International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 286

Volume 4 Issue 9, September 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 – 8190

FUZZY LOGIC BASED MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKER FOR

PHOTO VOLTAIC SYSTEM
K Padmavathi*, K R Sudha**
*Research Scholar, JNTU, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India
** Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT maximum power point are constant voltage method,

Photovoltaic system exhibits nonlinear characteristics
and maximum power (MP) points that changes with
solar insolation and cell’s temperature. The Photo
Voltaic System can supply the maximum power to the
load at a particular operating point which is generally
called as maximum power point (MPP), at which the
entire system operates with maximum efficiency and
produces its maximum power. The Maximum Power
Point Tracker control technique based on fuzzy
controller is implemented to generate the optimal
voltage from the photovoltaic system by modulating the
duty cycle applied to the boost dc-dc converter. The
efficacy of fuzzy controller is compared with perturb and
observe method.
Keywords – Photo Voltaic System, Maximum Power
Point Tracking, Perturb & Observe method, Fuzzy
Controller, Boost Converter
I. INTRODUCTION
Renewable energy resources play a vital role in the
generation of electricity. The sources of renewable
energy are Solar, Wind, Hydro power, Biomass,
Geothermal, Hydrogen and Ocean. Solar energy is
directly converted into electrical energy by using
Photovoltaic (PV) cells[1]. Because of no fuel cost,
pollution free, little maintenance and emitting no noise,
Photovoltaic (PV) is a good source of energy [2]. The
PV system exhibits a nonlinear V-I characteristics and
its maximum power (MP) point fluctuate with the
change in temperature and solar insolation. Most of the
research work is going on in this area to track the
maximum power point. The Maximum Power Point
Tracking (MPPT) is applied to PV systems to extract
maximum available power from sun at all solar
insolations. Many MPPT techniques have been
proposed by implementing different control strategies
[3]. A DC to DC converter serves the purpose of
transferring maximum power from the PV system to the
load. Different types of conventional methods to obtain
Open Circuit Voltage method (OCV), Short Circuit
Current method (SCC), Perturb and Observe method
(P&O), Incremental Conductance method (INC) [4].
Compared with conventional methods, Artificial
Intelligence (AI) techniques gives fast response under
any operating conditions with accurate results [5]. This
paper presents the AI technique using Fuzzy Logic
Controller (FLC) to implement MPPT in order to
improve energy conversion efficiency and also
compared with P&O method.
II. PHOTO VOLTAIC SYSTEM
2.1 SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
The dispersion of Photo Voltaic (PV) is very fast
because it generates electricity in a clean, quiet and
reliable manner. PV system is a static electricity
generator as it produces electricity when the photon of
the sunlight strikes the semiconductor materials in the
PV cell. Individual PV cells are interconnected in a
sealed, weatherproof package which is known as a
module [6]. To increase the voltage modules are
connected in series and to increase the current they are
connected in parallel. The PV modules are connected in
series and parallel which is known as PV array to
achieve the desired output. Fig. 1 shows the cells,
modules and array of photovoltaic System. PV systems
can be easily expanded by adding more modules and
manufactured to withstand the most rugged conditions.
The benefits of using photovoltaic system are (i) operate
with little maintenance, (b) pollution free, (c) reduced
production end wastes and emissions. The installation of
photovoltaic system requires high initial capital cost, but
the operating cost is low compared with obtainable
power technologies. The installation of photovoltaic
system requires high initial capital cost, but the
operating cost is low compared with obtainable power
technologies.

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 International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 287
Figure 1 Cells, Modules and array of PV system
2.2 EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT AND
MATHEMATICAL MODELLING
Photovoltaic cells consist of a silicon P-N junction
that when exposed to light releases electrons around a
closed electrical circuit. From this premise the circuit
equivalent of a PV cell can be modeled through the
circuit shown in Fig. 2. Electrons from the cell are
excited to higher energy levels when a collision with a
photon occurs. These electrons are free to move across
the junction and create a current. This is modeled by the
light generated current source. The intrinsic P-N
junction characteristic is introduced as a diode in the
circuit equivalent.
Figure 2 Equivalent circuit of PV cell
The current source Iph represents the cell photocurrent.
Rp and Rs are the intrinsic shunt and series resistances
of the cell, respectively. Rp is inversely related with
shunt leakage current to the ground .The PV efficiency is
insensitive to variation in Rp but a small variation in Rs
will affect the PV output power .
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Volume 4 Issue 9, September 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 – 8190
The photovoltaic system can be modeled mathematically
as given in equations (1) - (4)
The module photo current Iph depends is given by
(1)
Where Iscr is short circuit current of PV module; Ki is
the short circuit temperature coefficient; T is the
operating temperature of module in Kelvin; Tr is the
reference temperature in Kelvin; G is the solar radiation
in watt/mt2.
The reverse saturation current of the module is
(2)
Where q is the electron charge; Voc is the open circuit
voltage; Ns is number of series cells; k is Boltzmann’s
constant, A is fitting factor
The module saturation current depends on the cell
temperature, which is given by Equation 3.
(3)
Where Eg is the band gap energy of semiconductor.
The output current of PV module is given by
(4)
Where Np is the number of parallel cells; Rs & RP are
series and shunt resistances of the module respectively.
The output power of the photo voltaic array is given
Equation 5
(5)
Fill Factor(FF) is defined as the ratio of the maximum
obtainable power of the photo voltaic cell to the product
of open circuit voltage(Voc)and short circuit current (Isc)
[7]. Voc and Isc are the maximum values of the pv cell.
Graphically, the FF is a measure of the "squareness" of
the solar cell and is also the area of the largest rectangle
which will fit in the IV curve.
(6)
Where Vmp and Imp are the voltage and current at
maximum power point. Voc is the open circuit voltage
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Volume 4 Issue 9, September 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 – 8190

and Isc is the short circuit current. Table 1 shows the

parameters of photovoltaic system.

Table1. Photovoltaic System Parameters

PV array parameters Symbol Values
Reference Temperature Tr 298K
Solar irradiance G 1000 watt/mt2
Temperature Ki 0.00023 A/K
coefficient
Cell short-circuit Iscr 3.75A
current at Tr
Saturation current at Ior 0.000021A
reference temperature
Boltzmann’s constant K 1.38065e-23J/°K
Charge of an electron q 1.6022e-19C
Figure 3 I-V and P-V curves of Photo Voltaic System
Fitting factor A 1.3
No. of parallel cells Np 6
No. of series cells Ns 10
3.1 PERTURB & OBSERVE METHOD

This is a technique used to obtain the Maximum

III. MAXIMUM POWER POINT
Possible Power (MPP) from a varying source. Perturb
TRACKING and Observe (P&O) method is implemented. In this
algorithm a small perturbation is introduced in the
PV system’s efficiency depends on Maximum system. Due to this perturbation, the power of the
Power Point Tracking (MPPT). Because of the module alters then the perturbation is carried in that
nonlinear characteristics of output voltage and direction. When the maximum power is achieved, the
current with change in solar radiation, operating power instant reduces and the perturbation reverses. Fig.
temperature and load current, the efficiency of PV 5 represents the flowchart of MPPT technique. The
system is less [8]. To overcome these problems, the drawback of P&O method is it oscillates around the
maximum power point is tracked. Fig. 3 shows the MPP in steady state operation and for rapidly
typical I-V and P-V curves of photovoltaic system. increasing or decreasing irradiance levels, it can
A PV Module produces its maximum current when there track in the wrong direction [9].
is no resistance in the circuit, i.e. a short circuit between
its Positive and Negative terminals. This maximum
current is known as the Short Circuit current (Isc).
The voltage in the circuit is zero when the PV
Module is shorted. The maximum voltage occurs
when there is a break in the circuit and is known as
Open Circuit voltage (Voc). Under this condition,
the resistance is infinitely high and there is no
current. The point on the knee of the I-V Curve
where the maximum power output is located is
called the Maximum Power Point (MPP). The
voltage and current at this Maximum Power Point
are designated as Vmp and Imp. In this paper MPPT
using perturb & observe method is compared with
MPPT using fuzzy logic controller. Figure 4 Perturb & Observe Algorithm

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 International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 289
3.2 FUZZY LOGIC MPPT
Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) can be implemented
as a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) controller
to achieve the maximum power from the photo voltaic
system [10]. The input variables are PV current and
voltage and the output variable is duty cycle. Error (e)
and change of error (ce) are calculated using the
following equations.
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
Where Ipv and Vpv are photo voltaic current and voltage,
t and (t-1) are actual and previous states. The linguistic
variables of both input and output membership functions
are NB(negative big), NM(negative medium),
NS(negative small),ZE(zero), PS(positive small),
PM(positive medium), PB(positive big) are represented
in Fig. 5.
Figure 5 Membership functions of input and output
variables
The output variable, d is the pulse width modulation
signal to produce the switching pulses of the DC to DC
converter. The fuzzy logic controller’s rule base used in
PV system is represented by Table 2
Table 2 Rule base of Fuzzy logic MPPT
e/ce NB NS ZE PS PB
NB ZE ZE PB PB PB
NS ZE ZE PS PS PS
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Volume 4 Issue 9, September 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 – 8190
ZE PS ZE ZE ZE NS
PS NS NS NS ZE ZE
PB NB NB NB ZE ZE
IV. BOOST CONVERTER
Boost Converters are DC to DC converters used for
converting low voltage to high voltage. It consists of
inductor, capacitor and switches. DC-DC converters
play a role of charge controller, MPP trackers and PV
interface with load. The converter consists of
semiconductor switch, inductor and a capacitor. The
circuit diagram of a boost converter is shown in Fig. 6.
When SW1 is switched on, input charges the inductor.
When SW1 is switched off, the source voltage and
inductor together charges the capacitor to a higher value
greater than source voltage. Diode avoids the discharge
of capacitor when SW1 is in on state.
Figure 6 DC-DC Boost converter
V. RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS
The analysis of Photo Voltaic system interfaced to boost
converter has been done using MATLAB software using
SIMULINK . The simulink was evaluated for SOLAREX
MSX-60 and the specifications are shown in Table 3.
Table 3 Parameter specification of SOLAREX MSX-60
Maximum Power(Pmax) 60W
Voltage @ Pmax 17.1V
Current @ Pmax 3.5A
Guaranteed minimum Pmax 58W
Short circuit current(Isc) 3.8A
Open circuit voltage (Voc) 21.1V
The comparative performance of Perturb & Observe
MPPT and Fuzzy MPPT at a solar radiance of
1000watts/mt2 and at an operating temperature of 25°C
is presented in this paper. Fig. 7 shows results
comparing the output voltage of boost converter using
 International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 290
Volume 4 Issue 9, September 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 – 8190

P&O and Fuzy MPPT controllers. The system with

Fuzzy controller settles faster than P&O technique.

Figure 9 P-V characteristics of PV module for varied

temperatures
Figure 7 Comparison of DC voltage using P&O and
The system considered is also simulated for various
fuzzy MPPT controllers
solar irradiances with a constant temperature. The
observations are also undertaken for solar irradiance
The current-voltage (I-V) and power-voltage(P-V)
of 200W/mt2, 400W/mt2, 600W/mt2, 800W/mt2 and
characteristics depend on the variation of solar irradiance
200W/mt2 at a constant temperature. Fig. 10 & Fig.
and operating temperature. The observations are
11 shows the I-V and P-V characteristics for various
undertaken for an operating temperature of 25°C, 40°C,
solar irradiances.
50°C, 60°C and 80°C at a constant solar irradiance of
1000watts/mt2. Fig.8 and Fig. 9 represents the I-V and
P-V characteristics of the PV system at various
temperatures. It is observed that the current is maximum
and also having almost constant value at the lower
voltage range. From P-V characteristics it is observed
that voltage and power of the PV system reduces with
increase in operating temperature.

Figure 10 I-V characteristics of PV module for varied

solar irradiances

Figure 8 I-V characteristics of PV module for varied

temperatures

Figure 11 P-V characteristics of PV module for varied

solar irradiances

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 International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 291
Volume 4 Issue 9, September 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 – 8190

The Fill Factor (FF) evaluates the performance of PV [5] Aurobinda Panda, M. K. Pathak, S. P. Srivastava,
system. In Table 4 resultant data for various solar Fuzzy Intelligent Controller for The Maximum Power
irradiance by implementing Fuzzy logic MPPT Point Tracking of a Photovoltaic Module at Varying
controller for the photo voltaic system are tabulated. Atmospheric Conditions, Journal of Energy
Technologies and Policy, 1(2), 2011,18-27.
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various solar irradinces. Comprehensive approach to modeling and simulation of
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Solar W/ 1000 800 600 400 200 Electronics, 24(5), 2009, 1198–1208.
Irradiance mt2 [7] Pradhan Arjyadhara, Ali S.M, Jena Chitralekha,
Maximum W 58.99 45.46 32.46 20.11 8.64 Analysis of solar PV cell performance with changing
Power Irradiance and Temperature, International Journal of
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Voltage [8] Ali Reza Reisi a,n, Mohammad Hassan Moradi b,
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VI. CONCLUSION
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1699-1702.
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[10] M. M. Algazar, H. Al-Monier, H. A. El-Halim, and
system operates at its maximum power point. These
M. E. E. K. Salem, Maximum power point tracking
controllers minimize the error between the operating
using fuzzy logic control, International Journal of
power and the reference maximum power which is
Electrical Power and Energy Systems, 39(1), 2012, 21–
variable according to the load and of the weather
28 .
conditions. In this paper, MPPT controller using Fuzzy
is compared with Perturb & Observe method. The fuzzy
MPPT is better than the P&O method.

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