A model predictive control based MPPT technique for novel DC-DC converter and voltage regulation in DC microgrid

Abstract

This work presents a system design for extracting maximum power using the modified maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique and a novel high-gain DC-DC converter, which was then used to supply a microgrid system with a conventional buck converter. We present a novel structure comprising the MPPT, voltage boosting, and voltage regulating components for a DC microgrid in a single system. The most important features of a photovoltaic (PV) system include a high-gain converter and maximum PV power extraction; considering these, we present a high-gain DC-DC converter that boosts the output voltage to ten times the input voltage. Furthermore, the MPPT technique extracts maximum power from the PV panel based on model predictive control through its better transient response than the conventional incremental conductance method. The MPPT approach was tested with both fixed- and variable-step operations, and the results were compared for load variations. Considering the economics of the system, the proposed approach attempts cost reduction by optimizing the number of sensors to two instead of three. Simulations were conducted under different environmental conditions using MATLAB-Simulink, and the performance differences between the conventional incremental conductance and proposed MPPT-based methods are shown. Next, DC voltage regulation was implemented for the proposed PV and existing systems by considering different load and irradiation conditions while maintaining constant temperature. The simulation results showed the latter system had better performance than the former under different environmental conditions, with persistent results for voltage regulation at different load and irradiation conditions.