I.

INTRODUCTION

Maximum Power Point Tracking of Multiple Photovoltaic Arrays: A PSO Approach

MASAFUMI MIYATAKE, Member, IEEE Sophia University MUMMADI VEERACHARY, Senior Member, IEEE Indian Institute of Technology Delhi FUHITO TORIUMI NOBUHIKO FUJII Sophia University HIDEYOSHI KO Suzuka University of Medical Science Multiple photovoltaic (PV) modules feeding a common load is the most common form of power distribution used in solar PV systems. In such systems, providing individual maximum power point tracking (MPPT) schemes for each of the PV modules increases the cost. Furthermore, its v-i characteristic exhibits multiple local maximum power points (MPPs) during partial shading, making it difficult to find the global MPP using conventional single-stage (CSS) tracking. To overcome this difficulty, the authors propose a novel MPPT algorithm by introducing a particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique. The proposed algorithm uses only one pair of sensors to control multiple PV arrays, thereby resulting in lower cost, higher overall efficiency, and simplicity with respect to its implementation. The validity of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through experimental studies. In addition, a detailed performance comparison with conventional fixed voltage, hill climbing, and Fibonacci search MPPT schemes are presented. Algorithm robustness was verified for several complicated partial shading conditions, and in all cases this method took about 2 s to find the global MPP.

Manuscript received February 24, 2008; revised March 27 and July 21, 2009; released for publication August 16, 2009. IEEE Log No. T-AES/47/1/940035. Refereeing of this contribution was handled by W. Polivka. Authors addresses: M. Miyatake, F. Toriumi, and N. Fujii, Dept. of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Sophia University, Kioicho 7-1, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan, E-mail: (mveerachary@yahoo.co.in); M. Veerachary, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India; H. Ko, Dept. of Clinical Engineering, Suzuka University of Medical Science, Kishioka-cho 1001-1, Suzuka, Mie, Japan.

c 2011 IEEE 0018-9251/11/$26.00

Clean and renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic (PV) power generation are expected to become essential for mitigating global warming. It is possible to use PV power in distributed generation, transportation, and mobile applications, etc. Since PV sources exhibit nonlinear v-i characteristics, their power output mainly depends on the nature of the connected load. Hence, direct load connections to PV systems result in poor overall efficiency. As solar panels are still expensive, minimizing the cost of their life cycle has recently become an important consideration. To achieve some of these goals, direct connected PV systems are being replaced by PV systems having an intermediate maximum power point (MPP) tracker. The power generated from a given PV module mainly depends on solar irradiance and temperature. As these quantities vary with time, it is necessary to develop a control logic that continuously monitors the terminal voltage and current and updates the control signal accordingly. Furthermore, for optimal operation of a PV module, its terminal voltage must be equal to the corresponding MPP value. To achieve these goals, various conventional single-stage (CSS) MPP tracking (MPPT) algorithms [118] have been proposed and used to extract maximum power from PV arrays under different operating conditions. A Fibonacci search-based MPPT realization for PV sources has been reported [1920]. It compares the values of measured power at two operating points and then determines the operating point movement. It is similar to the hill-climbing method with variable step size; the only difference here is that the step size is determined by the Fibonacci sequence. The MPPT search performance, however, is almost identical to that of the conventional hill-climbing algorithm, and hence this scheme, Fibonacci based-search, also settles to local MPP under certain operating conditions. If a PV array is partially shaded by a building, a tree, and/or clouds, it becomes difficult for conventional MPPT schemes to extract maximum power. If modules with different optimal currents, caused by uneven insolation, are connected in series-parallel, MPPs often appear in the power versus voltage characteristic. This is because the optimal current of each PV module is nearly proportional to the insolation on it. Under these conditions, the conventional MPPT controller mostly finds local MPP instead of finding the global MPP. Hence, the generated PV power, as well as the overall system efficiency, is low. CSS-MPPT techniques mostly rely on perturb and observe steps and use the hill-climbing concept in subsequent iterations. While doing so, these methods constantly compare present and previous power values, and when they reach the first local maximum, the algorithm stops progressing in the forward
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direction. Additionally, these conventional methods extract maximum power only when the global MPP is the first peak power point. If the global MPP appears after the local MPP during the search process, the CSS methods hit the first peak of the local MPP and then settle or oscillate around this point only. Furthermore, these algorithms are not capable of identifying the local and global MPPs. Nevertheless, they are definitely able to capture at least one MPP, either local or global, that depends on the shape of the power versus voltage characteristic, which in turn depends on the shape of partial shading and its position on the PV module, the commencement of shading, and the search direction of the algorithm. Several research groups have made attempts to realize global MPPTs by evolving different algorithms [8]. Most of them use lengthy calculations, online sensed data, or special circuit configurations. Reference [21] introduces a typical two-stage MPPT scheme that requires accurate information about open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current. In addition, its expansion to two- or more dimensional control increases complexity. In this paper, the authors have made an attempt to simplify the MPPT algorithm as applied to multiple PV modules and to track global MPP even under partial shading conditions. In this context, the authors propose a particle swarm optimization (PSO) [2223] in order to realize the above mentioned features and demonstrate the utility of the PSO through experimental investigations. II. PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM Connecting all the PV modules either in series or in parallel alone is not recommended due to space limitations for installation in addition to the load voltage and current demands. Normally these are connected in series and parallel fashion in order to satisfy the required voltage and current demands. Modular connection has several advantages both from a physical layout as well as a load demand point of view. These can be broadly classified into two schemes from the MPPT point of view wherein 1) each modular PV system is provided with its own MPPT controller, and 2) all the modular PV systems are controlled by a single centralized MPPT controller. These schemes are shown in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively. Each has its own advantages as well as limitations. In these investigations, the authors have made an attempt to realize centralized MPPT control of the modular PV system. To demonstrate the proposed methodology, a system having two PV arrays with a centralized MPPT is discussed in this paper. A. Characteristics of Photovoltaic Array A PV module is composed of several solar cells connected in series-parallel and shielded with glass
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Fig. 1. Multiple arrays controlled by multiple MPPT controllers.

Fig. 2. Multiple arrays controlled by single centralized MPPT controller.

Fig. 3. I-V characteristics of solar cell.

to protect against environmental changes. Its v-i characteristic is shown in Fig. 3 wherein the current is almost proportional to solar insolation. Most PV modules also have a bypass diode and a reverse blocking diode. A typical PV generation system is composed of several such modules to meet the load power demand. Here a PV system consisting of two modules, associated with bypass diodes, connected in series is considered for global power point tracking investigations. Let us assume that one module is fully illuminated, while the second one is partially shaded. Under this condition, the current flowing through the two modules is the same as the modules are connected in series, but the current generated by the second module is less than that of the fully illuminated module. Hence, the excess current must flow through the bypass diode. The v-i characteristics of an individual module as well as the total PV system are shown in Fig. 4 where the existence of two MPPs, i.e., the local and global MPPs, are indicated. If there are more modules, the characteristics under uneven
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Fig. 4. Characteristics of PV modules connected in series.

factors: 1) its own previous best position and 2) the previous best position attained among all the agents. These points are expressed mathematically in two equations which specify the velocity and position update of the agent: vik+1 = wvik + c1 r1 pbesti + c2 r2 gbest
Fig. 5. Movement of a PSO agent in search space.

(1) (2)

sik+1 = sik + vik+1

insolation are complicated, and may exhibit two or more MPPs. In such cases, it becomes difficult to realize the MPPT using conventional methods. Even if it is possible to identify the global MPP, each module cannot be operated at the optimal condition, as their optimal current is inherently different at different insolations. If the PV system is divided into submodules and each such module is controlled with its MPPT controller, the power loss due to partial shading can be minimized. However, this scheme requires more voltage and current sensors as shown in Fig. 1. In order to reduce the cost as well as the problems associated with the tracking scheme, the control circuitry must be simple and easy to implement with a minimum number of sensors. To this end, the authors have proposed a new control scheme, shown in Fig. 2, wherein a single pair of voltage and current sensors is sufficient to realize the MPPT of the combined system. A detailed MPPT control technique based on this new scheme is discussed in the following lines. III. PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION APPLIED TO MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING CONTROL A. Particle Swarm Optimization The authors have proposed a PSO [22] technique to resolve some of the problems encountered in CSS MPPT control, as discussed in the preceding sections. The PSO method is a simple and effective metaheuristic approach that can be applied to a multivariable function optimization having many local optimal points. Several cooperative agents are used, and each agent shares or exchanges information obtained in its respective search process. In this method, each agent moves with a velocity vik in the search space, and this movement depends on two

where w is the learning factor; c1 and c2 are positive constants; r1 and r2 are the normalized random numbers and their range is (01). The variable pbesti is used to store the best position that the ith agent has found so far, and its position (3), is updated if condition (4) is satisfied. pbesti = sik f (sik ) > f (pbesti ): (3) (4)

Here f is the objective function that is maximized in each iteration cycle. The variable gbest is used to store the best position attained among the agents. During this optimization process, the agents movement is spread over the search space in different directions and for illustration; the trajectory of various quantities for one iteration cycle is drawn in Fig. 5. B. Application of Particle Swarm Optimization to Maximum Power Point Tracking The PSO algorithm described in the preceding section is now applied to realize the MPPT control of a PV system, wherein the P-V characteristic exhibits multiple local MPP. When two PV modules are connected in series and one of them is partially shaded, the shaded modules terminal voltage is different from that of the unshaded module. Under this condition, their terminal voltages are V 1, V 2 ; total power is P ; and their variation, in 3-D, is shown in Fig. 6. From this figure, it is clear that tracking to a global maximum is nothing but a multidimensional MPPT control problem, wherein both V 1 and V 2 must be controlled simultaneously. In general, if the PV array contains N number of modules, then each individual module voltage (V 1, V 2, : : : , V N ) must be controlled. Here, the terminal voltages of the individual PV modules are grouped together and represented in the form of an N -dimensional row
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Equations (8) and (9) form the basis for convergence detection of the agents and sudden changes in insolation, respectively. IV. DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENTAL DSP-BASED REAL-TIME PROTOTYPE SYSTEM Exhaustive investigations were made using a test bed of real-time digital signal processing (DSP)-based data acquisition integrated with the PV system. The tested PV array configuration consists of two PV arrays, PV1 and PV2, and each of the individual arrays again consists of six PV modules, (1Ax-1Ay-1Az) series string k (1Bx-1By-1Bz) series string (Fuji Electric Co.; ELR-615-160Z) connected in series-parallel, as shown in Fig. 9. Rated output power and voltage of each PV array is about 300 W and 50 V, respectively. A 3-phase intelligent power module (IPM) consisting of a suitable driver, voltage sensor, and current sensor are used for experimental circuit realization. Only two insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and diodes of IPM are used, and these are connected to form two different dc-dc boost converters, as shown in Fig. 10. DSP (DSP-TMS320C32)-based data acquisition is used to generate the pulsewidth modulated (PWM) gate signals, PWM-1 and PWM-2, and to realize the proposed MPPT control scheme. A voltage/current sensor pair is inserted in the load circuit, and this measures the total power generated by the two arrays including losses in the converter. The proposed PSO MPPT control program was developed in a C++ environment and is compiled and downloaded on to the DSP platform. A programmable electronic load is used to absorb the generated power, and it is set for constant battery voltage of 200 V. A 60 mH inductor is used as a boost inductor, and the converter is driven at a 10 kHz switching frequency. The output voltage vector sk is updated after every 0.05 s and follows the sequence of control as described in (7). PSO MPPT real-time implementation is briefly described in the flowchart shown in Fig. 7. The PSO algorithm parameters used in this paper are tabulated in Table I, which were obtained from experiments conducted on the real-time system. The proposed scheme is a kind of knowledge-based technique, wherein depending on the type of system, one needs to choose 1) the momentum factor (w), 2) the agents speed-determining constants c1 and c2 , and 3) the number of agents. Here w determines the inertia of agents. If it is too small, response is slow, but the agent can quickly change the direction of movement. If it is too large, response is also slow because it causes overshoot. The searching speed of each agent without the cooperation of other agents is determined by c1 . If it is too small, response is slow. If it is too large, some of the agents may converge at a local maximum point as the exchange of
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Fig. 6. Image of multidimensional function: PV power versus voltages.

vector as (5)
k k k k sk = [ V 1 ,V 2 ,:::,V i ,:::,V N]

(5)

where N is the size of the row vector, and it indicates the number of PV modules in the system. The velocity vector v can be written as
k k 1 k k 1 k k 1 vk = [V ,V ,:::,V ]: 1 V 2 V N V N 1 2

(6)

Here, the objective function f is the generated power P , which is the summation of power generated by each module. Assuming that there are M number of agents involved in the search process, the terminal voltage vector sk changes in the following order and also computes the power P (sk ) at each stage.
k k k ! s1 ! s2 ! ! sM k +1 k +1 k +1 ! s1 ! s2 ! ! sM ! :

(7)

This process is continued until the global optimum is reached, and in each iteration the position and velocities are updated as per the relationships defined by (1) and (2). In a real-time operation, the objective function f often changes due to environmental as well as electrical loading conditions. In such cases, the agents must be reinitialized to search for the new MPP again. If the reinitialization process is not implemented for the change in operating point due to change in solar insolations or load variations, pbest and gbest cannot be updated automatically. As a result, the agents stop searching for new MPP. The authors have modified the algorithm to resolve this problem, and now two additional constraints are imposed: 1) agents convergence detection and 2) detection of solar insolation change as defined by incremental power. Accordingly, the PSO algorithm reinitializes the agents whenever the following two conditions are satisfied. jvi+1 j < V jP (si+1 ) P (si )j > P: P (si )
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(8) (9)

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TABLE I Parameters of the PSO M w c1 V [V] 3 0.4 1.2 0.39 N c2 P 2 1.6 0.15

TABLE II Initial Position of Agents Agent 1 2 3 V 1 [V] 0:2V op 0:8V op 0:5V op V 2 [V] 0:2V op 0:5V op 0:8V op

Note: V op : Open circuit voltage of PV array.

Fig. 7. Flowchart of PSO algorithm experimental realization.

Fig. 8. PV power extraction rate with number of PSO algorithm agents.

Fig. 9. Connection diagram of PV modules.

information among the agents decreases. The constant c2 determines the searching speed of each agent with the cooperation of other agents. If it is too small, response is slow and the agents tend to converge at different points. If it is too large, all agents may converge quickly at the same point. Although it restricts the range of the search region, in some cases the agents may settle near the MPP location. More agents can find the MPP more easily even under complex shading conditions, but it takes more time to converge with all of the agents at the MPP. In the event that any one of the agents is far from the MPP,

the PV operates at a suboptimal power point and thus reduces the extracted energy. Hence, the main concern here, in MPPT applications, is faster convergence with a minimum number of agents. To demonstrate this aspect, the simulation results of percentage of PV extracted to the number of agents used is shown in Fig. 8. These results suggest that for the present PV array system, three agents is the optimal selection. In an ideal case, the initial positions of the agents can be assigned at random. However, random selection of all the agents may converge at a local maximum. Experimental observations revealed that 3040% of the agents initial positions may be chosen at random, while the remaining agents initializations should be made judiciously depending on the type of shadow expected. To maximize the generated power of the PV system under all operating conditions including partial shading cases, each one of the system modules must be controlled in such a way that their terminal voltages are equal to the corresponding MPPT voltages and their magnitudes vary between (0V op ). Here the PSO algorithm uses the agents help to identify each module optimal terminal voltage and then to maximize the total power output of the PV system. In the process of optimal terminal voltage identification, at the beginning, the PSO algorithm needs to initialize the agents position in the search space. Here since the search region is known explicitly (0V p ), the agents initial position can be assigned to a fraction of open-circuit voltage instead of having random locations during the initialization. Although several different combinations are possible for assigning these positions to the agents, one such feasible case is listed in Table II obtained from real-time experiments. Here, the three initial positions were chosen to match the typical position of MPP. Agents 1 and 2 are set near the MPP voltages of PV1 and PV2, 0:8V op and 0:5V op , while agent 3 is at a distance apart from the MPP in order to have better spread or movement among
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Fig. 10. Block diagram of experimental PV system.

them. The MPPT performance is not going to vary even if these values are reshuffled among the agents. However, the tracking performance depends on 1) the set of weights used for the agents, and 2) the relative magnitudes of V and P used in the reinitialization constraints. Selection of these parameters depends on several factors, of which the most important factors are 1) environmental factors, like solar radiation and temperature; 2) the nature of PV modules and solar insolation distribution on the given PV module; and 3) the shading area and its variation with time. As most of these quantities vary stochastically, generalizing the magnitudes of the parameters V and P is a complex task. However, to guide the particles effectively in the search space, the maximum drift (or) velocity during any iteration must be between the minimum and maximum velocity. To ensure this while tracking the power, the PV array voltage is constrained to 0:05V op < V i < 0:95V op so that the algorithm keeps track of the agents within the search region. In the process, if any of the agents fall beyond the range, the algorithm automatically fixes their extreme positions. For a given PV system, one can easily arrive at final values of V and P based on experimental observations. The meaning of the higher V is that the agents are moving actively at a higher speed, and thus the system reaches the optimal point quickly. Although the use of very large values for the V makes the algorithm (8) more sensitive, reinitialization of the agents takes place more frequently, which in turn causes larger power oscillations. Hence there are two issues in V selection: 1) smaller values result in better MPPT stability but poor tracking response and 2) higher values amount to faster tracking response at the expense of larger oscillations. Hence a balanced value must be chosen. However when P is large,
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the second constraint (9) may not be satisfied on account of smaller variations in actual power, and thus the agents reinitialization rate is smaller. In order to overcome these limitations and to achieve better tracking performance, V and P must be tuned simultaneously. The real-time experimental investigations reveal that use of extreme values for V and P should be avoided to ensure MPPT stability. Once the PV modules voltage information V k (k = 1, 2) given by (5) and (7) is known, the required duty ratios for the individual boost converter (Dk ) can easily be computed from (10). As this expression is based on the assumption of negligible drops due to nonidealities, the experimentally computed duty ratio will be slightly different from the one obtained through computations. Dk = 1 V. V k : V 0 (10)

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

To validate the proposed MPPT algorithm discussed in the preceding sections, exhaustive experimental studies were conducted on the actual PV system shown in Fig. 11. Real-time test measurements were presented for the following cases: 1) MPPT dynamic response of the PV system under the partial shading condition, 2) testing the algorithm tracking capability for various shading patterns, and 3) comparisons of the proposed MPPT scheme tracking capability with other MPPT methods. A. Proposed MPPT Scheme Dynamic Response The experimental power versus voltage profile of the PV system was measured under fine weather
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Fig. 11. Making artificial shade with sheets for observing response.

conditions, and it is represented by curve PV1 in Fig. 12. The shaded conditions are realized on modules 2Az and 2Bz, and then the PV systems total power characteristics are measured as indicated by PV2 in Fig. 12. From PV1 and PV2, one can see that there are two optimal operating voltages for the two PV arrays during partial shading, and both exhibit two local MPPs. In view of this, the two boost converters, which control the terminal voltages of each PV array, must be controlled at different duty ratios; failing to do so causes the PV system to track to the local maximum, thereby reducing the overall efficiency. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed tracking scheme, dynamic performance power characteristics were measured when the test conditions changed from fully illuminated to shaded; the measured results are shown in Fig. 13 for two different shading cases, case A and case B listed in Table III. These results indicate that the two individual PV arrays are now being operated at different duty ratios D1 and D2 . The above experimental results show that the global MPP can be tracked within 2 s even under partially shaded conditions. This tracking time includes the 0.05 s required to execute the proposed algorithm and takes about 20 iterations to reach the steady-state tracking point. B. Power Tracking with Various Shading Patterns The authors have also verified the control effectiveness of the proposed MPPT for various partial shading conditions (for identification of shaded modules refer to Fig. 9) as given in Table III, and in all these cases the tracking time was close to 2 s.

Fig. 12. Measured P-V curve of PV 1 and 2 under partial shade. TABLE III Tested Shading Patterns Case A B C D E Shaded Modules 2Az, 2Bz 2Bz 2Ay, 2Az, 2By, 2Bz 1Az, 1By, 1Bz, 2Bx, 2By, 2Bz 1By, 1Bz, 2By, 2Bz

For all these shading cases, dynamic power tracking experiments were conducted (in the interest of limiting paper length, dynamic response plots are not shown here), and the corresponding MPPT voltages of PV1 and PV2 along with the total power injected into the load are tabulated in Table IV. To verify these MPPT voltages, various V-I/P-V characteristics were obtained for identical shading conditions, as listed in Table III, by connecting a variable resistance across the PV system. In each case, the PV power (Pm ) and the respective MPPT voltages (V m exp ) were recorded and tabulated in Table IV. It is clear from this table that the measured voltages (V m exp ) and the voltages obtained from the PSO algorithm (V m pso ) are in close agreement for both PV modules except for case B wherein the PV2 power curve has 2 peak power points that are almost identical in magnitude but exhibit at two different voltages: 28 and 48 V. In addition, from each of these measurements, the power extracted from the PV (Ppso ) and absorbed by the load (P0 ) were also compiled and tabulated in Table IV for comparison. In all these observations,

TABLE IV PV Power and Operating Voltage for Different Shading Patterns PV1 voltage (Volt) Case A B C D E V m exp 48 48 48 30 45 V m pso 45 45 44 28 45 PV2 voltage (Volt) V m exp 28 48 48 45 45 V m pso 24 29 45 45 47 Pm 334 345 262 211 264 Power (Watts) Ppso 328 340 253 203 255 P0 310 325 235 185 240

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Fig. 13. Transient response of power absorbed by load and duty ratios. (a) Shading case A. (b) Shading case B.

the discrepancy in the maximum power value is less than 10 W. This slight discrepancy in power is primarily attributed to 1) inaccurate control of the individual array voltages, 2) slight mismatch of operating test conditions, i.e., the few minutes time difference between the measurement of P-V characteristics and the MPPT control experiments, and 3) slight mismatch of insolation levels. The proposed scheme can also be extended for PV systems consisting of more modules. However the adoptability of the proposed algorithm depends on several factors, of which the most important are 1) the nature of the PV modules employed for power generation; 2) the algorithm execution speed, which primarily depends on the type of partial shading and the number of agents used for the search process; and 3) the number of independent PWM channels that the given computational processing platform system is capable of handling/processing in a control cycle. From the algorithm point of view, a larger number of
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agents results in truer MPPT even under complicated shading patterns. However a large number of agents leads to a slower convergence rate, so a balanced number must be used, taking the above factors into account, to ensure good tracking speed and accuracy in maximum power tracking. C. Proposed MPPT Scheme Comparison with Other Tracking Methods

It is difficult to analyze, through simulations, the amount of energy obtainable with a PV system while taking into account the influence of partial shade. The difficulty lies in simulating the moving shadow as well as its shape in such a way that the simulation faithfully reflects the actual behavior of a PV system. Hence, the most reliable way to evaluate the merit of the proposed method is by having real-time measurements of generated energy for several hours. In the following list, performance
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TABLE V Weather and Solar Insolation Conditions used in the 4-different MPPT Testing Schemes Measured Illuminance at Noon [lx] 102 103 110 103 106 103 110 103 Solar Radiation Reported by JMA [MJ/m2 ] 7.03 7.40 6.90 7.65

Controller FIX HIL FIB PSO

Date 2007/Jan/05 2007/Jan/09 2007/Jan/10 2007/Jan/14

Status of Weather clear clear clear clear

of the proposed algorithm is compared with the three established MPPT schemes: 1) fixed voltage MPPT, 2) the hill-climbing algorithm, and 3) MPPT based on the Fibonacci search method. FIX: Fixed voltage, no control. The array voltage is not controlled but fixed at the MPP value at 10:00 A.M. The fixed voltage is optimal only when there is no shadow on the PV module. HIL: Hill-climbing method. This is the most widely used MPPT scheme. The method involves moving the operating voltage by one step and then examining the change in generated power. If the power increases, the operating point moves in the same direction; otherwise it moves in the opposite direction. Here the step size of the change in voltage is set to 0.8 V, and the required control cycle time is 0.1 s. FIB: Fibonacci search MPPT. A line search technique was proposed by the authors for the MPPT control of PV. The searching range was restricted and widened by using the Fibonacci sequence. Detailed algorithm and controller parameters are described in [19][20]. PSO: The proposed PSO-MPPT. Because of the constraints on the number of the experimental systems, only one MPPT scheme was tested on a given day. Therefore, 4 different clear days were chosen for conducting the experiments, and the weather information for all these days is listed in Table V. Additionally, the experiments were carried out in the month of January as the weather is clear and more stable in Tokyo, Japan, during this period. The altitude of the sun was almost the same during these 4 days because this January period is near the winter solstice. The illuminance on these 4 days was also measured in order to ensure a fair enough comparison. The measured temperature and solar radiation in central Tokyo, reported by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) [24], is plotted in Fig. 15. The weather data were measured about 2 km east of the PV system location. This figure demonstrates that for the 4 days chosen for the experiment, the weather profile in Tokyo was almost the same and hence the test conditions for the 4 days were almost similar. Furthermore the JMA also reported the duration of sunshine information

Fig. 14. Moving artificial shade realization with stacked boxes.

on all these four days on an hourly basis, as shown in Fig. 15, which indicates clear weather and almost identical test conditions. Fig. 14 shows that artificial shade was realized by using stacked boxes, which emulated a shadow moving with time. In addition, the stacked boxes were arranged such that the shadow was always covering a portion of the PV module throughout the experimentation time from 10 to 14 hrs. The experimental measurements, obtained from different MPPT schemes conducted on four different days are tabulated in Table VI. The corrected energy, given in Table VI, was computed using the ratio of global solar radiation (GSR) on the measuring day to that of GSR obtained on January 05, 2007. The correction eliminates the influence of different
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in Fig. 16(d), even under complicated partial shading conditions, and hence the amount of generated energy in this case was comparatively higher than those of the other tracking methods discussed above. The FIX, HIL, and FIB tracking methods show unwanted oscillations in their power and voltage curves. These oscillations were mainly due to 1) fluctuations of the operating point, 2) the algorithms shortcomings with respect to systems in which solar insolation is not uniformly distributed, and 3) the algorithms inability to identify the global optimum point when the power curve exhibits multiple local MPPs. In view of these reasons, the three power tracking algorithms were unable to track the true MPP when the PV array was covered with a slowly moving shade. The above discussions clearly demonstrate the proposed MPPT controllers power extracting feature, both in normal as well as in partial shading conditions, and hence this PSO-based tracking scheme provides a feasible alternative solution to real-time PV systems. VI. CONCLUSIONS
Fig. 15. Data of temperature and solar radiation in central Tokyo reported by JMA [24]. TABLE VI Generated Energy of the PV System with Different MPPT Schemes Measured Energy [Wh] 184.5 246.2 228.1 269.2 Corrected Energy [Wh] 184.5 233.9 232.4 247.4

Controller FIX HIL FIB PSO

Note: Measured for 4 hrs duration.

A novel MPPT algorithm using a PSO technique was proposed to control several PV arrays with one pair of voltage and current sensors. As the proposed scheme is a multidimensional search-based technique, it is able to find the global MPP even under complex partial shading conditions. The developed algorithm is simple and also reduces the cost of the data acquisition system. Experimental comparison with various tracking schemes demonstrated its novelty as well as its validity. The PSO algorithm took about 1 to 2 s to find the global MPP. Additionally, this response time was observed to be almost independent of the search space dimensions and shape of the partial shading.
REFERENCES [1] Enslin, J. H. R., Wolf, M. S., Snyman, D. B., and Swiegers, W. Integrated photovoltaic maximum power point tracking converter. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 44, 6 (1997), 769773. Hua, C., Lin, J., and Shen, C. Implementation of a DSP-controlled photovoltaic system with peak power tracking. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 45, 1 (1998), 99107. Veerachary, M., Senjyu, T., and Uezato, K. Neural-networkbased maximum-powerpoint tracking of coupled-inductor interleaved-boost-converter-supplied PV system using fuzzy controller. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 50, 4 (2003), 749758. Al-Atrash, H., Batarseh, I., and Rustom, K. Statistical modeling of DSP based hill-climbing algorithms in noisy environments. In Proceedings of Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), 2005, 17731777. JANUARY 2011

solar radiations on the measured energy. The graph of instantaneous voltage and power for each MPPT scheme is also shown in Fig. 16. It should be noted that there is a difference in energies extracted by the different MPPT schemes. This is mainly due to the nature of the corresponding MPPT algorithm. The FIX, HIL, and FIB power tracking methods show lower generated energies compared with that of the proposed PSO algorithm. The PV system was exposed to partial shading from 10:00 A.M. onwards, shown in Fig. 16, and the three conventional tracking algorithms were unable to find the best operating point, i.e., the MPP, until 11:20 A.M. From this time instant onward, the three algorithms settled to a somewhat better operating point, and hence the power extracted was also somewhat higher than that of the preceding time interval. However the proposed PSO algorithm was capable of finding the optimal operating point quickly, as evidenced from the experimental results and shown
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Fig. 16. Measured power curve with different MPPT controllers. (a) Power tracking with FIX-MPPT controller. (b) Power tracking with HIL-MPPT controller. (c) Power tracking with FIB-MPPT controller. (d) Power tracking with PSO-MPPT controller.

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Veerachary, M., Senjyu, T., and Uezato, K. Voltage based maximum power point tracking control of PV system. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 38, 1 (2002), 262270. Veerachary, M., Senjyu, T., and Uezato, K. Feedforward maximum power point tracking of PV System using fuzzy controller. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 38, 3 (2002), 969981. Kasa, N., Iida, T., and Chen, L. Flyback inverter controlled by sensorless current MPPT for photovoltaic power system. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 52, 4 (2005), 11451152. Esram, T. and Chapman, P. L. Comparison of photovoltaic array maximum power point tracking techniques. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 22, 2 (June 2007), 439449.

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Masafumi Miyatake (M00) received the B.E., M.E., and Dr. Eng. degrees from the University of Tokyo, Japan, in 1994, 1996, and 1999, respectively. Since April 1999, he joined the Tokyo University of Science as a research associate. In April 2000, he joined Sophia University, Japan, where he is currently an associate professor of the Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His research interests include renewable energy, energy management control, power electronics, and their applications to transportation systems. He is a member of the IEEJ.
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Mummadi Veerachary (M00SM04) was born in Survail, India, in 1968. He received the Bachelors degree from the College of Engineering, Anantapur, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad, India in 1992, the Master of Technology degree from the Regional Engineering College, Warangal, India in 1994, and the Dr. Eng. Degree from the University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan in 2002. From 1994 to 1999, he was an assistant professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, JNTU College of Engineering, Anatapur. From October 1999 to March 2002, he was a research scholar with the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of the Ryukyus. Since July 2002, he has been with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India where he is currently an associate professor. His fields of interest are power electronics and applications, modeling and simulation of large power electronic systems, design of power supplies for spacecraft systems, control theory application to power electronic systems, and intelligent controller applications to power supplies. Dr. Veerachary was the recipient of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society Travel Grant Award for the year 2001, Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Electrical Engineering (ICEE-2000) held in Kitakyushu, Japan, and Best Researcher Award for the year 2002 from the President of the University of the Ryukyus. He is an editorial member of IET Proceedings on Power Electronics, Institution of Engineering & Technology, UK, and the Journal of Power Electronics. He is a member of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society and the Institution of Engineers India. He is currently serving as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems and the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. He is listed in Whos Who in Science and Engineering 2003.

Fuhito Toriumi received the B.E. and M.E. degrees from Sophia University, Japan in 2006 and 2008, respectively.

Nobuhiko Fujii received the B.E. and M.E. degrees from Sophia University, Japan in 2005 and 2007, respectively. He is now with Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
MIYATAKE ET AL.: MPP TRACKING OF MULTIPLE PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAYS: A PSO APPROACH 379

Hideyoshi Ko received the B.E., M.E. and Dr. Eng. degrees from Sophia University, Japan in 2000, 2004, and 2007, respectively. He joined Suzuka University of Medical Science, Japan, where he is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Engineering. His research interests include mathematical optimization, metaheuristics, and theri applications. Dr. Ko is a member of the IEEJ.
380 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AEROSPACE AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS VOL. 47, NO. 1 JANUARY 2011