High Efficiency Solar Power Generation with Improved Discontinuous Pulse Width Modulation (DPWM) Overmodulation Algorithms

Lan Li, Hao Wang, Xiangping Chen, Abid Ali Shah Bukhari, Wenping Cao, Lun Chai and Bing Li
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Lan Li: College of Electrical and Power Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Shanxi 030024, China
Hao Wang: College of Electrical and Power Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Shanxi 030024, China
Xiangping Chen: Electrical Engineering School, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Abid Ali Shah Bukhari: School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Wenping Cao: School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Lun Chai: College of Electrical and Power Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Shanxi 030024, China
Bing Li: College of Electrical and Power Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Shanxi 030024, China

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: The efficiency of a photovoltaic (PV) system strongly depends on the transformation process from solar energy to electricity, where maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is widely regarded as a promising technology to harvest solar energy in the first step. Furthermore, inverters are an essential part of solar power generation systems. Their performance dictates the power yield, system costs and reliable operation. This paper proposes a novel control technology combining discontinuous pulse width modulation (DPWM) and overmodulation technology to better utilize direct current (DC) electrical power and to reduce the switching losses in the electronic power devices in conversion. In order to optimize the performance of the PV inverter, the overmodulation region is refined from conventional two-level space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) control technology. Then, the turn-on and turn-off times of the switching devices in different modulation areas are deduced analytically. A new DPWM algorithm is proposed to achieve the full region control. An experimental platform based on a digital signal processing (DSP) controller is developed for validation purposes, after maximum power is achieved via a DC/DC converter under MPPT operation. Experimental results on a PV system show that the DPWM control algorithm lowers the harmonic distortion of the output voltage and current, as well as the switching losses. Moreover, better utilization of the DC-link voltage also improves the PV inverter performance. The developed algorithm may also be applied to other applications utilizing grid-tie power inverters.

Keywords: DPWM; MPPT; photovoltaic power system (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: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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