2015 International Conference on Energy Systems and Applications (ICESA 2015)

Dr. D. Y. Patil Institute of Engineering and Technology, Pune, India 30 Oct - 01 Nov, 2015

Design and Development of MPPT Algorithm for

High Efficient Dc-Dc Converter for Solar Energy
System Connected to Grid
1 2
Patil S.N. Dr. R. C. Prasad
1 2
Asst. Prof. in Electrical Engg. Dept. Prof. in Electrical Engg. Dept.
TSSMs B.S.C.O.E.R., Pune. College of Military Engineering, Pune
1 2
patil_sn@rediffmail.com prasadrcp@rediffmail.com

Abstract: Because of combustion of fossil fuels global energy sources like solar and wind power are readily
warming caused by environmental problems, the raising available and much sought after. They produce clean
prices of crude oils and natural gases. They promote energy power which does not affect the Ozone layer.
continuous effort to improve energy system and its With free solar energy available, cutting down on
efficiency. There is a need to search for abundant and electrical bills on industrial and home seems a
clean energy sources due to the depleted and increasing possibility in the near future as the photovoltaic
prices of oil. Solar energy acts as an alternative renewable conversion into electrical energy. Large scale solar
energy source. energy systems are being tested and might even be
Photovoltaic cells are used as renewable energy system. implemented in the coming years to cut down the
Photovoltaic (PV) cells can be used to generate dc voltages emission of CO2. Demand for photovoltaic energy will
and given to DC-DC converter. DC-DC converter used is increase over the years as the breakthrough in this new
Buck boost type of converter. The converter output is technology will sustain it at a lower cost.
given to battery to inverter and load. Buck boost converter In this system output of solar system is variable with respect to
gives constant output which will controlled by PWM different operating condition. So as to get constant output from
controller and feedback control system. Feedback control solar system we connect buck boost converter to battery and
system has compensation network with different types and battery to inverter and load. For making the constant and
parameters. Designing of converter gives constant output.
A maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm maximum output, we have to design system parameters and
technique is needed to track the peak power to maximize implement the MPPT algorithm. We developed such system
the produced energy. The maximum power point in the
power voltage graph is identified by an algorithm called as II. BLOCK DIAGRAM OF PROPOSED
incremental conductance method. This algorithm will WORK
identify the suitable duty cycle ratio in which buck boost
converter should operate to maximum point. The MPPT
algorithm is vital in increasing the efficiency of the system.
This output is given to battery though the H bridge Solar DC-DC Grid
inverter circuit. The ac output voltage is directly fed to low Panel Converter Battery Inverter
voltage grid though the PLL circuit. The control of PWM
for converter, inverter, MPPT algorithm and PLL is
controlled by using MICROCHIP dsPIC30F4011 DSP
processor. The total experimentation is carried out and
results of converter, inverter, grid control and MPPT A/D Converter
A/D converter
characteristics are analyzed. MOSFET MOSFET
Driver ICs DSP Processor Driver ICs
Keywords- Photovoltaic cell model, I-V and P-V PWM dsPIC30F4011 PWM
characteristics of solar cell, DC-DC converter design, Output
Output
MPPT algorithm, PLL control, converter efficiency.
MPPT
I. INTRODUCTION Algorithm

With the prices of oil at its highest and the increasing

demand every year, it is causing environment concerns
which lead to global warming around the world. New

978-1-4673-6817-9/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE 228

 III. MODELING OF SOLAR PV CELL The output power can be expressed based on the open
circuit voltage and short circuit current.
The working condition of the solar cell depends mainly
on the load and solar isolation. They operate in the ூ௣௛ିூௗି௏ௗ
open circuit mode and short circuit mode. Based these ܲ ൌ ‫ ܸܫ‬ൌ ቀ ቁൌܸ
ோ௦௛
characteristics, the output voltage, current and power
can be computed.[1] The Pmax relationship is also represented in terms of
Vmppt. The Pmax is the maximum output power and
Vmppt is the optimal output voltage.[2]

݊݇ܶ ͳ ൅ ‫ܸݍ‬௠௣௣௧ ܸ‫ܿ݋‬

‫ ܿ݋ܸۓ‬െ ൬ ൰ ͳ݊ ൬ ൰െ ൅ۗ
ۖ ‫ݍ‬ ݊݇ܶ ൫‫ܸݍ‬௠௣௣௧ ൅ ݊݇ܶ൯ ۖ
ܲ݉ܽ‫ ݔ‬ൌ ‫ܫ‬௣௛
‫۔‬ ͳ ‫ܸݍ‬௠௣௣௧ ۘ
ۖ ݊݇‫ ݐ‬ቆ ቇ ͳ݊ ൬ͳ ൅ ൰ ۖ
‫ە‬ ܸ௠௣௧ ݊݇‫ݐ‬ ۙ

Iph – Photodiode current

Vd – Diode voltage

Fig.1 Equivalent Solar cell model IV. DESIGNING OF DC-DC CONVERTER

Iph – Photodiode current DC-DC converter is combination of a buck and boost

Vd – Diode voltage converter. Buck-Boost converter is combination of a buck and
Id – Diode current boost converter. A buck boost converter is a DC-to-DC power
n - Diode factor (1 for ideal and >2 for real conditions) converter with an output voltage either greater or smaller than
Io - Reverse saturation current its input voltage. It is a combination of the buck converter
T - Temperature for the solar arrays panel topology and a boost converter topology in cascade. The
in kelvin output to input conversion ratio is also a product of ratios in
K–Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38 x 10 -23 J/K buck converter and the boost converter. The output voltage is
Q – Electron charge = 1.6 x 10 -19 C controlled by controlling the switch-duty cycle. The term D is
Rs – Intrinsic series resistance usually in milli- the duty ratio and defined as the ratio of the on time of the
ohms Rsh – Shunt resistance usually in kilo-ohms switch to the total switching period. This shows the output
voltage to be higher or lower than the input voltage, based on
The I-V characteristics of a solar cell while the duty-ratio D. [5,7]
neglecting the internal shunt resistance is
given by

‫ݍ‬
‫ܫ‬௢௨௧ ൌ ‫ܫ‬௣௛ െ ‫ܫ‬௢ ඌ‡š’ ൬ ൰ െ ͳඐ
݊‫݈݊ܶܭ‬ሺܸ ൅ ‫ݏܴݐݑ݋ܮ‬ሻ
((1))
(1
In the event that the circuit is shorted indicating that
the output voltage is =0. The current through the diode
is being omitted. The short-circuit current, Isc = I can be
represent by
Fig.2 DC –DC Converter
ோ௦ூ
‫ ܫ‬ൌ ‫ܫ‬௣௛ െ (2)
ோ௦௛
Generally with the relationship that exists between Isc When the switch is in the “on state”, the inductor stored the
and Iph, the output current is given below. From the energy in the magnetic field as it is connected with the source
relationship, output current is approximately the almost voltage where currents will flow through. The diode is
the same as the photocurrent. reversed biased and hence no current can flow to the load
through the diode. The capacitance will provide current in this
ூ೛೓ “Ton” situation. When the switch is off, inductance is
‫ ܫ‬ൌ ‫ܫ‬௦௖ ൌ భశೃೞ disconnected from the source and there will be no current drop
ቀ ቁ
ೃೞ೓
which the inductance will reverse it EMF. A voltage is
When the circuit is in open-circuit mode, the output
generated as the diode at this time is forward biased; current
current I is =0. At this point, the open-circuit voltage, will flow in the load and charged up the capacitance.
Voc is calculated. The converter is made up of an input source voltage, an
ሺ௡௞்ሻ inductor, a switch, capacitor and the output load. This type of
ܸ‫ ܿ݋‬ൌ ܸ݉ܽ‫ ݔ‬ൌ ሺ ಺೛೓ )
௤‫כ‬௟௡‫כ‬ቀ
಺೚
ቁ configuration is use to boost up the output voltage with a lower

229
input source. Most of the designs usually specified the require
value of input voltage, output voltage and the load current
whereas the inductor and ripple current are free parameters. To
reduce a ripple, a larger value of inductor should be able to
reduce it since it is inversely proportional to the ripple current.
Likewise when choosing the inductor, it should ensure the
saturation current is greater than the inductor peak current and
able to cope with the rms current.
While designing the buck boost converters following main
points are considered
1) Input voltage to converter
2) Desired supply output voltage magnitude
3) DC-DC converter efficiency (Pout / Pin)
4) Output voltage ripple
5) Output load transient response
6) Output load transient response
Fig.3 PWM control
7) Duty cycle of PWM controller

For design of this buck boost converter, the output of the Duty ratio- D =( ton/ ton) + toff
converter is designed for 24 V which is given to the Battery.
Output voltage=24V
a) Design of Power Inductor V. MPPT ALGORITHM
The power inductor is a very important component within the
The output power of the solar PV module changes with change
boost dc-dc design. The inductor value is closely linked with in direction of the sun, change in solar insolation level and
the input voltage, the output voltage, the forward voltage of
change in temperature. There is a single maximum power
the diode, the duty cycle, the load current as well as the
point in the PV characteristics of the PV module for particular
switching frequency.
operating condition. It is desired that the PV module operates
close to this point, i.e., output of the PV module approaches
ሾܸ௢௨௧ െ ܸ௜௡ ൅ ܸ஽ ሿሾͳ െ ‫ܦ‬ሿ
‫ܮ‬ൌ near to MPP. The process of operating PV module at this
‹ሺ݅௟௢௔ௗ ሻ݂ condition is called as maximum power point tracking (MPPT).
Current rating of inductor is given by Maximization of PV power improves the utilization of the
ܸ௜௡௣௨௧ solar PV module.[6].
‫ܫ‬௣௞ ൌ
ʹ‫ܮכ݂כ‬ The most common algorithms the P& O and the incremental
b) Selecting Switching frequency conductance method. The conductance method offers the main
For the different values of frequency the values of inductors advantage of providing high efficiency under rapidly changing
are calculated. atmospheric conditions, so it has been employed in the model.
This method is based on the fact that slop of the PV array
Switching Frequency Inductor Value
power curve is zero at the MPP, increasing on the left of the
50 158 MPP and decreasing on the right hand side of MPP.
The algorithm starts by obtaining present values of I(k) and
100 79
V(k) and using former values stored at the end of the preceding
200 40 cycle, I(k-I) and V (k-I), then judge whether the voltage
400 20 variable is zero, if it was zero then judge whether the current
500 16 variable equals zero. Then if the current variable is also zero. It
means that PV is operating on the MPP so the conductance
1000 8 should remain same and the current instruction does not need
to change [8].
c) Design of Power MOSFET Two other checks are included to detect whether a control
action is required when the array was not operating at the
Low power loss MOSFET is selected depending on rating. MPP; in this case the change in the atmospheric Conditions is
d) PWM Controller detected using G,   . Now the control signal adjustment
The basic idea is to control the duty cycle of a switch will depend on whether dI is positive or negative, if the
such that a load sees a controllable average voltage. To incremental change in current is positive, the voltage
achieve this, the switching frequency is chosen high instruction should be increased, otherwise be decreased.
enough. With pulse-width modulation control, the On the other hand there is a condition where the voltage
regulation of output voltage is achieved by varying the variable is not zero, another check is carried out by comparing
duty cycle of the switch, keeping the frequency of dI/dV with I/V.
operation constant. According to the result of this check; the control reference
signal will be adjusted in order to move the array terminal

230
voltage towards the MPP voltage. At the MPP, no control sine reference is generated in phase and is synchronized with
action is needed, therefore the adjustment stage will be the grid voltage.
bypassed and the algorithm will update the stored parameters
at the end of the cycle as usual. If it was not true then if the VII. IMPLEMENTATION
To test the performance of this MPPT algorithm, the setup
conductance variable is more than the negative variable, the
consists of 1) a DC/DC converter, 2) a solar Panel 3) DSP
voltage instruction should be increased, otherwise be control board, 4) battery.
decreased. The MPPT algorithm and the control of the DC/DC converter
were implemented using dsPIC30F4011. The DSP measured
the input current and input voltage though the A/D module and
calculated the power obtained from the SAS. The DC/DC
converter is a working at a switching frequency of 100 KHz.
The different values of parameters are as follows. Inductor for
Buck converter=100 uH and for Boost converter=200 uH -
ferrite core, EI-33 type. Capacitor of 20 uF is used.

Fig.5 DC-DC Converter Board

Solar Panel Specification: Solar Panel 12 V, 100 W ELDORA

100-P Make- VIKRAM SOLAR
DSP Processor Specification: MICROCHIP dsPIC30F4011
Fig. 4 Flowchart MPPT Algorithm
high performance 16 bit digital signal processor is used.
Battery Specification: Two 12 V 42Ah batteries are used for
this project. Make- ZENIDE Type –ZV 42-12 Capacity 12V,
VI. PLL CONTROL 42Ah
Phase locked loop is critical component of inverter connected
to grid. Inverter control system is the phase locked loop that
generates the grid voltage frequency and phase angle for the
control to synchronize the output to the grid. The calculated
frequency and phase angle of grid voltage by phase locked
loop can be used for control and signal generation.
Phase locked loop system can synchronize these grid
parameters accurately. This can be achieved by both hardware
zero crossing or detecting circuit as well as software. In
software, the grid voltage is sampled at every ADC trigger and
the polarity of the grid voltage is stored in a resister. In every
sample grid voltage polarity has been checked. If there is
change in grid voltage polarity, software sets the zero voltage
detect flag. A period counter register stores the total number of
interrupts that occurs between two zero crossing detections.
Fig.6 H Bridge Inverter Board
The period counter register value then gives half of the period
value of grid voltage, as the time between the two interrupts is
fixed in programme. The period value determines the phase H Bridge inverter is used. The structure of the single H-bridge
angle increments the sine table reference generation from the module consists of a separate dc source, four semiconductor
sine table. The sine table consists of 512 elements for switching devices and four diodes. The switching devices used
generation 0-90 degrees of sine reference. As 90-180 degrees are typically MOSFETs or IGBTs. IGBTs are chosen for this
of sine waveform is a mirror image of 0-90 degrees, the half

231
due to High forward conduction current density, low on-state
voltage drop, low driving power and fast switching response. P Vs V, Measured
80.00
70.00
60.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00

Fig.8 P-V characteristics of solar Panel

Waveform of PWM Signal from DSP Processor

Fig.7 Complete Experimental Setup

VIII. RESULT

Experimental Reading

PV Side Battery side

%
V I P V I P Eff
0.00 4.81 0.00 23.80 0.00 0.00 0.00
8.00 4.80 38.40 23.87 1.41 33.66 87.65
10.10 4.78 48.28 23.90 1.81 43.26 89.60
12.30 4.76 58.55 23.92 2.21 52.86 90.29 Waveform of Inverter output
14.05 4.76 66.88 23.95 2.54 60.83 90.96
16.12 4.60 74.15 24.01 2.76 66.27 89.37
17.90 3.83 68.56 24.01 2.53 60.75 88.61
20.08 1.73 34.74 24.01 1.26 30.25 87.09
20.97 0.11 2.31 24.01 0.08 1.92 83.27

I Vs V, Measured

6.00
5.00
4.00
Waveform of rectified synchronized signal
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00

Fig.7 I-V characteristics of solar Panel

232
Waveform of inverter output and grid synchronization signal technique, MPPT control algorithm, PLL control for
before PLL solar energy system for low voltage application.

X. REFERENCES
[1] Mohan, Undeland, Robbins, “Power Electronics:
Converters, Applications, and Design,” Wiley (Third
Edition)
[2] Muhammad Harunur Rashid, “Power Electronics Circuits,
Devices, and Application,” Parentice Hall.
[3] T.Markvart, “Solar Electricity”, John Wiley &
Sons,1994.
[4] R. Messenger and J. Ventre, Photovoltaic Systems
Engineering, CRC Press, 2000, pp.41-51.
[5] G. R.Walker and P. C. Sernia, “Cascaded DC- DC
converter connection of photovoltaic modules,” IEEE
Waveform of inverter output and grid synchronization signal Trans Power Electronics., vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 1130–1139,
after PLL Jul. 2004.
[6] Roberto F. Coelho, Filipe Concer, Denizar C. Martins,
“A Study of Basic DC-DC Converters Applied in
Maximum Power Point Tracking”, Proceedings of IEEE
2009 Conference, ISBN : 978- 1-4244-3370-4, pp. 673-
677.
[7] Doug Mattingly, “Designing Stable Compensation
Networks for Single Phase Voltage Mode Buck
Regulators”, Intersil, Technical Brief Dec-2003.
[8] Tseng, Ching-Jung and Chen,” Novel PWM converters
with active snabbers”, IEEE Transactions on Power
Electronics, Vol-13, No.- 5, sept 1998 pp.861-869.
[9] Xue, Y., Chang, L., Baekhj Kjaer, S., Bordonau, J. and
Shimizu, T., “Topologies of single-phase converters for
small distributed power generators: an overview,” IEEE
Trans. Power Electronics, vol. 19, pp. 1305-1314, Sept.
2004.

XI. BIOGRAPHIES
S.N. Patil was born in Latur ,India on
01 Jan 1977. S.N. Patil received B.E.
in Electrical, Electronics and power
from SRTM university, Nanded and
M.E. Electrical Power System from
Govt. College of Engg. Pune and
currently he is research scholar and
has been working as Asst. Prof. in
Electrical Engg. Dept. of Bhivarabai
Sawant College of Engineering and
Research, Pune. He has interest in the
Power Electronics and Drives, DSP,
Hybrid Energy System.
IX. CONCLUSION

In this paper we develop solar DC-DC (Buck boost) Dr. R.C. Prsad is working as Professor
converter which gives maximum output voltage and in Electrical Engg. Department of
power. Solar cell I-V and P-Characteristics are studied. College of Military Engineering ,
Development of maximum tracking algorithm is Pune. Dr. R.C. Prasad received M.E.
Electrical from NIT, Jamshedpur and
presented and implemented by using DSP processor PhD in Electrical Engineering from
which gives the maximum efficiency of solar system. G.B. Pant University of Agri. &
We have calculated different parameters of buck boost Technology, Pantnagar. He has 23
converter such as power inductor, duty cycle for PWM years teaching and 2 years of
Industrial experience. He has interest
controller and capacitors. H Bridge inverter is designed in the Power Electronics and Drives,
and practically implemented which gives stable output. High voltage Engg., Power quality and
The grid voltage and frequency is synchronized by using Hybrid Energy System
PLL techniques. Therefore solar converter and inverter
is designed and experimentally studied the different
parameters of converter and inverter, PWM control

233