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Experimental implementation of MPPT for PV systems

Conference Paper · December 2016

DOI: 10.1109/ICEDSA.2016.7818546

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 Experimental Implementation of MPPT for
PV Systems

Yahya Ba-khuraisa, Alawi Al-Hasani, Mohamed F.A. Aboud

Ibrahim Elshafiey, and Abdel Fattah Sheta Sustainable Energy Technologies Center
Department of Electrical Engineering King Saud University
King Saud University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
432106916@student.ksu.edu.sa
432106851@student.ksu.edu.sa

Abstract— Solar panel efficiency is an essential parameter in as follows. Section II introduces the simulation aspects of the
determining the cost of converting solar energy into electrical PV system model and the obtained results. Experimental
energy. This paper addresses a technique for maximizing energy implementation of the PV system and the MPPT is discussed in
extraction from photovoltaic (PV) solar systems using power Section III. Finally, conclusions are provided in Section IV.
electronic circuits to achieve maximum power point tracking.
II. SIMULATION RESULTS
Design and implementation details are presented, illustrating the
perturbation and observation algorithm based on DC-DC power A. Solar panel
converter. Simulations are done in Matlab/Simulink The PV module BCT 50-12 [8] is used in this project. It has
environments, and experimental implementation is conducted in open circuit voltage (Voc = 21.6 V) and short circuit current (Isc
a developed PV testbed. Analysis of the recorded results reveals = 3.23 A). It produces 50 W maximum power. This module has
the potential of the presented techniques in enhancing the low-cost in the range of SR 300 (US$80). It also has low
efficiency of energy extraction from PV systems. voltage and current temperature coefficients.
Keywords — photovoltaic (PV) systems; MPPT; Perturbation Fig. 1 shows the MATLAB PV panel model and the setup
and observation algorithm; DC-DC Converter used to generate its characteristic curves. The mathematical
model is originally developed by Villalva and Gazoli [9]. A
I. INTRODUCTION
manual switch is used to choose either a single constant value
Various challenges are associated with efficient operation or a variable sequence of values, for both, temperature and
of PV power systems. Among these challenges is the limited solar irradiance. This will produce different curves at different
efficiency of PV cells in transferring the received sunlight into conditions. The PV panel gives its rated maximum power at
usable power [1]. Another challenge is related to the standard ambient condition (temperature = 25Co and irradiance
dependence of PV power on the surrounding environment such = 1000 W/m2), but if the temperature or irradiance changed, the
as solar irradiance and cell temperature [2]. Solar cells maximum power point will change too.
typically do not operate close to the maximum power point due
to their nonlinear characteristics. Tracking the maximum power
point (MPP) of PV array is an essential aspect of a PV system,
and adaptive Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is
required to maximize the obtained system power [3].
Several MPPT algorithms have been developed and
implemented in the literature such as hill climbing (HC),
perturbation and observation P&O, incremental conductance
(IncCond), and Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC) [4, 5]. Other
techniques include approximate straight-line, voltage feedback,
power feedback, extremum seeking control, and sliding
control methods [6]. These methods vary in various parameters
including implementation hardware, required sensors, level-of-
complexity, cost, convergence speed, and effectiveness range.
This study discusses the characterization of PV panel, and Fig. 1. Simulink PV panel model used to generate its characteristic curves.
development of efficient MPPT algorithm. Implementation is
conducted using Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroller board Simulation results of I-V and P-V characteristics for
[7], as well as DC-DC buck converter. This paper is organized constant irradiance of 1000 W⁄m and different temperature

978-1-5090-5306-3/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE

values are shown in Figs. 2 and 3, respectively. In Fig. 3, it can
be seen that the maximum power decreases as the temperature
increases. Furthermore, it can be noticed that, the open-circuit
voltage decreases and the short-circuit current slightly
increases as the temperature increases.
Fig. 2. Curren -voltage characteristics (constant irradiance = 1000 W/m2 and
changing temperature T).
Fig. 3. Power-voltage characteristics (constant irradiance = 1000 W/m2 and
changing temperature).
Figures 4 and 5 show the simulation results of I-V and P-V
characteristics at different weather conditions. Both curves are
obtained at constant temperature ( 25 C ), while various
irradiance levels are used from 200 to 1000 W⁄m .
The PV terminal voltage is not affected by the change in
irradiance as shown in Fig. 5. Also, Fig. 4 illustrates that the
PV output current is significantly affected by the change in
irradiance. The short-circuit current increases as irradiance
increases.
From these simulation results we can conclude that the
temperature almost affects the PV terminal voltage and the
irradiance mainly affects the short-circuit current.
B. DC-DC converter
The converter used in this research is step down buck
converter. The implemented buck converter uses DC voltage
source of 24 V, two diodes, a MOSFET, an inductor and a
capacitor. The MOSFET acts as a switch, and it is connected to
pulse width modulator (PWM) to control the duty cycle of
PWM signal, by controlling the ON and OFF state durations.
Fig. 4. Current-voltage characteristics (constant temperature = 25 C° and
changing irradiance G).
Fig. 5. Power-voltage characteristics (constant temperature = 25 C° and
changing irradiance G).
III. EXPERIMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PV PANEL AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF MPPT
Experimental implementation of the PV system testbed was
carried out in the labs of Sustainable Energy Technologies
(SET) Center at King Saud University [10].
A. Characteristics of PV panel
To obtain the practical characteristics of BCT-50-12 PV
panel, we used a variable resistor as a load. The circuit is
connected as shown in Fig. 6. By changing the value of the
variable resistor, the voltage and current across the load will
change. So that the output power of the panel is changing until
we get the I-V and P-V curves.
Figures 7 and 8 show the experimental characteristics of the
used panel, obtained at typical irradiance of 900 W/m and
temperature of 27 C . These experimental results are compared
with the simulation results shown in Figs 9 and 10 obtained
from the Simulink model of Fig.1 assuming the same values of
weather conditions. It is noticed that the simulation results
agree well with simulation results.
Fig. 6. Block diagram of PV characterization circuit.

Fig. 10. P-V characteristics obtained from Simulink model of Fig.1.

B. MPPT implementation and testing

Fig.11 shows the block diagram of the proposed MPPT
system. To implement and test this system, the buck converter
is designed with parameters shown in Table 1. The table
provides the design values of the inductor, the capacitor and
switching frequency. Parameters of the MOSFET include the
drain-to-source voltage VDSS, the low drain-source on
resistance RDS(on). The diode parameters show the reverse
Fig. 7. Experimental I-V characteristics of the BCT 50-12 PV panel.
recovery time trr, the forward voltage VF and the reverse
voltage VR.
The MPPT algorithm is implemented on Arduino Mega
2560 microcontroller board. It tracks the MPP according to the
algorithm represented in the flowchart shown in Fig.12.

Fig. 8. Experimental P-V characteristics of the BCT 50-12 PV panel.

Fig. 11. Block diagram of the proposed MPPT system.

TABLE I. DESIGN PARAMETERS OF BUCK CONVERTER.

Component Characteristics
Inductor 220 µH
Capacitor 220 µF
Switching frequency 31 kHz
VDSS= 100V
MOSFET RDS (on)= 23 mΩ
ID= 57A
trr= 60 ns
VF= 1.2 V
Diode
IFM= 20 A
VR= 300 V
Fig. 9. I-V characteristics obtained from Simulink model of Fig.1.

Fig. 12. The flowchart of P&O algorithm.
The voltage and current signals are first measured to
calculate power P. Comparison between current power value
P(t) and previous value P(t-1) is the conducted. The voltage
level V(t) is then compared to V(t-1). Finally, the duty cycle is
adjusted by ∆D, according to the presented flowchart.
C. Experimental results
The proposed MPPT technique and the overall system was
tested on April 11, 2016 from 5:38 AM to 6:10 PM in the city
of Riyadh city. The controller sent all the readings of
, , and duty cycle (D) to be stored on a PC every
minute. After that, we acquired the irradiance data of that day
which sensed at the rooftop of the Sustainable Energy
Technologies Center. We applied these readings of irradiance
on the Simulink model of the PV panel to get the
corresponding power that the panel should give corresponding
to these conditions.
It can be noticed from Fig. 13 that the sunlight increased
until it reached the peak irradiance at around 11:00 AM to 2:00
PM. It is also important to notice that, there was a cloud in the
sky in that day from 1:00 PM to 2:20 PM, so the irradiance
decreased to about 400 W⁄m .
The experimental and simulation results of the produced
power (P ) of the PV panel under the same weather conditions
are compared as shown in Fig. 14. From the presented results,
it is noticed that the MPPT system tracked the maximum
power point successfully at the considered condition.
Fig. 13. Recorded solar irradiance on the day of experiment.
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Fig. 14. Simulation results (top) versus experimental results (bottom) of
MPPT system.
IV. CONCLUSION
In this paper, Arduino microcontroller based system is
presented for maximum power tracking of 50W BCT-50-12
solar PV panel. Simulation results are presented using
MATLAB/Simulink environment. A DC-DC buck converter is
implemented in this system. Experimental validation of the
designed P&O MPPT system is conducted in the city of
Riyadh. The results reveal that the system can track the MPP
of PV cell under varying conditions
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