A Simulation Analysis of MPPT Algorithm in
Photovoltaic System using Cuk Converter
Sachin P Jadhav, Sincy George
Abstract- In today’s power scenario, power generated by
conventional energy sources is not enough to meet the
increasing power demand. It has become necessary to utilize
renewable energy sources along with conventional energy
sources to full fill the increasing power demand. Solar energy
is one of readily available renewable energy source and it is
non-polluting. Power that can be produced from solar
photovoltaic system depends upon atmospheric conditions.
However, power delivered by the system depends on load
connected to it. In order to extract maximum power from
solar cell, various maximum power point tracking techniques
(MPPT) are available. This paper uses incremental
conductance method to implement MPPT. Due to low
oscillations at MPP, this method is suitable for maximum
power point tracking under varying atmospheric conditions. A
DC-DC CUK converter is selected for tracking maximum
power. This paper includes converter design, simulation
results of standalone PV system with INC MPPT method.
Keywords- DC-DC Cuk converter, Incremental
conductance method, Maximum power point tracking, Solar
photovoltaic system.
I. INTRODUCTION
I n recent years conventional and non-conventional energy
sources are used to generate electricity. Conventional
energy sources uses fossil fuel, nuclear energy etc, whereas
the non-conventional energy sources produce power from
solar energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy, wind energy,
biomass energy etc. In conventional energy sources,
combustion of fossil creates pollution and also its availability
is limited. . Due to the effect of global warming and energy
exhaustion there is a wide application of renewable energy
sources in today’s power scenario. At present, in India
2663.67MW of power is generated by renewable energy
sources. Out of which 750.77MW of power is generated by
Sachin P Jadhav, Student, Dept. of Electrical Engineering,
Rodrigues Institute of Technology, Vashi, Navi Mumbai,
Sachinjadhav985@gmail.com
Sincy George, Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering,
Rodrigues Institute of Technology , Vashi, Navi Mumbai,
sincyeapen@yahoo.com

the solar system [1]. In solar system, Photovoltaic cells (solar
cells) are used to convert solar radiations into electrical
energy. Solar system can be standalone or grid connected
system.
Solar cell V-I characteristics are nonlinear and power that
can be extracted from the solar cell changes with change in
temperature, insolations etc [2]. At particular irradiations and
temperature, output power varies with load connected to PV
system.There are various techniques avaible for modelling a
solar cell [3]. A mathematical modelling of solar cell in the
literature [4] shows accurate characteristics of solar cell under
different wheather conditions. Solar parameters are
calculated using Newton-Raphson method and maximum
power is extracted using INC MPPT method [5]. To extract
maximum power from the solar system output resistance of
solar cell to be controlled. This can be obtained by using DC-
DC converters.
The widely used DC-DC converters for such applications
are: Buck, Boost, Buck-boost, Sepic, Cuk and Zeta converters.
Each converter has its own characteristics. The region of
operation of each converter for maximum power tracking
(MPPT) is different. Few converters region of operation is
below the maximum power point (MPP) and others are
operating above the MPP. The converters such as cuk, sepic,
buck-boost are operating in both the regions. Compared to
other converters, Cuk converter has low losses and it has the
better voltage regulation. Also, it provides capacitive isolation
which protects against switch failure. In grid connected solar
photovoltaic system the cuk converter is used to extract
maximum power from solar cell. The output of cuk voltage
and current has less ripple contents as compared to boost
converter [6]. Because of its various advantages, the cuk
converter is used in this paper as the interface between the
solar cell and load [7].
There are large number of algorithms that are used to track
the maximum power point. In perturb and observe method, the
voltage and current are sensed and power is calculated. Then
the slope of the P-V curve is checked and duty cycle D is
changed in the appropriate direction so that the operating point
Fr. C is reached at MPP. The advantage of this method is that it is
India. simple and low cost. Oscillations around the MPP is one of the
Fr. C
disadvantage of this method [8], [9]. Another method of
India. MPPT is the incremental conductance method (INC). In this
method the incremental conductance is matched with
instantaneous conductance and duty cycle is adjusted to track
the maximum power. This method is difficult to implement. I-V characteristic curve of the solar cell is shown in Fig 2.
But the advantages of this method is that it does not oscillates
around MPP at different insolations and temperature [10]. This
paper proposes an INC method with direct duty cycle control
to extract maximum power from the solar cell. It also has high
efficiency than the boost converter.
Yeong-Chau Kuo, Tsorng-Juu Liang, and Jiann-Fuh Chen
implemented single stage configuration which results in
increased system efficiency.This system acts as solar
generator in sunny days and working as an active power line
conditioner in rainy days [11]. The author Henry Shu-hung
Chung, K. K. Tse, S. Y. Ron Hui, C. M. Mok, and M. T. Ho,
implemented novel MPPT techniques for solar panel using
cuk converter. This method does not require complicated Figure 2: I-V Characteristics of a Solar Cell
mathematical calculations, microcontroller and digital signal
processor. By modulating the small signal perturbation in the The I-V equation of the solar cell is given as [6],
𝑞𝑣
duty cycle and compared it with the maximum variation in the 𝐼𝑠𝑐 = 𝐼0 (𝑒 𝑘𝑇 − 1) − 𝐼𝐿 (1)
input voltage, the MPPT is achieved [12].
This paper deals with complete analysis and Where 𝐼𝑠𝑐 and 𝑉𝑜𝑐 represents the short circuit current and open
implementation of MPPT using cuk converter. Section II circuit voltage respectively, k is the boltzmann constant, q is
describes the overview of standalone photovoltaic system. The the electron charge, T is the temperature of the solar cell, 𝐼𝐿 is
working principle of cuk converter is presented in section III. the light generated current. 𝑃𝑚 in figure 2, represent
The maximum power point tracking algorithm is described in maximum power, 𝑉𝑚 and 𝐼𝑚 are the voltage and current of
section IV. Section V deals with the simulation results of corresponding to MPP of solar cell. 𝑅𝑚𝑝𝑝 represents the
MPPT system at constant and variable load and different effective impedance with respect to solar cell at the maximum
insolation levels. The conclusion is presented in section VI. power point. Operating point of the system depends on the
output impedance (𝑅𝑖 ) of the solar PV array. As load varies,
II. OVERVIEW OF STANDALONE PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM the operating point is also varies. To track the maximum
The standalone photovoltaic system is as shown in figure 1. power from the system the 𝑅𝑖 of the solar panel should always
The DC-DC converter is the heart of the MPPT system. DC- equal to 𝑅𝑚𝑝𝑝 . This can be achieved by controlling the duty of
DC converters helps in extracting maximum power from the the cuk converter.
solar system and delivers to the load by adjusting the duty
cycle. Solar PV array consists of various cells which are III. WORKING PRINCIPLE OF CUK CONVERTER
connected in parallel and series configuration. For high
The circuit diagram of cuk converter is shown in figure 3.
voltage requirement the solar cells are connected in series
Cuk converter can operating in continuous and discontinuous
while for higher current requirement the solar cells are
conduction mode [9]. Continuous conduction mode of
connected in parallel.
operation of cuk converter is considered in this paper. It
consists of an inductor on its input and output sides, so that the
ripple contents at the input and output sides are relatively low.
The capacitor 𝐶1 is the main component that transfers the
energy to the load and it provides electrical isolation between
input and output side.

Figure 3: Equivalent Circuit of Cuk Converter

Figure 1: Standalone Photovoltaic System
Basically the cuk converter is operated in two modes.
Digital signal processor (DSP) is used to generate appropriate Mode 1- When the switch is on: The equivalent circuit
PWM signals for driving cuk converter. The diagram of cuk converter during on state is shown in figure 4.
During mode 1, current flowing to the inductor L1 increases 𝐼𝑐1 = 𝐼𝑐2 (8)
and the capacitor C1 discharges its energy to the
𝑉0
load through 𝐶2− 𝐿2− 𝐶1 . The voltage across the inductor 𝐼𝑐2 = 𝐼2 − (9)
𝑅
L1 and L2 is given by,
The ratio of output voltage to the input voltage with respect to
𝑉𝐿1 = 𝑉𝑖𝑛 (2) D of the converter is given by,
𝑉0 𝐷
𝑉𝐿2 = −𝑉𝑐1 − 𝑉𝑐2 (3) = − ((1−𝐷)) (10)
𝑉𝑖𝑛

𝐼𝑖𝑛 𝐷
= − ((1−𝐷)) (11)
𝐼0

From eqn. (10) and (11),

1
𝐷= 𝑅
(12)
1+√ 𝑖
𝑅𝐿

From equation (12), it is clear that 𝑅𝑖 can be controlled by

Figure 4: Equivalent Circuit of Cuk Converter in Mode 1
where, 𝑉𝐿1 and 𝑉𝐿2 are the voltages across the inductor L1 and
L2 respectively, 𝑉𝑖𝑛 is the supply voltage, 𝑉𝑐1 and 𝑉𝑐2 are the
voltages across the capacitors 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 respectively.
The current flowing through the capacitor C1 and 𝐶2 is given
by:
𝐼𝑐1 = 𝐼0 (4)
𝑉0
𝐼𝑐2 = 𝐼2 − (5)
𝑅 and I, duty cycle of converter can be find out using INC
where, 𝐼𝑐1 and 𝐼𝑐2 are the currents flowing through the
capacitors 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 respectively. 𝐼0 is the output current, V0
is the output voltage and R is the resistive load of converter.
Mode 2- When the switch is off: The equivalent circuit
diagram of cuk converter is shown in figure 5. When the
switch of the converter is off, the capacitor 𝐶1 starts charging
through input supply and 𝐿2 discharges its energy to the load.
adjusting D which help in maximum power point tracking.
IV. MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING SYSTEM
Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) can be
implemented by direct duty cycle control or using PI
controller. In case of direct duty cycle control the PI control
loop is eliminated and duty cycle is adjusted according to load
variations and various changing atmospheric conditions. This
method eliminates the use of PI controller [13]. The PI
controller is specifically used to make the error zero. Figure 6
shows solar panel connected to Cuk converter. By sensing V
method.
In incremental conductance method, MPP is achieved by
𝑑𝐼
matching the incremental conductance with the
𝑑𝑉
𝐼
instantaneous conductance . Where I and V are the current
𝑉
and voltage of the solar module.

Figure 5: Equivalent Circuit of Cuk Converter in Mode 2

Figure 6: Implementation of MPPT using Dc-Dc Converter
The voltage across the inductor L1 and L2 is given by, At MPP,
𝑉𝐿2 = −𝑉𝑐1 − 𝑉𝑐2 (6) 𝑑𝑃 𝑑(𝑉×𝐼) 𝑑𝐼 𝑑𝑉
= =𝑉 +𝐼 =0 (13)
𝑑𝑉 𝑑𝑉 𝑑𝑉 𝑑𝐼
𝑉𝐿2 = −𝑉0 (7)
𝑑𝐼
𝑉 +𝐼 =0 (14)
𝑑𝑉
The current flowing through the capacitor C1 and C2 is given
by,
If the operating point is at the MPP then, V. SIMULATION RESULTS
𝑑𝐼 𝐼 A Matlab model of standalone photovoltaic system with
=− (15)
𝑑𝑉 𝑉 MPPT by using cuk converter is shown in figure 8.

Thus when the incremental conductance is equal to the

instantaneous conductance, the maximum power point is
achieved [6].
If the operating point is at the left side of the MPP, then
𝑑𝐼 𝐼
>− (16)
𝑑𝑉 𝑉

If operating point is at the right side if the MPP, then

𝑑𝐼 𝐼
<− (17)
𝑑𝑉 𝑉

The flowchart for INC method of MPPT is shown in figure 7.

Figure 8: MATLAB/SIMULINK Model of Solar System with

MPPT using CUK Converter

The ASM-12075A solar model is considered for analysis of

MPPT. The ratings of solar panel according to standard test
conditions are given in Table 1. A load of 55W is considered
for analysis. The designed parameters of cuk converter for
maximum power point tracking are given in Table 2.
Table 1: Electrical Parameters of Module ASM-12075A
Open circuit voltage (Voc) 21 V
Short circuit current (Isc) 5A
Maximum Voltage(Vm) 16.4 V
Maximum current(Im) 4.57 A
Maximum Power (Pm) 75 W
Series connected cells 36
Parallel connected cells 1

Table 2: Designed Values of Cuk Converter

Parameters Value
Input voltage 𝑉𝑖𝑛 18 V
Output voltage 𝑉0 28V
Inductor 𝐿1 4.6mH
Inductor 𝐿2 5mH
Figure 7: Flow Chart of INC MPPT Algorithm Capacitor 𝐶1 46uF
Capacitor 𝐶2 47uF
Switching frequency 10kHz
The incremental conductance algorithm starts with
obtaining the values of I (k) and V (k). Then using the The solar panel output voltage and current is sensed and
previous values stored in the memory I (k-1) and V (k-1), then MPPT program is developed using embedded matlab function.
check whether the there is any change in voltage or not i.e. dV The following analysis is done in Matlab simulation software.
= 0, if it was zero, then check for whether current is zero or
not i.e. dI= 0. Where I(k) and V(k) are the present current and Case 1: Variation of operating point of solar panel at constant
voltage , I(k-1) and V(k-1) are the previous current and insolation with load changes without MPPT
voltage respectively. If the current is zero, then the PV module Case 2: Variation of operating point of solar panel at constant
is operating at its MPP. Then there is no need to change the insolation with load changes with MPPT
duty cycle [10].
Case 3: Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) at different
isolations with constant load
Case 1: Variation of operating point of solar panel at constant the duty cycle is choosen as 0.001. The waveforms of input
insolation with load changes without MPPT power, input voltage, input current of the solar cell, output
The operating point of the solar cell changes with the load. voltage and output current of the cuk converter at 1000W/m2
When the solar cell is connected to the variable load, its are shown in figure 10. Figure (a) shows maximum power is
operating point varies depending upon the load connected to extracted by the solar cell is around 73.25W. It is seen that
it. It will not extract maximum power from the solar cell and output voltage of the cuk converter is same as designed value
hence efficiency of the solar cell will be less. The V-I and P-V of 28 V and current of 2.8 A.
characteristics at contant insolation (1000W/𝑚2 ) with
various load conditions are shown in figure 9. Operating point
of solar panel at various load conditions is marked. It is seen
that as load varies operating point’s changes. At a load of 4Ω,
maximum power of 73.1W is extracted from solar panel. At
other loads, operating point moves away from MPP. To
extract maximum power at any load 𝑅𝑖 should be equal to 4Ω.
By varying duty cycle of converter, it is possible to make
𝑅𝑖 =4Ω at any load condition.

(a)

(a)

(b)
Figure: 10 Waveforms of (a) Input Power, Input Voltage,
Input Current (b) Output Voltage, Current of Cuk Converter

The comparative results of case 1 and case 2 are given in

Table 3. From Table 3 it is clear that, in case 1 the maximum
(b)
power is not extracted from the solar module at all load
Figure 9: Characteristics at Various Load Conditions without conditions. In case 2, it is seen that, even though load changes,
MPPT (a) I-V Curve (b) P-V Curve maximum power is extracted from solar cell which is
73.35W. As load chages, the duty cycle of the converter is
Case 2: Variation of operating point of solar panel at constant
adjusted in such a way that the system is extracted maximum
insolation with load changes with MPPT
power from solar module.
In order to extract the maximum power, the solar cell is
connected to the load through Cuk converter. The step size for
Table 3: Comparative Results of Case1 and Case 2 The maximum power tracking by cuk conveter with
Case1 Case2 𝑅𝐿 variation of insolation is shown in figure 13. From figure 13, it
V(V) I(A) P(W) V(V) I(A) P(W)
is clear that at 1000 W/𝑚2 the power is fluctuating between
points A-A’. When inoslations changes from 1000W/m2 to
9.16 4.58 42 16.8 4.3 72.24 2 600W/m2 , the duty cycle is adjusted in such a way that the
17.10 4.27 73.10 16.3 4.5 73.35 4 operating point of the solar cell moves between B-B’. When
20.14 2.51 50.73 16.7 4.3 72.73 8 solar insolations are changes from 1000W/m2 to 600W/m2
20.5 2.05 42.01 16.8 4.31 72.83 10 the duty cycle is increased and operating point moves to again
at point A.

Case 3: Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) at different

isolations with constant load
A constant load of 10Ω is considered and MPPT is tested
for two different insolation conditions of 1000W/m2 and
600W/m2 . The maximum power from solar cell at above
insolations are 73.35W and 47W respectively. The results of
power, voltage and currents from solar cell for these radiations
are shown in figure 11. Figure 11 shows that the duty cycle is
adjusted and it is tracking maximum power from the solar cell
at different insolation. It is found that the current of solar cell
changes from 4.3A to 2.99A with insolation changes from
1000W/m2 to 600W/m2 , however, voltage remains constant at
around 17V. Figure 12 shows the output current and output
voltage of cuk converter.
Figure 13: Maximum Power Tracking from Solar Cell at
Different Insolations

Figure. 11: Waveforms of (a) Input Power, Voltage and
Current of Solar Panel
VI. CONCLUSION
A detailed analysis of performance of solar PV system with
without MPPT is carried out. Also its performance under
variable insolation and load condition is analyzed. Incremental
conductance method with direct duty ratio techniques is used
for implementing the INC MPPT algorithm in standalone PV
system. It is found that using cuk converter it is possible to
extract maximum power when the load characteristic is away
from MPP. When insolation changes from 1000W/m2 to
600W/m2 , the system is capable of tracking maximum power
very efficiently. The simulation results on 75Wp solar system
gives satisfactory results under steady state and transient
conditions.

Figure. 12: Waveforms of (a) Output Voltage and Current of
Cuk Converter
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Sachin P Jadhav received the B.E in electrical

engineering from the Rajaram Shinde College of
Engineering, Pedhambe, Chiplun, in 2013 and currently
doing M.E in power electronics and drives in Fr. C
Rodrigues Institute of Technology,Vashi,New Mumbai,
India. His research interest includes renewable energy
sources and power electronics.

Formal
Photograp
h

Sincy George (M’95) received the B.Tech and

M.Tech degrees in electrical engineering from the
College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India, in 1985 and
1989, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical
engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology,
Bombay. In between she was a Trainee at The
Aluminium Industries Limited (a switchgear company).
She is currently a Professor in the Electrical Engineering
Formal Department, Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology,
Bombay, India. Her research interests include power quality and power
c
electronics.