Optimization for a Photovoltaic Pumping System Using Indirect Field Oriented Control of Induction Motor

Abstract

Due to the increase in electricity and diesel costs, solar photovoltaic pumping systems have become a good solution, especially in rural areas. This work presents a standalone photovoltaic (PV) water pumping system (PVWPS) driven by an induction motor without energy storage to improve the pumping system’s performance. First, a comparison is made between two types: perturb and observe (P&O) method and incremental conductance (INC) MPPT method with a variable step size that is automatically adjusted. Studying these two techniques helps to understand which one can result in a system with less oscillation and greater efficiency when tracking the maximum power point from the PV panel under sudden irradiation conditions. This MPPT works on the operating duty cycle of the boost converter. Then, that converter combines with a voltage source inverter (VSI) to convert DC power to AC power. Second, we use indirect field-oriented control (IRFOC), which drives the three-phase of an induction motor in turn to run the centrifugal pump. The simulation results of this work were obtained using the MATLAB Simulink platform.