CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BRIEF DETAILS ABOUT THE PROJECT

The emerging trend towards the harnessing of the electrical power from solar energy has
increased the research effort in power electronics applications. To achieve the required voltage
level, a number of photovoltaic PV sources (cells/modules) are connected in series. The major
challenge here is to deal with the partial shading problem, where the series connected PV sources
are exposed to different insolation. The generated current is limited by the current of the shaded
PV sources unless those sources are bypassed by diodes, in which case the total DC voltage is
reduced and the shaded sources do not contribute to the generated output power. A power
electronics approach can be employed to overcome the problem, by enabling both shaded and
non-shaded sources to generate their maximum power, thereby and delivering the total generated
power to the load or induction motor. Thus no shaded PV source is by passed or degrades the
power extraction from the other PV sources.

1.2 PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL

A photovoltaic cell (also called a solar cell) is an electrical device that converts the
energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. It is a form of photoelectric cell
(in that its electrical characteristics e.g. current, voltage, or resistance vary when light is incident
upon it) which, when exposed to light, can generate and support an electric current without being
attached to any external voltage source. There are several types of solar cells. However, more
than 90 % of the solar cells currently made worldwide consist of wafer-based silicon cells.
 They are either cut from a single crystal rod or from a block composed of many crystals
and are correspondingly called mono-crystalline or multi-crystalline silicon solar cells. Wafer-
based silicon solar cells are approximately 200 μm thick. Another important family of solar cells
is based on thin-films, which are approximately 1-2 μm thick and therefore require significantly
less active, semiconducting material. Thin-film solar cells can be manufactured at lower cost in
large production quantities; hence their market share will likely increase in the future. However,
they indicate lower efficiencies than wafer-based silicon solar cells, which mean that more
exposure surface and material for the installation is required for a similar performance.

A number of solar cells electrically connected to each other and mounted in a single
support structure or frame is called a photovoltaic module. Modules are designed to supply
electricity at a certain voltage, such as a common 12 volt system. The current produced is
directly dependent on the intensity of light reaching the module. Several modules can be wired
together to form an array. Photovoltaic modules and arrays produce direct-current electricity.
They can be connected in both series and parallel electrical arrangements to produce any
required voltage and current combination.

Fig.1.1 Model of PV cell

The solar cell works in three steps:
1) Photons in sunlight hit the solar panel and are absorbed by semiconducting materials, such as
silicon.

2) Electrons (negatively charged) are knocked loose from their atoms, causing an electric
potential difference. Current starts flowing through the material to cancel the potential and this
electricity is captured. Due to the special composition of solar cells, the electrons are only
allowed to move in a single direction.

3) An array of solar cells converts solar energy into a usable amount of direct current (DC)
electricity.

1.3 MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING TECHNIQUES

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 load
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.
1.4 LITERATURE REVIEW

There are so many papers presented on multilevel inverter, photovoltaics and MPPT
Some of the papers are given briefly here.

In [3] in this paper Introduction of a multilevel inverter in PV power system enable PV

source to be controlled separately. Among all variants of multilevel inverters, the “cascaded H-
bridge inverter”is most commonly used due to its modular circuit structure. The power of each
PV source can be maximized by allocating a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm
for each PV source.

In [9] In this paper, a novel maximum power point tracking algorithm based on the
perturb-and-observe (P&O) technique is introduced. The novelty of the approach is represented
by the perturbation of more control variables, rather than just one. This allows the increase of the
power extracted from the photovoltaic (PV) field as compared to the case of perturbation of a
single control variable. The proposed technique overcomes the limitations of any existing
tracking technique dedicated to PV arrays exhibiting a unique maximum power point, thus not
only of the P&O approach, whenever dynamic constraints ensuring the correct system behavior
must be fulfilled too.

In [4],in this paper the PV dc-link inverter is operated successfully via pulsewidth
modulation (PWM), but the results obtained under different partial shading levels have shown
that the employed PV sources were not at their MPPs. In this letter, the PV multilevel dc-link
inverter with the PV permutation algorithm is used to overcome the problem of uneven
irradiance.
 CHAPTER 2

PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND MPPT

INTRODUCTION

Increasing energy demand and the need to find clean and cheap alternative energy
sources have led to extensive research in renewable energy sources (RES). The growth in the
RES market is also directly related to the development of power electronics [1]. Among several
types of RES the photovoltaic (PV) energy source has benefits such as high efficiency, reliability
and a long life. In addition, it is also characterized by low cost, freedom from moving
components and also easy and quick to setup [2].

In PV power applications, establishing PV arrays with the desired voltage levels involves
individual PV modules linked in series. The serious issue in such configurations is to manage the
partial shading problem which arises from exposing the series connected PV modules to uneven
insolation. The PV partial shading is a consequence of clouds, poles, trees, dust, dirt or any
obstacles which cause different levels of irradiance at the surface of the PV modules.

As a result of the PV partial shading, the generated current of the seriesconnected PV

modules is limited by that of the shaded PV modules. Consequently, this not only reduces the
overall generated power significantly, but also causes a hotspot effect resulting in damage to
some PV cells and malfunction of the PV system. The PV partial shading problem increases the
maintenance cost of the PV system, and the power loss makes the PV generated power more
expensive than originally planned.

The simplest method to reduce the effects of the PV partial shading problem isconnecting
a bypass diode across each PV module in the series string. However, more than one power peak
(in the PV power curve) can appear and to reach the maximum power a maximum power point
(MPP) tracker has to be used. Reachingthe MPP does not mean all the shaded PV modules have
to be bypassed, and so the remaining shaded modules still limit the current to a certain extent,
but partial shading effects are reduced. Bypassing PV modules from the series PV connection
that would otherwise be reverse biased actually raises the total output DC voltagelevel. In other
words, bypassing some shaded PV modules improves the total generated power. Yet that still
represents a sort of wasted power, which could potentially be generated from the bypassed
modules. Also, even though the system is operated at its MPP, the generated power is still lower
than that achievable by the modular configuration (not series connection) due to the mismatch
power loss of the series connection.

2.1 PV FUNDAMENTALS AND CELL MODELING

The conversion of the solar radiation into electricity is known as the photovoltaic(PV)
effect which can be achieved via solar cells. Among semiconductor materials, the crystalline
silicon cells are the most widespread PV source and dominate more than 95% of the market. This
is due to their high efficiency compared with other materials. Fig.2.1 shows the silicon crystal
lattice, where electron pair bonds are formed and so a stable electron configuration results (the
outer shell of the silicon atoms includes eight electrons). Although the applied energy (solar
energy) results in an intrinsic conductivity state where free electron and hole result, electrical
energy cannot be generated [6].

Fig.2.1 Silicon crystal lattice and intrinsic conductivity.

The crystalline silicon solar cell can be achieved by creating semiconductor material with
a p-n junction. That is accomplished by adding doping atoms to the silicon crystal lattice, for
example, phosphorus atoms to create an n-layer and boron atoms to create a p-layer, where
extrinsic conduction results. In between the two layers, a p-n junction is created, and so the free
electrons in the n-layer diffuse into p-layer causing a depletion region to be established as shown
in Fig.2.2a.
 Fig.2.2 PV cell semiconductor layers (a) non-illuminated and (b) illuminated

As can be seen in Fig.2.2b, when the PV cell is insolated, the electrons in thedepletion
region are exited where the created bonds are broken. The resultant free electrons are drawn
towards the n-layer due to the electrical field, while the holes leave in the opposite direction.
That diffusion causes the voltage to arise across the solar cell terminals.

The solar cell can be modelled as shown in Fig.2.3a, the p-n silicon semiconductor is a
diode, so under a dark condition the solar cell is represented by a diode (Fig.2.2a). The
photovoltaic effect is represented by an irradiance dependent current source which generates
photocurrent (Iph) according to the irradiance level.

The solar cell losses are represented by two resistances, the series resistance (Rs) and the
shunt (Rsh) resistance. Rs represents the ohmic resistance losses such as the resistance of the
semiconductor, metal contacts, and contacts between them. Rshdescribes the leakage currents
through the edges of the solar cell as well as the p-njunction (due to material defects). For a more
accurate equivalent circuit, another diode can be added in parallel to the first diode. The added
diode represents the recombination which happens in the space charge region out of the depletion
region.
 Fig.2.3PV equivalent circuit (a) cell model, (b) cell model with reverse bias
characteristics, and (c) PV array model with reverse bias characteristics.

One of the main causes for electrical mismatching among the serial connected PVcells is
due to partial shading, where a different number of carriers are generated according to the cell
irradiation level. The carrier difference forces the majority carriers of the shaded cell (the lowest
carrier number) to leave the layers, so the depletion region is increased. When the electrical field
is significantly increased, more carriers are accelerated and therefore further ionization occurs in
the lattice atoms, results in avalanche breakdown. The temperature of the junction is
considerably increased due to the avalanche breakdown current causing thermal breakdown of
the shaded solar cell [8].

The PV cell model which considers the reverse characteristics includes amultiplication
factor M(Vj) for the leakage current, Ish, to express the avalanche breakdown mechanism.
According to this model, Ish, output current Iout and voltage Vout can be expressed respectively as
follows:
 I sh =
Vj
R sh [
1+a (1−
Vj
V br
¿ ¿ ¿−m) … 2.1
]
I out =I ph−I sat exp
[ ( qV j
)
AKT cel ]
−1 −I sh …2.2

V out =V j−I out Rs … 2.3

In the case of several PV cells connected in series and parallel to form a PV array, the PV model
can be represented as shown in Fig.2.3c. Where, Vj is the junction voltage, Vbr is the junction
breakdown voltage, a is the fraction of ohmic current involved in the avalanche breakdown, m is
the avalanche breakdown exponent, Iph is the photocurrent, Isat is the reverse saturation current, q
is the electron charge, A is diode ideally factor, k is Boltzmann constant, and Tcel is the cell
temperature in Kelvin.

By considering the temperature effect, the saturation current and the photovoltaic current
can be determined by applying the equations given belowrespectively [10].

( ) ( ( ))
3
T cel qE g 1 1
I sat =I sr exp + …2.4
Tr kA T r T cel

G
I ph=( I pr + K i ( T cel −T r ) ) × … 2.5
1000

Where, Tris the reference temperature, Isr is the reverse saturation current atreference
temperature. Eg is the solar cell energy band gab, Ipr is the photocurrent at reference temperature,
Ki is the photocurrent temperature coefficient at Ipr, and G is the irradiance level.

At Standard Test Conditions (STC) (T =25C, S=1000 W/m2), the current voltage
characteristic of a PV cell can be modeled mathematically using below Equations

( { [ ] })
I =I sc 1−C 1 exp
Uo
C 2 U oc
−1 … 2.6

C 1= 1−
( Im
I sc) (
exp
−U m
C2 U oc
…2.7
)
 )[ ( )]
−1

C 2= (
Um
U oc
−1 ln 1−
Im
I sc
… 2.8

where: Isc=short-circuit current (A), Uoc=open-circuit voltage (V), Im=maximum power current
(A), Um= maximum power voltage (V), Uo=cell voltage (V), I =cell current (A).

∆ T =T −T ref … 2.9

S
∆ S= −1 … 2.10
S ref

S
I ' sc =I sc (1+ a ∆ T ) … 2.11
Sref

U ' oc =U oc ( 1−c ∆ T ) ln ( 1+b ∆ S ) … 2.12

S
I ' m=I m ( 1+ a ∆ T ) … 2.13
Sref

U ' m =U m ( 1−c ∆ T ) ln ( 1+b ∆ S ) … 2.14

According to the Isc, Uoc, Im, Um on reference condition, the new parameters (Isc, Uoc, Im,
Um) can be developed, thus getting the new IeU relationship considering the illumination
intensity and temperature on the output characteristic of PV cell.

2.2 HOT-SPOTS AND THEIR EFFECTS

Along with the power reduction caused by the shading in a string connection
ofilluminated PV cells, considerable damage can be done to the shaded cells if bypass diodes are
not employed. When the PV array current is greater than the short-circuit currents (Isc) of the
shaded cells/modules, the shaded cells operate in a reverse biased mode, dissipating their
generated power in addition to power from other cells in the series connection (operating as a
load) [11]. The power is dissipated in the form of heat, and so the surface of the PV array suffers
high degrees of temperature concentrated in small areas at the shaded cells (hot-spots).

For illustrative purposes, supposing two PV cells or two PV modules (two groups of PV
cells) are connected in series as shown in Fig.2.4. As a PV partialshading example, the first PV
module is under full irradiance whereas the second PV module undergoes a certain level of
shadowing. In this situation, I1 is always greater than I2 and the load current IL. However, I2 might
be greater or less than IL according to the load impedance value. Here I1 and I2 are the
photocurrents (almost the short circuit currents) of the first and the second PV modules
respectively. The diode D2 is in the forward biased mode if I2 is greater than IL, and so the
module voltage V2 is still positive even though the system is under a partial shading condition.
With a decrease in the load impedance, the modules’ currents increase as well as the loadcurrent
and therefore at a specific point IL will be greater than I2. At the mentioned point the surplus
current (about IL-I2) is leaked in reverse through the diode D2 and the shunt resistance. The
reverse biasing of D2 means V2 is negative, so the power is dissipated in the shaded module
causing a hot-spot. The reduction of the PV generated power is due to the fact that the reverse
current through D2 is strictly limited so the string current is significantly reduced.

Fig.2.4Two PV cells/modules connected in series under partial shading.

There are some factors which increase the hot-spot effect, for instance a high ambient
temperature, high level of irradiance, low speed of wind, a shadow on a small area of the PV
array (number of shaded cells), high reverse current, and poor ventilation of the PV array.
According to the results achieved in [13], for a PV cell reverse voltage of -10 V, a high risk of
the hot-spot can result if the cell current exceeds 1 A. Table 2.1 describes the forms of damage
with the associated effects on the PV array as a result of the hot-spot and according to the level
of the PV cell temperature.
 TABLE 2.1The Effects of the Hot-Spots

Temperature(T) Array damage Consequence

T<1500 C No damage No effects
1500 C≤T<1700 C Array encapsulation Delamination of the array heat
Melting conducting material
1700 C ≤T<2000 C Deterioration of the Reduction of the electrical
back sheet isolation
T>2000C PV cell p-n junction is
destroyed Loss of the PV operation

Even though the PV partial shading is an incredibly common and frequent problem, it is not the
only problem affecting the yielded PV power and leading to hot-spots, these can also be caused
by PV cells’ manufacturing defects, internal disconnection, cracked PV cells, etc. All the
mentioned reasons lead to different current generation between the PV cells in the series
connection, so power drop and hot-spots can be a result.

2.3PV CELL REVERSE MODE AND SHUNT RESISTANCE EFFECT

The I-V characteristic of a PV cell is shown in Fig.2.5, As can be seen, in the normal
generating operation thePV cell voltage rises to its open circuit voltage (Voc) which is almost 0.6
V. On the other side of the PV curve, the reverse mode of the PV cell is up to the p-n
junctionbreakdown voltage (Vbr) which can be from 12 to 20 V in poly-Si PV cells, while it can
reach 30 V in the mono-Si PV cells [15].

Fig.2.5PV cell I-V curve

 As was previously mentioned, the shaded PV cell is in the reverse biased mode if its short
circuit current is lower than the current generated by the non-shaded cells in the string. Fig.2.5
shows a linear region (from 0 V to almost -10 V) within the reverse bias voltage where the
current has a linear relation to voltage due to the leakage currents which are assumed to pass
through the PV cell shunt resistance Rsh. The breakdown of the cell p-n junction occurs due to
further increases in the bias voltage when a considerable amount of current is passed. As known,
the PV shunt resistance Rsh represents the leakage currents due to impurity and defects in the PV
cell semiconductor. With increasing impurity concentration, the value of the shunt resistance is
decreased, so the break down can occur at lower reverse bias voltages. Around the area where
the current exceeds a specific amount it causes permanent damage in the solar cell due to the
associated hot-point. In other words, in the forward mode, low Rsh results in reducing maximum
power point (Pmpp), so the fill factor (FF=Pmpp/(Voc.Isc)) is reduced. Also, in the reverse mode,
low Rsh speeds up any thermal damage to the cell [15].

2.4 THE POWER REDUCTION

At least one shaded PV cell, in a series connection with illuminated PV cells, can cause
significant power reduction in the whole PV system. The shaded PV cell is able to limit the
string current to almost its reduced current. For instance, one PV cell operating under various
irradiance levels, connected in series with 17 non-shaded cells of (1000 W/m 2), is considered for
illustration as shown in Fig.2.6.

Fig.2.618PV cells connected in series to form a PV module (one shaded cell and
17 non-shaded PV cells).
2.5 PV BYPASS DIODE PROTECTIONS

To avoid damage to the shaded PV cells in the series connected string, bypass diodes
have been used. The shaded PV cell is reverse biased due to current difference caused by the
shaded cell. The current difference caused by partial shading does not appear because no way to
pass through the shaded cell, and so the string current drops down to almost the current of the
shaded cell. If a bypass diode is placed across the shaded cell, it will conduct carrying the surplus
current, i.e, current difference. Consequently, the dissipated power by the shaded cells/modules
is zero, so no hot-spots result.

In PV arrays, the bypass diodes have to be properly allocated for sets of series connected
cells (PV modules), so the bypass diode of a PV module which includes the shaded PV cell can
turn on before any damage occurs to the shaded cell. The bypass diodes are commonly allocated
for each 12 to 18 PV cells in the array. The number of the bypassed series connected PV cells in
one set is calculated according to a PV cell worst case condition which is the maximum allowed
power dissipation by a shaded PV cell. As soon as the bypass diode of the shaded module (any
number of shaded cells in the module) starts to conduct, the shaded module no longer limits the
current of the non-shaded modules in the PV array, so the generated power bythe PV array is
improved. However, a significant reduction in the array voltage results, as the voltage for each
conducting diode is about 0.7 V. Such a situation is not recommended in some grid-connected
applications where the voltage is the most important factor in delivering the generated power to
the grid.

The bypass diodes are considered a method for protecting the PV cells frombeing
damaged more than being a method for power improvement. That is because when reaching the
required point, which the bypass diode turns on at, a maximum power point tracking (MPPT)
system is needed. The MPPT system controls the PV generated current so the operating voltage
of the shaded module can be controlled to reach the mentioned point where the bypass diode
turns on. For instance, if there aremore than one shaded PV module, not all of them have to be
bypassed in order to reach the MPP of the PV array via the MPPT system. The deeply shaded
modules are bypassed and the other less shaded ones might be left with the non-shaded
modulesfor seeking the MPP.

2.6 MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING TECHNIQUES

In order to extract the maximum PV available power at certain atmosphere and load
conditions, maximum power point tracking has to be used. As can be seen in Fig.2.7, the direct
connection of the load to the PV source results in the operating point of the PV source being the
intersecting point of I-V curve with the load impedance line. However, this point may not be at
the location where the PV panel generating the maximum power

Fig.2.7I-V PV characteristics and load line

As illustrated in Fig.2.7, the load line crosses the PV I-V characteristic curves under
different irradiance levels at several points. The load impedance at these points isalways 5 Ω,
while the PV impedances at MPP are 8 Ω at 1000 W/m 2, 10.36 Ω at 750W/m2 and 15 Ω at
500W/m . To achieve the maximum PV power delivered to the load, the load impedance has to
2

be equal to the PV impedance at MPP points and if that condition cannot be obtained by direct
load connection, power converters have to be used. Power-converters have not only been used to
convert the supplied electric power from one form to another suitable to the load requirements,
they can also be used to match the impedances of the PV panel at MPPs with that of the load so
that the maximum PV power can be delivered.
 Even though implementing the MPPT increases the system complexity withregard to the
use of digital computing techniques and additional transducers, manybenefits can be gained such
as high system efficiency hence the total cost can be reduced in some cases by 15% and the
efficiency improved by 16% in the worst case. Also, the system is able to generate the maximum
possible power regardless of the irradiance and temperature levels. Finally, employing the MPP
control can be beneficial for other aspects for example, realizing storage
elementcharging/discharging control so its life time can be extended.

2.6.1 Basic Principle and the Simplest MPPT Scheme

Overall, the MPPT consists of three parts - a power converter, a controller (voltage or
power feedback controller) and a MPPT algorithm. The latter represents the core of MPPT
technique which continuously monitors the PV power and then consequently controls the power
converter in order to ensure that the load works at the maximum possible PV power. With
respect to the controller, the voltage-feedback control is mostly used to maintain the PV terminal
voltage varying about that corresponding to the MPPs. The simple voltage-feedback controller
diagram is shown in Fig.2.8.

Fig.2.8Simple MPPT system with voltage-feedback controller.

It can be noticed that in this scheme the reference voltage, i.e. the voltagecorresponding
to MPP has to be known and set according to predetermined measurements or the data sheet of
the PV source, so this technique is called the constant reference voltage MPPT. However in
practice it is difficult to obtain the reference voltage values due to changes of weather condition
and data sheet may not be available. To avoid the dependency of this technique to the
predetermined reference voltage, an improvement is made in order to make it more flexible
specifically with respect to the atmosphere changes. The regular changes in the reference voltage
due to the changes of irradiance and temperature levels are basically rely on the PV open circuit
voltage which is close to the MPP PV voltage (Vmpp is almost 68% to 77% of Voc). For every time
period, the PV source and load are disconnected regularly, so the open circuit voltage can be
sampled. In 1998 this method with the open-circuit voltage measurement was chosen to be used
in the integrated maximum power point tracker for PV panels . As a result of repeatedly reset the
PV source to its open-circuit voltage (PV output power is equal to zero), considerable amount of
energy is lost also the system needs some time to settle down again after each interrupt. Because
of that in [68] a pilot model or separated reference solar cell was used instead of interrupting the
main PV power flow. Although the pilot model idea improves the system operation and increases
the total extracted PV power, the main drawback is that the mismatching between the reference
solar cell and the main PV panel may occur due to, for example, dust falling on the reference cell
not on the main PV panel and any other different conditions differing between them. If this
mismatching is neglected, incorrect information about the MPP voltage may be obtained,
resulting in inaccurate or even erroneous control. Overall, the constant reference voltage
technique is a simple and inexpensive MPPT method to implement, but it may not respond to the
irradiation and temperature variations correctly. Even though it has been developed to overcome
the mentioned problem, it is an inaccurate and unreliable MPPT method.

Artificial intelligence has been used to find the desired reference voltage, for instant in
the artificial neural networks were trained in order to predict the proper reference values in
different load and atmospheric situations. As a result, the PV MPP tracking isimproved.
However, using the ANN needs a large number of predetermined information patterns in order to
improve its feed-forward response and that requires quite long training time especially in the on-
line training also it will be difficult toreduce the total squared error so inaccurate reference
values are still produced. However, smaller pattern numbers results in the ANN method not
being able to respond accurately to the new patterns which it had not been trained to deal with,
hence it cannot lead to high performance MPPT.

Another simple method uses the power-feedback controller, instead of using thePV
voltage as a control variable, the PV power is used to maintain the maximum PV extracted
power. This strategy is characterized by the fact that the MPP is actually achieved independently
of any PV source characteristics or predetermined reference values. Also, it is able to track the
PV MPP efficiently regardless of any atmospheric changes, Fig.2.9 shows the simple power-
feedback MPPT.

Fig.2.9Simple MPPT system with power-feedback controller

The most commonly used power feedback MPPT algorithms are Perturbation and Observation
(P&O), Hill-Climbing (HC) and Incremental Conductance (IncCond) due to them being
efficient, simple and easy to implement.

2.7P&O MPPT ALGORITHM

The Perturbation and Observation algorithm is broadly used due to it is simple and easy
to construct. According to the flowchart illustrated in Fig.2.10 , P&O method basically increases
or decreases (the perturbation stage) the controller reference voltage by a step size noted as C,
hence the PV source terminal voltage, and subsequently estimates the power difference between
the present PV power and that before the perturbation (observation stage).
 If a positive PV power difference is obtained that means the PV power is increased and
the tracking is in the right direction, the perturbation direction will be carried on (increase or
decrease). On the contrary if power difference is negative, a power reduction is caused due to the
perturbation, so the direction of perturbation should be reversed.

Fig.2.10P&O algorithm flowchart.

 As a result of continuous perturbation, P&O algorithm may not stop at the desired MPP
voltage but oscillates around it, causing PV power loss. One way to minimize the tracking
oscillation is to reduce the perturbation voltage step. As a consequence of that, in the constant
irradiance state the PV power curve will be smooth with very small ripples. However, the
tracking speed will detract causing more power lose and losing the ability to track certainly at the
rapid atmospheric changes. Even though choosing a large perturbation step will result in
achieving fast tracking response at the suddenly atmospheric changes, in the steady state the
mentioned oscillation will be quite considerable.

Furthermore, during the transient time of a rapid irradiance change, an incorrectMPP will
be tracked, and after that the actual MPP is reached. This issue was raised for the first time in
1995 and the interpretation is that because of a perturbation step is made in a specific direction
and then due to the sudden power increase, the perturbation will be kept on in the same direction
as that of the previous step which may be the wrong direction of searching, consequently power
loss is incurred before reaching the actual MPP.
 CHAPTER 3
PHOTOVOLTAIC INVERTER

The inverter is the heart of the PV system and is the focus of all utility-interconnection codes and
standards. A Solar inverter or PV inverter is a type of electrical inverter that is made to change
the direct current (DC) electricity from a photovoltaic array into alternating current (AC) for use
with home appliances and possibly a utility grid. Since the PV array is a dc source, an inverter is
required to convert the dc power to normal ac power that is used in our homes and offices. To
save energy they run only when the sun is up and should be located in cool locations away from
direct sunlight. The PCU is a general term for all the equipment involved including the inverter
and the interface with the PV (and battery system if used) and the utility grid. It is very important
to point out that inverters are by design much safer than rotating generators. Of particular
concern to utility engineers is how much current a generator can deliver during a fault on their
system. Inverters generally produce less than 20% of the fault current as a synchronous generator
of the same nameplate capacity. This is a very significant difference.

3.1 INVERTER CLASSIFICATION:

Solar inverters may be classified into three broad types:

 Stand-alone inverters, used in isolated systems where the inverter draws its DC energy
from batteries charged by photovoltaic arrays and/or other sources, such as wind turbines,
hydro turbines, or engine generators. Many stand-alone inverters also incorporate integral
battery chargers to replenish the battery from an AC source, when available. Normally
these do not interface in any way with the utility grid, and as such, are not required to
have anti-islanding protection.
 Grid tie inverters, which match phase with a utility-supplied sine wave. Grid-tie inverters
are designed to shut down automatically upon loss of utility supply, for safety reasons.
They do not provide backup power during utility outages.
 Battery backup inverters. These are special inverters which are designed to draw energy
from a battery, manage the battery charge via an onboard charger, and export excess
energy to the utility grid. These inverters are capable of supplying AC energy to selected
loads during a utility outage, and are required to have anti-islanding protection.
3.2 ANTI-ISLANDING PROTECTION

Normally, grid-tied inverters will shut off if they do not detect the presence of the utility grid. If,
however, there are load circuits in the electrical system that happen to resonate at the frequency
of the utility grid, the inverter may be fooled into thinking that the grid is still active even after it
had been shut down. This is called islanding.

Islanding refers to the condition of a distributed generation (DG) generator continuing to power a
location even though power from the electric utility is no longer present. Consider for example a
building that has solar panels that feed power back to the electrical grid; in case of a power
blackout, if the solar panels continue to power the building, the building becomes an "island"
with power surrounded by a "sea" of unpowered buildings.

Islanding can be dangerous to utility workers, who may not realize that the building is still
powered even though there's no power from the grid. For that reason, distributed generators must
detect islanding and immediately stop producing power; this is referred to as anti-islanding.

An inverter designed for grid-tie operation will have anti-islanding protection built in; it will
inject small pulses that are slightly out of phase with the AC electrical system in order to cancel
any stray resonances that may be present when the grid shuts down.

Since 1999, the standard for anti-islanding protection in the United States has been UL 1741,
harmonized with IEEE 1547. Any inverter which is listed to the UL 1741 standard may be
connected to a utility grid without the need for additional anti-islanding equipment, anywhere in
the United States or other countries where UL standards are accepted.

3.3 DETECTION METHODS

Detecting the absence of power from the grid is complicated by two items:

 The distributed generator itself is a source of power whose voltage is by definition

identical to the voltage from the grid, so it is hard to distinguish the two
 A nearby motor may continue to spin and act as a generator, creating a frequency similar
to the original line frequency (50 or 60 Hz). That may be also true if the load in the
building forms a resonant circuit at the line frequency.
Islanding may be detected passively, actively or by utility notification:

Passive detection is done by detecting that the line voltage and frequency are no longer within
certain limits.

One principle is that, once the grid is no longer establishing the line voltage, that voltage will
change (it will usually drop, but not necessarily).

The other principle is that, even if a motor is creating a line frequency, it will slow down, and
therefore do so at lower frequency than the standard line frequency.

Active detection is done by purposely adding a disturbance to the line, and seeing its effect

The principle is that the grid offers essentially zero ohm impedance. In the absence of the grid,
the impedance that is seen is the load in the building, which is substantially higher.

For utility notification, the utility knows when it removes power to the building, and tells the
inverter to stop generating power

GRID TIE INVERTERS

Many solar inverters are designed to be connected to a utility grid, and will not operate when
they do not detect the presence of the grid. They contain special circuitry to precisely match the
voltage and frequency of the grid.

CHARGE CONTROLLERS

Stand-alone inverters – that is, inverters that are designed to be used without the presence of the
electrical utility grid – can be run from PV panels and batteries using a charge controller. The
charge controller regulates the input from the PV and the batteries, regulates the battery output,
and handles charging the batteries.

POWER QUALITY PROBLEMS WITH PV INVERTERS

Large numbers of PV inverters on low-voltage feeders can give power quality problems and may
result that in certain cases, temporarily the national standard for power quality EN50160 is
exceeded. This is the result even when all the PV inverters individually satisfy the IEC 61000-3
specification. Not completely covered by standards at this moment is the effect of harmonic
current emission by PV inverters as a response on harmonic distortion of the grid voltage. Also
not completely covered by standards at this moment is the production of harmonic current
emission due to a resonance phenomenon between the network and PV inverters. All these
effects can lead to a higher harmonic current emission of the PV-inverters, which is design
dependent. These harmonic emissions can be minimized by good design practice, which
anticipates on future standardization.

POWER QUALITY OF PV INVERTERS, RELATED TO TOPOLOGY AND CONTROL

ASPECTS

Converters for PV systems can be divided into two groups, namely: Line commutated inverters
and self commutated inverters. Line commutated inverters are commonly used for high power
converters, while self-commutated converters are commonly used for small PV-inverters. Only
inverters with line currents up to maximum 16 amperes per phase and therefore only self-
commutated inverters will be discussed. A further limitation will be the focus on single-phase
inverters. Within the mentioned limitations, PV inverters consist in general of different stages
and transformer options. To comply with standards, these inverters with their pulse-width
modulation (PWM) converter controllers generate a sinusoidal output current. In practice
switching frequencies of 20 - 500 kHz are used in different power stages.

Several inverter concepts are used in these group of small single-phase inverters, examples are:

· Single-stage concept of H-bridge pulse-width-modulated (PWM) DC-DC converter directly

coupled to the grid

· Single-stage concept of H-bridge PWM DC-DC converter coupled to the grid with a low
frequency (LF) isolation transformer
Fig 3.1 : Single-stage H-Bridge PWM converter and low-frequency transformer

· Multi-stage concept of PWM DC-DC converter front-end, with 50Hz unfolding bridge directly
coupled to the grid

Fig3.2 : Multi-stage high-frequency transformer H-Bridge PWM Converter with low-frequency

unfolding bridge

· Multi-stage concept of PWM DC-DC converter front-end with 50Hz unfolding bridge coupled
to the grid with a LF-isolation transformer

· Multi-stage concept of PWM DC-DC converter front-end including a high-frequency (HF)

isolation transformer, and a 50Hz unfolding bridge coupled to the grid.

Inverters can make use of an extra input buck or boost converter to gain the dynamic range at the
input. In these topologies the energy storage capacitor, needed in one-phase inverters, can be
placed at the input of the inverter or between the two converter stages. These types cover the
majority of small single-phase inverters. For all these inverter types the AC output current will
mainly be characterized by the current-feedback control loop. The majority of these inverters are
capable of self-generating a 50Hz sinusoidal output current based on internal processor tables
and synchronization with the supply voltage. This synchronization is often done by means of a
Phase-locked Loop (PLL).

Some inverters combine the reference source and the synchronization in the grid voltage, by
using the shape of the grid voltage as a reference source. However if the grid voltage is polluted,
the reference source will also be polluted and the current control loop of the inverter pollutes his
output current accordingly. Filtering out the pollution using such a controller is difficult to do,
while obtaining a good (unity) power factor. If it is desired to design an inverter with an
unpolluted sinusoidal output current shape, even if the grid voltage is polluted with harmonics,
using a good reference source is the first demand. Further the inverters output impedance, as
function of the frequency has to be high as well. In practice the output impedance has to be high
up to the 40th harmonic, to avoid harmonic current pollution as an interaction on harmonic
voltage pollution.

High output impedance can be achieved actively by means of the current control loop
performance, but also in a passive way. The passive way can be achieved by inductance in the
inverters output circuit, i.e. the leakage inductance of the LF transformer. In practice this is only
useful for the higher harmonics. Active compensation remains necessary for a good overall
result. For modern high frequency switching inverters, adding inductance for reducing the lower
harmonics is very bulky and costly.

To improve the current source character, a controller with a sufficiently high gain-bandwidth
product of the current feedback loop is the first demand. For a good result the place of the
current sensor in the inverter circuit is important. The best place to sense the output current is
directly on the output terminals of the inverter, however in general EMI filters and output filter
capacitors are the last components in the output circuit. Very often these current sensors will be
combined with current sensors already needed in a DC-DC converter stage. Al these aspects
makes that the current source behaviour of the inverter is commonly not as good as it can be.

Inverters with their fast switching power electronic components inside, are potential EMI
sources. For this reason high frequency (HF) filtering in an inverter is needed. A low frequency
filter is used to filter out distortion from the switching frequency, which lies generally below the
EMI filtering range. The filter components in these types of filters are inductors and capacitors
located at the input and output side of the inverter. The output capacitor(s) of the inverter
strongly reduce the current source behaviour of the inverter and can also be mainly responsible
for setting up a resonance circuit together with the network reactance (transformer and cable
reactance). These effects are not detected or reduced by the current control loop of the inverter, if
the current loop of the inverter is not optimised for this. At this moment such an optimisation is
not driven by obliged standards.

For grid-connected inverters with output current distortion as an interaction with the grid voltage
distortion, this interaction character will be gained by the following items:

· Current-shape reference source is a copy from the grid voltage

· Output impedance as a function of the frequency is poor

· High output capacitance.

For improvement of this character the following may be done:

· Current-shape reference source be generated from a sinusoidal table in the processor

· Output impedance as a function of the frequency should be high

· A low output capacitance should be used as filter.

3.4 INVERTER

An inverter is an electrical device that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC);
the converted AC can be at any required voltage and frequency with the use of appropriate
transformers, switching, and control circuits.

Static inverters have no moving parts and are used in a wide range of applications, from small
switching power supplies in computers, to large electric utility high-voltage direct current
applications that transport bulk power. Inverters are commonly used to supply AC power from
DC sources such as solar panels or batteries.

The electrical inverter is a high-power electronic oscillator. It is so named because early

mechanical AC to DC converters were made to work in reverse, and thus were "inverted", to
convert DC to AC.

The inverter performs the opposite function of a rectifier

Cascaded H-Bridges inverter

A single-phase structure of an m-level cascaded inverter is illustrated in Figure 31.1. Each
separate dc source (SDCS) is connected to a single-phase full-bridge, or H-bridge, inverter. Each
inverter level can generate three different voltage outputs, +Vdc, 0, and –Vdc by connecting the

dc source to the ac output by different combinations of the four switches, S 1, S2, S3, and S4. To

obtain +Vdc, switches S1 and S4 are turned on, whereas –Vdc can be obtained by turning on

switches S2 and S3. By turning on S1 and S2 or S3 and S4, the output voltage is 0. The ac

outputs of each of the different full-bridge inverter levels are connected in series such that the
synthesized voltage waveform is the sum of the inverter outputs. The number of output phase
voltage levels m in a cascade inverter is defined by m = 2s+1, where s is the number of separate
dc sources. An example phase voltage waveform for an 11-level cascaded H-bridge inverter with
5 SDCSs and 5 full bridges is shown in Figure 31.2. The phase voltage v an = va1 + va2 + va3 +

va4 + va5.

For a stepped waveform such as the one depicted in Figure 31.2 with s steps, the Fourier
Transform for this waveform follows
Fig 3.3 Single-phase structure of a multilevel cascaded H-bridges inverter
 fig 3.4 Output phase voltage waveform of an 11-level cascade inverter with 5 separate dc
sources.

The magnitudes of the Fourier coefficients when normalized with respect to Vdc are as follows:

The conducting angles, θ1, θ2, ..., θs, can be chosen such that the voltage total harmonic

distortion is a minimum. Generally, these angles are chosen so that predominant lower frequency

th
harmonics, 5th, 7th, 11th, and 13 , harmonics are eliminated [25]. More detail on harmonic
elimination techniques will be presented in the next section.

Multilevel cascaded inverters have been proposed for such applications as static var
generation, an interface with renewable energy sources, and for battery-based applications.
Three-phase cascaded inverters can be connected in wye, as shown in Figure 31.3, or in delta.
Peng has demonstrated a prototype multilevel cascaded static var generator connected in parallel
with the electrical system that could supply or draw reactive current from an electrical system
[20-23]. The inverter could be controlled to either regulate the power factor of the current drawn
from the source or the bus voltage of the electrical system where the inverter was connected.
Peng [20] and Joos [24] have also shown that a cascade inverter can be directly connected in
series with the electrical system for static var compensation. Cascaded inverters are ideal for
connecting renewable energy sources with an ac grid, because of the need for separate dc
sources, which is the case in applications such as photovoltaic’s or fuel cells.

Cascaded inverters have also been proposed for use as the main traction drive in electric
vehicles, where several batteries or ultracapacitors are well suited to serve as SDCSs [19, 26].
The cascaded inverter could also serve as a rectifier/charger for the batteries of an electric
vehicle while the vehicle was connected to an ac supply as shown in Figure 31.3. Additionally,
the cascade inverter can act as a rectifier in a vehicle that uses regenerative braking.
Fig 3.5 Three-phase wye-connection structure for electric vehicle motor drive and battery
charging.

The main advantages and disadvantages of multilevel cascaded H-bridge converters are as
follows

Advantages:

 The number of possible output voltage levels is more than twice the number of dc sources
(m = 2s + 1).
 The series of H-bridges makes for modularized layout and packaging. This will enable
the manufacturing process to be done more quickly and cheaply.

Disadvantages:

 Separate dc sources are required for each of the H-bridges. This will limit its application
to products that already have multiple SDCSs readily available.
3.5 APPLICATIONS:

DC power source utilization

Inverter designed to provide 115 VAC from the 12 VDC source provided in an automobile. The
unit shown provides up to 1.2 amperes of alternating current, or enough to power two sixty watt
light bulbs.

An inverter converts the DC electricity from sources such as batteries, solar panels, or fuel cells
to AC electricity. The electricity can be at any required voltage; in particular it can operate AC
equipment designed for mains operation, or rectified to produce DC at any desired voltage.

Grid tie inverters can feed energy back into the distribution network because they produce
alternating current with the same wave shape and frequency as supplied by the distribution
system. They can also switch off automatically in the event of a blackout.

Micro-inverters convert direct current from individual solar panels into alternating current for the
electric grid.[1]

Uninterruptible power supplies

An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) uses batteries and an inverter to supply AC power when
main power is not available. When main power is restored, a rectifier is used to supply DC
power to recharge the batteries.

Induction heating

Inverters convert low frequency main AC power to a higher frequency for use in induction
heating. To do this, AC power is first rectified to provide DC power. The inverter then changes
the DC power to high frequency AC power.

HVDC power transmission

With HVDC power transmission, AC power is rectified and high voltage DC power is
transmitted to another location. At the receiving location, an inverter in a static inverter plant
converts the power back to AC.

Variable-frequency drives

A variable-frequency drive controls the operating speed of an AC motor by controlling the

frequency and voltage of the power supplied to the motor. An inverter provides the controlled
power. In most cases, the variable-frequency drive includes a rectifier so that DC power for the
inverter can be provided from main AC power. Since an inverter is the key component, variable-
frequency drives are sometimes called inverter drives or just inverters.

Electric vehicle drives

Adjustable speed motor control inverters are currently used to power the traction motors in some
electric and diesel-electric rail vehicles as well as some battery electric vehicles and hybrid
electric highway vehicles such as the Toyota Prius. Various improvements in inverter technology
are being developed specifically for electric vehicle applications.[2] In vehicles with regenerative
braking, the inverter also takes power from the motor (now acting as a generator) and stores it in
the batteries.

Air conditioning

An air conditioner bearing the inverter tag uses a variable-frequency drive to control the speed of
the motor and thus the compressor.

The general case

A transformer allows AC power to be converted to any desired voltage, but at the same
frequency. Inverters, plus rectifiers for DC, can be designed to convert from any voltage, AC or
DC, to any other voltage, also AC or DC, at any desired frequency. The output power can never
exceed the input power, but efficiencies can be high, with a small proportion of the power
dissipated as waste heat
 CHAPTER 5
PROPOSED SYSTEM
5.1 PROPOSED MULTILEVEL INVERTER TOPOLOGY

Fig. 5.1. Proposed single-phase seven-level grid-connected inverter for photovoltaic systems.

The proposed single-phase seven-level inverter was developed from the five-level inverter. It
comprises a single-phase conventional H-bridge inverter, two bidirectional switches, and a
capacitor voltage divider formed by C1, C2,and C3, as shown in Fig. 5.1. The modified H-bridge
topology is significantly advantageous over other topologies, i.e., less power switch, power
diodes, and less capacitors for inverters of the same number of levels. photovoltaic (PV) arrays
were connected to the inverter via a dc–dc boost converter. The power generated by the inverter
is to be delivered to the power network, so the utility grid, rather than a load, was used. The dc–
dc boost converter was required because the PV arrays had a voltage that was lower than the grid
voltage. High dc bus voltages are necessary to ensure that power flows from the PV arrays to the
grid. A filtering inductance Lf was used to filter the current injected into the grid. Proper
switching of the inverter can produce seven output-voltage levels (Vdc, 2Vdc/3, Vdc/3, 0,−Vdc,
−2Vdc/3,−Vdc/3) from the dc supply voltage. The proposed inverter’s operation can be divided
into seven switching states, as shown in Fig. 5.2(a)–(g). Fig. 5.2(a), (d),and (g) shows a
conventional inverter’s operational states in sequence, while Fig. 5.2(b), (c), (e), and (f) shows
additional states in the proposed inverter synthesizing one- and two-third levels of the dc-bus
voltage. The required seven levels of output voltage were generated as follows.

1) Maximum positive output (Vdc): S1 is ON, connecting the load positive terminal to Vdc,

and S4 is ON, connecting the load negative terminal to ground. All other controlled switches are
OFF; the voltage applied to the load terminals is Vdc. Fig. 5.2(a) shows the current paths that are
active at this stage.

2) Two-third positive output (2Vdc/3): The bidirectional switch S5 is ON, connecting the load
positive terminal and S4 is ON, connecting the load negative terminal to ground. All other
controlled switches are OFF; the voltage applied to the load terminals is 2Vdc/3. Fig.
5.2(b)shows the current paths that are active at this stage.

3) One-third positive output (Vdc/3): The bidirectional switch S6 is ON, connecting the load
positive terminal, and S4 is ON, connecting the load negative terminal to ground. All other
controlled switches are OFF; the voltage applied to the load terminals is Vdc/3. Fig. 2(c) shows
the current paths that are active at this stage.

4) Zero output: This level can be produced by two switching combinations; switches S3 and S4
are ON, or S1 and S2 are ON, and all other controlled switches are OFF; terminal ab is a short
circuit, and the voltage applied to the load terminals is zero. Fig. 5.2(d) shows the current paths
that are active at this stage.

5) One-third negative output (−Vdc/3): The bidirectional switch S5 is ON, connecting the load
positive terminal, and S2 is ON, connecting the load negative terminal to Vdc. All other
controlled switches are OFF; the voltage applied to the load terminals is −Vdc/3. Fig. 5.2(e)
shows the current paths that are active at this stage.

6) Two-third negative output (−2Vdc/3): The bidirectional switch S6 is ON, connecting the load
positive terminal, and S2 is ON, connecting the load negative terminal to ground. All other
controlled switches are OFF; the voltage applied to the load terminals is −2Vdc/3. Fig. 5.2(f)
shows the current paths that are active at this stage.
7) Maximum negative output (−Vdc): S2 is ON, connecting the load negative terminal to Vdc,
and S3 is ON, connecting the load positive terminal to ground. All other controlled switches are
OFF; the voltage applied to the load terminals is −Vdc. Fig. 5.2(g) shows the current paths that
are active at this stage.

(a)

(b)
(c)

(d)
 (e)

(f)

(g)

Fig. 5.2. Switching combination required to generate the output voltage (Vab).

(a) Vab = Vdc. (b) Vab = 2Vdc/3. (c) Vab = Vdc/3. (d) Vab = 0. (e) Vab = −Vdc/3. (f) Vab =
−2Vdc/3. (g) Vab = −Vdc.
TABLE 1

OUTPUT VOLTAGES ACCORDING TO SWITCHES ON-OFF CONDITION

5.2 PWM MODULATION

A novel PWM modulation technique was introduced to generate the PWM switching signals.
Three reference signals (Vref1, Vref2, and Vref3) were compared with a carrier signal (Vcarrier).
The reference signals had the same frequency and amplitude and were in phase with an offset
value that was equivalent to the amplitude of the carrier signal. The reference signals were each
compared with the carrier signal. If Vref1 had exceeded the peak amplitude of Vcarrier, Vref2
was compared with Vcarrier until it had exceeded the peak amplitude of Vcarrier. Then, onward,
Vref3 would take charge and would be compared with Vcarrier until it reached zero. Once Vref3
had reached zero, Vref2 would be compared until it reached zero. Then, onward, Vref1 would be
compared with Vcarrier. Fig. 3 shows the resulting switching pattern. Switches S1, S3, S5, and S6
would be switching at the rate of the carrier signal frequency, whereas S2 and S4 would operate
at a frequency that was equivalent to the fundamental frequency.
Fig. 5.3. Switching pattern for the single-phase seven-level inverter.

For one cycle of the fundamental frequency, the proposed inverter operated through six modes.
Fig. 5.4 shows the per unit output-voltage signal for one cycle. The six modes are described as
follows:

Mode 1 : 0 < ωt < θ1 and θ4 < ωt < π

Mode 2 : θ1 < ωt < θ2 and θ3 < ωt < θ4

Mode 3 : θ2 < ωt < θ3

Mode 4 : π < ωt < θ5 and θ8 < ωt < 2π

Mode 5 : θ5 < ωt < θ6 and θ7 < ωt < θ8

Mode 6 : θ6 < ωt < θ7.

Fig. 5.4. Seven-level output voltage (Vab) and switching angles.

The phase angle depends on modulation index Ma. Theoretically ,for a single reference signal
and a single carrier signal, the modulation index is defined to be

Ma = Am/Ac (2)

while for a single-reference signal and a dual carrier signal, the modulation index is defined to be

Ma = Am/2Ac. (3)

Since the proposed seven-level PWM inverter utilizes three carrier signals, the modulation index
is defined to be

Ma = Am/3Ac (4)

where Ac is the peak-to-peak value of the carrier signal and Am is the peak value of the voltage
reference signal Vref . When the modulation index is less than 0.33, the phase angle
displacement is

θ1 =θ2 = θ3 = θ4 = π/2 (5)

θ5 =θ6 = θ7 = θ8 =3π/2 . (6)

On the other hand, when the modulation index is more than 0.33 and less than 0.66, the phase
angle displacement is determined by

θ1 = sin−1(Ac/Am) (7)

θ2 =θ3 = π2 (8)

θ4 =π − θ1 (9)

θ5 =π + θ1 (10)

θ6 =θ7 =3π/2 (11)

θ8 =2π − θ1. (12)

If the modulation index is more than 0.66, the phase angle displacement is determined by

θ1 = sin−1(Ac/Am) (13)

θ2 = sin−1(2Ac/Am) (14)

θ3 =π − θ2 (15)

θ4 =π − θ1 (16)

θ5 =π + θ1 (17)

θ6 =π + θ2 (18)

θ7 =2π − θ2 (19)

θ8 =2π − θ1. (20)

For Ma that is equal to, or less than, 0.33, only the lower reference wave (Vref3) is compared
with the triangular carrier signal. The inverter’s behavior is similar to that of a conventional full-
bridge three-level PWM inverter. However, if Ma is more than 0.33 and less than 0.66, only
Vref2 and Vref3 reference signals are compared with the triangular carrier wave. The output
voltage consists of five dc-voltage levels. The modulation index is set to be more than 0.66 for
seven levels of output voltage to be produced. Three reference signals have to be compared with
the triangular carrier signal to produce switching signals for the switches.

5.5 CONTROL SYSTEM

As Fig. 5.5 shows, the control system comprises a MPPT algorithm, a dc-bus voltage controller,
reference-current generation, and a current controller. The two main tasks of the control system
are maximization of the energy transferred from the PV arrays to the grid, and generation of a
sinusoidal current with minimum harmonic distortion, also under the presence of grid voltage
harmonics. The proposed inverter utilizes the perturb-and-observe (P&O) algorithm for its wide
usage in MPPT owing to its simple structure and requirement of only a few measured
parameters. It periodically perturbs (i.e., increment or decrement) the array terminal voltage and
compares the PV output power with that of the previous perturbation cycle. If the power was
increasing, the perturbation would continue in the same direction in the next cycle; otherwise, the
direction would be reversed. This means that the array terminal voltage is perturbed every MPPT
cycle; therefore, when the MPP is reached, the P&O algorithm will oscillate around it. The P&O
algorithm was implemented in the dc–dc boost converter. The output of the MPPT is the duty-
cycle function. As the dc-link voltage Vdc was controlled in the dc–ac seven level PWM
inverter, the change of the duty cycle changes the voltage at the output of the PV panels. A PID
controller was implemented to keep the output voltage of the dc–dc boost converter (Vdc)
constant by comparing Vdc and Vdc ref and feeding the error into the PID controller, which
subsequently tries to reduce the error. In this way, the Vdc can be maintained at a constant value
and at more than √2 of Vgrid to inject power into the grid. To deliver energy to the grid, the
frequency and phase of the PV inverter must equal those of the grid; therefore, a grid
synchronization method is needed. The sine lookup table that generates reference current must be
brought into phase with the grid voltage (Vgrid). For this, the grid period and phase must be
detected. The proposed inverter provides an analog zero-crossing detection circuit on one of its
input ports where the grid voltage is to be connected. The zero-crossing circuit then produces an
in-phase square-wave output that is fed into the digital I/O port on eZdsp board TMS320F2812.
A PI algorithm was used as the feedback current controller for the application. The current
injected into the grid, also known as grid current Igrid, was sensed and fed back to a comparator
that compared it with the reference current Igridref . Igridref is the result of the MPPT algorithm.
The error from the comparison process of Igrid and Igridref was fed into the PI controller. The
output of the PI controller, also known as Vref , goes through an anti windup process before
being compared with the triangular wave to produce the switching signals for S1–S6.

Fig. 5.5. Seven-level inverter with closed-loop control algorithm.

Eventually, Vref becomes Vref1; Vref2 and Vref3 can be derived from Vref1 by shifting the offset
value, which was equivalent to the amplitude of the triangular wave.
 CHAPTER 6

MATLAB CASE STUDY & SIMULATION RESULTS

MATLAB SIMULINK simulated the proposed configuration before it was physically

implemented in a prototype. The PWM switching patterns were generated by comparing three
reference signals (Vref1, Vref2, and Vref3) against a triangular carrier signal (see Fig. 6.2).

Fig 6.1 MATLAB/SIMULINK diagram of proposed system

Fig. 6.2 PWM switching signal generation.

Fig. 6.3 PWM signals for S1 and S3.

Fig. 6.4 PWM signals for S2 and S4.

Fig. 6.5 PWM signals for S5 and S6.

Subsequently, the comparing process produced PWM switching signals for switches S1–S6, as
Figs. 6.2–6.5 show. One leg of the inverter operated at a high switching rate that was equivalent
to the frequency of the carrier signal, while the other leg operated at the rate of the fundamental
frequency (i.e., 50 Hz). Switches S5 and S6 also operated at the rate of the carrier signal. Fig. 6.6
Inverter output voltage (Vinv). Fig. 6.7 Grid voltage (Vgrid) and grid current (Igrid).of the carrier
signal. Fig. 6.6 shows the simulation result of inverter output voltage Vinv. The dc-bus voltage
was set at 300 V (>√2Vgrid; in this case, Vgrid was 120 V). The dc-bus voltage must always be
higher than √2 of Vgrid to inject current into the grid, or current will be injected from the grid
into the inverter. Therefore, operation is recommended to be between Ma = 0.66 and Ma = 1.0.
Vinv comprises seven voltage levels, namely, Vdc, 2Vdc/3, Vdc/3, 0, −Vdc, −2Vdc/3, and
−Vdc/3.The current flowing into the grid was filtered to resemble a pure sine wave in phase with
the grid voltage see Fig. 6.7). As Igrid is almost a pure sine wave at unity power factor, the total
harmonic distortion (THD) can be reduced compared with the THD.

Fig. 6.6 Inverter output voltage (Vinv).

Fig. 6.7 Grid voltage (Vgrid) and grid current (Igrid).
 CONCLUSION

Multilevel inverters offer improved output waveforms and lower THD. This paper has presented
a novel PWM switching scheme for the proposed multilevel inverter. It utilizes three reference
signals and a triangular carrier signal to generate PWM switching signals. The behavior of the
proposed multilevel inverter was analyzed in detail. By controlling the modulation index, the
desired number of levels of the inverter’s output voltage can be achieved. The less THD in the
seven-level inverter compared with that in the five- and three-level inverters is an attractive
solution for grid-connected PV inverters.
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