Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216

www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

A fuzzy global efficiency optimization of a photovoltaic

water pumping system
K. Benlarbi a, L. Mokrani b,*
, M.S. Nait-Said a

a
LSPIE Laboratory, Electrical Engineering Department, Engineering Science Faculty, Batna University,
Chahid M.E.H. Boukhlouf Street, Batna 5000, Algeria
b
Materials Laboratory, Electrical Engineering Department, Engineering Science Faculty, Laghouat University, B.P. 37G,
Ghardaia Street, Laghouat 03000, Algeria
Received 23 July 2003; received in revised form 9 March 2004; accepted 26 March 2004
Available online 19 May 2004

Communicated by: Associate Editor Arturo Morales-Acevedo

Abstract
This paper presents an on-line fuzzy optimization of the global efficiency of a photovoltaic water pumping system
driven by a separately excited DC motor (DCM), a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), or an induction
motor (IM), coupled to a centrifugal pump.
The fuzzy optimization procedure stated above, which aims to the maximization of the global efficiency, will lead
consequently to maximize the drive speed and the water discharge rate of the coupled centrifugal pump. The proposed
solution is based on a judicious fuzzy adjustment of a chopper ratio which adapts on-line the load impedance to the
photovoltaic generator (PVG). Simulation results show the effectiveness of the drive system for both transient and
steady state operations. Hence it is suitable to use this fuzzy logic procedure as a standard optimization algorithm for
such photovoltaic water pumping drives.
Ó 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Photovoltaic water pumping; Global efficiency optimization; Fuzzy logic controller; DC and AC actuators

1. Introduction regions, where the direct solar density may reach up to

The increasing of the world energy demand, due to
the modern industrial society and population growth, is
motivating a lot of investments in alternative energy
solutions, in order to improve energy efficiency and
power quality issues. The use of photovoltaic energy is
considered to be a primary resource, because there are
several countries located in tropical and temperate
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +213-2993-2117; fax: +213-
2993-2698.
E-mail address: mokrani_lakhdar@hotmail.com (L. Mok-
rani).
0038-092X/$ - see front matter Ó 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.solener.2004.03.025
1000 W/m2 .
One of the most popular applications of the photo-
voltaic energy utilization is the water pumping system
driven by electrical motors. The two main restrictions
for using solar energy are the high initial installation
cost and the very low photovoltaic cell conversion effi-
ciency. The cell conversion ranges vary from 12% of
efficiency up to a maximum of 29% for very expensive
units (Sim~ oes and Franceschetti, 2000). In spite of those
facts, there has been a trend in price decreasing for
modern power electronics systems and photovoltaic
cells, indicating good promises for new installations.
Moreover, the maximum power of a photovoltaic
system changes with solar intensity, and temperature;
and dynamic loads influence the performance by
204 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216

Nomenclature

A PV generator surface M mutual inductance

AP pump torque constant P number of pole pairs
Bm viscose friction coefficient Pn motor output rated power
E insolation Q water discharge rate
ea armature voltage R equivalent series resistance of the PVG
H total pump head Ra armature resistance
I PV generator current Rr rotor resistance per phase
ia armature current Rs stator resistance per phase
I0 PV generator reverse saturation current Te electromagnetic developed torque
Iph photocurrent TL load torque
isd d-axis stator current TP pump torque
isq q-axis stator current vsd d-axis stator voltage
Jm moment of inertia vsq q-axis stator voltage
K chopper ratio V PV generator voltage
KE motor speed constant Vth thermal voltage of the PV generator
KT motor torque constant wf permanent magnets total flux
La armature inductance wrd d-axis rotor flux
Ld d-axis self inductance of the stator wrq q-axis rotor flux
Lq q-axis self inductance of the stator xm drive angular speed
Lr rotor self inductance xs synchronous angular speed
Ls stator self inductance g global efficiency

changing continuously the operating point. In order to
amortize the initial investments, it is very important to
optimize the photovoltaic water pumping system, by the
use of power electronics converters to adapt dynamically
the electrical impedance to the PVG for different oper-
ating conditions (Matsui et al., 1999; Akbaba and
Akbaba, 1999).
Various studies have been done on the choice of the
drive system, which suits PVG, type of pumps to use and
ways to control and optimize the water pumping system.
This was firmly related to existing technologies.
At the early stage, only the DC motors were used to
drive pumps. Direct coupling of series, shunt, and sep-
arately excited DC motors to PVG in water pumping
systems were studied (Appelbum, 1986; Saied, 1988,
Fam and Balachander, 1988, Appelbaum and Sharma,
1989). Steady state and transient performances were
presented. The separately excited and the permanent
magnet DC motors were found more suitable for PV
water pumping systems (Roger, 1984; Singer, 1993;
Akbaba et al., 1998; Mummadi, 2000). The power
electronics converter used to adapt the dynamic electri-
cal impedance of DC motors to the PVG is a buck, a
boost, or a buck-boost chopper in general (Altas and
Sharaf, 1996; Martins, 1998; Hua and Shen, 1998).
The permanent magnets synchronous motors called
also brushless DC motors coupled to a centrifugal pump
were found suitable for PV water pumping systems
(Benlarbi, 2003; Swamy, 1995).
Moreover, the AC induction motors driving PV
water pumping systems were introduced mainly for their
robustness and relatively low cost. Steady state and
transient characteristics of such systems were presented
in (Olorunfemi, 1991; Eskander and Zaki, 1997). The
motor characteristics are severely affected by the PVG
which was considered as a current generator with
dependent voltage source.
For such applications, where the PV water pumping
system is driven by an AC motor (PMSM or IM), a
chopper and/or an inverter should be included in order
to perform the DC–AC conversion stage (Benlarbi,
2003).
For PV water pumping systems, two types of pumps
are widely used: the volumetric pump and the centrifugal
pump. It is found that the PVG energy utilized by the
centrifugal pump is much higher than by the volumetric
pump. In fact, in the case of the centrifugal pumps, the
operation takes place for longer periods even for low
insulation levels, and the load characteristic is in closer
proximity to the PVG maximum power locus (Pote-
baum, 1984; Anis and Metwally, 1985; Appelbum, 1986;
Olorunfemi, 1991; Veerachary and Yadaiah, 2000).
In PV water pumping systems, the maximum power
point tracking (MPPT) is usually used as online control
strategy to track the maximum output power operating
point of the PVG for different operating conditions of
insolation and temperature of the PVG. Although, the
use of the MPPT control do not mean a systematic
 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216
optimization of the motor or the whole system efficiency
(Yao and Ramshaw, 1995; Eskander and Zaki, 1997;
Matsui et al., 1999).
Thus, several control strategies of optimization
allowing the improvement of the photovoltaic water
pumping system operation were applied to the efficiency
maximization of the PVG, the motor, or the whole
system. For example, two control strategies were pre-
sented in (Eskander and Zaki, 1997). Firstly, a water
pumping system driven by an induction motor coupled
to a centrifugal pump is controlled to operate on the
maximum power characteristic of the PVG. Secondly,
the induction motor is controlled to operate at its
maximum efficiency. A comparison is made, and it is
concluded that the MPPT is not necessarily the better
way to control a PVG in a water pumping system.
Elsewhere, many techniques such as gradient meth-
ods, and artificial intelligence techniques were applied
successfully to implement on-line the optimization
strategy used for the photovoltaic water pumping sys-
tems optimization.
Fuzzy logic control has been successfully applied to
track the maximum power point in PV energy conver-
sion systems (Hilloowala and Sharaf, 1992; Won et al.,
1994), and to transfer the maximum electric power
available from a PVG to a three-phase induction motor
supplied via a PWM inverter (Altas and Sharaf, 1994).
The neural networks were used also to track on-line
the maximum power of the PVG as it was reported by
(Hiyama et al., 1995), and to identify the PVG optimal
point supplying via a chopper a separately excited DC
motor, coupled to a centrifugal pump or a volumetric
pump (Veerachary and Yadaiah, 2000).
In addition, the neuro-fuzzy networks were used in
the same context. Let us state for example the study
presented by (Della et al., 2000) which leads to an on-
line optimal operation point tracking of a PVG which
supplies an induction motor via a PWM voltage in-
verter.
One of the authors has shown the effectiveness of the
artificial intelligence techniques comparatively to the
gradient classical methods, in optimizing a water
pumping system driven by DC and AC motors (Ben-
larbi, 2003).
This diversity of the control strategies used to opti-
mize water pumping systems driven by different electri-
cal motors coupled to a centrifugal pump, has
stimulated us to propose a general fuzzy global efficiency
optimization algorithm of such systems, able to become
a standard control strategy of all PV water pumping
systems, because of the fuzzy logic robustness and
effectiveness in the case of process with dynamic model
or nonlinear in nature.
Hence, the aim of this paper is to present a fuzzy self-
tuning of the chopper ratio intercalated between the
PVG and a PWM inverter and/or an electrical motor,
205
driving a centrifugal pump in order to optimize the
global efficiency of the whole photovoltaic water
pumping system driven by a separately excited DC
motor, a permanent magnet synchronous motor, or an
induction motor.
For this purpose, a fuzzy logic controller composed
by an inference rules base, is proposed for the on-line
adjustment of the chopper ratio according to the global
efficiency evolution of the water pumping system for
different illumination intensity levels.
The paper is organized as follows: in Section 2
mathematical model of the photovoltaic water pumping
system (PVG, chopper, electrical motors and centrifugal
pump) is given. In Section 3, the structure configuration
of the fuzzy logic controller applied to the global effi-
ciency optimization of the PV water pumping system is
presented. Simulation results of the whole PV water
pumping system driven by one horsepower three differ-
ent motors are presented, discussed, and compared in
Section 4 of this paper. The effectiveness of the proposed
fuzzy controller is illustrated both in transient and
steady state operating conditions. Finally some con-
cluding remarks end the paper.
2. Mathematical model of the photovoltaic water pumping
system
A photovoltaic water pumping system is composed
mainly of a PV generator, power electronics con-
verter(s), and an electrical motor usually coupled to a
centrifugal pump load (as shown in Fig. 1).
Mathematical models of the photovoltaic water
pumping system components are given in the following
sections.
2.1. Photovoltaic generator model
The direct conversion of the solar energy into elec-
trical power is obtained by solar cells. A PVG is com-
posed by many strings of solar cells in series, connected
in parallel, in order to provide the desired values of
output voltage and current. Fig. 2 shows the equivalent
circuit of a PVG, from which non linear I–V charac-
teristic can be deduced.
= =
= ~
Electrical Centrifugal
PVG
Inverter
motor pump
Chopper
Fig. 1. Photovoltaic water pumping system scheme.
206 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216

I Rs I
U ¼ VK and i ¼ ð5Þ
K
ID IP
Iph The inverter, inserted between the chopper and the AC
VJ D Rp V motor, is controlled by applying the field-oriented con-
trol strategy to the PMSM and IM, in order to ovoid
the coupling and the magnetic saturation problems in
the machines. This strategy uses the measured speed, the
Fig. 2. Equivalent circuit of a PVG. nominal magnetic flux and the torque reference value, to
determine the frequency and the current references
necessary to control the PWM inverter.
As mentioned previously, one can express the general
formula of the PVG IðV Þ characteristic as follows: 2.3. Electrical motors modeling
I ¼ Iph
ID
Ip


  2.3.1. DC motor model
VJ q V þ Rs I The mathematical relation that describes the dynamic
¼ Iph
I0 exp
1
ð1Þ
k0 T RP model of a DC motor with constant magnetic flux, can
be expressed as follows (Grellet and Clerc, 1997):
Then the PV generator nonlinear I–V characteristic can
be rewritten as: dia
ea ¼ ia Ra þ La þe ð6Þ
0   1 dt
Iph
1 þ RRPs I
RVP
V ¼ Vth ln @ þ 1A
Rs I ð2Þ Te ¼ K T i a ð7Þ
I0

with: dhm
e ¼ KE ¼ K E xm ð8Þ
dt
k0 T
Vth ¼ ð3Þ The parameters of the DC motor are, KT the torque
q
constant, KE the back emf constant, La the armature
where k0 is the Boltzman constant, T is the absolute inductance, Ra the armature resistance, hm the rotor
temperature, and q is the electron charge. position in mechanical degrees, xm the rotor angular
Usually, the shunt resistance effect is neglected, speed, and P the number of pole pairs.
consequently the expression of the PVG terminal volt-
age, can be expressed by (Harakawa and Tujimoto, 2.3.2. Permanent magnet synchronous motor model
2001; Veerachary and Yadaiah, 2000; Alghuwainem, The mathematical dynamic model of a PMSM drive
1992; Altas and Sharaf, 1994): can be described by the following equations in a syn-

 chronously rotating d–q reference frame (Grellet and
Iph
I
V ¼ Vth ln þ 1
RI ð4Þ Clerc, 1997):
I0       
vd Rs þ pLd
P xm Lq id 0
where Iph is the photocurrent, it is proportional to the ¼ þ ð9Þ
vq P xm Ld Rs þ pLq iq P xm wf
illumination intensity (Iph ¼ 4:82 A for an insolation of
1000 W/m2 in our numerical case). where vd and vq , Ld and Lq , id and iq are stator voltages,
inductances, and currents components in the (d; q) axis
2.2. Power electronics converters modeling respectively; Rs is the stator resistance per phase, wf is
the rotor flux linkage due to the rotor permanent magnet
The DC–DC converter is a buck, a boost, or a buck- frame, and p is the differential operator.
boost chopper in general. It is inserted between the PVG Moreover, the PMSM developed electromagnetic
and its load in order to adjust the dynamic equivalent torque is given by the following equation:
impedance of the PWM inverter and/or the electric 3P
motor. One can define the chopper gain K as the ratio Te ¼ ðwf iq þ ðLd
Lq Þid iq Þ ð10Þ
2
between the output and the input mean voltages or the
input and output mean currents when the conduction
regime is continuous. So, if the chopping frequency is 2.3.3. Induction motor model
sufficiently higher, which is the case at low power levels, The mathematical dynamic model of a three-phase,
one can replace the converter with an equivalent pure Y-connected induction motor is described by the equa-
gain model. By considering the mean values of the tions set (11) expressed in the d–q synchronously rotat-
electric quantities over a chopping period, on can write: ing reference frame as (Grellet and Clerc, 1997):
 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216 207

2 2
 3
2 3 Rs þ LMr Tr þ prLs
rLs xs
LMr Tr M
Lr
P xm
2 3
vsq 6   7 isq
6 rLs xs
2
Rs þ LMr Tr þ prLs M
P xm 7

LMr Tr
6 vsd 7 6 Lr 76 isd 7
6 7¼6   76 7 ð11Þ
4 0 5 6 74 5
6 M
0
p þ Tr1
ðxs
P xm Þ 7 wrq
0 4 Tr
  5 wrd
0 M
Tr
ðxs
P xm Þ
p þ T1r

2

where: Tr ¼ RLrr , Ts ¼ RLss , and r ¼ 1
LMr Ls .
In this case, the IM develop an electromagnetic tor-
que Te expressed as follows:
3P M
Te ¼ ðisq wrd
isd wrq Þ
2 Lr
where, vsd and vsq , isd and isq , wsd and wsq are the stator
voltage, current and rotor flux d–q axis components
respectively; Rs and Rr are the stator and rotor resis-
tances per phase, respectively; Ls and Lr are the stator
and rotor self inductances respectively; M is the rotor–
stator mutual inductance; xs is the angular speed of the
rotating magnetic field.
2.4. Centrifugal pump model
The mechanical part modeling of an electric motor is
given by
Te ¼ Jm pxm þ Bm xm þ TL
where Bm is the viscous-friction coefficient, Jm is the total
inertia of motor shaft, and TL is the load torque.
In this case TL is the hydrodynamic load torque of the
centrifugal pump, which is given by the following
equation (Anis and Metwally, 1994):
TL ¼ TP ¼ AP x2m
where:
Pn
AP ¼
x3n
The centrifugal pump is also described by an H ðQÞ
characteristic given by (Caro and Bonal, 1997):
H ¼ C1 x2m
C2 xm Q
C3 Q2
where C1 , C2 and C3 are constant parameters.
The pump performance is predicted by specifying a
load curve (Caro and Bonal, 1997):
H ¼ Hg þ DH
where, Hg is the geometrical height which is the differ-
ence between the free level of the water to pump and the
highest point of the canalization, and DH is the pressure
losses in the whole canalization, they are given by:

l 8Q2
DH ¼ k þ n 2 4 ð18Þ
d pd g
with, k is a coefficient of the regular pressure losses in the
canalization, l length, and d diameter; n is a coefficient
ð12Þ
of the local or singular pressure losses in elbows, valves,
and connections,. . .of the canalization.
3. Fuzzy logic controller structure and design
The fuzzy logic permits to define control laws of any
process starting from a linguistic description of the
control strategy to be adopted. Fuzzy logic uses instead
of numerical variables linguistic ones, which are vari-
ables whose values (fuzzy subsets) are labels or sentences
in a natural or artificial language. Hereafter a descrip-
tion of a fuzzy logic controller proposed to the global
efficiency optimization of a PV water pumping system.
ð13Þ
3.1. Fuzzy logic controller structure
In a typical basic configuration of a fuzzy logic
controller (FLC) one can find (Buhler, 1994):
1. Fuzzification or linguistic coding of input variables,
which transforms a given set of numerical inputs
ð14Þ
(measured or calculated) into a fuzzy linguistic vari-
ables set composed of fuzzy subsets called also mem-
bership functions.
2. Inference fuzzy rules which contains a set of fuzzy
ð15Þ
rules in linguistic form as well as the database which
is a collection of expert control knowledge allowing
to achieve the fuzzy control objectives. This control
rules base can be set up using IF-THEN rules, based
on expert experience and/or engineering knowledge,
ð16Þ and learning fuzzy rule-based system which has learn-
ing capabilities. The fuzzy reasoning used to built a
decision-making unit, is usually expressed as rules
with sentence conjunctives AND, and OR.
3. Defuzzification of the inference engine, which evalu-
ð17Þ ates the rules based on a set of control actions for a
given fuzzy inputs set. This operation converts the in-
ferred fuzzy control action into a numerical value at
the output by forming the ‘‘union’’ of the outputs
resulting from each rule. At this stage the controller
has to resolve the conflict between the different rules
208 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216

that may ‘‘fire’’ at the same time. The defuzification µ (d ηn), µ (dKn)
produces a non-fuzzy output control action that best
NB NS EZ PS PB
represents the recommended control actions of the
different rules.

3.2. FLC design for global efficiency optimization

-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 d ηn, dKn

The PV water pumping system global efficiency is the
ratio of the hydrodynamic centrifugal pump power to Fig. 4. Membership functions of dgn , and dKn .
the input incidental power captured by the photovoltaic
generator, it is defined as follows:
tions as it is shown in Fig. 4. Hence, the space of dgðkÞ
AP x3m and dKðkÞ is partitioned with a fuzzy subset functions
g¼ ð19Þ
EA named fNB; NS; EZ; PS; PBg. Each of these acro-
The optimization of this global efficiency is done by nyms is described by a given mathematical membership
maximizing the power of the centrifugal pump for a function, and means namely, NB  negative big,
given illumination intensity E, which vary slowly with NS  negative small, EZ  zero, PS  positive small,
the time. This will lead consequently to maximize the and PB  positive big.
electrical motor speed or the water discharge rate. The generated rules should be done properly and
A DC–DC converter with an adjusted ratio K per- arranged in a fuzzy matrix table. Twenty five rules have
mits the maximization of this efficiency, by an online been deduced from a qualitative analysis of the influence
adaptation of the load impedance to the photovoltaic of the chopper ratio variation dK on the global efficiency
generator. A self-tuning of the chopper ratio K using a variation dg (see Table 1), on the basis of Fig. 5.
fuzzy logic controller is proposed for this purpose. Fig. 3 The following scenario justifies the reasoning behind
shows the block diagram of this fuzzy controller. the chosen rules which determine the FLC action (see
The two input control variables of the fuzzy con- also Fig. 5 and Table 1):
troller are the global efficiency variation dgðkÞ, and the
chopper ratio variation dKðkÞ at the kth sampling peri- 1. If the global efficiency variation is sufficiently close to
od. They are updated using the following equations: 0 which means that its maximum is reached, then we
would not make any variation in the chopper ratio.
dgn ðkÞ ¼ Gdg ðgðkÞ
gðk
1ÞÞ ð20Þ 2. If a positive variation of the global efficiency is going
with a negative variation of the chopper ratio, then
dKn ðkÞ ¼ GdK1 ðKðkÞ
Kðk
1ÞÞ ð21Þ
Table 1
dgðkÞ and dKðkÞ are normalized using the two input Inference rules matrix used to update the chopper ratio
scaling factors Gdg and GdK1 . The output of the con-
dKðk þ 1Þ
troller is a new ratio Kðk þ 1Þ to be applied to control
the chopper, calculated according to a decision table dKðkÞ dgðkÞ
rules, it is given by: NB NS EZ PS PB
Kðk þ 1Þ ¼ KðkÞ þ GdK2 dKn ðk þ 1Þ ð22Þ NB PB PS EZ NS NB
NS PS PS EZ NS NS
where GdK2 is the output scaling factor of the fuzzy logic EZ NS NS EZ PS PS
controller. The three FLC scaling factors play an PS NS NS EZ PS PS
important role in fixing the optimization performance, PB NB NS EZ PS PB
and they can be chosen using trial and error method.
The fuzzy controller membership functions for both
η
inputs and output variables are triangle-shaped func-

d ηn(k)
ω(k) d η(k ) dη> 0 dη< 0
dKn(k+1) K(k+1)
Calculation Gd η dK> 0 dK> 0
dKn(k) FLC ∑
dK(k) GdK2
GdK1

Z -1
K

Fig. 3. Synoptic scheme of the proposed fuzzy controller. Fig. 5. Fuzzy rules deduction from g versus K function.
 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216
we would decrease the future chopper ratio, and vice
versa.
3. If a negative variation of the global efficiency is
accompanied with a negative variation of the chopper
ratio, then we would increase the new chopper ratio,
and vice versa.
One can note from Table 1 that for a zero variation
of the ratio K, a small variation is proposed for its future
variation, in order to start the tuning at the initial
sampling periods.
The product-sum inference mechanism is used to
calculate the fuzzy output of the controller. This is
achieved by forming the union of the fuzzy output
resulting from each rule, which is the corresponding
output membership function weighted by the rule
strength (Buhler, 1994).
Many strategies can be used for performing the de-
fuzzification process which converts the fuzzy output of
the fuzzy controller into a numerical value. The gravity
center defuzification method is used in this paper. The
main idea of this method is that the larger the firing
strength of a rule, the more this rule contributes to the
global output of the fuzzy controller. In this case, the
change of the controller output at the kth sampling
interval is updated as it is mentioned in (22), with:
P25
li xi Si
dKn ðk þ 1Þ ¼ Pi¼1 25
ð23Þ
i¼1 li Si
where li is the ith rule degree of fulfillment at the kth
sampling period, xi is the gravity center abscissa of the
output fuzzy membership function corresponding to the
ith rule, and Si is its surface.
4. Simulation results and discussion
In this section the simulation results of the fuzzy
global efficiency optimization of a photovoltaic pumping
system driven by three types of electrical motors coupled
to a centrifugal pump are presented. All the parameters
of the photovoltaic water pumping system components
are depicted in the Appendix A.
4.1. Optimization procedure
For a given insolation level E, the chopper ratio K is
initialized to 1 (for the non-optimized system K is fixed
to this value) and its variation to 0, the PVG voltage is
set to the open circuit value. Then the motor dynamic
model (6, 9 or 11) associated to the mechanical differ-
ential Eq. (13) are solved using the fourth order Runge–
Kutta numerical method considering the motor starting
point as initial solution. This will define the motor state
(current(s), (fluxes), and speed) for each iteration. The
209
obtained new and previous speed values are used to
calculate the efficiency variation from Eq. (19), and
determine the new chopper ratio and its variation from
(22) and (23) respectively. Moreover, the calculated
motor current(s) impose the PVG current which is used
to determine the operating point voltage using the IðV Þ
characteristic of Eq. (4). The dynamic model of the
motor coupled to the centrifugal pump is solved again
with the new chopper ratio issued from the fuzzy con-
troller, and the PVG output voltage, starting from the
last iteration motor state as initial solution until the
steady state characterized by a constant speed is
reached. Then the water discharge rate is calculated
using Eqs. (16) and (17).
In order to speed up the algorithm we have used the
solution obtained for a given insolation level as initial
point to start the calculation for this insolation level
increased or decreased by a moderate step of (25 W/m2 ).
4.2. Steady state simulation results
Firstly, Fig. 6 proves the utility of the optimization of
the photovoltaic pumping system driven by a DC motor,
in fact a considerable increase of the speed, and a clear
improvement of the system global efficiency for low
insolation levels can be noted (see Figs. 7 and 8
respectively). At a nominal level of illumination intensity
(E ¼ 1000 W/m2 ) the direct coupling of the separately
excited DC motor with the PV generator is naturally
optimized. We note also that the optimum operation
points of the photovoltaic water pumping system char-
acterized by maximal drive speeds are almost confused
with those offering a maximum electric power of the PV
generator (see Fig. 6).
Secondly, the simulation results obtained for the
optimized and the non-optimized global efficiencies of
5
1000W/m²
900W/m²
4
800W/m²
700W/m²
3
Current(A)
600W/m²
500W/m²
2
400W/m²
300W/m²
1 200W/m²
o Non-optimized system
* Optimized system
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Voltage (V)
Fig. 6. Operation points of the photovoltaic pumping system
driven by a DCM.
210 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216

200 5
1000W/m²
180 900W/m²
4
800W/m²
160 700W/m²
Speed (rad/s)

Current (A)
3
600W/m²
140
500W/m²
2 400W/m²
120
300W/m²
100 1 200W/m²
Non-optimized speeds
Optimized speeds o Non-optimized system
80 * Optimized system
200 400 600 800 1000 0
Insolation (W/m²) 0 50 100 150 200 250
Voltage (V)
Fig. 7. Speeds of the photovoltaic pumping system driven by a
DCM. Fig. 9. Operation points of the photovoltaic pumping system
driven by a PMSM.

10 200

9 180
Global efficiency (%)

8 160
Speed (rad/s)

7 140

6 120

5 100

4 80
Optimized global efficiency Non-optimized speeds
Non-optimized global efficiency Optimized speeds
3 60
200 400 600 800 1000 200 400 600 800 1000
Insolation (W/m²) Insolation (W/m²)

Fig. 8. Global efficiency of the Photovoltaic pumping system Fig. 10. Speeds of the photovoltaic pumping system driven by a
driven by a DCM. PMSM.

the photovoltaic water pumping system driven by a

PMSM, are represented by Figs. 9–11. One can note that 10

the proposed fuzzy self-tuning of the chopper ratio 9

could shift the system operation points to be close to
those of maximum PVG power. In fact the curve of the 8
Global efficiency (%)

optimized operation points overlaps practically that 7

offering a maximum electric power of the PV generator
(curve IðV Þ in continuous line). We note also a speed 6
increase of the optimized system with the illumination
5
intensity increasing (see Fig. 10), and an improvement of
its global efficiency (see Fig. 11). Moreover, for an 4
insolation of 725 W/m2 the optimized and non-opti-
3 Optimized global efficiency
mized global efficiencies coincide, this means that the
Non-optimized global efficiency
group PMSM––centrifugal pump is well adapted to the 2
200 400 600 800 1000
PVG at this insolation level.
Insolation (W/m²)
Thirdly, the simulation results of the photovoltaic
water pumping system driven by an induction motor in Fig. 11. Global efficiency of the Photovoltaic pumping system
the optimized and the non-optimized global efficiencies driven by a PMSM.
 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216 211

cases, are illustrated by Figs. 12–14. It can be noted that 8

the system global efficiency is improved by the proposed
7
fuzzy logic controller (see Fig. 14). Also, Fig. 12 illus-
trates the load characteristic in the PV plan IðV Þ. It is 6

Global efficiency (%)

noted that the photovoltaic water pumping system
5
operation points curve corresponding to the optimized
system is shifted towards the maximum electric power 4
points of the PV generator (curve IðV Þ in continuous
line). For an insolation different from that to which the 3

motor-pump is well adapted to the PVG (700 W/m2 ), the 2

curve IðV Þ of the non-optimized system deviates con-
siderably from that of the PVG offering a maximum 1 Optimized global efficiency
electric power. We notice also in this case a clear in- Non-optimized global efficiency
0
crease of the speed for low illumination intensities in 200 400 600 800 1000
particular (see Fig. 13). But, it is to note also that the Insolation (W/m²)

Fig. 14. Global efficiency of the Photovoltaic pumping system

driven by an IM.

5
1000W/m² IðV Þ optimized curve and the PVG maximum power
900W/m² points characteristic are clearly distinct.
4 For comparison, the Figs. 15 and 16 represent the
800W/m²
optimized global efficiencies as well as the water dis-
700W/m² charge rates versus the solar illumination intensity, of
Current (A)

3 600W/m² the photovoltaic pumping systems driven by a one

500W/m² horsepower three different motors. It can be noted that
2 400W/m² the same centrifugal pump starts pumping water at
illumination intensities of 275.37, 294.39, and 361.50 W/
300W/m²
m2 , for the optimized systems driven by a separately
1 200W/m² excited DC motor, a permanent magnet synchronous
o Non-optimized system
* Optimized system
motor, and an induction motor respectively. Whereas,
0 this is reached with illumination intensities of 404.14,
0 50 100 150 200 250
Voltage (V) 382.78, and 486.21 W/m2 , respectively for the non-
optimized systems. Let us present the daily pumped
Fig. 12. Operation points of the photovoltaic pumping system water quantity, which is of 115.557, 120.720, and 98.620
driven by an IM. m3 for the optimized pumping systems driven by a sep-
arately excited DCM, a PMSM, and an IM respectively.

200 10

180
8
160
Global effeciency (%)

140
Speed (rad/s)

120

100 4

80
2
IM
60
Non-optimized speeds DCM
Optimized speeds PMSM
40 0
200 400 600 800 1000 200 400 600 800 1000
Insolation (W/m²) Insolation (W/m²)

Fig. 13. Speeds of the Photovoltaic pumping system driven by Fig. 15. Optimized global efficiencies of the photovoltaic
an IM. pumping systems driven by a DCM, a PMSM and an IM.
212 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216

16 However, it is only of 104.424, 110.204, and 84.932 m3

respectively, for the non-optimized system.
14
A comparison between the global efficiencies and the
water discharge rates of the photovoltaic water pumping
m3/h)

12
systems driven by the three electrical motors can be
Water discharge rate (m

10 deduced from the two Figs. 15 and 16 respectively and

Tables 2–4. In fact, one can note that the permanent
8
magnet synchronous motor and the separately excited
6 DC motor represent the two best choices for the
pumping system drive comparatively with the induction
4 motor in terms of water quantity pumped per day. It is
IM to be noted also that the global efficiency of the pho-
2 DCM tovoltaic pumping system driven by the permanent
PMSM
0 magnet synchronous motor is the best along an illumi-
200 400 600 800 1000 nation intensity range varying from 400 W/m2 approx-
Insolation (W/m²)
imately to 1000 W/m2 . As a result the water pumped
Fig. 16. Water discharge rates of the photovoltaic pumping quantity per day, is largely higher than that pumped by
systems driven by a DCM, a PMSM, and an IM. the systems driven by the separately excited DC motor,
and the induction motor in particular.

Table 2
Simulation results of the photovoltaic water pumping system driven by a DCM, with and without fuzzy optimization
E (W/m2 ) Non-optimized results Optimized results
x (rad/s) g (%) Q (m3 /h) K x (rad/s) g (%) Q (m3 /h)
1000 188.237 8.662 14.729 0.982 188.336 8.675 14.743
900 182.228 8.731 13.903 0.966 182.634 8.790 13.960
800 173.956 8.545 12.728 0.927 175.725 8.808 12.983
700 164.101 8.198 11.252 0.886 168.152 8.820 11.870
600 152.706 7.707 09.394 0.841 159.748 8.823 10.565
500 136.746 6.641 06.256 0.792 150.269 8.813 08.966
400 121.999 5.895 00.000 0.736 139.333 8.782 06.836
300 106.254 5.193 00.000 0.671 126.271 8.715 03.132
200 085.644 4.079 00.000 0.591 109.724 8.577 00.000
Quantity of 104.424 115.557
water per
day (m3 )

Table 3
Simulation results of the photovoltaic water pumping system driven by a PMSM, with and without fuzzy optimization
E (W/m2 ) Non-optimized results Optimized results
3
x (rad/s) g (%) Q (m /h) K x (rad/s) g (%) Q (m3 /h)
1000 186.998 8.492 14.561 1.166 194.527 9.559 15.573
900 183.697 8.944 14.107 1.127 187.646 9.533 14.648
800 179.318 9.360 13.495 1.047 180.279 9.511 13.631
700 171.974 9.436 12.438 0.979 172.110 9.458 12.458
600 159.877 8.845 10.586 0.900 162.880 9.353 11.062
500 143.819 7.726 07.761 0.826 149.926 9.162 09.311
400 125.948 6.486 02.990 0.730 139.524 8.818 06.877
300 105.032 5.015 00.000 0.624 123.648 8.183 01.676
200 078.769 3.173 00.000 0.495 101.697 6.829 00.000
Quantity of 110.204 120.720
water per
day (m3 )
 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216 213

Table 4
Simulation results of the photovoltaic water pumping system driven by an IM, with and without fuzzy optimization
E (W/m2 ) Non-optimized results Optimized results
3
x (rad/s) g (%) Q (m /h) K x (rad/s) g (%) Q (m3 /h)
1000 168.139 6.173 11.868 1.258 180.686 7.660 13.688
900 166.105 6.613 11.560 1.200 173.763 7.570 12.700
800 163.330 7.073 11.132 1.098 166.327 7.469 11.594
700 158.055 7.325 10.291 1.018 158.114 7.333 10.301
600 146.313 6.779 08.242 0.916 149.080 7.171 08.753
500 125.666 5.154 02.861 0.812 139.045 6.982 06.773
400 105.401 3.801 00.000 0.708 127.552 6.737 03.644
300 82.128 2.398 00.000 0.591 113.964 6.407 00.000
200 055.832 1.130 00.000 0.459 096.935 5.914 00.000
Quantity of 84.932 98.620
water per
day (m3 )

In addition, Tables 2–4 recapitulate the simulation 1.4

results of the non-optimized and the optimized photo-
voltaic water pumping system driven by the three elec- 1.2
trical motors types, for some illumination intensity
levels. This shows explicitly the significance of the pro- 1
Chopper ratio K

posed fuzzy optimization algorithm in terms of the 0.8

global efficiency improvement and the water discharge
rates increasing. 0.6

0.4
4.3. Effectiveness of the drive in the case of some transient
operations 0.2

0
Let us discuss now, the effectiveness of the PV water 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Time (s)
pumping system driven by a PMSM for example, for
starting transient and an abruptly solar insolation vari- Fig. 17. Chopper ratio behavior during the starting transient of
ation, which will appear or disappear on a cloudy day. a PV water pumping system driven by a PMSM for an inso-
The Figs. 17 and 18 present, respectively, the chopper lation level of 1000 W/m2 .
ratio evolution tuned by the fuzzy controller and the
speed transient behavior, at the starting of a photovol-
taic water pumping system driven by a PMSM, for an
insolation level of 1000 W/m2 . One can note that the
200
chopper ratio is fine-tuned by the fuzzy logic controller,
in fact it reaches its optimal value of 1.166 in the steady
state operation (see Table 3). Consequently an optimal 150
speed of 194.527 rad/s is obtained in this case.
Speed (rad/s)

Fig. 20 represents the speed variation of the photo-

voltaic water pumping system driven by a PMSM for an 100
abrupt insolation variation from 1000 to 500 W/m2 and
vice versa, studied as extreme case to prove the effec-
tiveness of the drive system. It is noted that when the 50

insolation varies from 1000 to 500 W/m2 between 2 and

4 s, the chopper ratio is judiciously tuned by the fuzzy 0
logic controller to its new optimal value. In fact, it 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Time (s)
changes from 1.166 to 0.826 and vice versa (see Fig. 19
and Table 3). Consequently the PMSM optimum speed Fig. 18. Speed behavior during the starting transient of a PV
changes rapidly from 194.527 to 149.926 rad/s in about water pumping system driven by a PMSM for an insolation
0.6 s. Hence, one can conclude that the chopper ratio level of 1000 W/m2 .
214 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216

1.4 ing system, and water quantity pumped per day in the
steady state operation. The effectiveness of the drive
1.2 1000W /m² 1000 W/m²
system for both, starting transient and severe solar
insolation variations, were also shown.
1
2. It is shown that the PMSM is a better choice for the
Chopper ratio K

500 W/m²
0.8 photovoltaic water pumping system drive, because a
DCM requires an excitation source and/or periodical
0.6 repair and maintenance. On the other hand the IM is
note technically a competitive choice.
0.4
3. Furthermore, the expected insensitivity of the pro-
0.2 posed fuzzy controller against parametric and non-
parametric variations (such as temperature, motors
0 parameters, . . . etc.) will be proved.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) 4. It is shown also via this paper, that the MPPT control
strategy is not always the better way to optimize the
Fig. 19. Chopper ratio evolution in the case of a PV water photovoltaic water pumping system, especially in the
pumping system driven by a PMSM for an abrupt variation of case of the IM drive. Hence it is preferable to opti-
insolation.
mize the output power or the global efficiency instead
of the PVG power for example.
5. The proposed fuzzy controller provides a highly on-
210 line accurate tracking of the optimal global efficiency
200 1000W/m² 1000W/m²
operating point, of the photovoltaic pumping systems
driven by the conventional electrical actuators, and
190
can become a standard regulator for optimizing such
180 systems. In fact with the same inference table, it can
Speed (rad/s)

170 be generalized to optimize a given objective function

of a PVG supplying a given load via a DC–DC con-
160
500W/m² verter.
150

140

130
Appendix A

120
1 2 3 4 5 6 PV generator parameters
Time (s)
Vth ¼ 12:227 V; I0 ¼ 4:877e
6 A; R ¼ 2:25 X
Fig. 20. Speed transient of a PV water pumping system driven
by a PMSM for an abrupt variation of insolation. DCM parameters
Pn ¼ 746 W; xn ¼ 183:259 rad=s; ea ¼ 180 V;
fuzzy update is carried out quickly, and allows an on- ia ¼ 5:5 A; Ra ¼ 8:03 X; La ¼ 0:045 H;
line optimization of the global efficiency of the PV water KE ¼ 0:741 V=ðrad=sÞ; KT ¼ 0:741 N m=A;
pumping system, even in extreme case of solar insolation
Jm ¼ 0:024 kg=m2 ; Bm ¼ 0 Nm=ðrad=sÞ
changes.
PMSM parameters

5. Conclusion Pn ¼ 746 W; xn ¼ 188:495 rad=s; vsn ¼ 208 V;

Isn ¼ 3 A; Rs ¼ 1:93 X; Ld ¼ 0:0424 H
In this paper, an on-line novel view point optimiza- Lq ¼ 0:0795 H; wf ¼ 0:3140 Wb; P ¼ 2; f ¼ 60 Hz;
tion of the global efficiency of a photovoltaic water
Jm ¼ 0:003 kg=m2 ; Bm ¼ 0:0008 Nm=ðrad=sÞ
pumping system driven by a DCM, a PMSM, and an IM
coupled to a centrifugal pump using a fuzzy logic con- IM parameters
troller, is proposed. The main concluding remarks are
summarized as follows: Pn ¼ 746 W; xs ¼ 188:495 rad=s; vsn ¼ 208 V;
Isn ¼ 3:4 A; Rs ¼ 4 X; Rr ¼ 1:143 X
1. The obtained simulation results have shown the good
performance of the proposed controller in terms of Ls ¼ 0:3676 H; Lr ¼ 0:3676 H; M ¼ 0:3489 H; P ¼ 2;
global efficiency optimization of the PV water pump- f ¼ 60 Hz; Jm ¼ 0:03 kg=m2 ; Bm ¼ 0:00098 Nm=ðrad=sÞ
 K. Benlarbi et al. / Solar Energy 77 (2004) 203–216
Table 5
Fuzzy controller scaling factors
System driven System driven System driven
by DCM by PMSM by IM
GdK1 0.002 0.03 0.03
GdK2 0.01 0.01 0.01
Gdg 0.48e5 0.476e3 0.5e3
Centrifugal pump parameters
Pn ¼ 559:5 W; xn ¼ 183:2595 rad=s; C1 ¼ 4:9234e
4 m=ðrad=sÞ2 ;
C2 ¼ 1:5825e
5 m=ððrad=sÞðm3 =hÞÞ; C3 ¼
0:0410 m=ðm3 =hÞ2
Canalization (pump load) parameters
Hg ¼ 7:4 m; k ¼ 0:0396 m; l ¼ 7:4 m;
d ¼ 0:06 m; n ¼ 6:3 m
Fuzzy controller scaling factors (Table 5).
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