FUZZY MODELING OF PHOTOVOLTAIC PANEL EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT

*ProfDr.M.T.ELHAGRY, *Prof.Dr.M.B.SALEH, * *Prof.Dr.E.M.AB OU-ELZAHAl3

* *Dr.A.A.T.ELKOUSY,
*Electronics Research Institute
Email: mohsen@eri.sci.eg
TeWax: 3351631
Giza,EGYPT
*Eng.TH.F.ELSHATTER
** Faculty of Eng. Cairo University
Dokki,Giza,EGYPT

RS I
Abstract-For simulation purposes of photovoltaic (PV)
system us@ MATLAB and for on-line application the
different parameters of the PV panel have to be known at the
specific operating point. The parameters of interest are the
photon current, the series and shunt resistance's, the ideality
factor, and the diode reverse saturation current. Hence the
different parameters have to be known at all operating
condition which is practically not available in many cases.
So, in this paper we will introduce a new type of data analysis Fig. 1 Solar Panel Equivalmt Circuit
that express these parameters by means of a fuzzy regression
the available characteristics curves. These data are used in
model. The available PV array under consideration is defined
developing the fuzzy model of the equivalent circuit. The
by the manufacturer data sheet which specifies thepanel
model has been validated using different set of data.
under a narrow range of operating conditions. A fuzzy model
has been developed for the aforementioned PV arrays. The
model has been validated using a set of data that have been 11. PROBLEM FORMULATION
obtained at our site or obtained from extrapolating data from
the manufacturer data sheet. The available solar array under considerationconsists of
4 panels mounted on the same structure. Each panel
deliver approximately 56 W at 1000 W/m2 and 25 C. The
I. INTRODUCTION available data that can be used in the simulation purposes
is obtained from the manufacturer data sheet. Fig.2 shows
Fuzzy sets are a mathematical concept proposed by the data given in the manufiicturer data sheet. The data are
Prof.L.zadeb [l], but in the background one can see a based on measurements made at Standard Test Conditions
concealed wish to improve the relationship between (STC) which are:
humanity and the computer. If there are points of similarity . Illumination of lKW/m2 (1 sun) at spectral distribution
between computers, which are logical machines, and the of AM1.5.
thinking of people, with their emotions and intuition, there
are also differences. If the capabilities of humans and
. Cell temperature of 25 O C or as otherwise specified ( on
curves).
computers could be put together, a remarkable system This data are used in developing the fuzzy regression
would be possible. models. The models have been validated using the
measured data with the available instruments at our site.
The PV panel electrical behavior depends on the Hence, we don't have an accurate complete model that can
environmental conditions surrounding the system 121. The be applied at all operating conditions or complete
main items are solar radiation and p e l SUEace characteristics. Moreover, the manufkcturer characteristics
temperature, and the maxi" power point. So, for are insuf3lcient for reliable operation, hence some sort of
simulation purposes of PV system the model parameters at characterization is to be needed. A fuzzy model has been
various solar radiation's and surface temperatures must be developed using the above mentioned data.
available. That type of data may not be enough, or/and
contain errors. These errors are produced as aresultof
meamring system uncertainties. The existence of m.ANALYTICALMODEL
uncertainty, which can be described by fuzzy sets, should
be taken into consideration during system processing. The The I-V relation ofthe solar panel can be given by:
panel parameters as shown in the @valent circuit Fig. 1
as the photon current Iph, the series resistance %, the
shunt resistance %h, the reverse saturation current Is ,and
the ideality factor n. These data have been calculated using

0-7803-3694-1/97/$10.00 @ 1997 IEEE 60

 explanation according to the type of data handled: standard
data and data for which the output is fuzzy numbers.

Fig1 Panel hara&&icsat lo00 W/m2
A. Standard Data
The given data are (yi ,xi\ ,....,xb),i= I,... ,N.yi is
an output for the ith sample and rii is the j* input or j*
explanatory variable for the i* sample. The vector for the
explanatory variables is expressed as xi = ( m i ,...,K ~ . ) ~
Since the formulation that gives usthelinearpossibility
regression model is per€ormed from this position. Let the
linear possibility system be the model,
y i = A 0 +A \ xi1+...+A n ~ i n (2)
where fuzzy coefficient A i is symmetrical fuzzy number
(9, C i k , Ao isafuzzyconstant.Fuzzycoefficient A i
is determined by the degree h to which the givendata
( y i , x i ) is included in the inferred fuzz^ number yi.
More precsely,
k i ( y i ) 2 h; i = 1, ....,N (3)

h
where, VT= m/q is the thermal voltage and n is the Where, ,uy, is the possibility distribution function
ideality factor. From [3] the parameters are calculated andyi is the infmedfuzzy number from (2), 01 h 4.
using experimental da at Wee Merent pints on the I-V The fuzzy d c i e n t A i that minimizes the total width of
characteristics, name1 the short circuit current (O,I&, the y i is determined, that is,
open circuit voltage oc,O), and the maximum power
J(c)= CctlXil (4)
R~,,=q
point (V,I,),

v=v,
al the dynamic series resistance
dynamic shunt resistance where C=(CI ,....,cR)‘ , and ctlxil is the width of
yi .Yc) corresponds to the sum of errors in conventional
at the respective points. By regression analysis.
This brings us to the following linear programming (LP)
obtained values fiomthe problem:
I

I
ics , we get the required M,C)=C Ixi
and *the
data s eet on the analytical
will be obtained. Table 1 yi 5 x:cz+IL-~(~)~c~~x\~ (5)
shows the panel at 1 sun anddifferent y i 2 X\CZ-JL-ltb)(ctlxil
c 2 Q.........,i = \,---,N
REGRESSION MODEL The linear possibility model can be obtained by solving
the LP problem.
the linear regression method using
the linear possibility stem [4].We will divide our B. Fuzzy Data
The given data we will use here
a r e ( y i , x i ) , i = ~ , . . . , .N yi expresses thefuzzyoutput
and is expressed Y, = (yi ,ei), . Given the fuzzy data
(yi,xi),thebasici~istofind and A givenby
1.217

0.123 0.0396

1128.8

3.5429 3.625

I 61
 ~

1the temperature and this may be due to approximations and

least square method used in [9].

4'00 1
-E
c
n 3.00

We find the fuzzy coefficient Ai that maximizes the total 2

c
2.00

v. APPfi&m
For simulation purposes of photovoltaic (PV) system
using MATLAB and for on-line application the different 0.00 3 1
parameters of the PV panel have to be known at the 1200 1400 16 00 18 00 2000
Maximumoutput voItage (volt)
specfic operating point. The mainparameters afEecting the
Fig3 &-Vm characieristics
equivalent circuit of the PV p e l parameters are:
1.. Panel surface temperature ( Ts). 1.oo
1
2. Solar insulation ( Ws).
(Tsand Wsaremeasureddata)
3. Panel maximum output voltage (Vm ). 0.80

4. Panel maximum output current ( I , ).

(Vm and I are calculated in [6] )
Fig. 3 shows the I m - Vm characteristics at different 0.60

solar insolation and temperature. The input data tothe

fuzzy regression model are the above four factors. The
output of this fuzzy model is the panel model parameters 0.40

namely : n, %, %h, Is, Iph. This leads us to a

consideratioq of the minimum and maximum problems.
In our case the input data are [x]= [V, Im Ts W.] , 0.20

and the output data are the panel model parameters n, I ,

h,%h, Iph . For simplicity,let the fuzzy coefficient be
triangular, that is L(x)=1-]4. Using the linear
200.00 400.00 800.00 800.00 1000.00
progta"ing method the fuzzy model coefficients aiand Solar Insulation( w h 2 )
Fig4 Panel Series Rasistance
ci ( center and width) can be obtained.

VI.RESULTS

Applying the manuhcturer data sheet aiand c, (0 < i 5

4 ) of the regression fuzzy model at specificvalue of 'h'
will be obtained Figs. 4-8 show the results of applying the
fuzzy model to the PVpanel. The results of %
%h, n a d I h are matched with the @yt,id model (See
--
table 1). T& obtained results are matched with ,I,, 4F - - 4 d.18 sun
different models given in the l i t m s . The model given in
[7J discusses the variation of the parameters with .
I
-f
1L

: :
illumination only and in this tespect it agreeswithour
J
fi "
c
36 sun

+ S47sun
model, while the model given in [SI gives the variation of -4b + <sun
the shunt resistance and series resistance withthelight
intensity and it agrees with our model as well. The model 000 #
I I
I I
I I
I
given in 191 agrees with our model except in the
dependence of the sedes resistance and ideality fmor on

62
 panel have to be known at the specific operating point. The
parameters of interest are the photon current, theseries
and shunt resistance's, the ideality M o r , andthediode
reverse saturation current. So,in this paper a new type of
data analysis that express these parameters by means of a
fuzzy regression model is introduced. The proposed fuzzy
regression model will overcome the insufticiency ofthe
available data. By measuring the environmental condition
surrounding the system the panel model parameters can be
determined.
The regression fuzzy model gives results as good as those
obtained using the analytical models [ 3,7-91, while itis
supperior to that model in the following points:
1. The data requiredis the open circuit voltage, the short
0.m
circuit current and the environmental data surrounding
the PV system. While the data required in the analytical
model is the complete I-Vc-
. .a.
2. Applicable for any type of PV system.
$0.00
3. Applicable for on-line applications
4. Mini" running time.
1.m
5. Requires a small memory size and canbe integrated in
z! a small microcomputer controller.
--
Y
E
0.10
With the proposed regression fuzzy model the PV
parameters can be determined without running ofthe spice
u
I software. As it requires much moredataaboutconstants
r and fabricaton process ( diffusion length, recombination
.g.
sa
0.01 , .A%) . This data are not available for the commercial
users. From the above results it can be shown thatthe
E proposed model agrees with the real system characteristics.
5 0.00
a

VIII. REFERENCES
0.00
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