TY - JOUR
T1 - Improved performance low-cost incremental conductance PV MPPT technique
AU - Zakzouk, Nahla E.
AU - Elsaharty, Mohamed A.
AU - Abdelsalam, Ahmed K.
AU - Helal, Ahmed A.
AU - Williams, Barry W.
N1 - This paper is a postprint of a paper submitted to and accepted for publication in IET Renewable Power Generation and is subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. The copy of record is available at IET Digital Library.
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - Variable-step incremental conductance (Inc.Cond.) technique, for photovoltaic (PV) maximum power point tracking, has merits of good tracking accuracy and fast convergence speed. Yet, it lacks simplicity in its implementation due to the mathematical division computations involved in its algorithm structure. Furthermore, the conventional variable step-size, based on the division of the PV module power change by the PV voltage change, encounters steadystate power oscillations and dynamic problems especially under sudden environmental changes. In this study, an enhancement is introduced to Inc.Cond. algorithm in order to entirely eliminate the division calculations involved in its structure. Hence, algorithm implementation complexity is minimised enabling the utilisation of low-cost microcontrollers to cut down system cost. Moreover, the required real processing time is reduced, thus sampling rate can be improved to fasten system response during sudden changes. Regarding the applied step-size, a modified variable-step size, which depends solely on PV power, is proposed. The latter achieves enhanced transient performance with minimal steady-state power oscillations around the MPP even under partial shading. For proposed technique's validation, simulation work is carried out and an experimental set up is implemented in which ARDUINO Uno board, based on low-cost Atmega328 microcontroller, is employed.
AB - Variable-step incremental conductance (Inc.Cond.) technique, for photovoltaic (PV) maximum power point tracking, has merits of good tracking accuracy and fast convergence speed. Yet, it lacks simplicity in its implementation due to the mathematical division computations involved in its algorithm structure. Furthermore, the conventional variable step-size, based on the division of the PV module power change by the PV voltage change, encounters steadystate power oscillations and dynamic problems especially under sudden environmental changes. In this study, an enhancement is introduced to Inc.Cond. algorithm in order to entirely eliminate the division calculations involved in its structure. Hence, algorithm implementation complexity is minimised enabling the utilisation of low-cost microcontrollers to cut down system cost. Moreover, the required real processing time is reduced, thus sampling rate can be improved to fasten system response during sudden changes. Regarding the applied step-size, a modified variable-step size, which depends solely on PV power, is proposed. The latter achieves enhanced transient performance with minimal steady-state power oscillations around the MPP even under partial shading. For proposed technique's validation, simulation work is carried out and an experimental set up is implemented in which ARDUINO Uno board, based on low-cost Atmega328 microcontroller, is employed.
KW - microcontrollers
KW - power system analysis
KW - maximum power point trackers
KW - photovoltaic power systems
KW - PV module power change
KW - solar power stations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84962106538&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://digital-library.theiet.org/content/journals/iet-rpg
U2 - 10.1049/iet-rpg.2015.0203
DO - 10.1049/iet-rpg.2015.0203
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84962106538
VL - 10
SP - 561
EP - 574
JO - IET Renewable Power Generation
JF - IET Renewable Power Generation
SN - 1752-1416
IS - 4
ER -