A Prototype Development of MPPT Algorithm based Solar Photovoltaic Charging System

This paper presents design and simulation of Perturb and Observe (PO) algorithm of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) for Photo voltaic system. The characteristics of a solar cell are dependent on the environmental parameters like sun light and temperature and are nonlinear in nature. Its power changes non-linearly with respect to the voltage and current. Hence there is only one voltage and current at which Maximum Power Point (MPP) exists for certain climate conditions. MPPT serves the purpose of tracking the MPP. The step by step procedure of solar panel modelling, designing of DC-DC boost converter and PO MPPT is given. The solar panel and PO MPPT is simulated under different environmental conditions [2]. The P&O algorithm is used to control the duty cycle of a DC-DC converter in order to boost the output voltage of the PV generator and guarantee the operation of the solar panels in the Maximum Power Point (MPP). The analyzed algorithm correspond to the classical Perturb and Observe (P&O) method. This has been designed to improve the tracking of the MPP under voltage disturbances at the DC-side capacitor (interface between the DC-DC and the DC-AC stage). The performance of the MPPT techniques is compared through simulations in SIMULINK under two conditions: sudden changes of irradiance and a distortion of second order in the voltage at the DC-side capacitor. The comparative analysis is made according to some criteria such as the number of sensors, the rise time and the efficiency.