUZZY LOGIC BASED MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING

Submitted by: Krithik Kumar Chandrashekar Nisarg M. Dave

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Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

Abstract This project proposes the use of a fuzzy logic based control method for maximum power point tracking for photovoltaic array. The power output of a solar array under normal operating considerations is dependent on the temperature and irradiation conditions. Therefore in order to maximize the amount of power delivered to the battery/load, a control technique must be employed. Some of the common techniques used for MPPT are Fractional Open circuit current, Perturb and Observe, Incremental conductance. There are advantages/disadvantages to each of these techniques .This project makes a comparison with fractional open circuit current MPPT and one without any MPPT. Introduction Photo-Voltaic based methods of power generation have become the crux of future energy needs, it is quite apparent as to why this has become so , fossil fuels have not only caused considerable environmental damage but the sources of the fuel have also diminished to a large extent. Hence the focus has shifted to renewable energies. However renewable energies have in some cases shown to have little efficiency, it is in these cases that new developments must be applied to improve the output power thus making renewable energies more viable. One of the ways to achieve this in solar energy is called maximum power point tracking. A maximum power point tracker (or MPPT) is a high efficiency DC to DC converter that presents an optimal electrical load to a solar panel or array and produces a voltage suitable for the load. PV cells have a single operating point where the values of the current (I) and Voltage (V) of the cell result in a maximum power output. These values correspond to a particular resistance, which is equal to V/I as specified by Ohm's Law. A PV cell has an exponential relationship between current and voltage, and the maximum power point (MPP) occurs at the knee of the curve, where the resistance is equal to the negative of the differential resistance (V/I = -dV/dI). Maximum power point trackers utilize some type of control circuit or logic to search for this point and thus to allow the converter circuit to extract the maximum power available from a cell. Recently fuzzy logic controllers have been introduced in the tracking of the MPPT in PV systems. They have the advantage to be robust and relatively simple to design as they do not require the knowledge of the exact model. They do require in the other hand the complete knowledge of the operation of the PV system by the designer. A fuzzy logic system may seem as an ideal choice for MPPT given the non linear nature of the PV characteristics of the solar cell.

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Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

DC-DC CONVERTER

Battery

PV Array Duty Ratio

Voltage

Power
FUZZY LOGIC CONTROLLER

Figure 1: Solar Array System The overall block diagram is illustrated above. Here we can see that between the array and the battery we have a boost converter with a fuzzy logic controller. The voltage and power from the array is measured and fed to the controller. Based on the rate of change of error in power and voltage, the duty ratio is adjusted automatically. The duty ratio is adjusted such that maximum possible power is delivered to the load; in this case we have the battery.

Application The application we have chosen is a solar powered street light .The load is a 12V, 60 watt lamp(s). To size the battery and the panel the following things are taken into consideration 1. Hours of Operation -10hours, 600 watt-hours 2. Days of Backup in case of cloudy weather /rainy days -1 day Page | 3

Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

3. Grid connection Not Present, Off Grid 4. Battery Voltage -12V 5. Number of Sun Hours for Chicago: 4.4 hours After careful calculation we arrive with the conclusion that battery and solar panels should be sized as follows. Battery Size/Capacity-200ah Solar Array Size-200Watt Solar Panel Specifications Current/Voltage/Power Pmp Ptolerance Pmp, max Pmp, min min Pptc Vmp Imp Voc Isc ES-A-200-fa3 200 -0/+4.99 204.99 200.00 12.7 180.6 18.10 11.05 22.60 11.80

As it can be seen that under standard conditions, the maximum power that can be extracted is 180 watts. However the data sheet of the solar panel1 specifies that the test conditions to be at a temperature of 20 degree centigrade and 1000 w/m2.

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Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

Battery Specifications Ritar 12V / 200Ah VLRA Battery Parameter Cells Per Unit Voltage Per Unit Capacity Weight Max. Discharge Current Internal Resistance Operating Temperature Range Value 6 12 200Ah@10hr-rate to 1.75V per cell @25C Approx. 60.0 Kg 2000A (5 sec) Approx. 4 m Discharge: -20C ~ 60C Charge: 0C~50C Storage: -20C~60C 25 C5C 13.6 to 13.8 VDC/unit Average at 25C 60 A

Normal Operating Temperature Range Float charging Voltage Recommended Maximum Charging Current Limit Equalization and Cycle Service

Figure 2: Discharge Characteristics of the Battery Page | 5

Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

DC-DC boost convertor

Figure3: Boost Converter2

Figure 4: Inductor current v/s time

The design of DC-DC boost converter is done to supply the battery for a 12V battery. Inductance= 0.000128Henry Capacitor=0.006 farad Switching Device=MOSFET Switching Frequency=1 kHz A boost converter is part of a subset of DC-DC converters called switch-mode converters. The circuits belonging to this class, including buck, flyback, buck-boost, and push-pull converters are very similar. They generally perform the conversion by applying a DC voltage across an inductor or transformer for a period of time which causes current to flow through it and store energy magnetically, then switching this voltage off and causing the stored energy to be transferred to the voltage output in a controlled manner. Applying Kirchhoffs rules around the loops and rearranging the terms gives an intuitive result as shown below. Vout/Vin=1/ (1-D)

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Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

Fuzzy logic controller3

Figure 5: Fuzzy logic controller look up table

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Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

MPPT attempts to move an operation point of a solar array as close to the maximum power point or the knee of the I-V curve shown in Figure as possible. Mathematically, this is equivalent to finding the point where the derivative dP/dV is equal to zero. Alternatively, when implemented in digital system, output voltage and current at consnsecutive time interval n-1 and n are sampled, to search the peak power point of a solar array, firstly defined as error function is E (n) =P (n)-P (n-1) / V (n) - V (n - 1). Also, the associated change of error is defined as E (n) =E (n)-E (n-1). The controller works to force the error function, which is the derivative of power with respect to the measured voltage, and its associated change of error to zero. Thus an optimal operation point can be obtained. Instead of finding the underlying derivative, MPPT can also be achieved by means of fuzzy logic. Let us denote a duty ratio of the switch in Fig.2 as D(n). With reference to the I-V and power curve, the fuzzy meta rule for MPPT can be stated as If the last change in the duty ratio D(n) has caused the power to rise , keep moving the duty ratio D(n) in the same direction otherwise , if it has caused the power to drop, then move in the opposite direction Rule (i) : if E(n) is A; and E(n) is B; then D(n) is C Where A, B, and C represent fuzzy sets including positive big (PB), positive small (PS), zero (ZE), negative big (NB), and negative small (NS). Figure 5 shows the membership functions of the input variables E(n) and E(n) and the output variable D(n). E(n)\E(n) NB NS ZE PS PB NB PB PB NS NB NB NS PB PS NS NS NB ZE PS PS ZE NS NS PS PB PS PS NS NB PB PB PB PS NB NB

Figure 6: Fuzzy rule table for D(n) Page | 8

Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

Results

Figure 7: I-V and I-P curves under 1000 w/m2 at 25 degree centigrade Page | 9

Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

Figure 8 Power supplied for no MPPT

Figure 9 Power Supplied for fuzzy logic controller Page | 10

Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

Figure 10 Power Supplied for Fractional Open Circuit case

Controller Type No MPPT

Power Delivered Watts 140

State Of Charge 74.89% 87.51%

Fractional Open Circuit 173.0114 Current Fuzzy Logic Based 173.5729

87.44%

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Fuzzy Logic Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

Conclusion As it can be observed that there is an improvement of 23% from the case of no mppt to that of fractional open circuit voltage and fuzzy logic based controller. Fuzzy logic offers only a marginal improvement in power delivered to the battery. However the state of charge reached by both the cases is similar. Though fuzzy logic may offer benefits in the long run, there is a tradeoff between the processing time and cost. References [1]http://www.altestore.com/store/Solar-Panels/150-Watts-Up-SolarPanels/EvergreenES-A-200-FA3-200W-12V-Solar-Panel-Black/p7348/ [2] B. M Hasaneen, Adel A. Elbaset , Design And Simulation of DC/DC Boost Converter The
Twelfth International Middle East Power System Conference, MEPCON'2008, South Valley University, Faculty of Eng., Aswan, Egypt, Vol. I, March 13-15, 2008

[3] N. Khaehintung , P. Sirisuk Implementation of Maximum Power Point Tracking Using Fuzzy Logic Controller for Solar-Powered Light-Flasher Applications

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