This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been
fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TIA.2016.2522943, IEEE
Transactions on Industry Applications
BLDC Motor Driven Solar PV Array Fed Water
Pumping System Employing Zeta Converter
Rajan Kumar, Member, IEEE, and Bhim Singh, Fellow, IEEE
Abstract— This paper proposes a simple, cost effective and
efficient brushless DC (BLDC) motor drive for solar photovoltaic
(SPV) array fed water pumping system. A zeta converter is
utilized in order to extract the maximum available power from
the SPV array. The proposed control algorithm eliminates phase
current sensors and adapts a fundamental frequency switching of
the voltage source inverter (VSI), thus avoiding the power losses
due to high frequency switching. No additional control or
circuitry is used for speed control of the BLDC motor. The speed
is controlled through a variable DC link voltage of VSI. An
appropriate control of zeta converter through the incremental
conductance maximum power point tracking (INC-MPPT)
algorithm offers soft starting of the BLDC motor. The proposed
water pumping system is designed and modeled such that the
performance is not affected under dynamic conditions. The
suitability of proposed system at practical operating conditions is
demonstrated through simulation results using MATLAB/
Simulink followed by an experimental validation.
Keywords— BLDC motor, SPV array, Water pump, Zeta
converter, VSI, INC-MPPT.
I. INTRODUCTION
The drastic reduction in the cost of power electronic
devices and annihilation of fossil fuels in near future invite to
use the solar photovoltaic (SPV) generated electrical energy
for various applications as far as possible. The water pumping,
a standalone application of the SPV array generated electricity
is receiving wide attention now a days for irrigation in the
fields, household applications and industrial use. Although
several researches have been carried out in an area of SPV
array fed water pumping, combining various DC-DC
converters and motor drives, the zeta converter in association
with a permanent magnet brushless DC (BLDC) motor is not
explored precisely so far to develop such kind of system.
However, the zeta converter has been used in some other SPV
based applications [1-3]. Moreover, a topology of SPV array
fed BLDC motor driven water pump with zeta converter has
been reported and its significance has been presented more or
less in [4]. Nonetheless, an experimental validation is missing
and the absence of extensive literature review and comparison
with the existing topologies, have concealed the technical
contribution and originality of the reported work.
The merits of both BLDC motor and zeta converter can
contribute to develop a SPV array fed water pumping system
possessing a potential of operating satisfactorily under
dynamically changing atmospheric conditions. The BLDC
motor has high reliability, high efficiency, high torque/inertia
ratio, improved cooling, low radio frequency interference and
noise and requires practically no maintenance [5-6]. On the
other hand, a zeta converter exhibits following advantages
over the conventional buck, boost, buck-boost converters and
Cuk converter when employed in SPV based applications.
• Belonging to a family of buck-boost converters, the zeta
converter may be operated either to increase or to
decrease the output voltage. This property offers a
boundless region for maximum power point tracking
R. Kumar and B. Singh are with the Department of Electrical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India (e-mail:
sonkar.rajankumar36@gmail.com, bsingh@ee.iitd.ac.in).
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(MPPT) of a SPV array [7]. The MPPT can be performed
with simple buck [8] and boost [9] converter if MPP
occurs within prescribed limits.
• This property also facilitates the soft starting of BLDC
motor unlike a boost converter which habitually steps up
the voltage level at its output, not ensuring soft starting.
• Unlike a classical buck-boost converter [10], the zeta
converter has a continuous output current. The output
inductor makes the current continuous and ripple free.
• Although consisting of same number of components as a
Cuk converter [11], the zeta converter operates as non-
inverting buck-boost converter unlike an inverting buck-
boost and Cuk converter. This property obviates a
requirement of associated circuits for negative voltage
sensing hence reduces the complexity and probability of
slow down the system response [12].
These merits of the zeta converter are favorable for
proposed SPV array fed water pumping system. An
incremental conductance (INC) MPPT algorithm [8, 13-18] is
used to operate the zeta converter such that SPV array always
operates at its MPP.
The existing literature exploring SPV array based BLDC
motor driven water pump [19-22] is based on a configuration
shown in Fig. 1. A DC-DC converter is used for MPPT of a
SPV array as usual. Two phase currents are sensed along with
Hall signals feedback for control of BLDC motor, resulting in
an increased cost. The additional control scheme causes
increased cost and complexity, which is required to control the
speed of BLDC motor. Moreover, usually a voltage source
inverter (VSI) is operated with high frequency PWM pulses,
resulting in an increased switching loss and hence the reduced
efficiency. However, a Z-source inverter (ZSI) replaces DC-
DC converter in [22], other schematic of Fig. 1 remaining
unchanged, promising high efficiency and low cost. Contrary
to it, ZSI also necessitates phase current and DC link voltage
sensing resulting in the complex control and increased cost.
Fig. 1 Conventional SPV fed BLDC motor driven water pumping system [21].
To overcome these problems and drawbacks, a simple,
cost-effective and efficient water pumping system based on
SPV array fed BLDC motor is proposed, by modifying the
existing topology (Fig. 1) to as shown in Fig. 2. A zeta
converter is utilized in order to extract the maximum power
available from a SPV array, soft starting and speed control of
BLDC motor coupled to a water pump. Due to a single switch,
this converter has very good efficiency and offers boundless
region for MPPT. This converter is operated in continuous
conduction mode (CCM) resulting in a reduced stress on its
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Transactions on Industry Applications
power devices and components. Furthermore, the switching
loss of VSI is reduced by adopting fundamental frequency
switching resulting in an additional power saving and hence an
enhanced efficiency. The phase currents as well as the DC link
voltage sensors are completely eliminated, offering simple and
economical system without scarifying its performance. The
speed of BLDC motor is controlled, without any additional
control, through a variable DC link voltage of VSI. Moreover,
a soft starting of BLDC motor is achieved by proper
initialization of MPPT algorithm of SPV array. These features
offer an increased simplicity of proposed system.
+
+
+
+
Fig. 2 Proposed SPV-Zeta converter fed BLDC motor drive for water pump.
The advantages and desirable features of both zeta
converter and BLDC motor drive contribute to develop a
simple, efficient, cost-effective and reliable water pumping
system based on solar PV energy. Simulation results using
MATLAB/Simulink and experimental performances are
examined to demonstrate the starting, dynamics and steady
state behavior of proposed water pumping system subjected to
practical operating conditions. The SPV array and BLDC
motor are designed such that proposed system always exhibits
good performance regardless of solar irradiance level.
II. CONFIGURATION OF PROPOSED SYSTEM
The structure of proposed SPV array fed BLDC motor
driven water pumping system employing a zeta converter is
shown in Fig. 2. The proposed system consists of (left to right)
a SPV array, a zeta converter, a VSI, a BLDC motor and a
water pump. The BLDC motor has an inbuilt encoder. The
pulse generator is used to operate the zeta converter. A step by
step operation of proposed system is elaborated in the
following section in detail.
III. OPERATION OF PROPOSED SYSTEM
The SPV array generates the electrical power demanded by
the motor-pump. This electrical power is fed to the motor-
pump via a zeta converter and a VSI. The SPV array appears
as a power source for the zeta converter as shown in Fig. 2.
Ideally, the same amount of power is transferred at the output
of zeta converter which appears as an input source for the VSI.
In practice, due to the various losses associated with a DC-DC
converter [23], slightly less amount of power is transferred to
feed the VSI. The pulse generator generates, through INC-
MPPT algorithm, switching pulses for IGBT (Insulated Gate
Bipolar Transistor) switch of the zeta converter. The INC-
MPPT algorithm uses voltage and current as feedback from
SPV array and generates an optimum value of duty cycle.
Further, it generates actual switching pulse by comparing the
duty cycle with a high frequency carrier wave. In this way, the
maximum power extraction and hence the efficiency
optimization of the SPV array is accomplished.
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The VSI, converting DC output from a zeta converter into
AC, feeds the BLDC motor to drive a water pump coupled to
its shaft. The VSI is operated in fundamental frequency
switching through an electronic commutation of BLDC motor
assisted by its built-in encoder. The high frequency switching
losses are thereby eliminated, contributing in an increased
efficiency of proposed water pumping system.
IV. DESIGN OF PROPOSED SYSTEM
Various operating stages shown in Fig. 2, are properly
designed in order to develop an effective water pumping
system, capable of operating under uncertain conditions. A
BLDC motor of 2.89 kW power rating and a SPV array of 3.4
kW peak power capacity under standard test conditions (STC)
are selected to design the proposed system. The detailed
design of various stages such as SPV array, zeta converter and
water pump are described as follows.
A. Design of SPV Array
As per above discussion, the practical converters are
associated with various power losses. In addition, the
performance of BLDC motor-pump is influenced by
associated mechanical and electrical losses. To compensate
these losses, the size of SPV array is selected with slightly
more peak power capacity to ensure the satisfactory operation
regardless of power losses. Therefore, the SPV array of peak
power capacity of Pmpp = 3.4 kW under STC (STC:
1000W/m², 25°C, AM 1.5), slightly more than demanded by
the motor-pump is selected and its parameters are designed
accordingly. SolarWorld make Sunmodule® Plus SW 280
mono [24] SPV module is selected to design the SPV array of
an appropriate size. Electrical specifications of this module are
listed in Table I and numbers of modules required to connect
in series/parallel are estimated by selecting the voltage of SPV
array at MPP under STC as, Vmpp = 187.2 V.
The current of SPV array at MPP, Impp is estimated as,
Impp = Pmpp/Vmpp = 3400/187.2 = 18.16 A (1)
TABLE I
SPECIFICATIONS OF SUNMODULE® PLUS SW 280 MONO SPV MODULE
Peak power, Pm (Watt) 280
Open circuit voltage, Vo (V) 39.5
Voltage at MPP, Vm (V) 31.2
Short circuit current, Is (A) 9.71
Current at MPP, Im (A) 9.07
Number of cells connected in series, Nss 60
The numbers of modules required to connect in series are as,
Ns = Vmpp/Vm = 187.2/31.2 = 6 (2)
The numbers of modules required to connect in parallel are as,
Np = Impp/Im = 18.16/9.07 = 2 (3)
Connecting 6 modules in series, having 2 strings in
parallel, a SPV array of required size is designed for the
proposed system and its data are given in Appendix A.
B. Design of Zeta Converter
The zeta converter is the next stage to the SPV array. Its
design consists of an estimation of various components such
as input inductor, L1, output inductor, L2 and intermediate
capacitor, C1. These components are designed such that the
zeta converter always operates in CCM resulting in reduced
stress on its components and devices. An estimation of the
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Transactions on Industry Applications

duty cycle, D initiates the design of zeta converter which is Similarly, a value of DC link capacitor of VSI at ωmin is as,
estimated as [6],
I dc 17
Vdc 200 C2,min = = = 410 µF (12)
D= = = 0.52 (4) 6* ωmin * ΔVdc 6*345.57 * 200*0.1
Vdc + Vmpp 200 + 187.2
where ∆Vdc is an amount of permitted ripple in voltage across
where Vdc is an average value of output voltage of the zeta
DC link capacitor, C2.
converter (DC link voltage of VSI) equal to the DC voltage Finally, C2 = 410 µF is selected to design the DC link
rating of the BLDC motor. capacitor.
An average current flowing through the DC link of the VSI, Idc
is estimated as, D. Design of Water Pump
Idc = Pmpp/Vdc = 3400/200 = 17 A (5) To estimate the proportionality constant, K for the selected
Then L1, L2 and C1 are estimated as [6], water pump, its power-speed characteristics [26-27] is used as,

DVmpp 0.52*187.2 P 2.89 *103

L1 = = = 4.5*10−3 ≈ 5 mH (6) K= = = 9.32*10−5 (13)
ωr3 ( 2π *3000 60 )
3
f sw ΔI L1 20000*18.16*0.06
(1 − D)Vdc (1 − 0.52) * 200 where P = 2.89 kW is rated power developed by the BLDC
L2 = = = 4.7 *10−3 ≈ 5 mH (7)
f sw ΔI L 2 20000 *17 * 0.06 motor and ωr is rated mechanical speed of the rotor (3000
rpm) in rad/sec.
DI dc 0.52*17 A water pump with this data is selected for proposed
C1 = = = 22 µF (8)
f sw ΔVC1 20000 * 200 * 0.1 system.
where fsw is the switching frequency of IGBT switch of the V. CONTROL OF PROPOSED SYSTEM
zeta converter; ∆IL1 is the amount of permitted ripple in the
The proposed system is controlled in two stages. These
current flowing through L1, same as IL1 = Impp; ∆IL2 is the two control techniques, viz. MPPT and electronic
amount of permitted ripple in the current flowing through L2, commutation are discussed as follows.
same as IL2 = Idc; ∆VC1 is permitted ripple in the voltage across
C1, same as VC1 = Vdc. A. INC-MPPT Algorithm
Detailed data of the zeta converter are given in Appendix B. An efficient and commonly used INC-MPPT technique [8,
C. Estimation of DC Link Capacitor of VSI 13] in various SPV array based applications is utilized in order
to optimize the power available from a SPV array and to
A new design approach for estimation of DC link capacitor
facilitate a soft starting of BLDC motor. This technique allows
of the VSI is presented here. This approach is based on a fact
perturbation in either the SPV array voltage or the duty cycle.
that 6th harmonic component of the supply (AC) voltage is
The former calls for a PI (Proportional-Integral) controller to
reflected on the DC side as a dominant harmonic in the three
generate a duty cycle [8] for the zeta converter, which
phase supply system [25]. Here, the fundamental frequencies
increases the complexity. Hence, the direct duty cycle control
of output voltage of the VSI are estimated corresponding to
is adapted in this work. The INC-MPPT algorithm determines
the rated speed and the minimum speed of BLDC motor
the direction of perturbation based on the slope of Ppv-vpv
essentially required to pump the water. These two frequencies
curve, shown in Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the slope is zero at
are further used to estimate the values of their corresponding
MPP, positive on the left and negative on the right of MPP,
capacitors. Out of these two estimated capacitors, larger one is
i.e.
selected to assure a satisfactory operation of proposed system
even under the minimum solar irradiance level. dPpv ⎫
The fundamental output frequency of VSI corresponding = 0; at MPP ⎪
to the rated speed of BLDC motor, ωrated is estimated as, dv pv ⎪
dPpv ⎪
N rated P 3000*6 ⎪
> 0; left of MPP ⎬ (14)
ωrated = 2π f rated = 2π = 2π * = 942 rad/sec. (9) dv pv
120 120 ⎪
dPpv ⎪
The fundamental output frequency of the VSI corresponding > 0; right of MPP ⎪
to the minimum speed of the BLDC motor essentially required dv pv ⎪⎭
to pump the water (N = 1100 rpm), ωmin is estimated as,
Since
NP 1100*6
ωmin = 2πfmin = 2π = 2π * = 345.57 rad/sec. (10) dPpv d (v pv * i pv ) di pv Δi pv
120 120 = = i pv + v pv * ≅ i pv + v pv * (15)
dv pv dv pv dv pv Δv pv
where frated and fmin are fundamental frequencies of output
voltage of VSI corresponding to a rated speed and a minimum Therefore, (14) is rewritten as
speed of BLDC motor essentially required to pump the water
Pmpp
respectively, in Hz; Nrated is rated speed of the BLDC motor; P Δipv/Δvpv
> -ipv/vpv
is a number of poles in the BLDC motor. Δipv/Δvpv
< -ipv/vpv
Δipv/Δvpv
The value of DC link capacitor of VSI at ωrated is as, = -ipv/vpv

I dc 17
C2, rated = = = 150.4 µF (11) Voltage (vpv) Voc
6* ωrated * ΔVdc 6*942* 200*0.1 Fig. 3 Illustration of INC-MPPT with SPV array Ppv-vpv characteristics

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Δi pv i pv ⎫ VI. SIMULATED PERFORMANCE OF PROPOSED SYSTEM

=− ; at MPP ⎪ Performance evaluation of proposed SPV array fed BLDC
Δv pv v pv ⎪
⎪ motor driven water pump employing a zeta converter is
Δi pv i pv ⎪ carried out using simulated results. The proposed system is
>− ; left of MPP ⎬ (16)
Δv pv v pv ⎪ designed, modelled and simulated considering the random and
⎪ instant variations in solar irradiance level and its suitability is
Δi pv i pv
<− ; right of MPP ⎪ demonstrated by testing the starting, steady state and dynamic
Δv pv v pv ⎪⎭ behaviour as illustrated in Figs. 4-5. To demonstrate the
suitability of the system under dynamic condition, solar
Thus, based on the relation between incremental irradiance level is instantly reduced from 600 W/m2 to 200
conductance and instantaneous conductance, the controller W/m2 and then increased to 1000 W/m2 as shown in Fig. 5 (a).
decides the direction of perturbation as shown in Fig.3, and A. Performance of SPV Array
increases/decreases the duty cycle accordingly. For instance,
Fig.4(a) exhibits the starting and steady state performances
on the right of MPP, the duty cycle is increased with a fixed
of SPV array at 1000 W/m2. The MPP is properly tracked. The
perturbation size until the direction reverses. Ideally, the
tracking time is intentionally increased at the starting by
perturbation stops once the operating point reaches the MPP.
adapting a low value of perturbation size (ΔD = 0.001) in
However, in practice, operating point oscillates around the
order to achieve the soft starting of BLDC motor. The low
MPP.
value of ΔD causes the reduced rate of rise of DC link voltage
As the perturbation size reduces, the controller takes more
of VSI resulting in a smooth and soft starting of the motor.
time to track the MPP of SPV array. An intellectual agreement
However, a negligible tracking time is required under the
between the tracking time and the perturbation size is held to
dynamic variation in irradiance level as shown in Fig. 5(a).
fulfill the objectives of MPPT and soft starting of BLDC
motor. In order to achieve soft starting, the initial value of
duty cycle is set as zero. In addition, an optimum value of
perturbation size (∆D = 0.001) is selected, which contributes Vmpp=187.2 V
to soft starting and also minimizes oscillations around the
MPP. Impp=18.16 A

B. Electronic Commutation of BLDC Motor Pmpp=3400 W

The BLDC motor is controlled using a VSI operated

through an electronic commutation of BLDC motor. An (a)
electronic commutation of BLDC motor stands for
commutating the currents flowing through its windings in a
predefined sequence using a decoder logic. It symmetrically
places the DC input current at the centre of each phase voltage
for 120°. Six switching pulses are generated as per the various
possible combinations of three Hall-effect signals. These three
Hall-effect signals are produced by an inbuilt encoder
according to the rotor position.
A particular combination of Hall-effect signals is produced
for each specific range of rotor position at an interval of 60°
[5-6]. The generation of six switching states with the
estimation of rotor position is tabularized in Table II. It is
perceptible that only two switches conduct at a time, resulting
in 120º conduction mode of operation of VSI and hence the
reduced conduction losses. Besides this, the electronic
commutation provides fundamental frequency switching of the
VSI, hence losses associated with high frequency PWM
switching are eliminated. TETRA 115TR9.2, a motor power (b)
company make BLDC motor [28] with inbuilt encoder is
selected for proposed system and its detailed specifications are
given in Appendix C.

TABLE II
SWITCHING STATES FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUTATION OF BLDC MOTOR
Rotor Hall Signals Switching States
position θ(o) H3 H2 H1 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6
NA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0-60 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
60-120 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
120-180 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
180-240 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 (c)
240-300 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 Fig. 4 Starting and steady state performances of the proposed SPV array based
300-360 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Zeta converter fed BLDC motor drive for water pump (a) SPV array variables,
NA 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 (b) Zeta converter variables, and (c) BLDC motor-pump variables.

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(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 5 Dynamic performances of the proposed SPV array based Zeta converter
fed BLDC motor drive for water pump (a) SPV array variables, (b) Zeta
converter variables, and (c) BLDC motor-pump variables.
B. Performance of Zeta Converter
Fig. 4(b) presents the steady state performance of zeta
converter at 1000 W/m2. The input inductor current iL1,
intermediate capacitor voltage, vc1, output inductor current, iL2,
voltage stress on IGBT switch, vSW, current stress on IGBT
switch, iSW, blocking voltage of the diode, vD, current through
diode, iD, and DC link voltage, vdc are presented. The zeta
converter is operated in CCM. The operation of converter in
this mode reduces the stress on power devices and
components. These converter indices follow the variation in
the weather condition and vary in proportion to the solar
irradiance level, such as iL1, vc1, iL2 and vdc shown in Fig. 5(b).
The zeta converter automatically changes its mode of
operation from buck mode to boost mode and vice versa
according to the irradiance level in order to optimize the
output power of SPV array. A small amount of ripples in the
zeta converter variables are observed caused by permitting the
ripples up to an extent in order to optimize the size of the
components.
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C. Performance of BLDC Motor-Pump
The starting and steady state behaviors of the BLDC
motor-pump at 1000 W/m2 is shown in Fig. 4(c). All the motor
indices such as the back EMF, ea, the stator current, isa, the
speed, N, the electro-magnetic torque developed, Te and the
load torque, TL reach their corresponding rated values under
steady state condition. The soft starting along with the stable
operation of motor–pump is observed and hence the successful
operation of proposed system is verified. However, a small
pulsation in Te results in due to the electronic commutation of
the BLDC motor. As the solar irradiance level alters, all the
BLDC motor – pump indices vary in proportion to the solar
irradiance level as shown in Fig. 5(c). The BLDC motor
always attains a higher speed than 1100 rpm, a minimum
speed required to pump the water at a minimum solar
irradiance level of 200 W/m2. Performance of BLDC motor-
pump is not deteriorated by weather conditions and it pumps
the water successfully.
VII. HARDWARE VALIDATION OF PROPOSED SYSTEM
The various performances of SPV array, zeta converter and
BLDC motor-pump are validated on a developed prototype of
the proposed system, which is presented in Fig. 6. The system
constitutes a SPV array simulator (AMETEK ETS
600×17DPVF), zeta converter, VSI (SEMIKRON MD B6CI
600/415-35F), real time DSP controller (dSPACE 1104) to
perform MPPT and electronic commutation, BLDC motor
(Motor Power Company make) coupled with a DC generator
(Benn make) and resistive load bank. A volumetric pump is
realized by driving a DC generator feeding a resistive load.
Thus, this motor-generator-load set becomes analogous to a
volumetric pump, possessing proportional relationship
between torque and speed. Because of the rating constraints,
experiments are carried out with a 1-HP, 2000 rpm BLDC
motor fed by a 900- Wp PV array. A voltage sensor (LV-25P)
and a current sensor (LA-55P) are used for MPPT control. To
provide the isolation between real time controller and gate
drivers, the optocouplers (6N136) are used. Detailed
specifications of SPV array, zeta converter and BLDC motor
used for test are given in Appendices. Experimental
performance of proposed system are analyzed in the following
sections.
Solar Array Power supply for Isolation
Simulator Drivers & Sensors Circuit
Hall
signals
Controller
PC dSPACE 1104
DSO Voltage Probe Sensor Board
Current Probe BLDC
Motor
DC
Generator
VSI Zeta
Load Converter
Fig. 6 Photograph of a developed prototype of the proposed system.
A. Performance of SPV Array
The performance of developed system is tested for solar
irradiance level varying from 400 W/m2 to 1000 W/m2. The
recorded ppv-vpv and ipv-vpv characteristics shown in Figs. 7(a)
and (b), respectively at 1000 W/m2 and 400 W/m2 verify
excellent performance of MPPT. A tracking efficiency for
both irradiance levels is observed more than 99%.
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variation in atmospheric condition. The change in solar

irradiance from 400 W/m2 to 1000 W/m2 results in the change
in ipv from 2.0 A to 4.8 A, vdc from 111 V to 196 V, isa from
2.5 A to 3.6 A and N from 1150 rpm to 2000 rpm. Thus, the
water pumping is not interrupted at all.

MPP tracked
Ch.1: (ipv) 5 A/div.
Increased solar insolation
(a) (b) Ch.2: (vdc) 100 V/div.
Fig. 7 MPPT performance at (a) 1000 W/m2, (b) 400 W/m2
Ch.3: (isa) 5 A/div.
B. Steady State Performance at 1000 W/m2
The steady state performances of SPV array, zeta converter
and BLDC motor-pump at 1000 W/m2 are validated using the
recorded waveforms shown in Fig. 8 and elaborated in Ch.4: (N) 1 krpm/div.
following sub-sections.
1) Performance of SPV Array: The recorded waveforms of
various SPV array indices vpv, ipv, ppv along with the duty ratio, (a)
D are shown in Fig. 8(a). These indices correspond to MPP.
The operation of zeta converter in boost mode is observed at D Decreased solar insolation MPP tracked
= 0.52.
2) Operation of Zeta Converter: Fig. 8(b) represents a set Ch.1: (ipv) 5 A/div.
of the zeta converter indices iL1, iL2, vC1 and vdc. Furthermore,
Ch.2: (vdc) 100 V/div.
Fig. 8(c) represents another set of the indices vSW, iSW, vD and
iD. These indices justify the operation of converter in CCM
and limited stress on its power devices. The peak voltage and
peak current of the switch are observed as 400 V and 13.7 A Ch.3: (isa) 5 A/div.
respectively. Similarly, the peak voltage and peak current of
the diode are observed as 500 V and 14 A respectively. The Ch.4: (N) 1 krpm/div.
IGBT and diode operate in a complementary fashion.
3) Performance of BLDC Motor: Fig. 8(d) exhibits the
recorded waveforms of stator currents of all three phases, isa, (b)
Fig.9 Dynamic performance under varying solar insolation level (a) 400 W/m2
isb, isc and speed, N. The BLDC motor indices reach their rated to 1000 W/m , (b) 1000 W/m to 400 W/m2
2 2

values of 2000 rpm and 3.6 A. A 1-HP (746 W) motor draws

900 W from PV array, offering 83% system efficiency. D. Starting Performance of Proposed System
Ch.1: (vpv) 200 V/div. Ch.1: (iL1) 5 A/div. The soft starting of BLDC motor, as shown in Figs. 10(a)
Ch.2: (iL2) 10 A/div. and (b) respectively at both solar irradiances of 1000 W/m2
Ch.2: (ipv) 5 A/div. and 400 W/m2, is validated using recorded waveforms of ipv,
Ch.3: (ppv) 500 W/div. vdc, isa and N. The initial duty ratio is set at 0.1 to start the
motor. All these indices reach their steady state values at MPP
Ch.3: (vC1) 100 V/div.
Ch.4: (D) 0.5/div.
Ch.4: (vdc) 100 V/div.
of SPV array. The motor attains 1150 rpm at 400 W/m2 as
shown in Fig. 10(b), a sufficient speed to pump the water.
(a) (b) E. Efficiency Estimation of Proposed System
Ch.1: (vSW) 500 V/div. The experimental measurements are considered to estimate
Ch.1: (isa) 10 A/div. the efficiency of the proposed water pumping system. Table
Ch.2: (iSW) 10 A/div.
III and Fig. 11 show the estimated efficiency of the SPV array
Ch.3: (vD) 500 V/div.
Ch.2: (isb) 10 A/div. fed BLDC motor-pump, subjected to the random variation in
Ch.3: (isc) 10 A/div.
solar insolation level, where Ppv, Pm and η are respectively
Ch.4: (iD) 10 A/div. Ch.4: (N) 1 krpm/div. the maximum power available from the SPV array,
mechanical power output of the BLDC motor and efficiency
of the overall system. Hence this efficiency includes the
(c) (d) efficiency of INC-MPPT algorithm, zeta converter, VSI and
Fig. 8 Steady state performance of (a) SPV array, (b) - (c) zeta converter, (d)
BLDC motor, at 1000 W/m2 BLDC motor. A very good efficiency of 83% is obtained at
the standard solar insolation level of 1000 W/m2 whereas it is
C. Dynamic Performance of Proposed System 71% even at 400 W/m2.
To demonstrate the satisfactory performance of system
under dynamically varying atmospheric condition, the solar VIII. CONCLUSIONS
irradiance is varied from 400 W/m2 to 1000 W/m2 as shown in The SPV array-zeta converter fed VSI-BLDC motor-pump
Fig. 9(a) and vice versa, as shown in Fig. 9(b). The recorded has been proposed and its suitability has been demonstrated
waveforms, shown in Fig. 9 are ipv, vdc, isa and N. It is clearly through simulated results and experimental validation. The
observed that the MPP is tracked accurately. The zeta proposed system has been designed and modelled
converter quickly changes its mode of operation following the appropriately to accomplish the desired objectives and

0093-9994 (c) 2015 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TIA.2016.2522943, IEEE
Transactions on Industry Applications

validated to examine various performances under starting, B. Parameters of Solar PV Array (Experimental Data)
dynamic and steady state conditions. The performance Voc = 231 V; Isc = 5.6 A; Pmpp= 900 W; Vmpp = 187 V; Impp=
evaluation has justified the combination of zeta converter and 4.8 A; Nss= 36; Ns = 11; Np = 1.
BLDC motor for SPV array based water pumping. The system
under study has shown various desired functions such as MPP C. Parameters for Zeta Converter (Experimental Data)
extraction of the SPV array, soft starting of BLDC motor, L1 = 3.2 mH; C1 = 2 μF; L2 = 2.8 mH; C2 = 1500 μF.
fundamental frequency switching of VSI resulting in a reduced
switching losses, speed control of BLDC motor without any D. Parameters for BLDC Motor (Experimental Data)
additional control and an elimination of phase current and DC Rs = 3.58 Ω; Ls= 9.13 mH; Kt = 0.74 Nm/A; Ke = 78
link voltage sensing, resulting in the reduced cost and VLL/krpm; Nrated = 2000 rpm; P = 4.
complexity. The proposed system has operated successfully
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
even under minimum solar irradiance.
Authors are very thankful to Department of Science and
Ch.1: (ipv) 5 A/div. Technology (DST), Govt. of India, for supporting this work
under Grant Number: RP02926.
Ch.2: (vdc) 100 V/div.
MPP tracked
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500 450 326 72.4 pp.5776-5785, Sept. 2015.
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800 720 565 78.5 drive for solar PV array based water pumping,” IEEE International
900 810 660 81.5 Conference on Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Systems (PEDES),
1000 900 746 83 16-19 Dec. 2014.
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η (%)

400
200
0 70
400 500
Fig. 11 Efficiency and power with solar insolation level
APPENDICES
A. Parameters for BLDC Motor (Simulated Data)
Stator phase/phase resistance, Rs = 0.36 Ω; Stator
phase/phase inductance, Ls= 1.3 mH; Torque constant, Kt =
0.49 Nm/A; Voltage constant, Ke = 51 VLL/krpm; Rated speed,
Nrated = 3000 rpm; No. of poles, P = 6.
80
Emulator Using A Buck-Boost DC/DC Converter and A Low Cost
75 Micro-Controller,” Solar Energy, vol. 86, no. 5, pp. 1477-1484, May
2012.
600 700 800 900 1000 [13] Zhou Xuesong, Song Daichun, Ma Youjie and Cheng Deshu, “The
S (W/m2)
Simulation and Design for MPPT of PV System Based on Incremental
Conductance Method,” WASE International Conference on Information
Engineering (ICIE), vol.2, 14-15 Aug. 2010, pp.314-317.
[14] Ali Reza Reisi, Mohammad Hassan Moradi and Shahriar Jamasb,
“Classification and Comparison of Maximum Power Point Tracking
Techniques for Photovoltaic System: A review,” Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 19, pp. 433-443, March 2013.
[15] Boualem Bendib, Hocine Belmili and Fateh Krim, “A survey of the most
used MPPT methods: Conventional and advanced algorithms applied for
photovoltaic systems,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol.
45, pp. 637-648, May 2015.

0093-9994 (c) 2015 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TIA.2016.2522943, IEEE
Transactions on Industry Applications

[16] B. Subudhi and R. Pradhan, “A Comparative Study on Maximum Power Prof. Singh is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering
Point Tracking Techniques for Photovoltaic Power Systems,” IEEE (FNAE), The Indian National Science Academy (FNA), The National
Trans. Sustain. Energy, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 89-98, Jan. 2013. Academy of Science, India (FNASc), The Indian Academy of Sciences, India
[17] M.A.G. de Brito, L. Galotto, L.P. Sampaio, G. de Azevedo e Melo and (FASc), The World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS), Institute of Electrical
C.A. Canesin, “Evaluation of the Main MPPT Techniques for and Electronics Engineers (FIEEE), the Institute of Engineering and
Photovoltaic Applications,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol.60, no.3, Technology (FIET), Institution of Engineers (India) (FIE), and Institution of
pp.1156-1167, March 2013. Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (FIETE) and a Life Member of
[18] Kok Soon Tey and S. Mekhilef, “Modified Incremental Conductance the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE), System Society of India
Algorithm for Photovoltaic System under Partial Shading Conditions and (SSI), and National Institution of Quality and Reliability (NIQR).
Load Variation,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol.61, no.10, pp.5384- He has received Khosla Research Prize of University of Roorkee in the year
5392, Oct. 2014. 1991. He is recipient of JC Bose and Bimal K Bose awards of The Institution
[19] M. Ouada, M.S. Meridjet and N. Talbi, “Optimization Photovoltaic of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) for his contribution
Pumping System Based BLDC Using Fuzzy Logic MPPT in the field of Power Electronics. He is also a recipient of Maharashtra State
Control,” International Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference National Award of Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) in
(IRSEC), 7-9 March 2013, pp. 27-31. recognition of his outstanding research work in the area of Power Quality. He
[20] Mahir Dursun and Semih Ozden, “Application of Solar Powered has received PES Delhi Chapter Outstanding Engineer Award for the year
Automatic Water Pumping in Turkey,” International Journal of 2006. Professor Singh has received Khosla National Research Award of IIT
Computer and Electrical Engineering, vol.4, no.2, pp. 161-164, 2012. Roorkee in the year 2013. He has also received Shri Om Prakash Bhasin
[21] A. Terki, A. Moussi, A. Betka and N. Terki, “An Improved Efficiency of Award-2014 in the field of Engineering including Energy & Aerospace. Since
Fuzzy Logic Control of PMBLDC for PV Pumping System,” Applied December 2015, he is JC Bose Fellow. He was the General Chair of the IEEE
Mathematical Modelling, vol. 36, issue 3, pp. 934-944, March 2012. International Conference on Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Systems
[22] S. A. K. H. Mozaffari Niapour, S. Danyali, M.B.B. Sharifian and M.R. (PEDES’2006) and (PEDES’2010) held in New Delhi.
Feyzi, “Brushless DC Motor Drives Supplied by PV Power System
Based on Z-Source Inverter and FL-IC MPPT Controller,” Energy
Convers. and Manage., vol.52, no. 8–9, pp.3043-3059, Aug. 2011.
[23] A. Shahin, A. Payman, J.-P. Martin, S. Pierfederici and F. Meibody-
Tabar, “Approximate Novel Loss Formulae Estimation for Optimization
of Power Controller of DC/DC Converter,” 36th Annual Conference on
IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, 7-10 Nov. 2010, pp.373-378.
[24] Sunmodule® Plus SW 280 mono, Performance Under Standard Test
Conditions [Online]. Available: http://www.sfe-solar.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/07/SunFields-SolarWorld_SW265-270-275-
280_Mono_EN.pdf
[25] K.H. Ahmed, M. S. Hamad, S.J. Finney and B.W. Williams, “DC-Side
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Centrifugal Pump Applications,” IEEE Industry Applications Magazine,
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By BLDC Motor Using Landsman Converter,” IET Renewable Power
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[28] TETRA 142TR12, Brushless Servomotors [Online]. Available:
http://www.eltrex-motion.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/product/
Catalogue_TETRA_TR_ENG.pdf

Rajan Kumar (S’14–M’16) was born in Bharari,

Dhamtari (C.G.), India, in 1987. He received his B.E.
(Electrical & Electronics) from Chhatrapati Shivaji
Institute of Technology Durg, India, in 2009, and his
M.Tech. (Power Electronics & ASIC Design) from Motilal
Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, India,
in 2012. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. degree
in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Delhi, India. His areas of research interests include
power electronics, electrical machines and drives, and renewable energy.
Bhim Singh (SM’99, F’10) was born in Rahamapur,
Bijnor (UP), India, in 1956. He received his B.E.
(Electrical) from the University of Roorkee, India, in
1977 and his M.Tech. (Power Apparatus & Systems) and
Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi,
India, in 1979 and 1983, respectively.
In 1983, he joined the Department of Electrical
Engineering, University of Roorkee (Now IIT Roorkee), as a Lecturer. He
became a Reader there in 1988. In December 1990, he joined the Department
of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi, India, as an Assistant Professor, where he
has become an Associate Professor in 1994 and a Professor in 1997. He has
been ABB Chair Professor from September 2007 to September 2012. Since
October 2012, he is a CEA Chair Professor. Presently he is also Head of the
Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Delhi. Prof. Singh has guided 59
Ph.D. dissertations, 158 M.E./M.Tech./M.S.(R) theses. He has been granted
one US patent and filed 17 Indian patents. He has executed more than seventy
five sponsored and consultancy projects. He has co-authored a text book on
power quality: Power Quality Problems and Mitigation Techniques published
by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 2015.
His areas of interest include power electronics, electrical machines and
drives, renewable energy systems, active filters, FACTS, High voltage direct
current (HVDC) and power quality.

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