68 Power Electronics and Control Techniques for Maximum Energy Harvesting

120

100 MPP Estimation

80 X3
PV Power [W]

X2
60
X1
40
∆VPV
20

00 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
PV Voltage [V]

Figure 2.23
Wrong estimation of parabolic interpolation.

higher than the open-circuit voltage, as in Figure 2.23. In such cases, as well

as if it cannot be found by means of the three points given (e.g., when two of
them are superimposed), the perturbation used by the P&O algorithm is that
one determined by means of (2.36).
The promptness of the MPPT controller is also improved by exploiting
the geometrical properties of the parabolic function. A sequence of the PV
operating points is shown in Figure 2.24: By assuming that the MPPT con-
troller starts to work with a fixed step size ΔVPV, after two steps the values x1,
x2, and x3 are available for reconstructing the interpolating parabola. If the
estimated step amplitude ΔVparabolic is higher than ΔVPV, the MPPT algorithm
can reach the MPP in a few steps. In [18] details concerning the performance
in the presence of irradiance variations and more information related to the
practical implementation of the parabolic approach are provided.

2.6  Evolution of the Perturbative Method

2.6.1  Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)
Particle swarm optimization (PSO) has also been proposed as an MPPT
approach, especially because it is not computationally burdensome. PSO
allows implementation by means of low-cost digital controllers and is
characterized by good performance under extreme irradiation condi-
tions. In [22] the authors propose a modification of a classical perturbative
approach, directly applied to the duty cycle of a DC/DC converter, based