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

Carlos Andres Ramos-Paja, Daniel Gonzalez Montoya and Juan David Bastidas-Rodriguez
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Carlos Andres Ramos-Paja: Departamento de Energia Eléctrica y Automática, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Carrera 80 No 65-223—Facultad de Minas, Medellín 050041, Colombia
Daniel Gonzalez Montoya: Departamento de Electrónica y Telecomunicaciones, Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Carrera 31 No 54-10, Medellín 050013, Colombia
Juan David Bastidas-Rodriguez: Escuela de Ingenierías, Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Telecomunicaciones, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga 68002, Colombia

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-40

Abstract: In Photovoltaic (PV) systems with Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking (DMPPT) architecture each panel is connected to a DC/DC converter, whose outputs are connected in series to feed a grid-connected inverter. The series-connection forces the output voltage of those converters to be proportional to the converter’ output power; therefore, under mismatched conditions, the output voltage of a highly-irradiated converter may exceed the rating (safe) value, causing an overvoltage condition that could damage the converter. This paper proposes a sliding-mode controller (SMC) acting on each converter to regulate both the input and output voltages, hence avoiding the overvoltage condition under partial shading. The proposed control strategy has two operation modes: maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and Protection. In MPPT mode the SMC imposes to the PV panel the voltage reference defined by an MPPT technique. The Protection mode is activated when the output voltage reaches the safety limit, and the SMC regulates the converter’ output voltage to avoid overvoltage condition. The SMC has a bilinear sliding surface designed to provide a soft transition between both MPPT and Protection modes. The SMC analysis, parameters design and implementation are presented in detail. Moreover, simulation and experimental results illustrate the performance and applicability of the proposed solution.

Keywords: distributed architecture; maximum power point tracking; sliding mode control; overvoltage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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