A New Improved Algorithm for Optimal Sizing of
Battery-Supercapacitor based Hybrid Energy
Storage Systems
S. Mandal
Department of Electrical Engineering
Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700032, India
e-mail:shm.here.@gmail.com
Abstract—One of the major challenges in harvesting energy
from renewable energy sources is the intermittent nature of
available energy sources like solar, wind etc. Thus, it is has
become essential to deploy suitable energy storage devices to
compensate for the intermittent and random output power
generation from various resources. A hybrid energy storage
systems (HESS) consisting of battery and supercapacitor is
suitable to overcome the difficulties in battery storage system
which is normally used. Differential evolution (DE) is one of the
powerful evolutionary optimization and has been successfully
applied to solve various optimization problems. But one of major
difficulties in DE is the selection of control parameters. A wrong
parameter selection may lead to premature convergence and even
stagnation. In the this work, a new improved algorithm using
differential evolution and chaos theory is proposed for optimal
sizing of hybrid energy storage system consisting of battery and
super capacitor with an aim to avoid premature convergence. A
hybrid system consisting of solar and wind is considered for the
present work. A suitable objective function is developed which is
optimized under several equality and inequality constraints.
Simulation results are presented. A comparison of the results
with other heuristic techniques is also presented and it shows that
proposed techniques can produce good quality solutions.
Keywords—Differential evolution (DE); chaos theory, hybrid
energy storage systems (HESS); battery; supercapacitor (SC)
I. INTRODUCTION
Due to rapid depletion of conventional energy sources and
increasing global warming, researchers and scientists all over
the world are facing a great challenge in finding alternative
green energy sources. Hybrid energy systems consisting of
mainly renewable energy sources can play a vital role to
overcome this challenge. Most of the available energy sources
like solar, wind etc. are of intermittent in nature. A suitable
energy storage system is to be used to ensure stability and
reliability of the supply. Normally, battery is widely for small
and medium size generating systems consisting of renewable
energy sources like solar and wind. But, a storage system
consisting of battery suffers from several disadvantages
including low life cycle, low power density, restriction on
charging and discharging currents and environmental
problems. In recent years, supercapacitor (SC) is gaining more
K. K. Mandal#, M.De, G. Das
Department of Power Engineering
Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700098
#Corresponding Author, e-mail:kkm567@yahoo.co.in
and more attention as an efficient storage device because of
several advantages including higher power density,
longer life cycle, higher charge–discharge efficiencies.
Further, these are practically maintenance free. However,
present cost of storage systems consisting only super
capacitors are higher in comparison with the systems
consisting of battery. Cost of various energy storage devices
are relatively expensive and it accounts for almost 20%-25%
of total cost [1]. A hybrid storage energy system (HESS)
consisting of battery and super capacitor can serve as an
efficient storage system for hybrid energy generating systems
consisting of renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
Several aspects of hybrid energy systems including
techno-economic feasibility study, control and optimization
techniques have been discussed in the literature. In [2], a novel
method for analysis and optimization of a hybrid energy
storage system in a small-scale standalone microgrid for
remote area power supply was discussed. Ma et al. [3]
proposed a hybrid energy storage system combining battery
for long-term energy management and supercapacitor for fast
dynamic power regulation for remote area renewable energy
power supply systems. The operation of a passive connected
HESS was examined them via both theoretical analysis and
numerical simulation using Matlab/Simulink. Further, an
experimental test bench was developed to validate the
simulation results. Glavin et al. [4] discussed the methodology
utilized to optimize the combination of photovoltaic panels,
batteries and super capacitor for a given solar radiation and
load profile employing Matlab software. A DC system was
considered for demonstration purpose. An extensive review for
battery ultracapacitor hybrids for pulsed current loads was
presented by Kuperman et al. [5]. Koutroulis et al. [6]
proposed a methodology for optimal sizing of standalone
photovoltaic/wind generator system using genetic algorithms.
A novel methodology for real-time energy management of a
stand-alone hybrid wind-microturbine energy system using
particle swarm optimization was proposed by Pourmousavi et
al. [7] and encouraging results was presented. Arabali et al.[8]
proposed a new genetic-algorithm-based optimization
algorithm for energy management of hybrid energy systems.
In [9], a design methodology of a least-cost battery-
supercapacitor energy storage system for realizing power generation are shadow and module efficiency and the
dispatchable wind power was discussed. In [10], a detailed relationship is very complicated. However, the most factors
review of various energy storage systems for wind power are the solar radiation, temperature and module efficiency.
integration support was presented.
Under reference conditions, i.e. at reference temperature
Differential Evolution (DE) is one of the most efficient ( SSTC = 1000 W / m 2 , TSTC = 25°C ) and if V is the output
global optimization techniques under evolutionary algorithms.
It was first introduced by Storn and Price in the year 1995 [11- voltage of PV array, then the current I is given by
12]. It is a fast and simple optimization technique and has
been successfully applied for solving a wide variety of ­
complex engineering problem. Like any other population °
based heuristic optimization techniques, it suffers from some ° ª § V − 1 ·º
° I = I «1 − C ¨ e C2Voc ¸»
drawbacks. One of the major drawbacks is the selection of ° SC
« 1¨ ¸»
control parameters which are normally problem dependent. ¨ ¸
° ¬« © ¹¼»
The problem becomes more tedious as there is no specified ° Vm
rule for the selection of the control parameters. Mutation °° § | I m · C2Voc
factor and crossover ratio are the two control parameters ®C1 = ¨¨1 − ¸e
¸ (2)
which are to be selected by the user depending on the problem ° © I SC ¹
°
under consideration. A wrong parameter selection may lead to
° § Vm ·
premature convergence and even stagnation may occur. In this ¨ − 1¸¸
° ¨
work, a novel parameter adjustment strategy is proposed using © Voc ¹
°C 2 =
chaos theory for problem under consideration. The proposed ° § § I ··
algorithm is tested on a sample hybrid energy storaget ° ¨ ln ¨1 − m ¸ ¸
¨ ¨ ¸¸
consisting of battery and supercapacitor. It is observed that °¯ © © I SC ¹ ¹
the proposed algorithm is capable of producing comparable Where, I SC is the short circuit current, Voc is the open circuit
results and can successfully avoid premature convergence.
voltage and V m , I m are the voltage and current at Pmax .
II. MTHEMATICAL MODEL OF SYSTEM COMPONENTS If the amount of radiation and temperature are assumed to
For the present work, a hybrid generation system consisting of be changing constantly, then the mathematical model for PV
solar and wind turbine power generation unit. In following array under the condition of random radiation density
section, mathematical model of solar and wind turbine power ( )
S W m 2 and temperature (°C ) is given by
generating is discussed.
A. Wind Turbine Power Generation Unit
­ I (S ,T ) = I + Δ I (S ,T )
Wind speed is the most important factor which determines °V (S , T ) = V + ΔV + V (S , T )
the amount of power generation for a wind turbine power °
generation system. Further, speed depends on many factors ° § S ·
weather and seasons. The power output for small turbine can °Δ I (S ,T ) = α × ¨¨ T + (T NOR − TSTC ) − TSTC ¸¸
° © S STC ¹
be determined [13] as °
® § S ·
° +I¨ − 1¸ (3)
© 1000 ¹
°
­ v k − vck ° §
° Pr k k
, (vc ≤ vc ≤ vr ) °ΔV (S ,T ) = − β × ¨¨ T +
S
( T NOR − TSTC − T STC ) ·¸¸
° vr − vc ° © S STC ¹
°
Pw (v ) = ® Pr , (vr ≤ v ≤ vf ) (1) °
¯ − R S × Δ I (S ,T )
°
° Where R S indicates the series resistance of the PV array,
°¯0 , α and β are the temperature coefficients of short circuit and
Where, the rated power of the wind turbine is given by Pr , open circuit respectively. T NOR represents the normal working
v c indicates the cut-in speed, v r is the rated speed, v f is the temperature (40 °C ) .
cut-out speed and k is the shape parameter of Weibull For a cloudy condition, solar radiation received at the
distribution. The monthly power generation can be calculated ground will be different in comparison with a normal
as described in [13]. condition. The solar radiation received at the ground in a
cloudy weather may be suitably modified using a quadratic
B. Photovoltaic Array Power Generation Unit function [13] and can be expressed as
The output power of photovoltaic array depend on many
factors including environmental random changes such as solar
radiation and temperature. Other factors will affect the output

­° I real = I (S ,T ) × (1 − TC )
®
°̄TC = a . N 2 − b . N + c
(4)
Where, TC is the weakening coefficient, N is the cloud cover
whose s value is 0 – 8. Here, 0 refers to clear and 8 refers to
cloudy. a , b , c are the empirical coefficients with
a = 0.0124 , b = 0.2784 and c = 1.04 [13].
Te monthly power generation from the PV array can be
calculated as
E (S ) = η . I real .V (S , T ) . N P . N S . t p (5)
Where, η is the module efficiency and
η = η1 . η 2 . η 3 .η 4 .η 5 ; η1 is the series parallel factor, the
general value is 0.97; η 2 is the temperature loss factor, the
general value is 0.95; η 3 is the dust shadow loss factor, the
general value is 0.93, η 4 is the charging and discharging loss
factor, the general value is 0.8; η 5 is the transmission and
distribution loss factor, the general value is 0.95 [14].
N S and N P indicate the number of PV array in series and
parallel connection respectively; t p is the local peak shine
hours (h). The method of converting solar radiation into daily
sun shine hour can be found in [15].
C. Battery Model
If both charging and discharging current are assumed to
the rated charging current I c , then the capacity of battery can
be determines as follows [16]:
Qb = I c . U . t c (6)
Qb = I c . U . td (7)
Where, I c is the charging current of the battery (A); t c and
t d are the charging and discharging time of the battery in
hours respectively; U is the reference voltage of the battery
which is taken as 24.0 V for the present work.
D. Supercapacitor (SC) Model
In general, the capacity of supercapacitor (SC) is to be
enhanced by series parallel connection as single SC can only
store limited energy and cannot withstand high voltage. If
there are m capacitor connected in series and in parallel with
n group for SC group, then equivalent capacitance of the
group is given by
n
C= Cf (8)
m assumed that maximum fluctuation in charging current of SC
If U max and U min are the maximum and minimum voltages
of SC groups respectively, then storage energy can be
expressed by (9) as follows [17].
(
2
Qu = 0.5C × U max 2
− U min )
§n ·
[
= 0.5 ¨ C f ¸ × (mU s max )2 − (mU s min )2
©m ¹
]
= 0.5m 2 × C × (U s max − U s min ) (9)
Where, C f is the capacitance of a single SC; U s max and
U s min are the maximum and minimum voltages of single Sc
respectively.
III. MODEL OF HYBRID ENERGY SYSTEM
In this section, objective function and the constraints of the
hybrid storage system is briefly discussed.
A. Objective Function
For the present work, the primary objective is
minimization of one-time investment cost and the operating
costs in the whole life cycle satisfying all the performance
parameters of the hybrid system under consideration. Life
cycle for the wind/solar generation system considered for this
work is assumed to be 20 years. The objective function can be
expressed as follows [13]:
Min TC = Min (C1 + C2 )
= (PBAT . QBAT + PSC . n . m )
+ (20 . λBAT . PBAT . QBAT + 20 . mBAT . QBAT
+ 20 . λSC . PSC . n . m + 20 . mSC . n . m ) (10 )
Where, C1 and C 2 are the one-time investment cost and
operational cost in whole life cycle of the hybrid storage
energy system; PBAT represents unit price of battery in
$/Wh; PSC is the unit price of supercapacitor (SC) in $/F;
λ BAT is the annual discount rate of battery; λ SC is the annual
discount rate of supercapaitor (SC); m BAT indicates the annual
maintenance cost of battery in $/kWh while m SC is the annual
maintenance cost of super capacitor (SC) in $/F.
B. Constraints
The above objective function given by (100 is to be
minimized under a set of equality and inequality constraints as
described below.
1. Charging and Discharging Current of SC
Supercapacitor (SC) is mainly used during instantaneous
maximum load fluctuation due to its lower energy density in
hybrid energy storage system (HESS). Assuming that 100
times full charge and discharge is completed every year for the
HESS, there appears a high current 8 I c for the load in every
10 sec [13] in discharging current of the SC. Further, it is
is three times charging current of battery i.e. 3 I c . Thus, the
constraints on charging current and discharging current of SC
can be described as
 ­3 I c ≤ I s1 ≤ I s max 2. Mutation
® (11)
¯8 I c ≤ I s 2 ≤ I s max Bu mutation operation, mutant or donor vectors ( Vi ) are
created with the help of vector difference. Several variants of
Where, I s1 and I s 2 are the charging and discharging current DE are discussed in literature depending on vector difference
of the SC respectively; I s max (A) is the maximum charging of parent or target vectors ( X i ) . For the present work,
and discharging currents of the SC. DE/rand/1 is used. The mutation operation can be described as
2. Maximum Power Surplus
During the seasons when there are abundant light and Vi(T ) = X (Tk) + FM (X (T )
l − X m(T ) ) (16)
strong wind, solar/wind generation system may generate
excess energy. The storage systems must be filled to full Where X k , X l , X m are selected randomly from the set of
capacity in such months with the maximum power surplus parent or target vectors ( X i ) and k ≠ l ≠ m ≠ i. The mutation
[18]. If the corresponding power generation of wind, solar factor FM is one of the important control parameter of DE. It
and energy consumption are represented by E k (w) , Ek (s ) and
is utilized for scaling the vector difference. It is normally
Ek (l ) , then constraints on maximum power surplus can be selected by the user within the range [0, 2].
expressed as
3. Crossover
E k (w) + E k (s ) + Q BAT + Q SC ≥ E k (l ) (12) Trial vectors ( U i ) are created by crossover operation
mixing the components of mutation or donor vectors with
IV. TENT MAP DIFFERENTIAL EVOLUTION parent or target vectors. DE uses two crossover methods called
In this section, we describe briefly the conventional binomial and exponential. For this work, binomial method is
differential evolution (DE). In order to avoid premature used and is as follows:
convergence, the control parameters of DE are made self
adaptive using tent map chaotic sequence. For the present
work, it termed as Tent Map Differential Evolution (TMDE) ­V (T ) , if rand ( ) ≤ C or j = N
° j, i i, j R
and is discussed in the subsequent section. (T ) °
U j, i = ® (17)
° (T ) , otherwise
A. Differenetial Evolution ° X j, i
¯
Differential Evolution (DE) is a simple and efficient
population based heuristic optimization technique and was where rand i , j ( ) is a uniform random number within [0, 1]
proposed by Storn and Price in 1995 [11]. It is easy to and N is any randomly chosen natural number from
implement and has only four steps: initialization, mutation, [1, 2, """" d ] .The crossover factor is another important
crossover and selection.
user defined control parameter of DE. C R is used to control
1. Initialization the diversity of the population.
The initialization process starts with random initialization 4. Selection
of N P individuals in with d-dimensional decision variables
Selection operation is the last step of DE and it determines
for a problem having d-dimensional decision or control
the vectors for the next iteration from either parent vector
variables. Let x i(o, j) represents the jth component of the ith X i or trail vector U i . If f is the objective function, then it is
decision vector. Thus, x i(o, j) can be initialized as represented as

xi(0, )j = xmin , j + randi , j ( )(xmax , j ) (13)

− xmin , j
( ) (
­ U i(T ) , if f U i(T ) ≤ f X i(T )
°
)
i = 1, 2,"""" N P j = 1, 2, """" d
X i(T +1) =® (18)
Where, rand i , j ( ) represents a random number within 0 and ° X (T ) , otherwise
¯ i
1 including both the upper and lower values. If P (T )
indicates the population that evolves after Tth iteration, then it 5. Tent Map Differential Evolution (TMDE)
is represented as
Various search strategies such as simplex crossover search
[
P (T ) = X i(T ) ,.........., X N(T )
P
] (14) strategy and chaotic search strategy have been used to enhance
the performance of many meta-heuristic techniques like DE..
For the present work, chaotic search strategy is used. Chaos is
a typical classic non-linear dynamical system which is
[
X i(T ) = X1(,Ti ) ,........................ X d(T, i) ]
T
(15) characterized with ergodicity and, randomicity. It is very
sensitive to initial conditions. Because of its ergodicity and,
i = 1,..............N P
randomicity, a chaotic system has the capability in generating II that the total optimal cost is $ 5647.30. It is further observed
long time sequence randomly which can traverse to every state that total optimal cost obtained by conventional DE is $
if long time duration is allowed. This feature of chaotic 5785.40. Table II also compares the results obtained by
sequence is utilized for self adaptation of mutation factor and simulated annealing particle swarm optimization (SAPSO)
crossover ratio of DE to enhance its performance. [13].
In this paper, tent map chaotic sequence [19] is utilized for
self adaptation of mutation factor and crossover ratio of DE TABLE II. OPTIMAL RESULTS OBTAINED BY PROPOSED TMDE
which can be expressed as Method C (F) Investment Annual Total
I c (A)
Cost ($) Operation Cost ($)
and
­ y(k − 1)
° y(k − 1) < 0.7 maintenance
0. 7 Cost ($)
°
y (k ) = ® (19) Proposed 19.3655 135.47 4965.85 681.45 5647.30
° 10
° ( 1 − y (k − 1)) y (k − 1) ≥ 0.7 Method
¯ 3 Conventional 19.4035 138.53 5012.68 694.36 5785.40
DE
SAPSO [13} 19.40 140.60 4844.42 995.30 5839.72
Where, k is the sample.
In this work, mutation factor and crossover ratio are made self Convergence characteristic for the optimal results is shown in
adaptive using(19) as follows: Fig.1.
Convergence characteristics
­ FM (T − 1) 5655
° FM (T − 1) < 0.7
° 0.7
FM (T ) = ® (20) 5654
° 10
° ( 1 − FM (T − 1)) FM (T − 1) ≥ 0.7
¯ 3
5653
Minimum Cost in $

5652

­ CR (T −1)
° CR (T −1) < 0.7 5651
0.7
°
CR (T ) = ® (21) 5650
° 10
° (1− CR (T −1)) CR (T −1)≥ 0.7 5649
¯ 3
5648
V. SIMULATION RESULTS
5647
The proposed algorithm using TMDE is applied on a 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
sample wind/solar generation system [13] in order to verify its No. of iterations
effectiveness and implemented in Matlab. All data including
wind profile, average monthly solar radiation, annual power Fig. 1. Convergence Characteristics for mimimum total cost
generation and load demand are taken from [13] for direct
comparison and not reproduced here due to space limitation. VI. CONCLUSION
Cost of various components is shown in Table I.
This paper presents a new improved hybrid algorithm
using DE and chaos theory for optimal sizing od battery and
TABLE I. COMPONENT COST COEFFICIENTS supercapacitor based hybrid energy system. The basic
Cost coefficients Battery Supercapacitor objective is to minimize total system. It is a complex
Unit price PBAT = 08 $/Wh PSC = 0.75 $ optimization problem and many optimization techniques and
Annual maintenance algorithm have been applied to solve it. The proposed
mBAT = 0.2283 $/kWh mSC = 0.011 $
cost per unit algorithm is applied on wind/solar generation system in order
Annual discount rate λBAT = 15%/year λSC = 1%/year to verify its effectiveness. The simulation results show that it
has the capability to produce good quality solutions. A
comparison result is also presented which show the superiority
The population number is selected as 20. Initial values of of the proposed hybrid algorithm.
mutation factor and crossover ratio are set at 0.80 and 0. 65
respectively. Maximum iteration is set at 500.
Acknowledgment
The optimal results in terms of battery charging current, We thank Jadavpur University, Kolkata for extending
supercapacitor total cost obtained by the proposed algorithm necessary help to carry out this work.
based on TMDE are shown in Table II. It observed form Table

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