Energy Conversion and Management 69 (2013) 17–26

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Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Three-phase three-level grid interactive inverter with fuzzy logic based

maximum power point tracking controller q
Necmi Altin a,⇑, Saban Ozdemir b
a
Department of Electrical-Electronics Eng., Faculty of Technology, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
b
Ataturk Vocational School, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this study, three-phase single stage grid interactive inverter with maximum power point tracking
Received 1 December 2012 capability is proposed. The proposed system consists of three-level neutral point clamped inverter, LCL
Accepted 19 January 2013 output filter, line frequency transformer, PI current regulator and fuzzy logic based maximum power
Available online 27 February 2013
point tracking algorithm. Rate of change of photovoltaic power and voltage are defined as input variables,
and the change in reference current is defined as output variable for the fuzzy logic controller. The pro-
Keywords: posed maximum power point tracking algorithm is robust with respect to parameter variations of pho-
Three-level NPC inverter
tovoltaic system with adaptive feature of fuzzy logic controller. Maximum power point tracking
Grid interactive inverter
MPPT
algorithm determines the inverter current reference depending on the system conditions such as irradi-
Fuzzy logic controller ation level and temperature, and PI regulator shapes the inverter output current. Two capacitors’ voltages
of neutral point clamped inverter are also balanced. Simulation and experimental results show that the
proposed inverter system has fast transient response and can track the maximum power point of PV sys-
tem even if atmospheric condition changes rapidly. Also, the inverter output current is in sinusoidal
waveform and in phase with line frequency and phase. In addition, total harmonic distortion level of
the inverter output current is in the limits of international standards (<5%) and efficiencies of maximum
power point tracking algorithm and total system are measured as 98.78% and 93.12%, respectively.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction system is commonly used in remote areas applications such as sa-

As a result of renewable energy studies, the solar energy has
gained importance with its superior advantages such as being
inexhaustible energy source, accessible nearly all around the
world, pollution free operation and little maintenance require-
ment. Solar energy is converted to DC electrical energy via photo-
voltaic (PV) modules. Since most of the loads and public grid are
AC, an inverter is required. This PV system can operate in stand-
alone mode and grid interactive mode. In stand-alone mode, huge
battery groups should be used to obtain the continuity of the en-
ergy. This requirement increases the size and cost of the system.
The stand-alone PV system is economically superior in which other
energy sources are impossible or difficult to use. Therefore, this
q
The short form of this paper was presented in The European Workshop on
Renewable Energy Systems (EWRES 2012), which took place on 17–28 September
2012, Antalya, Turkey.
⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Department of Electrical-Electronics Eng.,
Faculty of Technology, Gazi University, 06500 Besevler, Ankara, Turkey. Tel.: +90
312 202 85 25; fax: +90 312 212 13 38.
E-mail addresses: naltin@gazi.edu.tr (N. Altin), sabanozdemir@gazi.edu.tr (S.
Ozdemir).
tellite systems, mobile applications or telecommunication systems.
In grid interactive operation mode battery groups are not neces-
sary, so cost and size of the system is reduced [1,2].
Grid interactive PV systems seem as an efficient solution to the
environmental problems with their decreasing costs. However en-
ergy conversion efficiency of the PV systems is still low and this
subject attracts many researchers’ and studies’ attention. Mainly
these studies can be grouped into two categories. First one is about
the PV modules, new production technologies, materials and aims
in order to increase the energy conversion efficiency of the PV
modules. The second one is about the converter control. PV module
cannot be assumed as a constant DC current source. Its output
power is varied depending on the load level, temperature and irra-
diation, and it generates maximum power at a voltage and current
level for a specific temperature and irradiation. Variation of maxi-
mum power point (MPP) with irradiation level for different tem-
perature levels is shown in Fig. 1 [3].
The PV module should be operated at the MPP which is valid for
the temperature and irradiation level to obtain maximum effi-
ciency. However, maximum efficiency can be obtained for only un-
ique operation point. Because other operation points, except MPP,
decrease the efficiency, load power level should be adjusted

0196-8904/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2013.01.012
18 N. Altin, S. Ozdemir / Energy Conversion and Management 69 (2013) 17–26
Fig. 1. Effect of solar irradiation on PV module P–V curve for constant temprature.
considering the PV efficiency curve to increase the module effi-
ciency. This can be implemented through maximum power point
tracking (MPPT). Variation of maximum power point (MPP) with
irradiation level (Ir) for different temperature levels (T) is shown
in Fig. 1 [3].
In this study, three-phase three-level inverter with MPPT capa-
bility for grid interactive PV systems is proposed. MPPT is ensured
with an intelligent control scheme which is fuzzy logic control
based designed. The fuzzy logic controller (FLC) has high perfor-
mance under rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. The pro-
posed system covers three-phase, three-level inverter neutral
point clamped (NPC) inverter, line frequency transformer, LCL out-
put filter, fuzzy logic based MPPT controller and PI current regula-
tor. Proposed MPPT controller defines the reference current value
of the inverter and PI regulator shapes the inverter output current.
Simulation and experimental studies are carried out for 1000 W in-
put power. Both simulation and experimental results show that
proposed inverter has fast transient response and tracks the max-
imum MPP of the PV system. Also, inverter output current is in
phase with line voltage and frequency, and in sinusoidal waveform.
In addition, current harmonics level is in the limits of international
standards (<5%). Energy conversion efficiency of the PV system im-
proved and efficiency of the whole system is measured as 93.12%
while the MPPT efficiency is 98.78%.
2. Discussion of previous works
Generally voltage source inverter topology is used in grid inter-
active inverters. On the other hand, voltage and current levels and
switching frequencies of the static switches limit the maximum
power levels of the inverter. Also, cost of the switches exponen-
tially increases at high power levels. Several methods and modern
inverter topologies have been proposed to increase the power level
of the inverters and overcome these drawbacks. Using multiple
inverters is one of these methods. However, this method is not eco-
nomical. Using serial or parallel connected switches increase the
voltage and/or current, thus inverter power level increases. But
non-identical components, current paths, small differences be-
tween the control signals and differentiation of the switch charac-
teristics with temperature may cause unbalanced voltage and/or
current sharing between the serial and/or parallel connected
switches [4].
Recently, multilevel inverter structures are used to increase the
inverter voltage and power level to achieve higher power levels.
Although number of switches is greater than two level inverters,
higher voltage and power level can be achieved by using switches
which are lower rated values in multilevel inverters. Also, use of
these inverters becomes popular because of some advantages such
as decreasing size of the filters, lower dV/dt ratio, lower electro-
magnetic interference (EMI) level and lower switching losses [5–
8]. Furthermore, commercially available three-level power mod-
ules decrease the cost and simplify the design of the multilevel
inverters.
In addition, single-stage or two-stage grid interactive inverters
can be designed. In two-stage converters, a DC–DC converter per-
forms MPPT process and DC–AC inverter provides grid interactive
operation. Hence, the control complexity of the converter is re-
duced. Both MPPT process and grid interactive operation are car-
ried out by a DC–AC inverter in single-stage grid interactive
inverters. Although control structure of single-stage grid interac-
tive inverter is complex, total efficiency is improved with elimina-
tion of DC–DC converter requirement.
Various MPPT methods have been discussed in past literature to
obtain maximum energy conversion efficiency for all operation
conditions. These methods can be grouped as off-line methods
and on-line methods. Off-line methods use characteristic values
of PV system such as open circuit voltage, short circuit current,
ambient temperature and irradiation level. These values should
be read from PV system. An additional sampling PV module should
be installed to obtain these data. Although disconnecting the PV
system from the load periodically is another way to obtain these
data, switching off the loads is a problem. When off-line methods
are simple and low cost, requirement of sampling module, switch-
ing off the loads and difficulties of obtaining accurate mathemati-
cal equations are important disadvantages of these methods. On
the other hand, external effects such as shadowing, aging and pol-
lution affect the performance and operation at the MPP. So, the
best behavior may never be achieved [3].
On-line methods read the PV system parameters and manipu-
late the system to obtain real MPPT independent from environ-
mental conditions and PV system parameters [9]. On-line
methods have different response speeds depending on their con-
trol schemes, but generally these methods are slower than the
off-line methods. The perturbation & observation (P&O) algorithm
(also called hill climbing technique) is the most common on-line
method. It can be easily implemented and has relatively high
tracking efficiency. On the other hand, this method is unsuitable
for rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. If the irradiation
changes rapidly, the P&O method cannot be fast enough to track
the MPP. Also, output power perturbs around the MPP and it
causes power loss and decreases the efficiency [9–11]. Incremental
conductance (IC) method is proposed to overcome this drawback.
This method tracks the slope of the PV module power versus volt-
age curve to determine the MPP. Tracking accuracy and dynamic
performance under rapidly changing atmospheric conditions are
improved by this method. However, the iteration step size of IC
method determines the accuracy at steady state and the response
speed of the MPPT. Thus, this value has to be determined properly
[9–11].
Neural networks, which are well adapted for microcontrollers,
are also used for MPPT. This method improves the tracking perfor-
mance. However, neural networks require no knowledge of the PV
module parameters, and the trained neural network can provide
accurate MPPT. Since most PV arrays have different characteristics,
a neural network has to be specifically trained for the PV array with
which it will be used. Besides, characteristics of a PV array chang-
ing in time imply that the neural network has to be periodically
trained to guarantee accurate MPPT [8,12].
Fuzzy logic control theory, which is a mathematical discipline
based on vagueness and uncertainty, allows one to use non-precise
or ill-defined concepts. Since it is nonlinear and adaptive in nature,
fuzzy logic control has robust performance under parameter vari-
ation and load disturbances [1]. Many control approaches and
 N. Altin, S. Ozdemir / Energy Conversion and Management 69 (2013) 17–26 19

applications of fuzzy logic control have appeared in the literature

since Mamdani published his experiences using a fuzzy logic con-
troller on a test-bed plant in a laboratory [13]. The fundamental
advantage of the fuzzy logic controller over the conventional con-
troller is less dependent on the mathematical model and system
parameters as known widely [14–18]. So, it is useful for MPPT pro-
cess rapidly changing climate conditions [19].

3. PV model

PV cells compose of integrated thin layered p–n semi-conduc-

tors. Output I–V characteristics of PV cell are very similar to the Fig. 3. Model of PV circuit.
diode characteristic in the dark. Light affects the photons, and
movement of electrons occurs, thus current flow is generated. This
PV module output current is related to the irradiation level. In addi-
current flows through the external load when the PV cell is short
tion, operation temperature of PV module is related to module out-
circuited and flows through the characteristic p–n diode when
put voltage and current directly. Effect of temperature and
the PV cell is open circuited [20]. Electrical equivalent circuit of
irradiation level on module voltage and current values are given
PV cell can be shown with a current source, parallel connected
in the following equations:
resistor and diode, and a serial resistor to this resultant circuit as
seen in Fig. 2. Mathematical model of this circuit can be also writ- V OC ðTÞ ¼ V 0OC  ð1 þ C V  ðT  T ref ÞÞ; ð6Þ
ten as Eq. (1) [21]:
    Ir
qðV þ I  RS Þ V þ I  RS ISC ðT; Ir Þ ¼ I0SC  ð1 þ C I  ðT  T ref ÞÞ  ; ð7Þ
I ¼ IG  I0  exp 1  ; ð1Þ Irref
nkT RP
where I is cell output current (A), IG is light-generated current (A), I0 V MP ðTÞ ¼ V 0MP  ð1 þ C V  ðT  T ref ÞÞ; ð8Þ
is cell reverse saturation current or dark current (A), q is electronic
charge (1, 6  1019 C), V is cell output voltage (V), n is ideality fac-
Ir
tor, k is Boltzmann’s constant (8.65  105 eV/K) and T is cell tem- IMP ðT; Ir Þ ¼ I0MP  ð1 þ C I  ðT  T ref ÞÞ  ; ð9Þ
Irref
perature (K). This model mainly focuses on physical effects. If Fig. 2
is re-arranged for irradiation and temperature levels, Fig. 3 is ob- where V 0OC ; I0SC ; V 0MP and I0MP are PV module voltage and current val-
tained and PV output voltage value of this circuit can be calculated ues for T = Tref and Ir = Irref. Also T is temperature, Tref is temperature
with the following equation: value which is given in datasheet, Ir is irradiation level and Irref is
  NðT;Ir Þ  irradiation value which is given in datasheet, VOC is module open
V OC ðT;Ir Þln 2 I
ISC ðT;Ir Þ circuit voltage, ISC(T, Ir) is module short circuit current, VMP(T) is
lnð2Þ
 ðRS ðT; Ir Þ  ðI  ISC ðT; Ir ÞÞÞ module output voltage at MPP, IMP(T, Ir) is module current at MPP.
VðI; T; Ir Þ ¼ :
1þ RS ðT;Ir ÞISC ðT;Ir Þ CV is a voltage–temperature coefficient and is given by Eq. (10). In
V OC ðT;Ir Þ
addition, CI is a current–temperature coefficient and given by Eq.
ð2Þ (11). These coefficients show the amount of module output voltage
Eqs. (3)–(5) can be written for RS(T, Ir), N(T, Ir) and a(T, Ir) expressions and current variations versus temperature [22]:
in Eq. (2) respectively:
%DV 0OC
V OC ðT; Ir Þ  V MP ðT; Ir Þ CV ¼ ; ð10Þ
RS ðT; Ir Þ ¼ ; ð3Þ DC 
IMP ðT; Ir Þ
  %DI0SC
CI ¼ : ð11Þ
ln 2  2aðT;Ir Þ DC 
NðT; Ir Þ ¼   ; ð4Þ
ln IIMP ðT;Ir Þ
SC ðT;Ir Þ
4. Three-phase three-level NPC inverter
 
V MP ðT;Ir Þ  1 þ RS ðT;I r ÞISC ðT;Ir Þ
þ RS ðT;Ir Þ  ðIMP ðT; Ir Þ  ISC ðT; Ir ÞÞ
V OC ðT;Ir Þ The multilevel inverters are mentioned by Nabae [23]. Since
aðT; Ir Þ ¼ :
V OC ðT;Ir Þ number of components is higher than the conventional inverters,
ð5Þ control difficulties and more complex structures, initially these
inverters cannot be used commonly. However, multilevel inverters
become common especially in high power applications with pro-
gress in microcontroller technologies and there is reduction in
power switching devices’ cost. The multilevel inverters have some
advantages respect to conventional two-level inverters such as
lower output current/voltage harmonics, achieving high voltage
and high power levels by using low voltage switches, lower filter
requirements for same frequency levels, lower dV/dt ratio and low-
er electromagnetic interference (EMI). Nevertheless, the multilevel
inverters have some disadvantages such as higher numbers of cir-
cuit components (power switches, capacitors, isolated gate drivers,
etc.) and complex circuit structures [24].
There are different types of multilevel inverter topologies. These
Fig. 2. Electrical equivalent circuit of PV cell. topologies are classified according to their specifications such as
20 N. Altin, S. Ozdemir / Energy Conversion and Management 69 (2013) 17–26

Table 1 Table 2
Comparison of multi-level inverter structures according to number of components. Output voltage value according to switch positions for a leg of the inverter.

Topology NPC FC CHB Switch position S1 S2 S3 S4 Output voltage

Number of switch 2(n  1) 2(n  1) 2(n  1) P (Positive) 1 1 0 0 1/2 V
Number of clamped diode (n  1)  (n  2) 0 0 O (Medium) 0 1 1 0 0
Number of clamped 0 (n  1)  (n  2)/ 0 N (Negative) 0 0 1 1 1/2 V
capacitor 2
Number of supply capacitor (n  1) (n  1) (n  1)/
2 2 3 2 3 2 3
urn 2 1 1 Sr
6 7 1 6 7 6 7
bidirectional power flow capability and number of phases [25]. The u
4 sn 5 ¼ V 4 1 2 1 5 4 Ss 5 ;
 ð15Þ
6
NPC inverter, the cascaded H-bridge (CHB) inverter and the flying utn 1 1 2 St
capacitor (FC) inverter are well known multilevel inverter topolo-
gies [6]. In NPC topology, DC bus voltage is divided by two capac- where Sr, Ss and St are switch status as given in Eq. (12). When Eq.
itors, and balancing of these two capacitors’ voltages is required to (15) is substituted into Eq. (14), three-level inverter equivalent cir-
obtain high performance. The FC topology requires bigger capacitor cuit model is obtained:
and this requirement increases the system size. Also, CHB structure 2d 3 2 3 2 3 2V 3
i
dt r  RL 0 0 ir 6L
ð3Sr  S0 Þ  ELr
requires isolated DC voltage sources. Required component num- 6d 7 6 7 6 7 6V 7
4 dt is 5¼4 0  RL 0 5  4 is 5 þ 4 6L ð3Ss  S0 Þ  ELs 5; ð16Þ
bers for a leg of the inverter, in which n is number of level, are gi-
R 0
ven comparatively in Table 1 for different structures of multi-level
d
i
dt t
0 0 L it V
6L
E
ð3St  S Þ  Lt
inverters. Because the NPC inverter does not require isolated DC
where S0 is expressed with Eq. (17) [27]:
sources and power switch modules for a leg of the inverter are
commercially available, design and implementation of the NPC in- S 0 ¼ Sr þ S s þ S t : ð17Þ
verter is simple. The NPC inverter scheme supplied from PV is gi-
ven in Fig. 4.
As seen from the figure, all power switches of the NPC inverter 5. Proposed single stage three-level MPPT grid interactive
operate with only half of the DC bus voltage. This situation is valid inverter
for P, O and N positions of the switches. Consequently, there is no
problem about voltage sharing between the power switches [26]. Since the grid interactive inverters inject current to the grid,
Output voltage value according to switch position is given in Table 2. these inverters must meet the standards defined by the grid
Table 2 can be rewritten in a function form as following authorities. Some national and international standards such as
equation: IEC61727, IEEE1547 and EN61000-3-2 have been published.
8 1
9 According to these standards, grid interactive inverter must oper-
< 1 ) ðui ¼ 2 VÞ
> >
=
ate at unity power factor, and harmonic components of inverter
Si ¼ 0 ) ðui ¼ 0Þ i ¼ r; s; t: ð12Þ
>
: 1
>
; output current and/or total harmonics distortion of this current
1 ) ðui ¼  2 VÞ (THD%) must be limited. Also characteristics of the renewable en-
Phase voltage expressions for the NPC inverter are given in Eq. (13) ergy source must be considered by grid interactive inverter to ob-
[27]: tain acceptable power conversion efficiencies. It means that grid
interactive inverter should consider both supply and line specifica-
d tions [1,28].
urn ¼ Rir þ L ir þ Er
dt In this study, three-phase three-level grid interactive inverter is
d proposed for PV supplied systems. Proposed inverter tracks the
usn ¼ Ris þ L is þ Es ð13Þ
dt MPP of PV system by using designed FLC based MPPT algorithm.
d FLC is chosen to obtain adaptive structure and to avoid the effects
utn ¼ Rit þ L it þ Et :
dt of parameter variations of PV system. Block diagram of proposed
Eq. (14) is obtained by expressing Eq. (13) in matrix form: three-phase grid interactive inverter is given in Fig. 5. As can be
2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 2d 3 2 3 seen in the figure, the proposed system consists of the three-level
urn R 0 ir0 L 0 0 dt r
i Er NPC inverter, the line frequency transformer, the phase locked loop
6 7 6 7 6 7 6 7 6 7 6 7
4 usn 5 ¼ 4 0 R 0 5  4 is 5 þ 4 0 L 0 5  4 dtd is 5 þ 4 Es 5: (PLL) circuit, the LCL output filter, the fuzzy logic based MPP con-
utn 0 0 R it 0 0 L d
i
dt t
Et troller, the DC voltage balance controller and the PI current con-
troller. The DC–AC conversion, the grid interactive operation and
ð14Þ
the MPPT action are carried out by proposed single stage NPC in-
Phase voltages of the inverter according to switch position are given verter. FLC has two inputs and an output. Rate of change of PV
in the following equation: power (dP/dt) and rate of change of PV voltage (dV/dt) are defined

Fig. 4. Equivalent circuit model of PV sourced grid interactive NPC inverter.

 N. Altin, S. Ozdemir / Energy Conversion and Management 69 (2013) 17–26 21

Fig. 5. Block diagram of the proposed system.

as input variables and change in reference current (diref/dt) is the

controller output variable. Output of the FLC is integrated and
the maximum value of the inverter reference current is deter-
mined. PLL circuit generates reference sine wave synchronized
with grid. Instantaneous value of the inverter reference current is
obtained by multiplying the integrated FLC output and grid voltage
sine wave which is obtained via PLL circuit. The PI current regula-
tor shapes the inverter output current to remove current error. Pro-
portional and integral gains of the PI regulator are determined by
using Ziegler–Nichols method. The LCL filter is used to reduce Fig. 6. Structure of FLC.
the output current THD level preferred, because the resonance fre-
quency of the LCL filter is related to only filter components [1]. Line
frequency transformer is employed to step up the inverter output
voltage to grid voltage level and to obtain galvanic isolation. Also,
DC bus voltage (v) and vdc- is read, and the DC voltage balance con-
troller balances the DC input voltages of the three-level NPC inver-
ter by adding offset value to the reference current value. All from
analogue to digital conversion, control and PWM generation pro-
cesses are carried out by eZdsp28335 controller board. This board
includes TMS320F28335, 32 bit floating point digital signal proces-
sor (DSP). Switching frequency is set to 10 kHz. A 3300 lF filter
capacitors which are represented by Cd1 and Cd2 are used to split
DC voltage. In addition, output LCL filter parameters are as follows:
Lf1 = Lf2 = 0.5 mH, Cf = 10 lF.

Fig. 7. Membership functions for input variables.

5.1. Fuzzy logic based MPPT controller design

Fuzzy Logic Controller is introduced by Zadeh in 1965. It is one

of the most successful applications of fuzzy set theory [29]. Its ma-
jor feature is the use of linguistic variables rather than numerical
variables. The general structure of the FLC is shown in Fig. 6. As de-
picted, the FLC is composed by a fuzzifier, a knowledge base, an
inference engine and a defuzzifier.
Defining the input and output variables is one of the important
steps in the fuzzy controller design. In this study, rate of change of
PV power and voltage are defined as input variables and change in
reference current is the controller output variable. The three vari-
ables of the FLC, the change in PV power, the change in PV voltage
and the change in inverter reference current, have seven triangle Fig. 8. Membership functions for change in duty cycle.
22 N. Altin, S. Ozdemir / Energy Conversion and Management 69 (2013) 17–26

Table 3 where um is the mth input variable, v is the output, Anm is the nth
Rule base of FLC. membership set and Bi is the output membership set belonging to
Rate of change of PV voltage (dV/dt) Rate of change of PV power (dP/dt) ith rule. The rules are set based upon the knowledge and working
NL NM NS Z PS PM PL
of the system.
The rule base adjusts the reference current of the NPC inverter
NL NL NL NM Z PM PL PL
NM NL NM NM Z PM PM PL
based upon the changes in the input of the FLC. The number of
NS NL NM NS Z PS PM PL rules can be set as desired. The rule base includes 49 rules, which
Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z are based upon the seven membership functions of the input vari-
PS PS PS PS Z NS NM NL ables. Table 3 shows the rule base for the FLC.
PM PM PM PS Z NS NM NL
Inference engine simulates the human decision process and in-
PL PL PL PM Z NM NL NL
fers the fuzzy control action from the knowledge of the control
rules and the linguistic variable definitions. Therefore, the knowl-
edge base and the inference engine are in interconnection during
Table 4
the control process. Firstly active rules are detected by substituting
Normalized values of LCL filter.
fuzzified input variables into rule base. Then these rules are com-
Quantity SREF UREF fREF IREF ZREF LREF CREF bined by using one of the fuzzy reasoning methods. Max–Min
Value Sn Ug fg SREF U 2REF
¼ U REF Z REF 1
2pfREF Z REF
and Max-Product are most common fuzzy reasoning methods.
U REF SREF IREF 2pfREF
The commonly used Min–Max inference method is implemented.
The defuzzifier converts the fuzzy control action that infers from
inference engine to a non-fuzzy control action. Defuzzification is
membership functions for each. The basic fuzzy sets of member- done by using center of gravity method which is given Eq. (19),
ship functions for the variables are as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The to generate non-fuzzy control signal for change in reference cur-
fuzzy variables are expressed by linguistic variables ‘positive large rent of grid interactive inverter.
(PL)’, ‘positive medium (PM)’, ‘positive small (PS)’, ‘zero (Z)’, ‘nega- P
tive small (NS)’, ‘negative medium (NM)’, ‘negative large (NL)’, for lðzÞ  z
z ¼ P : ð19Þ
all three variables. lðzÞ
The knowledge base consists of a data base with the necessary
linguistic definitions and control rule set. The rule set of knowledge
base consists of some fuzzy rules that define the relations between 5.2. LCL filter design
inputs and outputs. Usually, fuzzy rules are expressed in the form
of IF-THEN fuzzy conditional statements; Different type line filters such as L, LC and LCL are used at the
output of the inverters. Since L filter is first order filter and has
Ri : IF um ¼ Anm and um1 ¼ Anm1 THEN v ¼ Bi ; ð18Þ 20 dB/decade attenuation at whole frequency range, it needs very

Fig. 9. Line voltage, inverter output current and solar irradiation level of the proposed system.
 N. Altin, S. Ozdemir / Energy Conversion and Management 69 (2013) 17–26 23

Fig. 10. Step response of the proposed system.

high switching frequencies to obtain acceptable performance. LC
filters are commonly used in uninterruptible power supply appli-
cations. But, the resonance frequency of LC filter varies with line
impedance in grid interactive inverter application [30]. Therefore
LCL filter is used in this study. The resonance frequency of the
LCL filter is related with only values of filter components and is gi-
ven in the following equation:
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1 L1 þ L2
fr ¼ : ð20Þ
2p L1 L2 C
Resonance frequency and the components values of the filter is
selected according to switching frequency, line frequency, and
inverter reference power, voltage, current and impedance values.
Resonance frequency of the LCL filter can be calculated by the fol-
lowing equation:
10f g 6 fr 6 fsw =2; ð21Þ
where the fg is the utility line frequency and fsw is switching fre-
quency. Similar criteria are required for inductor and capacitor val-
ues. Normalized values will help to explain these criteria that are
given in Table 4 [1,30,31].
In Table 4, Ug is the line voltage, Sn is the nominal output power
of the inverter and subscript REF represents the normalized values.
Since filter capacitor C is decreased the power factor and unity
power factor is desired in grid interactive inverter applications,

Fig. 11. FFT analysis of inverter output current.

24 N. Altin, S. Ozdemir / Energy Conversion and Management 69 (2013) 17–26
Fig. 12. Test rig of the proposed system.
the capacitor value of the filter is usually limited with Eq. (22)
[1,30].
C ¼ 0:05C REF :
Low capacitor values for any resonance frequency increase inductor
values and also higher inductor values increase the system cost and
size. So, the value of the capacitor is selected near the limits of Eq.
(22). In addition, high total inductance value increases the voltage
drop on the inductors and the required DC voltage level. Higher
DC voltage level will result in higher switching losses. So, total value
of the inductance must be lower than the 10% of LREF [1,30].
Although, different L1 and L2 values can be selected for a unique va-
lue of the total inductance, L1/L2 ratio is related to the maximum al-
lowed value of the current ripple at the inverter and the line sides
[30,31]. In this study this relation is selected as in the following
equation:
L1 ¼ L2 :
The LCL filter’s components values of the grid interactive inverter
which are calculated by using Table 4 and Eqs. (20)–(23) are given
in Eqs. (24)–(26). The resonance frequency of the filter is tuned as
3183 Hz.
Fig. 13. Three-phase output currents (Ch. 2, Ch. 3, and Ch. 4) of proposed three-level inverter and line voltage (Ch. 1).
L1 ¼ 0:5 mH; ð24Þ
L2 ¼ 0:5 mH; ð25Þ
C ¼ 10 lF: ð26Þ
6. Simulation and experimental results
The proposed single stage, three-phase three-level NPC grid
interactive inverter with fuzzy logic based MPPT controller is mod-
eled and simulated with MATLAB/Simulink by using Fuzzy Logic
Toolbox. Proposed system composes of PV panels, three-phase,
three-level NPC inverter, line frequency transformer, LCL output
filter, PI current regulator and fuzzy logic based MPPT controller.
In this study KYOCERA KC200GT PV modules are modeled, and five
serial connected PV modules are used as PV supply with 1000 W
total power. An IGBT equipped three-phase three-level NPC inver-
ter is used. SKM 200 MLI 066 T model three-level IGBT modules are
used in power stage. Line frequency transformer steps up the in-
verter output voltage to grid voltage level. Also this transformer
ensures the galvanic isolation, and prevents DC ripple injection
to the grid. LCL output filter reduces the high frequency harmonic
ð22Þ components in inverter output current waveform due to PWM
switching, and reduces the output current THD. Maximum power
point of the PV system is tracked with FLC based controller. All
analog to digital conversion, control algorithm and PWM generat-
ing activities are carried out by TMS320F28335 DSP.
In this study, solar irradiation level is changed in order to test
the MPPT controller performance. Grid voltage, inverter output
current and solar irradiation level are seen in Fig. 9. As seen from
the figure, solar irradiation level is changed 400–1000 W/m2 step
by step and a day is emulated. FLC based MPPT controller deter-
mines the inverter reference current with respect to irradiation le-
vel and as a result changes the inverter output current, and tracks
the maximum power point of system. In addition inverter output
current is synchronized with line voltage phase and frequency
ð23Þ and inverter output current is in sinusoidal waveform.
Also in Fig. 10, step response of the proposed system is given.
Solar irradiation level is increased 400–1000 W/m2 instantly. In-
verter output current, PV power and solar irradiation level are gi-
ven in this figure. Fast transient response of the proposed fuzzy
logic based MPPT controller is seen from the figure. Also it is clear
 N. Altin, S. Ozdemir / Energy Conversion and Management 69 (2013) 17–26 25

that fuzzy logic based MPPT controller determines the reference
current quickly and PI regulator shapes the current. Also inverter
output current is in sinusoidal waveform. Furthermore, FFT analy-
sis of the inverter output current is given in Fig. 11. As seen from
this figure total harmonic distortion level of this current is in the
limits of international standards such as IEEE1547 (3.75% < 5%).
MAGNA-POWER TDS III 600-8 model PV Power Emulator
(PPPE), which can act like solar batteries, is used in experimental
studies. This PV power emulator is a DC power supply which can
give output just like PV. Five series connected commercial avail-
able KYOCERA KC200GT PV module is defined by using PPPE inter-
face program and some parameters given in datasheets such as Voc,
Isc, Imppt, Vmppt, Tn, Tw, operation irradiation level, catalogue irradia-
tion level, irradiation coefficients, temperature, etc. Thus, a PV
string with 1000 W total output power is emulated. PPPE generates
a P–V curve according to these entered values; in other words, it
changes output current and voltage according to defined PV char-
acteristic. The irradiation and temperature levels can be changed
with computer interface during the operation, and thus, different
atmosphere conditions can be developed. Test rig of the proposed
system is seen in Fig. 12.
In Fig. 13, three-phase output currents of proposed three-level
NPC inverter and line voltage are depicted. Inverter output
currents are measured from primary side of the line frequency

Fig. 14. Power, power factor, and output currents’ total harmonic distortion levels of proposed three-level inverter.

Fig. 15. PPPE interface program and P–V curve of KYOCERA KC200GT.
26 N. Altin, S. Ozdemir / Energy Conversion and Management 69 (2013) 17–26
transformer. As seen from the figure, inverter output currents are
in sinusoidal waveform and in phase with line voltage. Inverter
output current, power, power factor and harmonics levels of inver-
ter output currents are given in Fig. 14. It is seen that, unity power
factor operation is obtained and inverter output current harmonics
level meets the international standards (<5%). The interface pro-
gram of the PPPE and P–V characteristic of defined PV system is gi-
ven in Fig. 15. This program is used to define the PPPE by entering
related values and monitoring the output of the PPPE. It shows the
P–V curve, operation point and efficiency of the PV system. So,
operation point of the system and effectiveness of MPPT method
are visualized and monitored. As seen from the figure, proposed
FLC based MPPT algorithm tracks the MPP of the PV system and en-
ergy conversion efficiency of the PV system is improved. The MPPT
efficiency is obtained from interface program as 98.78%. Also total
system efficiency is measured as 93.12%. Both grid interactive
operation and MPPT processes are carried out by three-phase
three-level inverter and single stage operation is obtained. Since
an additional converter requirement is removed, total efficiency
of the PV system is improved.
7. Conclusions
In this study, three-phase three-level NPC inverter for grid
interactive PV system is proposed. The proposed inverter consists
of NPC inverter structure, line frequency transformer, LCL output
filter and fuzzy logic based MPPT controller. The fuzzy logic based
MPPT controller has two input and single output variables with se-
ven triangular membership functions for each. Both MPPT process
and grid interactive operation is carried out by three-level NPC in-
verter. Since addition DC–DC converter for MPPT action is re-
moved, efficiency of the system is improved. LCL filter design is
given in detail. Line frequency transformer steps up PV voltage to
grid voltage, provides galvanic isolation and prevents DC current
injection. Simulation and experimental results show that inverter
output current is in phase with line frequency and phase angle,
and inverter output current is in sinusoidal waveform. THD level
of the inverter output current is below the limits of the interna-
tional standards (<5%) and unity power factor operation is ob-
tained. Also proposed fuzzy logic based MPPT method tracks
maximum power point of the PV modules and has fast transient re-
sponse. This method keeps the PV system operating at maximum
power point for all operation conditions and MPPT efficiency is
achieved as 98.78%. In addition, proposed MPPT method has robust
structure against the parameter variations. Consequently, total
system efficiency including MPPT, NPC inverter and line frequency
transformer is measured as 93.12%.
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