Sliding-Mode Control of Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking Converters Featuring Overvoltage Protection

In Photovoltaic (PV) systems with Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking (DMPPT) architecture each panel is connected to a DC/DC converter, whose outputs are connected in series to feed a grid-connected inverter. The series-connection forces the output voltage of those converters to be proportiona...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEnergies (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 9; p. 2220
Main Authors Ramos-Paja, Carlos, Gonzalez Montoya, Daniel, Bastidas-Rodriguez, Juan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 2018
Subjects
Controllers
Design parameters
distributed architecture
Electric converters
Electric power distribution
Electricity distribution
Maximum power
maximum power point tracking
Maximum power tracking
Overvoltage
Photovoltaics
Shading
Sliding mode control
Solar cells
Voltage
Voltage converters (DC to DC)
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Summary:In Photovoltaic (PV) systems with Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking (DMPPT) architecture each panel is connected to a DC/DC converter, whose outputs are connected in series to feed a grid-connected inverter. The series-connection forces the output voltage of those converters to be proportional to the converter’ output power; therefore, under mismatched conditions, the output voltage of a highly-irradiated converter may exceed the rating (safe) value, causing an overvoltage condition that could damage the converter. This paper proposes a sliding-mode controller (SMC) acting on each converter to regulate both the input and output voltages, hence avoiding the overvoltage condition under partial shading. The proposed control strategy has two operation modes: maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and Protection. In MPPT mode the SMC imposes to the PV panel the voltage reference defined by an MPPT technique. The Protection mode is activated when the output voltage reaches the safety limit, and the SMC regulates the converter’ output voltage to avoid overvoltage condition. The SMC has a bilinear sliding surface designed to provide a soft transition between both MPPT and Protection modes. The SMC analysis, parameters design and implementation are presented in detail. Moreover, simulation and experimental results illustrate the performance and applicability of the proposed solution.
ISSN:1996-1073
1996-1073
DOI:10.3390/en11092220