NOVEL CONTROL STRATEGY FOR SINGLE-PHASE SINGLE-

STAGE PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERTER USING MPPT

ALGORITHM
P.CHANDRA BABU G.RAVITHEJA DIVYA NARAMANI.J
PG Scholar PG Scholar
SRM UNIVERSITY, CHENNAI SRM UNIVERSITY, CHENNAI SRM UNIVERSITY, CHENNAI
paduchuri.chandrababu@ieee.org ravi.teja.243@gmail.com divyanaramanij@ktr.srmuniv.ac.in

Abstract: A maximum power point tracking inverter is connected to the grid through the ac-link
algorithm for single-stage converters connecting inductor Lac.
photovoltaic panels to a single-phase grid is 2. OPERATING PRINCIPLE
presented in this paper. The algorithm is based on
the processing of current and voltage low-frequency
oscillations introduced in the PV panels by the
single-phase utility grid. The algorithm has been
developed to allow an array of PV modules to be
connected to the grid by using a single-stage
converter. This simple structure yields higher Fig.1. Schematic diagram of the PV generation
efficiency and reliability when compared with system
standard solu-tions based on double-stage converters The VSI output voltage VF is controlled in order to
configuration. The proposed maximum power point force the current injected into the mains iS to follow a
tracking algorithm has been numerically simulated sinusoidal reference waveform, synchronized and in
and experimentally verified by means of a converter phase with the fundamental component of the source
prototype connected to a single-phase grid. voltage VS. As a consequence, a sinusoidal current is
Keywords: Converters, Solar energy, Renewable obtained even in presence of voltage perturbations
energy systems, Efficiency, Inverters. coming from the mains. The amplitude of the reference
1.INTRODUCTION source current IS* is generated by the dc-link voltage
One of the most promising candidates for the large scale regulator on the basis of the error between the dc-link
spreading of renewable energy source is the voltage Vdc and the reference dc voltage Vdc*of the PV
photovoltaic technology. In particular, photovoltaic panels. The MPPT algorithm varies Vdc* according to
roofs give an important share of new installations of PV the environmental conditions in order to keep the
panels. For these applications the rated power is lower operating point of the PV panels close to the MPP.
than 5 kW and the PV panels are permanently connected
to a single-phase grid. The power flow between the PV The basic principle of the MPPT algorithm is to ex-ploit
panels and the grid is controlled by a power current and voltage oscillations caused by the double-
conditioning system (PCS), which should be reliable frequency pulsations of the instantaneous power, which
and inexpensive. To obtain the maximum efficiency of are inherent in single-phase power systems. Analyzing
the system, the PCS must keep the power extracted from these oscillations it is possible to obtain information
the PV panels close to the maximum power point about the power gradient, evaluating if the PV system
(MPP). Several solutions for PCS with maximum power operates close to the maximum power point. As it is
point tracking (MPPT) capability have been recently known, for a non-null value of active power injected
proposed, based on both single-stage and double-stage into a single-phase grid PS, the instantaneous power
converter topologies This paper deals with a single- PS(t) pulsates at a frequency twice than that of the grid.
phase, single-stage PCS configuration, using a simple If the current iS(t) is in phase with the source voltage
and effective MPPT embedded algorithm. The scheme VS(t), the instantaneous value of power injected into the
of the proposed system is shown in Fig. 1. The output of grid is
the PV panels is directly connected to the dc-link of the
single-phase inverter (VSI type), and the output of the
 NOVEL CONTROL STRATEGY FOR SINGLE-PHASE SINGLE-STAGE PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERTER USING MPPT ALGORITHM

The average quantity VSIS corresponds to the active Fig. 2. In the region nearby v* the power derivative can
power PS. The power pulsation at the angular fre be considered a straight line having the slope k. In order
quency 2Ȧ in (1) is reflected on the dc-link bus of the to determine the power derivative ˜p/˜v it is necessary
VSI as a voltage pulsation superimposed to the dc-link to introduce a voltage and current perturbation around
voltage Vdc. The variation of Vdc can be related to any operating point of the PV array. Traditional MPPT
active power PS, grid angular frequency Ȧ, and dc-link algorithms are based on “perturbation and observation”
capacitor Cdc by the following relationship: method or “incremental conductance” method. Some
variants to these methods have been presented in order
to improve the dynamic performance and/or to reduce
T
undesired oscillations around the MPP .An alternative
he dc-link voltage excursion (VdcMAX − VdcMIN) can be
method is based on measuring and processing the
limited by choosing a proper value for Cdc, according
current and/or voltage ripple due to the switching
behavior of the converter connected to the PV panels
array. This method is known as “ripple correlation
control”, firstly proposed by Midya (1996) and
successively utilized by Brambilla (1999) and Logue
(2001). However, for small power PV generation
systems, high switching frequency converters are
usually adopted, reducing the residual voltage and
current ripple below practical exploitable values. In
Fig. 2. Current, power, and power derivative of the PV
order to overcome this problems, in this paper a
panels vs. voltage.
with (2), ensuring the correct operation of the inverter.
The residual oscillation of Vdc determines a small
pulsation of the power supplied by the PV panels. On
the basis of the phase relationship between power and

voltage oscillations, the MPPT algorithm moves the Fig. 3. Estimation of the PV power derivative by using
operating point of the PV panels by varying Vdc* until filtering blocks.
the MPP is reached. Voltage and current oscillations MPPT algorithm is proposed, which is based on the
must be as small as possible in order to minimize the application of the “ripple correlation control”, using the
oscillation of power extracted from the panel. On the double-frequency oscillation of the instantaneous power
other hand, these oscillations must be large enough to be as perturbation signals. The oscillations of the
sensed and distinguished from current and voltage ripple instantaneous power are inherent in a single-phase PV
due to the VSI switching effects. It has been observed systems and can be considered itself as an
that keeping voltage and current oscillation around 1%
of their rated values leads to a good behavior of the
whole PV system.
3. MPPT ALGORITHM ANALYSIS embedded dynamic test signal useful to determine
All the MPPT algorithms are designed to dynamically ˜p/˜v. A key feature of this method is the knowledge of
extract the maximum power from the PV panels. the oscillations period T = 1/(2f) to improve the MPPT
Usually, the condition ˜p/˜v = 0 is adopted to locate this algorithm performances, being f the grid frequency. The
operating point, since PV panels show a unique global application of the “ripple correlation control”, combined
Maximum power point. The MPPT algorithms are based with the use of the 2f power oscillation, can be
on the determination of the slope of the PV panels considered the main contribution of this paper for
output power versus voltage, i.e., the power derivative improving the performance of single-phase PV systems.
˜p/˜v. This quantity is utilized as representative of the The basic principle will be described with more detail in
“voltage error”, i.e., the difference between the actual the following. For this purpose, let us consider a
voltage of the PV panels and the reference voltage v* periodic function x-(t) having the moving average
corresponding to the maximum power operating point. component x(t) over the period T, and the alternative
The qualitative behaviour of ˜p/˜v is represented in component x~ (t)

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(10). In the same way, low-pass filters (LPF) can be

used instead of the moving averaging integrals of (9), as
shown in the block diagram depicted in Fig. 3.Using this
method it is possible to calculate the power derivative in
a straightforward way, avoiding complicate and time
Applying these definitions to the output voltage and consuming calculations. The power derivative ˜p/˜v can
power of the PV panels, leads to be also used to represent the voltage error ¨v = v*−v,
i.e., the difference between actual and MPP voltage,
since the relationship between power and voltage is
The average operating point (Vo , Po) on the P = P(v) almost linear in the region around the MPP (see Fig. 2).
characteristic, and the corresponding voltage and
power alternative components are represented in Fig. 2, 4. MPPT ALGORITHM IMPLEMENTATION
In order to implement the MPPT algorithm on a low
cost DSP, without reducing its performance, the block
a diagram shown in Fig. 3 is further simplified. In
ccording to the following expressions: particular, the average value of the product v ~ .p ~
could be conveniently utilized as the input variable of
Assuming the curve P = P(v) still valid for dynamic the dc-link voltage regulator. In fact, on the basis of (8),
analysis (and linearizing nearby the average operating being the integral at the right-hand side always positive,
point P0 = P(v0) leads to a relationship between the the sign of the integral at the left-hand side corresponds
power ripple and the voltage ripple, expressed as to the sign of the power derivative ˜ p/ ˜ v :
The power derivative can be calculated by (7) as a
function of power and voltage oscillations around the
given operating point (Vo, Po). In order to avoid critical The quantity sign (˜p/ ˜ v) is a clear indication of the
calculations based on instantaneous power and voltage region where the PV panel is working:
values, it is possible to introduce instead of (7) the • (˜ p /˜ v)> 0 means p ~ and v ~ in phase agreement.
moving average of the product of (7) and V-(t), leading The operating point is on the left side of the MPP on the
to I-V characteristic;
• (˜ p /˜ v)< 0 means p ~ and v ~ in phase opposition.
The operating point is on the right side of the MPP on
the I-V characteristic.
Then, the power derivative can be evaluated as the The knowledge of the instantaneous operating point
following ratio: region makes it possible to change the dc-link voltage
reference in order to approach the maximum power
operating point. On the basis of these considerations, the
scheme of Fig. 3 can be simplified leading to scheme
represented in Fig. 4, where only the quantity
It can be noted that in (9) the power derivative is corresponding to the average value of the product p ~ ‫ ڄ‬v
~
expressed in terms of integral quantities, and can be and its sign are computed. In particular, the sign is
easy calculated. The voltage and power alternative extracted by a hysteretic comparator, set by a small
components utilized in (10) can be evaluated on the band around zero, with the output values [-1,1]
basis of (3) and (4), leading to representing sign (˜ p /˜ v).

5. DC-LINK VOLTAGE CONTROLLER

The scheme of the dc-link voltage controller is
Assuming the voltage and power oscillation frequency represented in Fig. 5. When sign (˜ p /˜ v)> 0 the
integrator increases its output ¨Vdc, and the dc-link
known, a filtering approach can be usefully adopted to
extract the alternative components of p(t) and v(t). In voltage reference Vdc*moves towards the MPP. On the
particular, high-pass filters (HPF) can be used instead of contrary, when sign (˜ p /˜ v).<0 the integrator

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 NOVEL CONTROL STRATEGY FOR SINGLE-PHASE SINGLE-STAGE PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERTER USING MPPT ALGORITHM

decreases ¨Vdc and the dc-link voltage reference Table 1. Main characteristics of the pv generation
Vdc*moves back to-wards the MPP. The rate of change system
of Vdc* is set by the gain K.
The input signal Vdc**represents the initial voltage
reference, i.e., the starting value of the integrator. When
the control system is enabled, the quantity ¨Vdc
computed by the MPPT algorithm is added to
Vdc**giving the actual reference of the dc-link voltage
Vdc* Then, the regulation of the current iS injected into
the mains allows the dc-link voltage to be controlled
around the reference value. In this way, all the power
coming from the PV generator is transferred to the grid.
Following the reference value Vdc* allows the PV
panels to reach the maximum power operating point,
The parameter Lac/¨t in (13) can be adjusted to obtain
where the condition ˜p/˜v =0 is satisfied. The desired the desired regulator performance.
amplitude of the source current, IS*, is generated by the
regulator R(s), considering the dc-link voltage error Vdc
6. MPPT ALGORITHM VERIFICATION
The proposed MPPT algorithm has been verified by
– Vdc* as input variable. The reference value of the
both numerical and experimental tests.
instantaneous source current iS* is generated on the
basis of the amplitude IS*, and the phase angle of the 6.1 Simulation results
fundamental component of the supply voltage VS, which The numerical tests have been carried out by the
is represented by the unity sinusoid vˆ S 1 in Fig. 5.The Simulink environment of Mat lab, with reference to a
measurement of the source current is used to implement single-stage converter connected to a single-phase grid,
the ac current control loop. The inverter is controlled on as represented in Fig. 1. The PV panels have been
the basis of the instantaneous current error ¨iS = iS* − electrically represented by the well-known single-
iS, through a predictive PWM current regulator. In exponential model , fitted on the I-V characteristic of a
particular, the inverter reference voltage VF* is series array of ten modules Solar Shell SP150 type. The
calculated by the voltage equation written across the ac- main characteristics of the PV generation system are
link inductance Lac, according with the block diagram summarized in Table I. The main block diagrams of the
represented in Fig. 1. Neglecting the resistive effects implemented MPPT algorithm are summarized in Figs.
and introducing a variational model, this equation 4 and 5.
yields The performance of the power conditioning system
connected to the photovoltaic array has been evaluated
both in steady state and transient operating conditions
determined by start up and solar irradiance Variations.
In Figs. 6-7 the behaviour of the control system in
steady state conditions is represented. In particular, Fig.
6 shows the behaviour of v ~ and p ~ around the
maximum power point. Initially, v ~ and p ~ are in
Fig. 4. Simplified estimation of the PV powerderivative
phase agreement, i.e., the operating point of the PV
by using filtering blocks.
modules is on the left side of the MPP on the I-V
characteristic. Successively, v ~ and p ~ become in
phase opposition, i.e., the operating point of the PV
Modules is on the right side of the MPP on the I-V
curve. For all the operating conditions the frequency

Fig. 5. dc-link voltage controller

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of v ~ and p ~ is always twice than that of the grid. In

Fig. 7 the voltage and the grid current are represented in
steady-state conditions. As expected, the current iS
injected into the grid is exactly in phase agreement with
the grid voltage VS.
6.2 Experimental results
The proposed control system for a single-phase, single- Fig.6.Alternative components,v and p
stage converter has been implemented on a laboratory
prototype, where the PV panels have been replaced by
an electric circuit, which behaves as a power generator
having an output characteristic similar to that of the PV
panels. The P-V characteristic of this electric source is
given in Fig. 8. In this case the open circuit voltage is
Fig. 7. Grid voltage and grid current at steady-state.
500 V and the MPP is achieved with a dc-link voltage of
250 V. A better representation of the I-V characteristic
of the photovoltaic panel is proposed by Grandi (2003),
introducing a hardware model of the PV panels based on
power electronic model. Fig. 9 shows the steady-state
waveforms of voltage and current at the utility grid side.
It can be noted that the resulting grid current iS is
sinusoidal and in phase agreement with the fundamental Fig. 8. P-V characteristic of the power generator
components of the grid voltage VS, although the grid replacing the PV panels.
voltage has a low order harmonic distortion. Figs. 10
and 11 show the behaviour of the proposed MPPT
algorithm during the start-up of the whole PV
generation system. The initial output voltage of the
power generator, when the converter is disabled,
corresponds to the open circuit voltage (500 V). When Fig. 9. Grid current iS and grid voltage VS in steady-
the system is enabled the reference dc-link volt-age state condition
moves from the starting value (400 V) towards the
maximum power point (250 V). During the seeking of
the MPP the dc-link voltage Vdc is always close to the
reference voltage Vdc* given by the MPPT algorithm. At
the start-up, the dc-link volt-age regulator guarantees
the matching between the reference voltage Vdc*and the
dc-link voltage Vdc in about 0.2 s, then the MPP is
reached in about 7 s. Figs. 12 and 13 show the Fig. 10. P-V and I-V characteristic, representing the
performance of the proposed MPPT algorithm in transient during the start-up of the PV generation
response to a step variation 25 A system.
¾ 20 A of the short circuit current of the
generator, corresponding to a 20% decrease of
the solar irradiance. The operating point moves
from 1 to the new MPP in 2 in 0.5s. Once the
new MPP is reached, only small oscillations
persist around the MPP.

Fig. 11. Vdc* , Vdc, and iS during the start-up

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 NOVEL CONTROL STRATEGY FOR SINGLE-PHASE SINGLE-STAGE PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERTER USING MPPT ALGORITHM

alone or grid connected applications”, IEE Proceedings

of Electric Power Applications, Vol. 147, No. 6, pp.
535-543, Nov. 2000.
3 .Grandi G., Sancineto G. (2003). “Hardware Modeling
of Photo-voltaic Panels”, Proc. of ISES Solar Congress,
Göteborg, (Sweden), June 14-19, 2003.
4 .Kim T.Y., Ahn H.G., Park S.K., Lee Y.K. (2001). “A
Fig. 12. P-V and I-V characteristic during a step change novel maxi-mum power point tracking control for
of the solar irradiance. photovoltaic power system under rapidly changing solar
radiation”, Proc. of IEEE- ISIE, 2001, Pusan, Korea,
Vol. 2, pp. 1011-1014.
5. Kuo Y.C., Liang T.J., Chen J.F. (2001). “Novel
maximum-power-point-tracking controller for
photovoltaic energy conversion system”, IEEE Trans.
Fig. 13. Power, voltage and current supplied by the PV on Industrial Electronics, Vol. 48 No. 3, pp. 594-601,
generation system vs. time during a transient June 2001.
representing a step change of the solar irradiance 6 .Logue D.L., Krein P.T. (2001). “Optimization of
power electronic systems using ripple correlation
7. CONCLUSION control: a dynamic program-ming approach”, Proc. of
A novel control strategy for single-stage converters IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, PESC
connecting PV panels to a single-phase grid is proposed 2001, Vol. 2, pp. 459-464.
in this paper. The embedded MPPT algorithm is able to 7. Midya P., Krein P.T., Turnbull R.J., Reppa R.,
find the maximum power point by computing the sign of Kimball J. (1996). “Dynamic maximum power point
the PV power derivative versus voltage. This tracker for photovoltaic ap-plications”, Proc. of
computation exploits PV current and voltage 27thAnnual IEEE Power Electronics Specialists
oscillations, at a frequency twice than that of the grid, Conference, PESC 1996, Vol. 2, pp. 1710-1716.
due to the connection of the converter with a single-
phase grid. The proposed MPPT algorithm does not
require the knowledge of the model of the PV panels.
Once the power derivative has been computed by the
MPPT algorithm, the dc-link voltage regulator drives
the PV panels voltage toward the MPP value. The
current regulator ensures steady state sinusoidal current
and unity power factor also in presence of grid voltage
perturbations. The whole PV generation system has
been numerically simulated and experimentally tested
by a laboratory prototype. The results show good
performance of the proposed control system in both
steady-state and dynamic conditions, confirming the
effectiveness of the PV generation for any operating
condition.

8.REFERENCES
1. Brambilla A., Gambarara M., Garutti A., Ronchi F.
(1999). “New approach to photovoltaic arrays maximum
power point tracking”, Proc. of 30th Annual IEEE Power
Electronics Specialists Conference, PESC 1999, Vol. 2,
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2. Gow J.A., Manning C.D. (2000). “Photovoltaic
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