Control of Photovoltaic Water Pumping System Employing Non-Linear Predictive Control and Fuzzy Logic Control

Abstract

This contribution proposes a robust control scheme for a two-stage water pumping system based on an induction motor. In the first stage of the system, a boost converter is used for maximum power point tracking, while the second stage consists of a three-phase inverter that regulates the DC-bus voltage and the rotor speed of an induction motor. In order to achieve a fast-tracking of the maximum power, an improved maximum power point tracking algorithm based on a fuzzy logic controller is designed in this paper. On the other hand, a non-linear predictive controller is employed to drive the induction motor, due to its capability to eliminate the drawbacks of the conventional field-oriented control. The performances of the proposed control scheme are evaluated in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. The developed control scheme was compared with the conventional one (Perturb and Observe algorithm for maximum power point tracking and field-oriented control to control the induction motor). It is concluded that the developed control techniques offer excellent performances such as rapid maximum power point tracking, stable output power, and high-quality of power conversion.