Single-Cell Photovoltaic with Integrated Converter

Ahmed Hassan, Emad Abdelkarem, Mahrous E. Ahmed and Mohamed Orabi

APEARC, South Valley University, Aswan 81542, Egypt orabi@ieee.org

Yuncong Jiang and Jaber A. Abu Qahouq

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, USA jaberq@eng.ua.edu

AbstractDust and shade have severe effects on the output of Photovoltaic (PV) modules especially in urban area. This problem is a major issue in order to achieve low cost and high efficiency PV system. This paper proposes a Power Conditioning System (PCS) suitable for PV module using single-cell architecture. The Ripple Correlation Control (RCC) has been employed to harvest the maximum cell power with 1 MHz switching frequency. This high switching frequency gives the advantage of decreasing the whole PCS components size drastically through applying integration techniques. This also enables to attach the developed integrated PCS into the PV cell itself. The paper provides PCS components design and simulation results as well as demonstrates the proposed idea. Keywords-PV;integration; high frequency; shadow; efficiency.

occurred for some of these cells, the output power is reduced if a bypass diodes are used to eliminate the shaded ones [1] - [3]. If the series connected cells have no bypass diodes, the maximum obtained power will be low but it still has one MPP on the PV curve. Using bypass diodes makes the phenomenon of multiple peaks on PV characteristic curve appears as shown in Fig. 1. If the irradiance level on PV arrays uniform, only one MPP exists on P-V characteristic. However under non uniform insulation, multiple maximum power points will exist on the PV curve because of using bypass diodes.

I. INTRODUCTION Solar cells are connected in series and parallel to form the PV module. The performance of the PV module is affected by the solar irradiance and shading condition. Due to the partial shading and based on Kirchhoffs current law, the current in the series elements (PV cell) is determined by the lowest illuminated one. So the shaded cell absorbs power instead of generates power that causes the cell temperature to rise thus leading to irreversible heating damage on the PV module thats called the hot spot effect [1]. The hot spot effect is eliminated by the bypass diodes connected in parallel with the solar cells thus result in significant reduction at the output power generation and it makes the overall Maximum Power Point (MPP) shifts from its correct position into another virtual point. From the point of view of large-scale PV energy systems, this technical problem makes the PV system inefficient and the delivered power is low.

Figure 1. The shadow effect on the P-V curve.

II. PROBLEM CONTEXT To improve the efficiency of the PV system, the above mentioned problems should be studied and solved. One of the main problems is the partial shading. The common system has the cells connected in series together (about 36/72 cells per module) to get a satisfied output voltage. If a partial shade is

o Mismatching & Aging effect The partial shading isnt the only problem in PV system to be faced. The mismatching in the cells fabrication process such as temperature, illumination and aging effects create different solar cell maximum power points based on the resultant different features. To obtain the optimal operation of PV modules, Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) is commonly used [2]. Most of the MPPTs are used today to control systems composed of panels or modules. Therefore, they cant handle the partial shading, hotspot and mismatching effects. In this paper, a new

978-1-4577-1250-0/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE

idea is proposed to handle these effects. The idea is to control every PV cell with its own MPPT so that every cell is free to deliver its maximum power. To make this idea feasible, an integrated MPPT control with the power conditioning is proposed to be attached and integrated with every cell as shown in Fig. 2.

noting that the value of the current and the power do not affect the control response. Only the ripple or the ripple sign are required to be taken in consideration which is one of the advantages for RCC. RCC compares the current ripple sign and the power ripple sign to determine the required action in the next duty cycle step by the integrator [1], [4], [9]. The governor control law is: (3)

MPPT

Cell

Cell

MPPT

Cell

Vpv

cell
MPPT
Cell

Cell

MPPT IC
Figure 2. PV cells integrated with their MPPT.

dIL

dP

III. RIPPLE CORRELATION CONTROL Ripple Correlation Control (RCC) has the art from its name rather than the algorithm steps. This algorithm uses the current ripple and the power ripple to determine whether is above or below . From the P-I characteristic curve it can be found that if , the ripple of is in phase with the ripple of the power. On the other hand, when , the ripple of is out of phase with the ripple of the power. As a result the maximum power point can be determined [1], [3]. This decision can be rewritten in mathematical form as:
D

1 S

Time

Figure 3. RCC control waveforms; PV voltage, inductor ripple current, PV ripple power and gate signal for current set point .

If If

(1) (2)

Vpv

dIL

From (1), should be increased if the product of the inductor current and input power slope is greater than zero. Otherwise, it should be decreased. By this action should approach . One way to do this is by integrating the product such as:

dP

1 S

Time(s)
Time

The operation principles of the RCC based on the above discussion and equation have been implemented and the results are shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. Figure 3 shows the circuit waveforms for the PV voltage, inductor ripple current, PV ripple power (change in power values) and the obtained gate signal (d) for the case described in (1). Similarly, Fig. 4 shows the same waveforms for the case described in (2). It is worth

Figure 4. RCC control waveforms; PV voltage, inductor ripple current, PV ripple power and gate signal for current set point .

In this scenario, the noise caused by the differentiator is clipped by sign function. This is easily done in electronics

hardware using simple logic or saturating op-amp. The signs of the current and the power need to be compared together which can be done with many ways [5], [6], and [7]. One of these ways is multiplying the two signs such as: When;

characteristic P-V curve and V-I curve from the following equations:

(3) (4)

Where; and

(5)

When;

Start

XOR or XNOR gates can be used instead of using a multiplier (XOR with the buck converter because , and XNOR with the boost converter because ). The boost converter [8] will be used in this paper. o RCC response RCC updates the duty cycle with the speed of the switching frequency, so there are many challenges will be faced because of the high switching frequency. First challenge is to operate the system in high frequency which allows using very large scale integration (VLSI) [10] - [11] on-chip. High frequency needs a fast response of the controller blocks which is the second challenge because the high response leads to more power dissipation in the controller which is the third challenge [10] - [13]. The converter and the controller operate as a maximum power point tracker with only one cell (one diode cell) with about 0.55 volt and low power output. So we selected a large scale diode that can deliver a short circuit current about 6 Amp which gives about 2 Watt at maximum power point at normal operation conditions for temperature and illuminations. This cell can operate at higher efficiency compared with the other cells. The small values of the cell power (2 W) and the cell voltage (0.55 V) are other challenges. Because of the small value of voltage, the boost converter is used instead. Fig. 5 shows the low chart for RCC method. It shows the way of thinking to increment or decrement the duty cycle to reach the optimum point of operation.

Measure V(t),I(t)

Calculate dV(t) ,dP(t) ,

Calculate
Sign(dV(t)) ,Sign(dP(t))

Yes

IF Sign(dV0=Sign(dP)

No

Increment D

Decrement D

IV. PV CELL MODEL For simulating PV cell or module there are many PV models like [16] and [17]. The first model in [16] gives the

Go to start
Figure 5. RCC thinking way.

Where;

It shows typical waveform characteristics, as the temperature increases the cell current and voltage limit values are decreased. On the other side, as the temperature increases, the cell MPP is decreased too.

6.2 6

Current(A)

310T 310T 330T 340T

Power(w)

Figure 6 (a) shows the circuit diagram of the PV cell and Fig. 6 (b) represents the mathematical model of the PV cell based on the above cell equations (3) (5). It can be noted that for single cell, and should be chosen to be 1. The used cell type P-Max-6000mA which has been adopted in this work has been simulated based on the given model in equations (3) (5) for different operating conditions. Figure 7 (a) and (b) shows the cell I-V and P-V characteristics for different values of environmental temperature.

.1

.2

.3

.4

.5

Volt(V)
(a)
3

2 330T 320T 310T

340T 1

Cell output

Ipv

Vpv

.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Volt(V)

(b) Figure 7. PV cell caharacterestics with changing the temperature (a) I-V, (b) P-V.

(a)

6.1

Current(A)

5.6

1000 rem 900 rem

2.4

400 rem

0.1

0.2

Volt (V)

0.3

0.4

0.5

(a)
2.5 1000 rem

Power(w)

2 900 rem 1.5 1 0.5 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 400 rem

Volt(V)

0.4

0.5

(b) Figure 6. The PV cell (a) circuit, (b) mathematical model.

(b) Figure 8. PV cell caharacterestics with changing the isolation (a) I-V ,(b) P-V.

Fig. 8 (a) and (b) shows the cell I-V and P-V characteristics for different values of isolations. It shows typical waveform characteristics, as the isolation value increases the cell current and voltage limit values are increased and thus the power increased too. It can be noted that the speed of change in the isolation values is higher than that of the change in the temperature. However the speed of change of both environmental variables is not very important due to the high switching frequency proposed in this paper (1 MHz). The main problem of this model [16] is the small values of power and voltage for single cell. So it is suitable for simulating and testing the PV module rather than the PV cell. Using this model [16] for single PV cell will give inaccurate results. The second PV model [17] has a very good curve that can be like the actual one of cell. It is more accurate where it depends on more parameters that can give the P-V and V-I characteristic curve like the accurate one. (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11)

(a)

(12) Based on the above equation (6) (12), the PV cell mathematical model can be formulated as shown in Fig. 9. This model can be used to simulate and test the PV cell. It can be noted that, model [17] is easier than [16] where more parameters are used. But [17] cannot operate at or near open circuit voltage, because it will give an irregular output. Table (I) shows the parameters which used to get the curve of the cell P-V and V-I characteristic.
TABLE I. THE EQUATIONS PARAMETERS OF PV MODEL [17].

(b) Figure 9. The PV cell mathematical model [17].

The previous two models are designed to operate in specific region of power, voltage and current to get a curve near to the actual one. The used cell has a high current value with respected to the output voltage, while the PV module has a high voltage value compared with its current value. The proposed mathematical model is compromised from the two previous models [16] and [17] to give an accurate results to reach the desired curve [18], [19], [20], [21]. It can be noted that the PV mathematical model is used only for simulation and in hardware implementation is replaced with the real circuit. Figure 10 shows the P-V and V-I characteristic curves of the PV cell model based on the combination of the model in [16] and [17].

7.0 7

Power&current

6.0 6

PV current(Amp)

5 5.0 4 4.0 3 3.0

2.0 2

high [26]. The high current ripple can be an advantage because the input of the controller is the current and voltage ripple so the controller isnt in need to amplify the input (or low amplification). o The controller blocks The next step is to do the boost converter that can deliver the maximum power to the load. This converter duty cycle is the main driver of the system which will be controlled by the RCC controller. Figure 12 shows the block diagram of the controller which based on the RCC law. Figure 13 shows the details of the controller block diagram. The controller blocks are: Multiplier: is used to calculate the power signal from the sensed current and voltage signals. This multiplier should be as accurate as possible because its ripple will be used as the ripple is smaller than the DC value [22]. The differentiator: The differentiator or the high pass filter to get the ripple of the current and power that will be used in the next step of the controller [22], [23], [24]. The control law becomes; (4)

PV_Power(W)

1.0 1

1 0V V(R3:2) *I(V1144)

I(V1144)

.1

.2

Volt(V)
V_V1144

.3

.4

550mV

.5

Figure 10. The characteristic curve of the PV cell model.

L
Vpv Ipv

PV model

RL

Gate driver PWM

Figure 11. PV model, boost converter and gate driver circuit.

Sign block: the value of the ripple is not important but the sign will be used instead. The sign block can be saturated op-amp or simple logic electronic circuit [23] and [24]. buck converter) is to determine that the two signs are in phase or out of phase and until the integrator that is lower or higher than . The multiplier will be used instead of XNOR as mentioned before.

Diff Ipv

Sign XN OR Integr ator K PWM 1MHz D

XNOR: The main purpose of the XNOR (XOR with

V in

Multi.

Diff

Sign The controller algorithm

Figure 12.The block diagram of the controller.

The integrator: It is an op-amp with a feedback contains capacitor, which multiplies the input signal and the time to increment or decrement the duty ratio.

o The boost converter: The boost converter is one of the base converters. Its conversion ratio M (D) is (13) Figure 11 shows the schematic diagram of the boost converter. It should be noted here that the boost converter uses a synchronous switches because of the very low voltage of the PV cell. The converter operates at high frequency; as a result the inductor and the capacitor have very small values which are suitable for integration. In testing it, the load resistance should be small to assure that the converter in the continuous conduction mode because the output current ripple is slightly

V. SIMULATION RESULTS The proposed has been simulated using ORCAD software to verify the performance of the proposed idea. Single PV cell with rating of Pmax 2 W, I = 6 A, and V = 0.55 V has been used. A boost dc-dc synchronous converter operating at 1 MHz switching frequency is employed. The RCC control algorithm integrated with the PV cell has been adopted to verify the performance of the proposed system. Some selected of the simulation results have been provided. Figure 14 (a) and (b) show the voltage, current, power and the duty cycle over and lower the maximum power respectively.

Differentiator 10k

Sign generator

Ipv

10nF V out

Analog XNOR

Integrator

Inverting Amp

V out

+ + 10k

50pF R2

1M
XNOR

V out

R1 V out

To Duty ratio command

Vpv
AD835

10nF V out

+ + V out

Ipv
+

Figure .13. Schematic of RCC circuit.

4.3v Vpv 4.2v 4.2A Ipv 4.0A 1.7w P 1.5w 10 D 0

1uS

D d V P
(a)

6v 0 10
0V V(E2:OUT+)

7V

7.2V

0 0.6v
7.0V 400mV

V(N291980)

0 3w 0

100mV V(N268303) 2.45

SEL>> 0.90 0s V(E1:3) *V(E3:3) /10

30us

60us

15uS

Time(sec)

Time

Figure 15. Duty cycle, duty ratio comand,voltage and output power.

2.8v Vpv 2.6v 4.2A Ipv 4.0A 1.7w P 1.5w 10 D 0

1uS

7A

1000 rem 400 rem

1000 rem

Ipv
0 0.6v
1000 rem

1000 rem 400 rem

Vpv
0 3w
1000 rem

1000 rem 400 rem

P
0

(b)

Time(sec)
Figure 16. PV current, voltage and output power.

Figure 14. The voltage, current, power and duty cycle (a) over than MPP (b) less than MPP.

0.6 0.5

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This work is sponsored in part by the U.S. - Egypt Science and Technology Joint Fund in cooperation with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under USDA Project # 58-3148-0-204 and Egyptian Science and Technology Development Funds (STDF) under STDF project # 1954. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.
Time(s)
Fig .17. The voltage under changing temprature.

Volt(V)

0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1

REFERENCES
Esram, T. Kimball, J.W. Krein, P.T. Chapman, P.L. Midya, P, Dynamic Maximum Power Point Tracking of Photovoltaic Arrays Using Ripple Correlation Control, Power Electronics, IEEE Transactions ,vol 21, no 5 ,September 2006. [2] P. D. Van den Heever, S. Oberholzer, and J. H. R. Enslin, Highefficient solar panel/wind turbine converter with maximal power control, in Proc. Eur. Conf. Power Electron. Appl., 1989, pp. 663668. [3] J. J. Schoeman and J. D. van Wyk, A simplified maximal power controller for terrestrial photovoltaic panel arrays, in Proc. 13th Annu. IEEE Power Electron. Spec. Conf., 1982, pp. 361367. [4] C. R. Sullivan and M. J. Powers, A high-efficiency maximum power Point tracker for photovoltaic arrays in a solar-powered race vehicle, in Proc. 24th Annu. IEEE Power Electron. Spec. Conf., 1993, pp., 574580 [5] A. F. Boehringer, Self-adapting dc converter for solar spacecraft power supply, IEEE Trans. Aerosp. Electron. Syst., vol. AES-4, no. 1, pp. 102111, Jan. 1968. [6] E. E. Landsman, Maximum Power Point Tracker for Solar Arrays. Boston, MA: Mass. Inst. Technol. Lincoln Labs, 1978. [7] S. Yuvarajan and S. Xu, Photo-voltaic power converter with a simple maximum-power-point-tracker, in Proc. Int. Symp. Circuits Syst., 2003, pp. III-399III-402 [8] M. A. El-Shibini and H. H. Rakha, Maximum power point tracking technique, in Proc. Integr. Res., Ind. Educ. Energy Commun. Eng. Electrotech. Conf., 1989, pp. 2124 [9] C.-T. Pan, J.-Y. Chen, C.-P. Chu, and Y.-S. Huang, A fast maximum power point tracker for photovoltaic power systems, in Proc. 25th Annu. Conf. IEEE Ind. Electron. Soc., 1999, pp. 390393. [10] T. Esram and P. L. Chapman, Comparison of photovoltaic array maximum power point tracking techniques, Vol 22, Energy Conversion, IEEE Transactions on , June 2007 [11] P. T. Krein, Ripple correlation control, with some applications, in Proc. 1999 IEEE Int. Symp. Circuits Syst., 1999, pp. 283286. [12] P. Midya, P. T. Krein, R. J. Turnbull, R. Reppa, and J. Kimball, Dynamic maximum power point tracker for photovoltaic applications, in Proc. 27th Annu. IEEE Power Electron. Spec. Conf., 1996, pp. 1710 1716. [13] D. L. Logue and P. T. Krein, Observer-based techniques in ripple correlation control applied to power electronic systems, in Proc. 32nd Annu. IEEE Power Electron. Spec. Conf., 2001, pp. 20142018. [14] Leyva, R. Alonso, C. Queinnec, I. Cid-Pastor, A. Lagrange, D. Martinez-Salamero, L, MPPT of photovoltaic systems using extremum - seeking control , Aerospace and Electronic Systems, IEEE Transactions on ,Vol 42 , Jan. 2006 . [15] Villalva, M.G. Gazoli, J.R. Filho, E.R. Modeling and circuit-based simulation of photovoltaic arrays, Power Electronics Conference, 2009. COBEP '09. Brazilian, Sept. 27 2009-Oct. 1 2009. [1]

When the current and the voltage are in phase (increase together or decrease together), thus the output power is less than the maximum power point. To determine how the RCC tracks the MPP of the PV cell the duty cycle was first varied manually (open loop) until the maximum average power output was recorded or by drawing the PV characteristic curve of the cell and determine the maximum average power output. Then the RCC was closed and the power was measured again. This was repeated with the PV cell at different irradiation levels .Note that there is about .1 Watt difference between open loop and closed loop powers as an error. The percentage error increases as the power decreases. Figure 15 shows the output power of the PV cell and the duty cycle with closed loop system. Figure 16 shows the output power current and voltage at a step change of the irradiation level from 1000 to 200 to 1000 which explain the main purpose of the MPPT when partial shading occurs. Figure 16 demonstrates that the PV cell will deliver the maximum power under all conditions of the irradiance and temperature without using bypass diodes which caused multiple peaks in PV curve or using MPPT with large number of cells which cannot solve the problems of Mismatching & Aging of the cells [10].

VI. CONCLUSION This paper has presented a PV cell integrated with the RCC control. A PV cell of ratings Pmax = 2W, V = 0.55 V, and I = 6 A has been chosen. A dc-dc synchronous boost converter has been adopted because of the very low cell output voltage. A switching frequency of 1 MHz has been employed to facilitate system integration. Several major benefits of the proposed circuit technology are summarized below: The partial shading is totally eliminated. The shaded cell will give power related to the received illumination. Smaller passive components and high efficiency can be achieved, which makes it very cost-effective. Make the cell durability more than earlier.

[16] M. Veerachary. PSIM circuit-oriented simulator model for the nonlinear photovoltaic sources. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 42(2):735 740, April 2006. [17] Gow, J.A. Manning, C.D, Development of a photovoltaic array model for use in power-electronics simulation studies. Electric Power Applications, IEEE Proceedings, Mar 1999. [18] Ali Naci Celik and NasIr Acikgoz, Modeling and experimental verification of the operating current of monocrystalline photovoltaic modules using four- and five parameter models, applied Energy, 84(1):115, January 2007. [19] Shengyi Liu and R. A. Dougal. Dynamic multiphysics model for solar array. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 17(2):285294, 2002. [20] Y. Yusof, S. H. Sayuti, M. Abdul Latif, and M. Z. C. Wanik. Modeling and simulation of maximum power point tracker for photovoltaic system. In Proc, National Power and Energy Conference, PECon, p. 88 93, 2004. [21] H. S.-H. Chung, K. K. Tse, S. Y. R. Hui, C. M. Mok, and M. T. Ho, A novel maximum power point tracking technique for solar panels using a SEPIC or Cuk converter, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 717724, May 2003. [22] J. A. M. Bleijs and A. Gow, Fast maximum power point control of current-fed DC-DC converter for photovoltaic arrays, Electron. Let, vol. 37, pp. 56, Jan. 2001. [23] N. Kasa, T. Iida, and H. Iwamoto, Maximum power point tracking with capacitor identificator for photovoltaic power system, in Proc. 8th Int. Conf. Power Electron. Variable Speed Drives, 2000, pp. 130135. [24] K. K. Tse, B. M. T. Ho, H. S.-H. Chung, and S. Y. R. Hui, A comparative study of maximum power point trackers for photovoltaic panels using switching frequency modulation, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 410418, Apr. 2004. [25] J. R. Wells, P. L. Chapman, and P. T. Krein, Applications of ripple correlation control of electric machinery, in Proc. IEEE Int. Elect. Machines Drives Conf., 2003, pp. 14981503. [26] K. Irisawa, T. Saito, I. Takano, and Y. Sawada, Maximum power point tracking control of photovoltaic generation system under non-uniform insulations by means of monitoring cells, in Proc. 28th IEEE Photovoltaic. Spec. Conf., 2000, pp. 17071710. [27] K. Kobayashi, I. Takano, and Y. Sawada, A study on a two stage maximum power point tracking control of a photovoltaic system under partially shaded insulations conditions, in Proc. IEEE Power Eng. Soc. General Meeting, 2003, pp. 26122617.

Energy Efficient Fine-grained Approach for Solar Photovoltaic Management System

Yuncong Jiang*, Student Member, IEEE , Jaber A. Abu Qahouq*, Senior Member, IEEE, Ahmed Hassan**, Mahrous E. Ahmed**, Member, IEEE, Mohamed Orabi**, Senior Member, IEEE,
*The University of Alabama Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, USA ** APEARC, South Valley University Aswan City 81542, Egypt

Abstract The papers main objective is to develop an Energy Efficient Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Management System that especially addresses the partial shading effects, among other cells mismatches, in a solar PV array/panel. In the presented FineGrained (FG) system, each single solar PV cell or a group of solar PV cells has its own MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) controller and the power converter associated with it. The FG MPPT PV solar power management approach can ensure true maximum power point tracking (extract higher amount of power) under unified illumination conditions and under partial shading conditions. While the FG MPPT approach can have digital or/and analog implementations, this paper focuses on proposing an analog circuit implementation to reduce cost and size and to simplify system integration. Orcad/Pspice simulation results verify the operation and advantages of the proposed FG system and circuits. Keywords- PV; Solar; Perturb and Observe Algorithm, Solar Energy; Power Converter; MPPT; Partial Shading; Fine Grained.

controller performance [4-9]. The MPPT of solar panels becomes very complicated since multiple maximum power points will exist on the P-V characteristic curves. Common MPPT techniques may fail to track the maximum power points due to the controller inability to discriminate between the local and global MPPs on the P-V characteristic curve [10-12], which means lower output energy from the PV solar system. Furthermore, the power generated by the partially shaded solar cell is wasted so the output of the solar system is low. This paper presents a PV solar power management system based on a fine-grained approach implemented analog controller circuits. In the presented Fine-Grained (FG) system, each single solar PV cell or a group of solar PV cells has its own MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) controller and the power converter associated with it. The FG MPPT PV solar power management approach can ensure true maximum power point tracking (extract higher amount of power) under unified illumination conditions and under partial shading conditions.
Cell / Cells group 1 Power Stage

I.

INTRODUCTION

A Photovoltaic (PV) solar cell converts solar energy directly to electrical energy. A PV module is made up from several cells. If several cells are connected in series and/or in parallel, a PV solar module is formed which can deliver higher voltage and/or higher current (higher power). Under uniform solar irradiance level when every cell is equally illuminated in the solar panel and assuming all the cells have exactly identical output performance, the nonlinear current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of a solar panel will have one optimal operating point corresponding to a unique maximum power point (MPP) on its power-voltage (P-V) curve [1,2]. In practice, since a solar module is composed of many solar cells which are connected in series and/or in parallel, if some cells in the panel are shaded (caused by surrounding buildings, passing cloud in the sky or birds landing on solar panel for examples), the solar panel will be operating under partial shading conditions (PSC). The main problem caused by PSC is that solar cells under shade will absorb large amount of power generated by illuminated cells and convert the energy to heat, leading to hotspot effect [3] which may cause damage to solar panel and affects the output power. To relieve the stress on shaded cells, bypass diodes that are connected across cells are used as a common solution. In such case, multiple peaks in P-V curves are observed and these multiple maxima will reduce the effectiveness of the maximum power point tracking (MPPT)

MPPT Control

Load

Cell / Cells group n

Power Stage

MPPT Control

(a)
PV Cell DC-DC Converter Load

Duty Cycles PWM Controller

Analog MPPT

(b) Fig. 1: Analog MPPT controller implementation block diagram for (a) multiple-cell PV system, (b) single cell implementation

978-1-4577-1250-0/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE

V* LPF Gain S/H Diff.

dV*

CLK I P* LPF Gain S/H Multiplier Diff. dP* CLK PWM Comp. Int.

XNOR

sawtooth

Fig. 3: A more detailed analog MPPT controller block diagram for the solar PV Fine-Grained Power Management System In the fine-grained power management approach shown in Fig. 1(a) for multiple cells/panels, the energy is extracted from the PV solar system within smaller areas of a PV solar panel/array using locally integrated power modules that are combined under a power and control architecture. Fig. 1(b) shows the control implementation for a single solar cell. While Fig. 1(a) shows cells that are connected in parallel, the same can be implemented for series cells or series-parallel combination of cells.

Start

Measure I(k)V(k)

Calculate

V (k ) , P(k )

II.

BASIC MPPT CONTROL ALGORITHM

Calculate
Sign(V (k ))

The MPPT methods are used to automatically find the voltage VMPP or current IMPP at which the PV array/cell should operate in order to obtain the maximum output power PMPP under certain temperature and irradiance level [13]. A flowchart of the MPPT power method using the common P&O algorithm is shown in Fig. 2. This MPPT method perturbs the control variable which is the reference voltage or the duty cycle of the power stage and compares the PV output power before and after the perturbation. In the paper, the reference voltage (Vref) is used. The maximum point is reached when dPPV / dVPV = 0. In the algorithm, the operating voltage of the PV cell is perturbed by a small variation V (perturbation in the reference voltage of the power converter), and the resulting change in power P is measured. If P>0, the next iteration perturbation direction of the power converter reference voltage (Vref) should be maintained in the same direction as the previous perturbation. If P<0, the next perturbation direction should be reversed. So the Vref of the power converter is perturbed every MPPT cycle until the MPP is reached. The P&O algorithm will keep tracking the PV cell operating voltage to oscillate around the optimal value (MPP value). The advantage of this method is that unlike some off-line MPPT methods like the constant voltage tracking method, previous knowledge of PV panel parameters is not required to track the MPP of PV array. Nevertheless, P&O algorithm will lead to oscillations around a maximum power point dissipating power that depends on the perturbation step size.
Yes

, Sign(P(k ))

Sign(V(k)) Sign( ( )) Pk

No

Increment Vref

Decrement Vref

Return

Fig. 2: MPPT P&O algorithm

III.

ANALOG MPPT CIRCUIT AND SIMULATION RUSLUTS FOR THE FG MPPT SYSTEM

Analog circuit simulation model is built to perform P&O MPPT algorithm. The controller block diagram for each cell is shown in Fig. 3. In Fig. 3, the solar cell voltage and current are fed to a low pass filter circuit (LPF) to filter out the high frequency noise. The filtered signals are fed into sample and hold (S/H) circuit which is clocked at the desired P&O-MPPT frequency. The sampled current and voltage signals are multiplied to yield the power value of the PV solar cell. The sampled voltage and power values are then fed to the

differentiator (Diff.) to obtain the change in the power and voltage values and the output of each Diff. is used as an input to an XNOR logic gate circuit to obtained the next duty cycle perturbation direction (increment or decrement). The output of the XNOR logic gate is integrated (using the integrated called Int.) to obtain a DC signal that is compared with a sawtooth signal in the PWM (Pulse Width Modulator) circuit. The output signal from the PWM is the duty cycle which drives the power converter switches. In the circuit level design simulations in Oracd/Pspice, the PV solar cell model shown in Fig. 4 is used. The I-V curve and P-V curve simulation results from this model are shown in Fig. 5. It can be observed that the open circuit voltage of the cell is 0.55V and the short circuit current is 6A. Maximum power from the cell exists around 0.4V and 5A.

Fig. 6: Boost DC-DC converter with PV solar cell input

Fig. 7: S/H circuit design in Orcad/Pspice The solar cell voltage and power are fed to a differential op-amp in order to check if the power is increasing or decreasing. Fig. 8 shows the differential op-amp circuit used in Orcad/Pspice circuit model.

Fig. 4: PV cell circuit model in Orcad/Pspice

I-V Cruve

P-V Curve

Fig. 8: Differential op-amp circuit Fig. 5: Solar Cell I-V Curve Simulation Results (x-axis: Voltage in V, y-axis: Current in A and Power in W) In the proposed FG power management system, every solar cell is connected to its own boost power converter in order to realize a cell level MPPT control. The boost converter is selected in this paper because (1) the single PV solar cell voltage is usually low (usually less than a volt or few volts), (2) it is relatively simpler to integrate than other step-up converters, and (3) it has relatively high power conversion efficiency. In Fig. 6, a single solar cell is connected to a DCDC boost converter to power the load. The sample and hold (S/H) circuit samples the continuously varying analog voltage and holds its value at a constant level for a specified minimum period of time. In this MPPT controller circuit design, the S/H circuit samples and holds the values of solar cell voltage and current and updates them every 0.1m second. The S/H circuit is shown in Fig. 7. If the output from the differential op-amp is positive, it is defined as 1. If the output from the differential op-amp is negative, it is defined as 0. The comparison and decision part of the P&O algorithm can be implemented by an XNOR logic gate [14] shown in Fig. 9, where A (change in power) and B (change in voltage) represent input from the differential opamps and C represent the output (the direction of next perturbation).

A B

Fig. 9: Comparison and decision part of the MPPT algorithm implemented by XNOR logic gate circuit

The output from the XNOR gate logic circuit is fed into integrator circuit to generate appropriate voltage perturbation. The perturbation voltage is fed into the PWM circuit which will perturb the duty cycle of the boost converter. The simulation results of the MPPT controller under transients are obtained as shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11. In Fig. 10, the power of the solar panel is tracked to its maximum value and oscillates around it. The P&O MPPT controller is operated at 10kHz perturbation frequency which perturbs the power from solar cell every 0.1 ms (the boost converter switching frequency is 1MHz). Fig. 11 shows the solar cell voltage and load side voltage. It can be observed that this design is able to successfully perform MPPT functionality. The simulation results show the analog controller results for a single cell. The simulation modeling of the complete FG MPPT power management system with multiple cells in PV panel/array is in progress. Development of experimental hardware is also planned.

approach can ensure true maximum power point tracking under unified illumination conditions and under partial shading conditions to extract higher amount of power and alleviate partial shading conditions problems. The presented analog MPPT controller circuit design also provides a low cost and small size solution for this approach. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work is sponsored in part by the U.S. - Egypt Science and Technology Joint Fund in cooperation with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under USDA Project # 58-3148-0-204 and Egyptian Science and Technology Development Funds (STDF) under STDF project # 1954. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.

REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] A.J. Fay, S. D. Golomb, Energy and the Environment (Oxford University Press.1998 Madison Avenue. New York. NY, 10016.2002) 155-164. D. Popni, Analysis of diffusion paths for photovoltaic technology based on experience curves, Solar Energy, Vol.64, pp. 331-340, 2003. Y.C. Kuo, T.J. Liang and J.F. Chen, Novel Maximum-Power-PointTracking Controller for Photovoltaic Energy Conversion System, IEEE Transactions On Industrial Electronics, Vol. 48, No. 3, June 2001, pp.594-601. M. A. S. Masoum, H. Dehbonei and E. F. Fuchs, Theoretical and Experimental Analyses of Photovoltaic Systems with Voltage- and Current-Based Maximum Power-Point Tracking, IEEE Transactions On Energy Conversion, Vol. 17, No. 4, December 2002, pp.514-522. L. Fangrui, Y. Kang, Y. Zhang, and S. Duan, Comparison of P&O and Hill Climbing MPPT Methods for Grid-Connected PV Converter, Industrial Electronics and Applications, ICIEA 2008. 3rd IEEE Conference on. pp. 804-7. 2008. J. Ventre and R. Messenger, Photovoltaic Systems Engineering, (CRC Press, New York, 2000). J. A. Gow and C. D. Manning, Development of a photovoltaic array model for use in power electronics simulation studies, IEE Proceedings on Electric Power Applications, vol. 146, no. 2, pp. 193-200, March 1999. Y. Jiang and J. A. Qahouq, PV System Matlab Simulation Model for Two MPPT Methods, the Journal of International Review on Modelling and Simulations (I.RE.MO.S.), Vol. 3, No.5, October 2010. Y. Jiang, J. A. Qahouq and M. Orabi, A Matlab/Pspice Hybrid Simulation Modeling of Solar PV Cell/Module, The 2011 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, APEC2011, pp. 1244 1250, March 2011. E. Koutroulis, K. Kalaitzakis and N. C. Voulgaris, Development of Microcontroller-Based, Photovoltaic Maximum Power Point Tracking Control System, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Vol. 16, pp. 46-54, 2002. D. L. King, Photovoltaic Module and Array Performance Characterization Methods for All System Operating Conditions, Proceedings of NREL/SNL Photovoltaics Program Review Meeting, November 18-22, 1996, Lakewood, CO, AIP Press. I.H. Altas, A.M. Shara, A Photovoltaic Array Simulation Model for Matlab-Simulink GUI Environment, Clean Electrical Power, ICCEP 07.International Conference, May 2007 pp.341-345. J. M. Carrasco, L. G. Franquelo, J. T. Bialasiewicz, E. Galvn, R. C. Portillo Guisado, Ma. . Martacutern Prats, J. I. Len, and N. MorenoAlfonso, Power-electronic systems for the grid integration of renewable energy sources: A survey, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 10021016, Jun. 2006. Z.Liang, R. Guo and A. Huang, "A new cost-effective analog maximum power point tracker for PV systems," Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition, ECCE2010, pp.624-631, Sept. 2010.

[4]

Fig. 10: Sampled solar cell power under MPPT control operation (x-axis: Time in Seconds, y-axis: Voltage in V)

[5]

[6]
Load voltage

[7]

Solar cell voltage

[8]

[9]

Fig. 11: Solar cell voltage and load voltage under MPPT control operation (x-axis: Time in S, y-axis: Voltage in V)

[10]

IV.

CONCLUSIONS

[11]

The paper presents an analog circuit design for an MPPT controller used in a fine-grained solar PV power management system. Orcad/Pspice simulation results are presented in the paper for a single PV cell and the simulation work for the complete system with multiple cells in a solar PV panel/array is in progress. Development of experimental hardware is also planned. The fine-grained solar PV power management system utilizes a cell level MPPT controller and power converter in order to perform MPPT locally for each individual cell. This

[12]

[13]

[14]

Matlab/Pspice Hybrid Simulation Modeling of Solar PV Cell/Module

Yuncong Jiang*, Student Member, IEEE, Jaber A. Abu Qahouq*, Senior Member, IEEE and Mohamed Orabi**, Senior Member, IEEE *The University of Alabama Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, USA ** APEARC, South Valley University Aswan City 81542, Egypt

Abstract The power generated by solar photovoltaic (PV) module depends on surrounding irradiance, temperature and shading conditions. Under partial shading conditions (PSC) the power from the PV module can be dramatically reduced and maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control will be affected. This paper presents a hybrid simulation model of PV cell/module and system using Matlab/Simulink and Pspice. The hybrid simulation model includes the solar PV cells and the converter power stage and can be expanded to add MPPT control and other functions. The model is able to simulate both the I-V characteristics curves and the P-V characteristics curves of PV modules under uniform shading conditions (USC) and PSC. The model is used to study different parameters variations effects on the PV array. The developed model is suitable to simulate several homogeneous or/and heterogeneous PV cells or PV panels connected in series and/or in parallel. Keywords: Photovoltaic (PV); Model; Hybrid; Simulation; Partial Shading; Solar; Control. I.INTRODUCTION The research in renewable energy has become an increasingly important topic in the 21st century with the problem of energy crisis becoming more and more aggravating, resulting in increased exploitation and research for new power energy resources such as wind, water, geothermal and solar energy around the world [1, 2]. Solar energy is green energy, which is inexhaustible and environmentally friendly. It is becoming one of the most promising alternatives for conventional energy sources. Due to this, photovoltaic solar energy has been increasingly used to generate electric power from sunshine [3-5]. A PV solar device, cell, or module converts solar energy directly to electrical energy. If many cells are connected in series and parallel, a solar photovoltaic module is formed. Several PV solar devices are used to for a PV cell and several cells are used to form a PV module. Solar energy obtained from a solar PV cell is not constant all the time. The amount

of extracted power from a PV system is a function of the PV array voltage and current set point [6-10]. Furthermore the power is affected by external conditions like solar irradiance and temperature. Under uniform solar irradiance level with no partial shading, the nonlinear current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of a PV solar module will have one optimal operating point corresponding to a unique maximum power point (MPP) on its power-voltage (P-V) curve. In practice, since a solar module is composed of many solar cells which are connected with each other in series and/or in parallel, if some cells on the panel are shaded, sometimes caused by surrounding buildings, passing cloud in the sky or birds landing on solar panel, the P-V characteristics of solar panels becomes very complicated as multiple maximum power points exist on the P-V characteristic curves [12-14]. Due to the complex behavior of a PV solar module under different illumination conditions, it is of advantage to build a simulation model to thoroughly investigate power, voltage and current relationship of a PV module under varying surrounding conditions and partial shading conditions (PSC). The modeling of PV solar cells/modules mainly fall into two categories: mathematical-based modeling [11-14] and electronic components-based modeling [15, 16]. For decades, mathematical-based models of solar cells have been developed and simulated by computer aided mathematical software, for instance Matlab. Mathematical-based model of solar cell/module is programmed to obtain desire output data taking into account of ambient temperature, solar irradiance level and load voltage. A mathematical-based model can describe PV cell/module accurately using complicated mathematical algorithm. Nevertheless, the mathematical-based PV model is inconvenient to interface with electronic power stage components like dc-dc converters. On the other hand, the electronics-based modeling of a PV solar cell/module can be realized in electric/electronic circuits-based simulation software like Pspice. The electronic components-based models of solar cells/modules are easy to interface with the power stage, which can also be modeled using Pspice. However, compared to mathematical-based models, the electronic component-based simulation models of solar cells/modules are incapable to incorporate complete

978-1-4244-8085-2/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE

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information of surrounding conditions (cell temperature, solar irradiance, etc.). This may affect the accuracy of the simulation results. This paper presents a hybrid PV cell/module simulation model which can be used in PV system simulation and study under PSC, non-uniform cells, and other variable conditions. The model unitizes Matlab/Simulink and Pspice software packages in order to have a hybrid model with combined advantages of mathematical-based models and electronic components-based models. Section II briefly describes the characteristics of a solar PV cell. Section III discusses the proposed PV cell/module hybrid model and a basic solar system model using Matlab/Simulink and Pspice. Section IV presents simulation results under different shading conditions. The conclusion is given in Section V. II. EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF SOLAR CELL The well-known diode equation describes the operation of the p-n junction solar PV cell [8, 10]. The p-n junction is fabricated in a layer of semiconductor [8]. Being illuminated by sun light, photons with energy greater than semiconductor band-gap energy are absorbed by solar cell. Valence electrons are knocked loose from the atoms in the material, creating electron-hole pairs [9]. These carries are swept apart and form current by the internal electric fields of the p-n junction. A. Solar Cell Model Fig. 1 shows a simple equivalent circuit for a PV cell [11]. The circuit includes a photo current source, a diode, a series resistor and a parallel resistor.

I = Current through the load; V = Voltage on the load; R s = Parasitic series resistance; R P = Parasitic shunt resistance; q = Electron charge ( 1.6 10 19 C ) k = Boltzmans constant ( 1.38 10 23 J / K ) The photo current Iph is proportional to the sun irradiance a solar cell receives and to the cell temperature, which can be described by:

I ph = [ I sc + (Tc Tref )] G

(2.2)

Where = 0.0012 Isc , which is the temperature coefficient of short-circuit current. G is solar irradiance level ( kW / m 2 ).
B. Solar Module Model Solar cells are connected in series and parallel to form a PV module. Based on single cell circuit module, the voltage and current relationship of a PV module can be represented as [13]

I = N p I ph N p I d [exp(q (V / N s + IRs / N p ) / kTc A 1] ( N pV / N s + IRs ) / R p

(2.3)

Ns and Np are the number of series and parallel connected solar cells in a module. C. Solar Cell/Module Model under PSC Equation (2.3) is able to accurately model the behavior of a solar module under Uniform Shading Conditions (USC). However under PSC, Eq. (2.3) is unable to simulate this condition. To account for PSC effects on solar module, instead of using mathematical model, a Pspice electronic components-based PV module model is developed, in which, single solar cells are connected in series and parallel to form a PV module. The advantage of Pspice model is that each solar photo current is represented by a current source and PSC can be simulated by adjusting values of current sources. However compared to well-programmed mathematical-based model in Matlab, the disadvantage of Pspice model is the inability to incorporate detail surrounding condition information, thus degrading the accuracy of the model. To combine both model types advantages, a hybrid PV cell/module model is proposed in this paper as presented next section. III. PROPOSED PV CELL/MODULE MODELS A. PV Cell Modeling The basic circuit of a PV cell is modeled in Pspice, as shown in Fig. 2. To account for the cell temperature and insolation effects on the solar cell photo current, as described in Eq. (2.2), a mathematical-based model is built for this part in Matlab/Simulink, as shown in Fig. 3 (a) and (b).

Fig. 1. Practical Model of Solar Cell [11] The PV cell output current can be defined as a function of the output voltage of the PV cell as follows.

I = I ph I d [exp(q(V + IRs ) / kTc A 1] (V + IRs ) / Rp

Iph

(2.1) = Short-circuit current due to sunlight (photons);

Id = Current shunted through the diode; R = Load resistance;

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Fig. 2. Pspice Schematic of PV cell [11]

current requirements. In this paper, a PV module with five cells connected in one string and two strings (String I and String II) in parallel is created in Pspice, as shown in Fig. 5. To model the module behavior under PSC, a bypass diode is connected in parallel with each solar cell. To input temperature and insolation information to each cell of the PV module, schematic is implemented as shown in Fig. 6. In Matlab/Simulink surrounding temperature and insolation information can be assigned to each individual solar cell to obtain accurate photo current (each cell will have its own current which may be different from the other cells).

(a)
V

Fig. 5. PV module schematic in Pspice (b) Fig. 3. (a) Photo current Matlab/Simulink calculation block and (b) block details The Pspice model of solar cell and Simulink functions are combined together using Cadance software SLPS, as shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6. Proposed hybrid model of PV module C. Solar Module Interfaced with Power Converter In practice, a PV module will be connected to a power converter to supply power to the load. A basic solar PV system is shown is Fig. 7. The proposed solar PV module model is connected to a buck converter (for example) modeled in Pspice (it could also be modeled in Matlab/Simulink). The duty cycles of the controller for the converter can be provided by control block designed in Matlab. Furthermore, for future research advanced control function such as MPPT can be realized in Matlab/Simulink.

Fig. 4. Proposed simulation model of PV cell B. PV Module Modeling To form a solar PV module, a number of solar cells are connected in series and parallel to satisfy the voltage and

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Fig. 7. Proposed simulation model of PV module

IV.SIUMLATION RESULTS OF PROPOSED MODEL A. Solar Cell Simulation Results Fig. 8 shows the typical I-V and P-V characteristics curves of the PV solar cell hybrid model shown in Fig. 4. The cell is illuminated under different levels of solar irradiance ( 0.4kW / m 2 to 1.0kW / m 2 with 0.2kW / m 2 increments), assuming temperature remains constant. As seen from Fig. 8, the photo current and output power of the cell increase with higher solar irradiance.

B. Solar Module under USC The hybrid model of PV module shown in Fig. 5 is simulated under USC (solar irradiance: 0.2kW / m 2 to 1.0kW / m 2 with 0.2kW / m 2 increments). Every cell in the PV module is equally illuminated. As shown in Fig. 9, the curves are linearly magnified compared to the curves in Fig. 8 because more cells are connected in series and in parallel. As seen from the figure, under USC there is one unique peak power value under different irradiance levels.

Fig. 8. Characteristics curves of PV cell under USC using the hybrid model

Fig. 9. Characteristics curves of PV module under USC using the hybrid model

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C. Solar Module under PSC Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 show the proposed PV module characteristics curves obtained from the hybrid model when one cell and two cells on string I are under varying solar irradiance ( 0.2kW / m 2 to 1.0kW / m 2 with 0.2kW / m 2 increments). In both figures, the P-V curves are showing the trend for having multiple peaks phenomenon. However, this phenomenon is not significant under these conditions. The output power from the module when only one PV cell is shaded is higher than it is when two cells are shaded.

Fig. 12 shows the I-V and P-V curves when four cells from string I are shaded with 0.2kW / m 2 , 0.4kW / m 2 , 0.6kW / m 2 and 0.8kW / m 2 irradiance, respectively. The solar irradiance of the last cell is varied from 0.2kW / m 2 to 1.0kW / m 2 . The multiple power peaks phenomenon is clearly observed in this case. Fig. 13 shows the curves when one cell on each parallel string of the PV module is shaded. One cell on string II is under 0.2kW / m 2 irradiance and the irradiance of the cell on string I is varied from 0.2kW / m 2 to 1.0kW / m 2 with 0.2kW / m 2 increments. In Fig. 13 the two peak power values are clearly far from each other, indicating that the multi-peak phenomenon is more significant when cells from different strings are shaded.

Fig. 10. Hybrid model simulation results when one cell is shaded under PSC Fig. 12. Hybrid model simulation results when cells from String I are shaded under PSC

Fig. 11. Hybrid model simulation results when two cells in one string are shaded under PSC

Fig. 13. Hybrid model simulation results when two cells in parallel strings are shaded under PSC

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D. Solar Module with Power Converter When a PV module is connected to a power converter, the module voltage and current is determined by load voltage and the duty cycle of the power converter. By adjusting the duty cycle, the output power from the PV module can be varied. Furthermore, this feature is utilized in maximum power point tracking techniques. The output power behavior of a PV module with variable duty cycles are of crucial importance in a solar system. To ensure the solar system will work under all conditions, the output power from PV module is recorded with power converter duty cycle scaling from 0 to 1 using the hybrid model.
80 1kW/m^2 70 PV Module Power (P) 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 Duty Cycle (D) 0.8 1 0.4kW/m^2 0.6kW/m^2

Fig. 14 shows that by tuning the power converter duty cycle under USC with different solar irradiance levels, one unique MPP can be tracked on the P-D (D indicates Duty Cycle) characteristics curve. This indicates that a conventional MPPT method will work efficiently under USC. However, in Fig. 15, when two cells of each string are shaded under different solar irradiance levels, multiple power peaks on the curve exist. Fake MPPs exists on the P-D curve when duty cycles are close to 0.1 and 0.6 respectively due to PSC effects on the PV module. The fake power peaks may lead to wrong tracking of MPP thus reducing the output power from the solar PV module. V.CONCLUSION The paper presents a Pspice and Matlab/Simulink hybrid simulation model of PV cells/modules. The simulation model is capable of predicting the behavior of the PV cell/module under uniform and non-uniform insolation. The PV cell/module and power converter is designed in Pspice, due to the softwares simplicity and accuracy in circuit design. To perform advanced duty cycle control of power converter, the PWM controller for power converter can be designed using Matlab/Simulink. The hybrid solar system model also serves as a good tool for future research in maximum power point tracking technique (which will be implemented in the power converter controller using Matlab/Simulink) in solar system under PSC. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work is sponsored in part by the U.S. - Egypt Science and Technology Joint Fund in cooperation with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under USDA Project # 58-3148-0-204 and Egyptian Science and Technology Development Funds (STDF) under STDF project # 1954. This work is also supported in part by The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, USA. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.

Fig. 14 Power versus converter duty cycle under USC

45 40 PV Module Power (P) 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 Duty Cycle (D) 0.8 1

2 cells 0.8 kW/m^2 2 cells 0.4 kW/m^2

REFERENCES
[1] James A. Fay, Dan S. Golomb, Energy and the Environment (Oxford University Press.1998 Madison Avenue. New York. NY, 10016.2002) 155-164. J. Ventre and R. Messenger, Photovoltaic Systems Engineering,(CRC Press, New York, 2000). C. R. Sullivan and M. J. Powers, A high-efficiency maximum power point tracker for photovoltaic arrays in a solar-powered race vehicle, in Proc. 24th Annu. IEEE Power Electron. Spec. Conf., 1993,pp. 846852. W. Wu, N. Pongrantananukul, W. Qiu, K. Ruston, T. Kasparis, and I. Batarseh, DSP-based multiple peak power tracking for expandable power system, Eighteenth Annu. IEEE Appl. Power Electron. Conf. Expo., 2003, pp.525-539.

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Fig. 15 Power versus converter duty cycle under PSC

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[5]

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[7]

[8]

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Y-C. Kuo, T-J. Liang and J-F. Chen. Novel Maximum-Power-PointTracking Controller for Photovoltaic Energy Conversion System, IEEE Transactions On Industrial Electronics, Vol. 48, No. 3, June 2001, pp.594-601. M. A. S. Masoum, H. Dehbonei, and E. F. Fuchs. Theoretical and Experimental Analyses of Photovoltaic Systems with Voltage- and Current-Based Maximum Power-Point Tracking, IEEE Transactions On Energy Conversion, Vol. 17, No. 4, December 2002, pp.514-522. L. Fangrui, Y. Kang, Y. Zhang, and S. Duan. Comparison of P&O and Hill Climbing MPPT Methods for Grid-Connected PV Converter, Industrial Electronics and Applications, 2008, ICIEA 2008. 3rd IEEE Conference on. pp. 804-7. 2008. Altas,I.H.; Sharaf,A.M.. A Photovoltaic Array Simulation Model for Matlab-Simulink GUI Environment, Clean Electrical Power, 2007. ICCEP 07.International Conference, 21-23 May 2007 pp.341-345. David L. King, Photovoltaic Module and Array Performance Characterization Methods for All System Operating Conditions, Proceedings of NREL/SNL Photovoltaics Program Review Meeting, November 18-22, 1996, Lakewood, CO, AIP Press, New York, 1997. W.J.A Teulings, J.C. Marpinard, A.Capel, and D.O Sullivan, A new maximum power point tracking system, in Proc.24th Annu. IEEE Power Electron. Spec. Conf., 1993, pp.833-838 Y. Jiang, Qahouq, J.A.A and Batarseh, I, Improved solar PV cell Matlab simulation model and comparison, in Proc. ISCAS Conf. Paris, 2010 pp.2770-2773. Masoum, Ali S.; Padovan, Frank; Masoum, Mohammad A.S.; "Impact of partial shading on voltage- and current-based maximum power point tracking of solar modules," Power and Energy Society General Meeting, 2010 IEEE , vol., no., pp.1-5, 25-29 July 2010 Patel, H.; Agarwal, V.; , "MATLAB-Based Modeling to Study the Effects of Partial Shading on PV Array Characteristics," Energy Conversion, IEEE Transactions on , vol.23, no.1, pp.302-310, March 2008 Ramaprabha, R.; Mathur, B.L.; , "MATLAB Based Modelling to Study the Influence of Shading on Series Connected SPVA," Emerging Trends in Engineering and Technology (ICETET), 2009 2nd International Conference on , vol., no., pp.30-34, 16-18 Dec. 2009 Ramaprabha, R.; Mathur, B.L.; , "Characteristics of solar PV array under partial shaded conditions," TENCON 2008 - 2008 IEEE Region 10 Conference , vol., no., pp.1-5, 19-21 Nov. 2008 J. A. Gow, C. D. Manning, Development of a photovoltaic array model for use in power electronics simulation studies, IEE Proceedings on Electric Power Applications, vol. 146, no. 2, pp. 193200, March 1999.

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