Renewable Energy Systems 101 (RNES 101)

Modelling of solar PV array in Simulink Practical Report

Maduna M. S.
22058185
22058185@dut4life.ac.za

Report submitted in compliance with the requirements for the subject Renewable
Energy Systems 101 (RNES 101) in the Department of Electrical Power
Engineering
Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa

Lecturer: Dr. A. A. Adebiyi

31 October 2022

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Abstract
In this practical report or assignment, the parameters of a solar PV module were
given. These parameters were used to simulate the solar PV array in Simulink. The
I-V and P-V characteristics curves at a temperature of 25 ℃ of the solar PV are
obtained. A simple method of mathematical modeling and simulation of current-
voltage and power-voltage characteristics for the photovoltaic panel in
MATLAB/Simulink is used. Equations are used in modeling the solar PV module
using the manufacturer's parameters to determine the Maximum Power Point
voltage, current, and power.

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Table of Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................

Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................

1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................

1.1 Aim..............................................................................................................................

2. Methodology.......................................................................................................................

3. Solar PV array Results and Discussion.............................................................................

3 Conclusion........................................................................................................................

4 References.........................................................................................................................

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 1. Introduction

Solar radiation appears to be one of the most important renewable energy sources,
and it can be transformed into electricity directly using photovoltaic (PV) devices,
such as solar cells. The foundational converter unit is photovoltaic panels.
Maximum Power Point (MPP) is an operating point on the V-I characteristics
where the highest power output is accomplished for given environmental
conditions. As a result, at the MPP, efficiency will be maximized. The ability to
protect a photovoltaic module's output characteristics is critical for the design of an
MPP tracking and control approach. Several methods for modeling the PV panel
and extracting its parameters have been suggested. The functioning of the PV
panels is assessed under standard test conditions (STC), which include a 1000W/m 2
irradiation and a module temperature of 25 °C. The PV model parameters are based
on values from the manufacturer's datasheet. The proposed model is analogous to a
single diode with a series resistance.

1.1 Aim
 To model a solar PV module in MATLAB/Simulink using the
manufacturer’s datasheet.

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 2. Methodology
A solar cell is essentially a p-n junction fabricated on a thin semiconductor wafer.
Solar energy's electromagnetic radiation can be transformed directly into electricity
via the photoelectric cell. When exposed to sunlight, photons with energies greater
than the semiconductor's band-gap energy produce electron-hole pairs proportional
to the incident irradiation. The cell photocurrent is represented by the current
source Iph. Rsh and Rs are the cell's inherent shunt and series resistances,
respectively. Because the value of Rsh is usually very large and that of R s is usually
very small, they can be ignored to ease the analysis. PV cells are organized into
larger units called PV modules, which are then connected in parallel series to form
PV arrays. The equivalent of a PV cell is shown in Figure 2.1. below.

Figure 2.1: Equivalent circuit of a PV cell.

The equations below are modeled to obtain the I-V and P-V characteristics of a
solar PV module. The equations before solar cell construction include the following
equations below:
Saturation current equation
T 3
I0 = Irs×( ) × exp ⁡¿ (1)
Tn
Reserve saturation current
I SC
Irs = (
q ×V oc
) (2)
n × N s × K ×T
e −1
Photo-current
G
Iph = [Isc + ki×(T – 298)]× (3)
1000
Current through a shunt resistor

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 V + I Rs
Ish = ( ¿ (4)
R sh
Output current

I = Iph – IO × [exp ( n × K × N s ×T)

q (V + I R s)
−1 ¿−¿Ish (5)

Where:
Tn is the reference temperature and is 298 K;
q is the electron charge = 1.6 × 10-19;
Eg0 is the band gap energy for silicon = 1.1 eV;
n is the ideality factor = 1.2;
K is the Boltzmann constant = 1.38 × 10-23;
Rsh is the shunt resistance = 415.405 Ω;
Rs is the series resistance = 0.221 Ω;
Isc is the short circuit current = 8.21 A;
Ns is the total number of cells in series = 54;
Voc is the open circuit voltage = 32.9 V.

The rated power of the solar PV module (P mp) is 200W, the voltage at maximum
power (Vmp) is 26.4V, the current at maximum power (I mp) is 7.58 A and the total
number of cells in parallel (Np) is 1. T is the operating temperature used for the
solar PV module that is modeled.

Step 1: Saturation current model.

If the illuminance remains constant, the current in the circuit increases as the
voltage goes up until it reaches a specific point, at which point the current is due to
the photoelectron saturation point. The saturation current is the largest value of
photoelectric current. This model takes reference temperature (T n), electron charge
(q), the band gap energy for silicon (E g0), the ideality factor (n), and the Boltzmann
constant (K). The saturation current is modeled using Equation 1 above and the
saturation model is shown in Figure 2.2 below.

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 Figure 2.2: Saturation current model.

Step 2: Reverse saturation current model

The reverse saturation current is modeled in Figure 2.3 below. This model takes the
short circuit current Isc at reference temperature Tn. It also takes the electron charge
(q), open circuit voltage (Voc), the ideality factor (n), the Boltzmann constant (K),
and the total number of cells in series (N s) parameters of the solar PV module and
Equation 2 is used to model the reverse saturation current.

Figure 2.3: Reverse saturation current model.

Step 3: Photo-current model.

This model takes the insolation/Irradiation (G) of 1000W/m 2, short-circuit current

(ki) of the cell at 25 ℃ and 1 kW/m 2 , module reference temperature (Tn) of 298 K,
and short-circuit current of 8.21 A and Equation 3 is used in modeling this current.
The photo-current model is depicted in Figure 2.4 below.

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 Figure 2.4: Photo-current model.

Step 4: Current through the shunt resistor.

Equation 4 is used in modeling the current through the shunt resistor the model is
depicted in Figure 2.5 below. The model takes the series resistance and the shunt
resistance.

Figure 2.5: Current through shunt current.

Step 5: The output current model.

The output current model is determined by using Equation 5 and is shown in figure
2.6 below. It takes the electron charge (q), the series resistance (R s), the ideality
factor (n), the Boltzmann constant (K), and the total number of cells in series (N s)
parameters of the solar PV module.

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 Figure 2.6: Output current model.

Step 6: solar PV subsystem.

All the above 4 models are interconnected as given in Figure 2.7 below which is the
final subsystem of the solar PV module with the irradiation (G) of 1000 W/m 2. The
operating temperature (T) used is 25 ℃ and the I-V and P-V characteristics curves
are obtained on the scopes in the subsystem.

Figure 2.7: Solar PV subsystem.

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 3. Solar PV array Results and Discussion
Characteristics plots of I-V and P-V curves are shown in Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.3
respectively below. An increasing number of cells decreases the output. It is
because the change in light intensity incident on solar cells changes by an
increasing number of cells causing solar cell parameters to change. The current at
the maximum power point (IMPP) is around 8.01584 A which is shown in Figure 3.2
below. The power (PMPP) and voltage (VMPP) at maximum points are around 200.021
W and 26.32 V respectively and their figures are shown in Figure 3.3 and Figure
3.4. For the I-V characteristic curve, when the voltage is at 8.20563 V the current is
at 0 A, and when the voltage and voltage reach the maximum power point the
current decreases until it reaches 0 A at 32.9 V which is the open circuit voltage.

Figure 3.1: I-V characteristic curve.

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Figure 3.2: Current at maximum power point.

For the P-V characteristic curve, when the voltage is at 0 V the power is also 0 W.
As the voltage increases until it reaches the maximum power point of 26.32 V, the
power also increases and decrease at 26.32 V. The power decreases to 0 W at the
open circuit voltage of 32.9 V.

Figure 3.3: P-V characteristic curve.

Figure 3.4: Power and voltage at maximum power point.

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3 Conclusion
The mathematical modeling of a photovoltaic panel is established in this report. The
goal of this modeling is to simplify the mathematical I-V and P-V models of
photovoltaic panels so that they can be easily applied to circuit simulators. The
suggested model relies solely on data obtained from the manufacturer's datasheet at
the nominal or standard test condition, such as open circuit voltage, short circuit
current, voltage and current at Maximum power point, and temperature coefficient
for voltage and current. The model in this paper is indeed very simple and does not
use an iterative process, which creates the model complicated and time taking. This
model is suitable for circuit simulators as well as modeling and simulation of MPP
trackers with solar panels. The MATLAB/Simulink model and simulated results of
the solar panel based on the model are initiated in this report. The simulation results
can be compared to the experimental results to demonstrate the accuracy of the
MATLAB/Simulink model.

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4 References
[1] J. Park, H. G. Kim, Y. Cho, and C. Shin, “Simple modeling and simulation of
photovoltaic panels using MATLAB/Simulink,” Advanced Science and
Technology Letters, pp. 147-155, 2014.
[2] O. Singh, and S. K. Rajput, “Mathematical modelling and simulation of solar
photovoltaic array system,” In2016 International Conference on Research
Advances in Integrated Navigation Systems (RAINS) IEEE, pp. 1-5, May 2016.
[3] N. Pandiarajan, R. Muthu, “Mathematical modeling of photovoltaic module
with Simulink,” In2011 1st International Conference on Electrical Energy Systems
IEEE, pp. 258-263, Jan. 2011.
[4] S. S. Mohammed, “Modeling and Simulation of Photovoltaic module using
MATLAB/Simulink,” International Journal of Chemical and Environmental
Engineering, vol. 5, Oct. 2011.
[5] G. M. Masters, “Renewable and efficient electric power systems,” New York:
John Wiley & Sons, 2013, pp. 277-299.

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