Photovoltaic Cell Array Research Articles

Design and Performance Analysis of Photovoltaic Power Generation Light Emitting Diode Device

This research focuses on an independent photovoltaic power generation system with supercapacitor energy storage as the study subject. The model is simplified, and the photovoltaic power generation light emitting diode (LED) device is designed based on the given parameters. This system selects a Boost-type step-up converter for the supercapacitor charging circuit, capable of achieving Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT). The supercapacitor discharge circuit employs an LM2596 series regulator to power the rated load LED (12 V, 1 W), providing good linear regulation capability. In designing other hardware components of the device, the characteristics of a photoresistor are utilized to implement an automatic load switch circuit. An efficient single-chip integrated circuit LM2575 series is used as a regulator to convert the voltage across the supercapacitor terminals to +15 V and +5 V. Considering the need to collect the output voltage of the photovoltaic cell array and the voltage across the supercapacitor terminals, a resistor divider method is used to sample these two voltages. The sampling circuit includes a resistor divider circuit and a linear optocoupler isolation circuit. An HNC-25LTS series Hall current sensor is used for current sampling to measure AC, DC, and pulse signals under electrical isolation conditions. The supercapacitor, solar photovoltaic panel, control unit, and the main circuit for supercapacitor charging and discharging have been assembled in the experiment. Connecting the charging and discharging circuit with the photovoltaic panel and LED, the system provides power to the LED during the night. Under varying light intensity and temperature conditions, the photovoltaic output voltage waveform, PWM waveform, and Boost circuit output voltage waveform remain stable when reaching the MPPT point. The output power with added MPPT control at different times is compared. The results indicate that the designed system has effectively achieved the functionality of MPPT for solar energy.

Design and Characterization of a Power Management System for a Pico Balloon Platform for High Altitude Radiation Monitoring

Research related to the Earth's atmosphere is increasing due to its importance in various fields. These studies are directly related to environmental changes and health problems. This occurs mainly in environments where the magnetic field is strongly weakened, such as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), located in South America. As a result, studies have been conducted to monitor radiation in these locations, such as the Minuano project. Based on it, the goal of this work is to design and implement a power management system (PMS) for a high-altitude pico balloon. It must provide a minimum power of 281.78 mW to power the electronic components of the pico-balloon tracker system. We present the overall methodology for the system design and development of the PMS. Different types of DC-DC converters and different photovoltaic (PV) cell arrays have been characterized. The PMS proposed in this paper can provide a power of 284.6 mW for a parallel association of 2 arrays of 5 PV cells in series.

Design of Hybrid multi-level inverter for photovoltaic(PV) application

Nowadays the demand and consumption of energy increase in the word. Due to high cost of fossil fuel it’s not able to meet the required power generation demand. But the developed and developing countries encourage to generate power from renewable energy sources. The developed countries manage their resources in such a manner that they will fulfill their needs today and in the future as well. Nevertheless, the developing countries have limited sources of fossil fuels, which may decrease day by day. For this problem, the alternate solution is required, which is renewable energy. The output of renewable i.e. photovoltaic (PV) is DC. Now this is a challenging task for the researcher to integrate the renewable energy into the ac grid. For the reliable future of the power system, it is imperative for the modern era to integrate non-conventional sources into the AC power grid.The use of photovoltaic cells is increasing dramatically in all areas of life because of their small environmental impact, pollution-free, minimal maintenance, and zero noise. The real work focuses on the integration of PV systems with the proposed new topology called Multi-level inverters based on switch dc sources for low, medium and high power applications. An inverter is a power electronics device that converts DC input to AC output voltage. Input DC voltage is obtains from PV cell array, fuel cell or any other source.The output of PV panels is use as DC input voltage source for the proposed inverter. Single-phase multi level inverter is use to convert dc power receiving form PV array to AC power. First single phase two level inverter introduce which have many problems like those that high value capacitor required at output and high total harmonics distortion’s (THD). Nevertheless, as the number of level increased in inverter output the number of electronic switches also increased which may increase the losses.Multi-level inverters are gave more attention for high power applications. In recent years, lower order harmonic components has been developed to operate at higher switching frequencies.On the other side as the number of level increased the output waveform approach to sinusoidal waveform and the harmonics decreased. Output voltage and current waveforms are obtains and THDs are analyze. The multi-level inverter used in un-interrupted power supply (UPS), variable frequency drives (VFD), pumps etc. The performance of single-phase multi-level inverter will be analyzed in MATLAB / Simulink software.

Current-Sensorless Control Strategy for the MPPT of a PV Cell: An Energy-Based Approach

A novel energy-based modelling and control strategy is developed and implemented to solve the maximum power point tracking problem when a photovoltaic cell array is connected to consumption loads. A mathematical model that contains key characteristic parameters of an energy converter stage connected to a photovoltaic cell array is proposed and recast using the port-Hamiltonian framework. The system consists of input-output power port pairs and storage and dissipating elements. Then, a current-sensorless control loop for a maximum power point tracking is designed, acting over the energy converter stage and following an interconnection and damping assignment passivity-based strategy. The performance of the proposed strategy is compared to a (classical) sliding mode control law. Our energy-based strategy is implemented in a hardware platform with a sampling rate of 122 Hz, resulting in lower dynamic power consumption compared to other maximum power point tracking control strategies. Numerical simulations and experimental results validate the performance of the proposed energy-based modelling and the novel control law approach.

Development of a mobile independent solar power plant based on solid-state heterojunction photocells for agricultural purposes

Mathematical simulation of temperature distribution on double-sided solar cells has been carried out. Differences in the configuration of photoelectric converters prove to solely amount to the fact that a double-sided solar cell has a more efficient heat sink at the rear side. Furthermore double-sided solar cells exhibit higher power conversion performance. Calculations confirm the correctness of giving preference to double-sided solar cells which is of great importance for the photoelectric converter design developed by us. Analysis of market-available photovoltaic technologies of solar energy to electric power conversion has led to the development of a photovoltaic converter on the basis of double-sided silicon heterojunction solar cells. The configuration developed is a moving platform having a photovoltaic cell array mounted on it and a light flux collector. A double-axis tracking system has been developed for the general case of planar attachment of solar cell modules. A 350 mm stroke drive provides for movement in the north-south direction and a 450 mm stroke drive, in the east-west direction. The task has been outlined to find the required arm for providing symmetrical positioning at the maximum rotation angle about the axis. As a result, technical solutions have been developed for the north-south and the east-west directions. Furthermore a schematic wiring diagram has been designed to implement the preset solar tracking system algorithm. The system is also fitted with a GPS/GLONASS module for system precision positioning and time synchronization.

Integrated Array of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells and Supercapacitor for Photo-Supercapacitor Multifunctional Harvesting Device

Photo-supercapacitor (PSc) was an integration of photovoltaic as a device for harvesting light energy and supercapacitor as an energy storage device. Multifunctional harvesting device has increasing demand in the green energy industry sector. In this study, we demonstrate the integrated array of photovoltaic type dye-sensitized solar cells and carbon-based supercapacitors. The photo-supercapacitor integration will be arranged in a different arrangement, called series and parallel arrangement. DSSC photoanode was used TiO2material that deposited using screen printing method on FTO substrate. Activated Carbon/Carbon Black/SBR as a material composite of the electrode was deposited on the aluminium foil substrate using dr. blade technique. XRD characterization has identified the TiO2anatase. The morphology of mesoporous TiO2 and Ti element has been identified by SEM characterization and EDX of 64.30 wt%. The UV-Vis spectroscopy curve has identified the absorbance in the wavelength range of 200 – 900 nm and the absorbance area of 914.58. The J-V characterization shows that TiO2 photoanode has a efficiency of 2.15 %. The Charge-Discharge shows that AC/CB/SBR performance has capacitance specific of 61.33 F/g. The l–-V characterization of photo-supercapacitor performance was arranged by series has voltage higher than parallel arrangement, because it produces a larger voltage (Vop ).

Influence of local shadow on output of photovoltaic array

This paper first deduces the engineering mathematical model of photovoltaic cells, then builds the photovoltaic cell and photovoltaic array model in Matlab/Simulink, and then simulates and compares the output of photovoltaic array under the condition of series and parallel connection, the number of shadows and shadow distribution. Finally, the different effects of shadow in series and parallel and the influence of shadow distribution on the output of photovoltaic array are analyzed.

Reinforcement learning with fuzzified reward approach for MPPT control of PV systems

The array of photovoltaic cells converts solar power into electricity and generate a clean and renewable source of energy. For them to be efficient, they must constantly generate the maximum possible power under various environmental conditions. This is the well-known problem of tracking Maximum Power Point (MPP). The classical methods fall short as they are not able to cope with the changing environmental conditions. This work aims to track MPPT by employing Deep Reinforcement Learning (RL) with a fuzzy reward mechanism introduced for better translation of continuous space into various levels of abstraction. The author simulates a model of a PV array connected to a variable load. The introduction of RL has provided an advantage as employing a Deep-Q learning algorithm makes the structure a model-free and thereby eliminates the various modeling parameters with their effect on the design. The designed setup renders 2.8 W of power under the maximum load conditions and has been able to track the maximum power under the different varying conditions of temperature and irradiations.

Modular Line-Focused Space Solar Power Satellite

The Space Solar Power Satellite is an ultra-large space structure, which collects sunlight directly in space and then transmits it into the ground. Since the idea was invented in 1968, scientists around the world have proposed several typical conceptual design models. Nevertheless, the conceptual models have not been implemented for technological, manufacturing, and cost reasons. This paper presents a novel Space Solar Power Satellite scheme with modular line-focused concentrators and low concentration photovoltaic modules. First, the line-focused mode is analyzed and the optical performance of the circular trough concentrator is evaluated via ray-trace technique. Then, shape optimization for the cell array based on the Bézier curve is carried out to improve the optical property. Numerical examples indicate that the optimized cell array could obtain high power collection efficiency and suitable energy distribution. Moreover, the area of the photovoltaic cell array is reduced, which is conducive to cost reduction. Furthermore, modular design is conducted on the circular trough concentrator. Finally, the primary scheme of the novel Space Solar Power Satellite is designed with the previous modular concentrator and optimized cell array.

Secondary concentrator design of an updated space solar power satellite with a spherical concentrator

The Space Solar Power Satellite (SSPS) is a promising project to solve the energy crisis on earth. In this paper, a secondary concentrator design of an updated SSPS-OMEGA concept is proposed aiming at the problems existing in original SSPS-OMEGA concept, such as high power transmission through power brush, thermal management of the photovoltaic (PV) cell arrays and special requirements for the concentrator film brought by the inside placed transmitting antenna. Firstly, the updated concept with a secondary concentrator, a disc PV cell arrays and outside placed transmitting antenna is illustrated and main parts of it are described. Secondly, a design methodology of the secondary concentrator is presented. The characteristics of spherical concentrator are simply described. The generatrix geometry of the secondary concentrator is described using Bézier curve, and the performances of optics and energy density distribution on PV cell arrays are evaluated using the Monte Carlo Ray Tracing method. After that, a mathematical optimization model is established and the Particle Swarm optimization is used to obtain better configuration of secondary concentrator, solar energy collection performance and energy density distribution on PV cell arrays. Finally, the optimal generatrix geometry of secondary concentrator and energy density distribution under different orders of Bézier curve are investigated, the result shows that the effective solar energy collection and solar energy collection can be up to 81.14% and 87.06% respectively when the order of Bézier curve is 5. Moreover, a further energy density distribution optimization is conducted and the relative non-uniformity index of 0.4 is realized.

Design of True Hybrid Solar Wind Turbine for Smaller Hybrid Renewable Energy Power Plants

Contemporary hybrid solar-wind farms are commonly implemented using separate solar photovoltaic (PV) cell arrays and wind turbines, where the electricity currents generated from both devices are combined. However, this solution requires a large amount of space to cater for the PV arrays and wind turbines of the system. This paper proposes a new type of renewable energy electric generator with a small power production footprint (PPF) that allows reduction of land usage. The True Hybrid Wind-Solar (THWS) generator allows for the solar panels to rotate along with a VAWT wind turbine that is attached through a specially designed electromechanical coupling mechanism. The working principle behind the connections is described in this paper. The design of a hybrid circuit module that serves to combine the currents generated via the solar cells and the wind generator and also to automatically disconnect inactive wind or solar generators is described. The latter is important in order to eliminate unwanted load generated from the inactive generators within the THWS itself.

Fractal solar cell array for enhanced energy production: applying rules underlying tree shape to photovoltaics.

Plants and photovoltaics share the same purpose as harvesting sunlight. Therefore, botanical studies could lead to new breakthroughs in photovoltaics. However, the basic mechanism of photosynthesis is different to semiconductor-based photovoltaics and the gap between photosynthesis and solar cells must be bridged before we can apply the botanical principles to photovoltaics. In this study, we analysed the role of the fractal structures found in plants in light harvesting based on a simplified model, rotated the structures by 90° and applied them to fractal-structured photovoltaic Si solar cell arrays. Adoption of botanically inspired fractal structures can result in solar cell arrays with omnidirectional properties, and in this case, yielded a 25% enhancement in electric energy production. The fractal structure used in this study was two-dimensional and symmetric; investigating and optimizing three-dimensional asymmetric fractal structures would further enhance the performance of photovoltaics. Furthermore, this study represents only the first step towards the development of a new type of photovoltaics based on botanical principles, and points to further aspects of botanical knowledge that could be exploited, in addition to plant fractal structures. For example, leaf anatomy, phyllotaxis and chloroplastic mechanisms could be applied to the design of new types of photovoltaics.

High energy yield bifacial spectrum-splitting photovoltaic system.

In this paper a photovoltaic system is proposed that achieves high energy yield by integrating bifacial silicon cells into a spectrum-splitting module. Spectrum splitting is accomplished using volume holographic optical elements to spectrally divide sunlight onto an array of photovoltaic cells with different bandgap energies. Light that is reflected from the ground surface onto the rear side of the module is converted by the bifacial silicon cells. The energy yield of the system is optimized by tuning the volume holographic element parameters, such as film thickness, index modulation, and construction point source positions. An example is presented for utility-scale illumination parameters in Tucson, Arizona, that attains an energy yield of $1010\frac{{{ kw}\cdot { hr}}}{{{ yr}\cdot{{ m}^2}}}$1010kw⋅hryr⋅m2, which is 32.8% of the incident solar insolation.

Research on fuel cell energy storage control and power generation system

In order to realize the continuous stability of photovoltaic power generation system and the controllability of thermal energy storage, a photovoltaic fuel cell combined power generation system consisting of photovoltaic cell array, proton exchange membrane fuel cell, alkaline electrolysis cell and super capacitor is proposed. The system, at the same time, establishes the mathematical model of its various components and the system cost model, designs the thermal energy distribution of the thermal energy storage management coordination system, and uses the high efficiency battery to meet the load requirements of the power system. In addition, the paper uses simulation technology as a research method to build a simulation model of hybrid fuel cell thermal energy storage control and power generation system, and analyzes the system?s thermal energy supply and demand balance. The simulation results confirm that the photovoltaic fuel cell hybrid power generation system has high economic performance, can meet the user?s power and thermal energy requirements, and realizes the requirement of completely independent power supply.

Detailed modeling of large scale photovoltaic power plants under partial shading conditions

As the popularity of solar panels increases, significant research is being performed on maximizing the power extracted from photovoltaic systems. A phenomenon known as partial shading is a major source of power losses for photovoltaic plants. One way to reduce the effects of partial shading conditions is by using bypass–diodes. Typically any number of series and parallel–connected photovoltaic cells, known as photovoltaic cell arrays, are connected in anti–parallel with bypass–diodes. Due to this, it is advantageous to have an equivalent model for a photovoltaic cell array that is connected to bypass–diodes. In order to accurately develop this model, it is necessary to consider both series and parallel configurations of bypass–diodes, as well as the thermal behavior of bypass–diodes. The bypass–diode’s temperature model must be comprised of the constantly changing dissipated power, the effects of wind speed and the ambient temperature. This paper constructs an electro–thermal modular model for any size photovoltaic system and includes the effects of both the photovoltaic cells and bypass–diodes. A detailed analysis of the proposed model is performed and is then validated in both PSCAD/EMTDC and Matlab–Simscape. The proposed model is then further validated by the use of real measurements of ambient temperature, cell temperature, wind speed and then finally by a performance analysis of several maximum–power–point–tracking algorithms.

Performance evaluation of water and air based PVT solar collector for hydrogen production application

This study aims to investigate the performance of the Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) collector based hydrogen production system. For this purpose, a solar assisted water splitting system is fabricated. This system comprises the array of photovoltaic (PV) cells with 0.303 m2 surface area, a spiral flow thermal collector with 12.7 mm outer diameter, 10.26 mm internal diameter, 10 m length copper tube and Hoffman voltameter. The results have been taken for three different mass flow rates (0.008, 0.01 and 0.011 kg/s) and compared with the reference PV module. This study results clearly show that the collector outlet temperature, output voltage and output power increase as the flow rate increases and the PV module temperature decreases with an increase of flow rate. The maximum thermal and electrical efficiency of 33.8% and 8.5% are observed for water based PVT solar collector with 0.011 kg/s flow rate at 12.00. It is also noted that the hydrogen yield rate increases significantly with an increase in flow rate. The highest hydrogen yields of 17.1 ml/min are obtained at a fluid flow rate of 0.011 kg/sec at 12.00.

Generation and combination of the solar cells: A current model review

AbstractGenerally, first and second generations of photovoltaic (PV) cells are including mono‐crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, and dye‐synthesized solar cells. Investigating the electrical current behavior of these sorts of PV cells shows that a modified multi‐ or single diode(s) model with shunt and series resistance can use as a good choice in a specific range of the current. For other constructions such as multi‐junction PV cells that consist of the third generation, the network models are the best choice. Also, the network models can be used for the first and second generations to improve the validity of model in the wider range of current. In addition to existing generations, PV array and modules, which are serial and parallel arrays of PV cells, will lead to a higher current or voltage. The main disadvantage of using these sorts of systems is their more space occupation. This problem can be solved by using the concentrated PV (CPV) systems that focus the received irradiation on a smaller surface. By considering the generated current, voltage, power, temperature effect, and financial analysis, it seems third‐generation PV systems are more efficient among all the generations. Finally, by considering the ratio of generated current on the occupied space, the CPV systems will be a better choice.

Manufacturing of All Inkjet-Printed Organic Photovoltaic Cell Arrays and Evaluating their Suitability for Flexible Electronics.

The generation of electrical energy depending on renewable sources is rapidly growing and gaining serious attention due to its green sustainability. With fewer adverse impacts on the environment, the sun is considered as a nearly infinite source of renewable energy in the production of electrical energy using photovoltaic devices. On the other end, organic photovoltaic (OPV) is the class of solar cells that offers several advantages such as mechanical flexibility, solution processability, environmental friendliness, and being lightweight. In this research, we demonstrate the manufacturing route for printed OPV device arrays based on conventional architecture and using inkjet printing technology over an industrial platform. Inkjet technology is presently considered to be one of the most matured digital manufacturing technologies because it offers inherent additive nature and last stage customization flexibility (if the main goal is to obtain custom design devices). In this research paper, commercially available electronically functional inks were carefully selected and then implemented to show the importance of compatibility between OPV material stacks and the device architecture. One of the main outcomes of this work is that the manufacturing of the OPV devices was accomplished using inkjet technology in massive numbers ranging up to 1500 containing different device sizes, all of which were deposited on a flexible polymeric film and under normal atmospheric conditions. In this investigation, it was found that with a set of correct functional materials and architecture, a manufacturing yield of more than 85% could be accomplished, which would reflect high manufacturing repeatability, deposition accuracy, and processability of the inkjet technology.

A preliminary solar-hydrogen system for Jordan: Impacts assessment and scenarios analysis

Energy sector in Jordan faces serious challenges today. Jordan as a non-oil country depends by 96% on imported fuel to cover its demands. The present work seeks to improve an alternative fuel that can support the goals of National Energy Strategy in Jordan. Therefore; a mathematical model was developed to investigate the possibility of producing solar-hydrogen fuel in Jordan. Ma'an city was chosen to be the location of solar-hydrogen plant. The high solar insulation and the availability to supply the plant with water from Aqaba Gulf directly and/or from Red-Sea Dead-Sea Cannel make Ma'an the suitable location for the plant. A system with photovoltaic (PV) cell array and proton electron membrane (PEM) electrolyzer was suggested to be the connection system for the plant. Accordingly, two different scenarios were proposed for hydrogen production with different hydrogen production doubling time, the first scenario is θh1=2+0.15(n−1) year, while the second scenario is θh2=4+0.15(n−1) year. Eight different economic, social, and environmental parameters, which directly affect solar-hydrogen production, were evaluated and investigated for Jordan up to year 2060. Accordingly, the research study concluded that solar-hydrogen fuel can potentially offer a good option as an alternative fuel for Jordan. Starting the production at year of 2020 can provide a good sharing in energy demand sector by the end of the year 2060.

Design of solar huts

This problem is a solar hut photovoltaic cell in the attached and overhead two installation methods, the type of photovoltaic cells and array mode and inverter type optimization design issues. In question 1, since the photovoltaic cells are attached to the roof and exterior surfaces, the direction and angle of the battery are uniquely determined by the direction and angle of the attached surface. The problem is translated to optimize the installation of a certain type on a single surface area (array) of photovoltaic cells, so that the total amount of solar photovoltaic power generation as much as possible, and the unit power generation costs as small as possible, which is a multi-objective optimization problem. The problem can be discussed in the ideal environment in a single surface area of the battery installation optimization program, and then the actual environment of the multi-surface optimization. In the solution to Problem 1, the unit on the south of the roof of the battery at the moment to accept the solar energy formula is generated. The definition of and is the moment of direct radiation intensity, for the moment the sun and the south of the roof of the plane where the angle, for the level of horizontal radiation intensity, for the south of the roof and the horizontal angle, the planefor the plane, the center of the heart, the vertical upward direction is the axis of the positive coordinate system, obtained with the sun height angle , the sun azimuth , red angle, angle and the sun when the relationship is generated. The conclusion is only installed in the small roof surface type of battery C11, and the rest of the surface is not installed. 35 years of electricity generation is 77126 degrees, the economic benefits of 16,488 yuan, the recovery period of 21.3 years. In question 2, because the photovoltaic cells in the roof and the external wall surface can be installed overhead, the panel orientation and tilt will affect the efficiency of photovoltaic cells. Therefore, in the optimization scheme of Problem 1, the orientation and inclination of the panel on each surface are further adjusted to calculate the optimum orientation and inclination of the panel on each surface. The problem can be in the ideal weather environment to establish the sun running and the battery board efficiency model, and then the measured environment test. The optimal orientation of the panel is southward, and the optimal angle with the ground plane is 39.89 degrees. The conclusion is only installed in the small roof surface type of battery C11, and the rest of the surface is not installed. 35 years of generating capacity of 82165.2 degrees, the economic benefits of 18,998 yuan, the recovery period of 13 years. In question 3, by the optimization of the above two issues, in the building to meet the requirements of the hut under the design of the various aspects of the cabin and battery installation, and further optimize the total power generation of the hut, economic benefits. The whole model solver is run in MATLAB7.0.