A fuzzy logic controlled power electronic system for maximum power point detection of a solar energy panel

Abstract

PurposeTo analyze the operating performance of a fuzzy logic control (FLC) based solar energy conversion modular system controlled by a digital signal processor (DSP) microcontroller.Design/methodology/approachA range of published works relevant to the solar energy conversion modular systems are evaluated and their limitations are indicated in the first section of the paper. The circuit diagram of the panel‐boost converter system is described in the second section. In the third section, a neural network model is suggested for the photovoltaic panel and the model is created in the MATLAB/SIMULINK and then combined with other blocks existing in the system. The design of the FLC method is described in section 4. The simulation and experimental results corresponding to the control of the duty‐cycle of the converter to set the operating point of the solar panel at the maximum power point (MPP) are given in sections 5 and 6, respectively. Section 7, summarizes the results and conclusions of the study.FindingsThe paper suggests a simple dc‐dc boost converter controlled by FLC method. The proposed converter model can be used to obtain maximum power from a photovoltaic panel.Research limitations/implicationsIn preparing this paper, the resources books existing in the library of our university and the resources relative to the solar energy conversion and FLC published in English language and reachable through the internet were researched.Practical implicationsThe paper suggests a neural network model for a solar panel, which can be used in the simulation of the solar energy panel‐boost converter system. The solar energy panel‐boost converter system proposed in this study can be used by the researchers who are working in the solar energy conversion area.Originality/valueThe suggestion of a neural network model for a solar panel and creation of this model in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment provides researchers to simulate and to analyze the performance of the solar energy panel‐boost converter system using the MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation program. In addition, since the control approach proposed in this paper does not require the information on temperature and solar irradiance that affect the maximum output power, can effectively find the MPP of the solar panel.