Analysis, design and implementation of analog circuitry-based maximum power point tracking for photovoltaic boost DC/DC converter

Abstract

Currently, research is being devoted towards the development of fast and precise maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods for various photovoltaic (PV) applications. Due to rapidly varying solar irradiation and cell temperature, traditional MPPT algorithms are unable to track the optimum power from PV modules. In this paper, an analog circuitry-based fast and robust MPPT method utilizing a boost DC/DC converter is presented to improve the tracking capability. The mathematical model of a PV module and design expressions for converter elements are presented. To trace the desired maximum power point (MPP), a control law is derived by synthesizing the PV characteristic curves. The steady-state and transient responses of the PV-integrated boost converter are demonstrated under various conditions of source and load using the MATLAB/Simulink platform. Furthermore, a laboratory prototype is developed to validate the proposed control strategy in the real-time application. A satisfactory agreement has been exhibited among simulation and experimental results. The superiority of the proposed MPP tracker over different existing methods is investigated. Additionally, the proposed controller distributes the energy spectrum over a wider range of frequencies and simultaneously reduces the energy concentration at the clock frequency and its multiples, so that the effect of electromagnetic interference (EMI) is reduced for certain range of loads.