Industrial Automation PLC Implementation

of MPPT Using P&O Algorithm for PV System

Applications

Hanane Yatimi1(B) , Youness Ouberri1 , Rim Marah2 , and Elhassan Aroudam1

1 Modeling and Simulation of Mechanical System Team, Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek
Essaadi University, Tetouan, Morocco
yatimi.hanane@gmail.com
2 Computer Science and Engineering System Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek

Essaadi University, Tetouan, Morocco

Abstract. One of the most important concerns about the control of the photo-
voltaic system is the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms and their
implementation in various electronic devices. This paper presents a programmable
logic controller (PLC) software design for a standalone photovoltaic system based
on the Perturb and Observe (P&O) MPPT algorithm. The entire photovoltaic sys-
tem is simulated in Siemens total integration automation interface (TIA portal) and
the results are plotted using Siemens Human Machine Interface WinCC flexible.
The main contributions of the present paper are: 1) development of a simulated PV
system block using automation PLC software for simulation test before hardware
implementation, 2) development of a new automated design based on P&O-MPPT
algorithm for Photovoltaic system control, 3) Validate the applicability and the
effectiveness of using PLCs as maximum power point controller based on MPPT
algorithms.

Keywords: PV system · DC-DC converter · MPPT · P&O · Automation PLC ·

Modeling

1 Introduction
PV solar systems present a promising alternative in terms of reliability and sustainability.
Companies either they are big or small, can with ease take advantage of their heavy
equipments and buildings to install PV modules and to cover a part of their power
expenses [1, 2]. Moreover, they can take advantage of the programmable logic controller
(PLC) of the equipment to control those PV modules.
On another hand, the automation PLC as a controller has a powerful programming
processor, high adaptability with a large kind of sensors, encoders, converters, inverters,
motors, etc.
To take full profits of the generated power, the PV module should operate at its
maximum power point [3], thus the tracking of the maximum power point (MPPT).
To track the maximum power point, many algorithms and techniques are available, the

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

J. Kacprzyk et al. (Eds.): AI2SD 2022, LNNS 714, pp. 179–189, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35245-4_17
180 H. Yatimi et al.

perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm [4, 5] will be used in this paper as a PLC driver
to control the PV system.
The control of the PV system by P&O-MPPT using automation PLC will be indeed
the principal element of the present study.
The P&O algorithm can be executed and adjusted using microcontrollers, FPGA,
arduino, or any other digital processor [6], the same as artificial intelligent algorithms
which are known for their robustness and accuracies, such Artificial Neural Network
(ANN) [6, 7] and Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC) [8, 9] that can also be used as MPPT
controllers. The ANN and the FLC structures are generally complicated and require
high performance hardware. Comparatively, P&O and IC as example of conventional
algorithm gives relatively lower performances, but they are easier to implement, for
example, P&O present fast response to any external perturbations related to climate
condition changes on the PV system and allow good tracking of the MPP [10].
On another hand, the automation PLC as a controller has a powerful programming
processor, high adaptability with a large kind of sensors, encoders, converters, inverters,
motors, etc. The control of the PV system by P&O MPPT using automation PLC will be
indeed the main contribution of the present study. The simulations were performed with
a standard PV module followed by a DC–DC boost converter and battery, all simulated
in Siemens TIA portal and the results will be plotted in WinCC flexible runtimes, the
ladder program will be loaded to Siemens PLC S7-1200.

2 System Description

The studied system is an automated off-grid PV system (Fig.1). It’s consisting of a PV

module, a DC-DC converter, MPPT controller which is the PLC and a battery. The
proposed system is automated; the automation PLC will track the MPP to maintain an
optimum charging condition of the battery by providing a specific duty cycle to the DC-
DC converter. On another hand, the hardware wiring of the PV module to the PLC unit
offers to the customer a real time visualization of the system through the used PLC’s
Human machine interface modules (HMI) [2].

Fig. 1. Block diagram of the off-grid PV system using a PLC as a controller

 Industrial Automation PLC Implementation 181

2.1 PV Modeling Using Automation PLC

The PV current equation [6, 7]:
q(V + IRs) V+IRs
I = Iph − I0 [exp( ) − 1] − Rp (1)
ηKT
i.e. I = f (I, V) is nonlinear, so a mathematical modeling of the PV module using a PLC
is a difficult and challenging task. In fact, Siemens TIA portal such as all other industrial
automation interfaces isn’t dedicated to deal with nonlinear mathematical equations as
Matlab, PSpice or any other mathematical solver does. In fact, For the PLC program the
PV current equation is interpreted as I2 = f (I1, V) with I = I1 = I2, so the execution
of (1) in the program of the PLC leads to an overlap because the output current of the
PV module ‘I’ will have two values at the same time, i.e. I1 and I2. As a solution and
to adapt the nonlinear current equation to the PLC logic, the program will be executed
in an organization block of interruption (OB30) for example [2] with 100 ms interrupt
cycle time) instead of the main organization block (OB1). Through OB30, the PLC will
treat the current equation as:
q(V + Iold Rs) V + Iold .Rs
Inew = Iph − I0 [exp( ) − 1]− (2)
VT Rp

An initial PV current value will be loaded to Iold to calculate the first value of the
current Inew using (2), and then Inew will be loaded in the next cycle time (100 ms) to
Iold for the next Inew calculation and so on. For the PLC logic, reserving two memory
cases (Inew and Iold) for the same parameter is treatable. Figure 2 shows the PLC
outcomes as I-V curves for several irradiation levels at 25 °C plotted in Siemens WinCC
flexible Runtime HMI. The poly-crystalline module, Kyocera KC200GT parameters [8]
will be used for the PV modeling simulation in this paper.
The PV module block shown in Fig. 2 will be called in the cyclic organization bloc
OB30 as a function block FB1. The main idea behind, is to design an autonomous PV
module block that can be called in the program whenever it is needed. The presence of
this block as an input of the system will be mandatory for MPPT simulations using the
automation PLC.
The PV modeling using the automation PLC S7-1200 described in this paper is
validated by observing the shape of the PV output current and power using Siemens
WinCC flexible runtime. Figure 2 shows the I-V curves of the used PV module using the
PLC, Fig. 3 shows the P-V curve using the PLC and Table 1 summarize the PV module
current and voltage outputs from [8] against the PV modeling using PLC outcomes.
As per Table 1, it’s clear that the PLC outcomes meet those extracted by [8]. Hence
the PLC gives good accuracy regarding the output current and consequently the power
despite the nonlinearity of the current equation.
182 H. Yatimi et al.

Fig. 2. PV modeling and I-V curves for several irradiation levels at 25 °C using S7-1200

Fig. 3. P–V curves for several irradiance levels at 25 °C using S7-1200

2.2 DC-DC Boost Converter Modeling Using Automation PLC

In the present study, the adaptation block is realized using a boost converter as shown
in Fig. 4 [9].
When the aim is to increase the voltage level, the best solution is to use a boost
converter, the desired voltage can be reached by adjusting the duty cycle (α) through the
MOSFET as shown in Fig. 4. The term (α) is defined as the ratio of the on the state (ton)
 Industrial Automation PLC Implementation 183

Table 1. Comparison of critical I-V points at STC

Extracted parameter From [8] From WinCC flexible

Short circuit current Isc (A) 8.21 8.20
Open circuit voltage Voc (V) 32.9 33
Maximum power point voltage Vmpp (V) 7.61 7.76
Maximum power point current Impp (A) 26.3 25.3
Maximum power point Pmpp (W) 201.1 196.3

Fig. 4. Circuit of the boost converter and battery load

of the switch to the total switching period T, i.e. α = ton/T. The output voltage can be
calculated according to the following equations [9]:

 dV

 Ci = I − IL

 dt


 L dIL = V − (1 − α)V

b
dt (3)

 dV

 b
 C = −Ib + (1 − α)IL
 b dt



Vb = Eb + Ib Rb

where I and V are respectively the output current and voltage of the PV module, IL
is the current flowing through the inductor. The boost converter setting parameters are
tabulated in Table. 2.
The system Eq. (3) of the boost converter is differential, which means that the
input/output current and voltage of the PV system needs to be calculated with inte-
gral function. However, the available mathematical functions in TIA Portal or any other
industrial software don’t contain an integral function, which means that it needs to be
designed and added to the PLC program as a block in the TIA portal [2].
In this paper, the Newton-Cotes mathematical formulas [10] widely used for numer-
ical integration will be adapted to the PLC program in the TIA portal. In fact, the PLC
program (OB30) is executed sequentially with 100 ms period basis; hence, the proposed
approach of Newton-Cotes formulas can be used [10], because the value of the integral
184 H. Yatimi et al.

Table 2. Setting parameters for the boost converter

Component Label Value

Input capacitor L 2.2.10–3 H
Boost capacitor Ci 47.10–3 F
Boost inductor Co 4.7.10–3 F
Load resistor Rb 2
Batteryvoltage Vb 48 V

at equally spaced points i.e. a new outcome every 100 ms will be given by the PLC,
which is a primordial condition for the precision of the Newton-Cotes method [10].
The mathematical formulas of Newton-cotes that are adapted to the PLC program
to calculate the input/output current and voltage are:

b n−1
b − a dI (t0 ) dI (ti ) dI (tn )
I= +2 + (4)
a 2n dt dt dt
i=1

b n−1
b − a dV (t0 ) dV (ti ) dV (tn )
V = +2 + (5)
a 2n dt dt dt
i=1

ti = ti−1 + 100 ms (6)

By using the integral block [2]. The voltage and current values of the system (7)
mainly IL, Vb and V can be calculated permanently and returned to the system for next
period cycle sequence i.e. 100 ms. The outputs of the integral block will be sent directly
to the boost block to solve the system equation of the DC-DC converter [2].

2.3 The Proposed P&O Algorithm Using Automation PLC

The proposed P&O block (Fig. 6) using Siemens PLC “S7-1200” under TIA portal
platform presents the structure of a closed-loop regulation where only a few controlled
parameters are involved. The PLC perturbs the voltage of the module periodically with
a very small incremental step. Figure 5, shows the ladder code in the TIA portal of the
proposed P&O algorithm. The algorithm is starting by the PV module power calculation
as shown in Fig. 5a, then via comparators, the PLC determines the sign of the power (dP)
and the voltage (dV) variation (as shown in Fig. 5b) to vary the duty cycle to increase
or decries the voltage to track the maximum power point.

3 System Description
A new MPPT ladder code using the P&O algorithm has been integrated into the PLC
S7-1200 program. The MPPT algorithm is carried by separating changes of weather
condition i.e. irradiation and temperature. Table 3 presents an overview of the important
 Industrial Automation PLC Implementation 185

statistics of the daily data-set locally measured from the experimental setup. In this
section, all simulations are performed using the mono-crystalline PV module SW255
[9].

Fig. 5. The proposed P&O algorithm using ladder code under TIA Portal

3.1 Rapidly Changing Irradiation Conditions

The robustness of the P&O algorithm using the automation PLC will be first tested
to the irradiation changes while the temperature remains constant at T = 25 °C, this
test determines whether the PLC through the MPPT algorithm is able to deal with the
changes as well as swift changes of the irradiation, the PV module will be exposed to a
varying irradiation i.e. 1 kW/m2 down to 0.2 kW/m2 and then back again progressively
186 H. Yatimi et al.

Fig. 6. The proposed P&O algorithm block under TIA Portal

Table 3. One day data-set measured from experimental setup using PV module SW255

January 24, 2015

LTD (hour) G (maximum) (W/m2 ) Ambient Temperature (°C) Cell’s Temperature (°C)
8:00 10.83333 6.7 7.35
9:00 45.83333 9.4 12.149
10:00 335.27778 13.5 33.62
11:00 513.05556 14.6 45.38
12:00 602.50000 15.6 51.75

but rapidly to 1 kW/m2 as shown in Fig. 7a. For the simulation, the solar irradiations
increases and decreases are considered as a linear function with respect to time.
As shown in Fig. 7a and Fig. 7c when a gradual change of irradiation from 0.2 kW/m2
to 1 kW/m2 is taking place, the P&O attempt to diverge outside the tracking direction,
assume that at the beginning of the process, the PLC tracks the MPP starting from the
point A toward the increasing MPP using the P&O algorithm, the operating power point
(OPP) oscillates around the MPP then moving back to the point B between the points A
and C. However, this divergence often accompanies a gradual change of irradiation.
On another hand, during the simulation, the algorithm tracks continuously the MPP as
shown to keep providing to the battery optimized voltage especially when the irradiation
changes rapidly and gradually between 0.2 kW/m2 and 1 kW/m2 as shown in Fig. 7c for
better charging conditions.
 Industrial Automation PLC Implementation 187

Fig. 7. Influence of irradiation variations on the MPP at constant temperature 25 °C

3.2 Rapidly Changing Temperature Conditions

The temperature like the irradiation can change suddenly, which impact the efficiency
of the PV module, the next simulation step is based on gradually change the temperature
to show up the direct impact of the temperature on the MPP and to test the robustness
of P&O algorithm using PLC to the temperature changes. In this face of the simulation
the PV module is responding to a temperature change from 25 °C to 10 °C followed by
a sharp variation covering the interval between 10 °C and 30 °C, then back to ambient
temperature. The irradiation is maintained at 1 kW/m2 . Figure 8a and Fig. 8b shows
the variation of the temperature and the Power with respect to time, respectively. As
per the curves, it is obvious that the power is inversely proportional to the temperature.
The increase of the temperature of PV cells reflected negatively on the electrical power
productivity i.e. when the temperature increases the current increases insignificantly
but the voltage decreases significantly and leads to reduce the power and efficiency
accordingly. At STC i.e. T= 25 °C and G= 1 kW/m2 the P&O algorithm pushes the
system to oscillate around the MPP = 255 W which concord with the maximum value
provided by the manufacturer. When the temperature changes to 10 °C, which implies an
increase in power level, the PV module power oscillates around 270 W and the PLC tracks
the MPP using P&O algorithm, when the temperature increases gradually and rapidly,
the power changes rapidly and the PLC via the P&O-MPPT algorithm tracks the MPP
in order to keep the module efficiency at its maximum which shows the robustness of
the P&O algorithm using the automation PLC to temperature changes.
188 H. Yatimi et al.

Fig. 8. Influence of temperature on the MPP at constant irradiation 1 kW/m2 : (a) Temperature
variations; (b) PV power variations

4 Conclusion
This paper presents a novel implementation of the MPPT algorithm in industrial automa-
tion PLC, the MPP was tracked using the P&O algorithm. The entire PV system was
modeled using Simatic TIA Portal. The automation PLC tracks the MPP successfully
and presents high adaptability and robustness to different climatic changes.
The present paper is elaborating on the development, simulation, and test of the
conventional P&O-MPPT algorithm using automation PLC for PV applications. The
main drawback of the used algorithm is the oscillation around the MPP. The following
of this work is optimizing the PV system power production based on robust algorithms,
such as backstepping, sliding mode control using automation PLC to overcome the
oscillation problems.

References
1. Hanane, Y., Elhassan, A.: Assessment and control of a photovoltaic energy storage system
based on the robust sliding mode MPPT controller. Sol. Energy 139, 557–568 (2016). https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2016.10.038
2. Ouberri, Y., Yatimi, H., Aroudam, E.: Design of a robust sliding mode controller for MPPT
based on automation PLC for PV applications. Int. Trans. Electr. Energy Syst. 30(4), 1–19
(2020). https://doi.org/10.1002/2050-7038.12296
3. Hanane, Y., Youness, O., Elhassan, A.: Control of autonomous PV system using the backstep-
ping MPPT controller under real climatic conditions in northern Morocco. J. Theoret. Appl.
Inf. Technol. 98(14), 2872–2888 (2020)
 Industrial Automation PLC Implementation 189

4. Hanane, Y., Youness, O., Marah, R., Elhassan, A., Chahid, S.: Design of an incremental
conductance maximum power point tracking controller based on automation PLC for PV
applications. In: 3rd IEEE International Conference on Electrical, Communication and Com-
puter Engineering, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pp. 1–6 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICE
CCE52056.2021.9514239
5. Ouberri, Y., Yatimi, H., Aroudam, E.: Modeling and simulation of PV module using industrial
automation PLC. In: 5th IEEE International Conference on Optimization and Applications.
Kenitra, Morocco, pp. 1–6 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICOA.2019.8727668
6. Ouberri, Y., Yatimi, H., Aroudam, E.: Industrial automation PLC-based modeling and diode
ideality factor impact on PV characteristics. In: 2nd IEEE International Conference of Com-
puter Science and Renewable Energies. Agadir, Morocco, pp. 1–8 (2019). https://doi.org/10.
1109/ICCSRE.2019.8807632
7. Ouberri, Y., Yatimi, H., Aroudam, E.: Design of a PV module block using the industrial
automation PLC for PV system application. Int. J. Autom. Control 15(4/5), 406–426 (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1504/IJAAC.2021.116421
8. Kashif, I., Zainal, S., Hamed, T.: Simple, fast and accurate two-diode model for photovoltaic
module. Solar Energy Mater. Solar Cells 95(2), 586–594 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sol
mat.2010.09.023
9. Hanane, Y., Youness, O., Chahid, S., Elhassan, A.: Control of an off-grid PV system based
on the backstepping MPPT controller. Procedia Manuf. 46, 715–723 (2020). https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.promfg.2020.03.101
10. Hanane, Y., Youness, O., Chahid, S., Elhassan, A.: A new iterative method based on Newton-
Cotes formula for system of nonlinear equations. Int. J. Math. Comput. Sci. 15(2), 633–639
(2020)