Total System Efficiency Research Articles

Thermodynamic modeling and analysis of the heat integration and power generation in pig manure supercritical water gasification system

A tremendous amount of livestock manure is produced every day, and its harmless and efficient utilization is of profound significance for environmental protection and alternative energy supply. Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is an efficient and clean technology for high-moisture waste utilization. However, very few researchers have studied the SCWG of manure from system-level modeling. Here, an original or reference pig manure SCWG plant is established for power generation based on previous studies. Detailed exergy analysis shows that the most significant part of exergy destruction occurs in the recuperation process, accounting for 38.05% of total exergy loss. Then, several optimizations were made in a modified system, focusing on a better layout of heat exchangers and critical streams. The modified system had a substantial gain of 23% in overall exergy efficiency and produced 14.12 MW power at an electric efficiency of 27.7%, much higher than 2.08 MW and 5.07% in the original system. Sensitivity analysis further proves that increasing feedstock concentration, preheating temperature, and turbine parameters while decreasing the water-slurry ratio can increase total system efficiency. The efficient multi-stage heat exchanger network and steam turbine in this paper are preferred for SCWG of pig manure, considering system capacity, complexity, and zero-carbon emission.

Feasibility of Utilizing Photovoltaics for Irrigation Purposes in Moamba, Mozambique

Agriculture plays a significant role in the labor force and GDP of Mozambique. Nonetheless, the energy source massively used for water pumping in irrigation purposes is based on fossil fuels (diesel oil). Despite the water availability and fertile soils in Moamba, Mozambique, farmers struggle with the high cost of fuels used in the pumping systems. This study was sought to analyze the feasibility of utilizing a solar photovoltaic system as a means to reduce the environmental impact caused by the diesel pumps and simultaneously alleviate the expenses regarding the use of non-environmentally friendly technologies. Site observations and interviews were undertaken in order to obtain local data regarding the water demand, current energy systems costs and distances from the source to the irrigated fields. CLIMWAT 2.0 was used for climate data acquisition and analysis. The environmental benefits, the cost effectiveness and local climate conditions show that the PV system is feasible in Moamba. Furthermore, parameters such as hydraulic energy, incident solar energy, pump efficiency and total system efficiency were used to predict the performance of the system. The results obtained are important to analyze the implementation of such energy systems.

A concentrated solar spectrum splitting photovoltaic cell-thermoelectric refrigerators combined system: Definition, combined system properties and performance evaluation

Currently, a concentrated solar spectrum splitting photovoltaic cell driven semiconductor thermoelectric refrigerator has no relevant report. In this work, a new style model of the concentrated solar spectrum splitting photovoltaic cell-thermoelectric refrigerators (CSSPV-TERs) combined system is established. On the basis of numerical calculation and theoretical study in detail, the influences of the critical parameters on the property of the CSSPV-TERs combined system are analyzed and evaluated. The total efficiency of the CSSPV-TERs combined system is 23.4%. Meanwhile, the current density J, structural factor c and numbers of thermoelectric devices N has been optimally selected to obtain the best COP. The three critical optimal parameters, N = 7, J = 11.7 A/cm2, and c = 0.000125 cm−1, of the CSSPV-TERs combined system can be obtained, which cause the maximum COP, i.e., COPmax = 0.078. The maximum COP and total efficiency of the CSSPV-TERs combined system are superior to other thermoelectric refrigeration combined systems. The research results and new model not only can provide a valuable reference and theoretical support for the optimal design of the novel solar cell driven thermoelectric refrigeration system, but also improve the conversion efficiency of the combined system by efficiently utilizing full-spectrum solar energy.

High-Performance Spectrally Selective Absorber Using the ZrB2-Based All-Ceramic Coatings.

Enhancing the spectral selectivity and thermal stability of the absorber used in the concentrated solar power system would boom the conversion efficiency of solar energy to electricity. The ceramic coatings possess excellent thermal stability in optical films. Here, we design the ZrB2-based all-ceramic spectrally selective absorber with a quasioptical microcavity (QOM) structure, which shows an excellent performance with a solar absorptance of 0.965 and superior thermal stability. The pretty high absorptance is due to the design of QOM inducing the multiabsorption mechanisms composed of the intrinsic cermet absorption, the surface plasmon polaritons, and localized surface plasmon resonance proved by the electromagnetic power loss. The structure also demonstrates well-matched impedance with free space in the solar spectrum range, ensuring a high solar absorptance. The proposed absorber can survive at 800 °C in vacuum or 500 °C in air for 200 h, ascribed to the introduction of QOM and ultrahigh-temperature ceramic ZrB2. The total conversion efficiency of an ideal system with this absorber and an ideal thermal engineer can reach around 67% under the conditions of 800 °C and 1000 suns.

Comparative Evaluation for Torque Control Strategies of Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor for Electric Vehicles

This paper presents a detailed analysis and comparative investigation for the torque control techniques of interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) for electric vehicles (EVs). The study involves the field-oriented control (FOC), direct torque control (DTC), and model predictive direct torque control (MPDTC) techniques. The control aims to achieve vehicle requirements that involve maximum torque per ampere (MTPA), minimum torque ripples, maximum efficiency, fast dynamics, and wide speed range. The MTPA is achieved by the direct calculation of reference flux-linkage as a function of commanded torque. The calculation of reference flux-linkage is done online by the solution of a quartic equation. Therefore, it is a more practical solution compared to look-up table methods that depend on machine parameters and require extensive offline calculations in advance. For realistic results, the IPMSM model is built considering iron losses. Besides, the IGBTs and diodes losses (conduction and switching losses) in power inverter are modeled and calculated to estimate properly total system efficiency. In addition, a bidirectional dc-dc boost converter is connected to the battery to improve the overall drive performance and achieve higher efficiency values. Also, instead of the conventional PI controller which suffers from parameter variation, the control scheme includes an adaptive fuzzy logic controller (FLC) to provide better speed tracking performance. It also provides a better robustness against disturbance and uncertainties. Finally, a series of simulation results with detailed analysis are executed for a 60 kW IPMSM. The electric vehicle (EV) parameters are equivalent to Nissan Leaf 2018 electric car.

A study on intelligent grinding systems with industrial perspective

The digitization thrust on high-value manufacturing and services opens up new opportunities for ensuring total system uptime, reliability, and efficiency particularly for mission-critical high-value assets. The digitization process evolves intelligent manufacturing systems (IMS) which transforms maintenance into predictive reliability for achieving consistent quality throughout manufacturing process. This article unveils the intelligent grinding systems (IGS) for challenging grinding applications. In order to provide a better chance for value addition, previous work has been scrutinized extensively in the following aspects: grinding models, process design algorithms, and process monitoring. This then leads into an analysis of various previously designed IGS. The main focus, especially in the early 2000s, was mainly database development and parameter selection, which then shifted to process monitoring and control as particular technology advances were made. In the various goals that were investigated, it was evident that researchers were aiming for an online real-time system. This notion was driven by the advances in artificial intelligence and improved monitoring sensors, for example, acoustic emission sensors and even other unusual sensors like microphones for more economical and improved data collection and analysis. Although tremendous strides have been made, a substantial amount of work is still required in achieving a full-fledged real-time intelligent grinding system. The comprehensive findings on IGS system concludes that the real-time process update has been improved from few hours to milliseconds.

The Use of Photovoltaic Concentrators as Applied to Tracking Solar Cooling System.(Dept.E)

At favourable conditions, the average intensity of solar power is about 0.8 KW/m2 at noon for a clear summer day in Kuwait, Assuming a photovoltaic system total efficiency to be 6%, the corresponding specific area required during this favourable atmospheric conditions will be about 20 m2/kW; which has to be increased considerably for the rest time of the day and year, unless a tracking solar system is used to limit to some extent the increase of this specific solar, area. In order to obtain a further decrease of such a specific solar area, conical concentrators are suggested to be used with the photovoltaic cells in addition to the tracking solar system. In this paper a comparison between the experimental voltage-current characteristics of one type of photovoltaic cells with and without concentrators is presented; illustrating the design and shape of these concentrators when used with photovoltaic cells as applied to a solar cooling system in arid zones.

Thermodynamic investigation of a novel hydrogen liquefaction process using thermo-electrochemical water splitting cycle and solar collectors

Hydrogen production and liquefaction using solar thermo-electrochemical water splitting systems can as an effective method for long-term renewable energy source storage are suggested. In this paper, a novel integrated configuration for the cogeneration of liquid hydrogen and oxygen by magnesium-chlorine thermo-electrochemical water splitting cycle, hydrogen liquefaction unit, and solar dish collectors is developed. The novel integrated structure produces 7116 kg/h liquid hydrogen and 57597 kg/h oxygen. Through the magnesium-chlorine cycle, pure hydrogen is produced and the required energy is supplied through solar renewable energy based on the climatic conditions of Isfahan city in Iran. Then the produced hydrogen enters the liquefaction process to generate liquid hydrogen. The heat and power consumption of the whole system for the cogeneration of liquid hydrogen and oxygen are 207.9 MW and 373.9 MW, respectively. The heat waste of the integrated structure is used to produce hot water as a by-product. The specific power consumption of the liquefaction cycle is 7.6 kWh/kg LH2 and also the total thermal efficiency of the whole integrated system is 71.4%. Through the pinch method, heat exchanger networks related to multi-stream heat exchangers of the present system are extracted. Sensitivity analysis is used to investigate the effects of changes in major parameters including operating conditions of the thermo-electrochemical cycle as well as changes in the solar dish collector main parameters and the results are reported.

Modeling and performance analysis of a hybrid conventional solar still–adsorption desalination system

This study presents a thermodynamic modeling and performance analysis of a hybrid desalination system consisting of a conventional solar still (CSS) and an adsorption desalination system (ADS). To evaluate the performance of the system, a small scale model of a hybrid CSS-ADS system is designed, fabricated and tested under the meteorological condition of Kollam, Kerala, India. Water productivity of the hybrid CSS-ADS, followed by, assessing the coefficient of performance of the system is also carried out. The maximum water productivity of the system is estimated as 750 ml. The proposed hybrid system is able to produce the cooling effect along with desalination during its operation. The coefficient of performance (COP) is obtained as 0.58. The performance of the system is also assessed based on the second law of thermodynamics to study exergy loss and exergy efficiency of each and every component of the system. It is observed that the main sources of exergy destruction in the hybrid system occurs in the solar still basin and adsorbent bed of ADS. The total exergy loss and exergy efficiency of the hybrid system is found to be 0.224 W and 29.6%, respectively. Variation of brine water temperature, heat transfer coefficients, water productivity of CSS and ADS are also presented in this study. The study aims at a formidable solution to the low performance of conventional solar still.

The Effect of Water Rights Trading Policy on Water Resource Utilization Efficiency: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China

Water shortage has become a serious problem in the world, and low water efficiency is the key to industrial and agricultural production and sustainable economic development. Based on the data of 30 provinces (municipalities) in China from 2010 to 2017, this study builds a DEA model based on the hybrid network structure of water systems to measure water resource utilization efficiency and uses a difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the effects of the water rights trading policy on water resource utilization efficiency. We find that the water rights trading policy can significantly promote the total water efficiency of the water resources system and the initial water use efficiency, and after a series of robustness tests, the result is still valid. Further analysis indicates that the policy effect changes with the adjustment of the industrial and agricultural water use structure. Moreover, the dynamic impact of water rights trading policy on water resource utilization efficiency is still significant. This study provides macroscopic evidence for evaluating the effects of China’s water rights trading policy and offers new ideas and experiences for improving China’s water resource utilization efficiency.

Modeling, Design, and Testing of a Linear Electric-Hydraulic Conversion Machine for Electrification of Off-Highway Vehicles

Electrification and hybridization of off-highway vehicles have the potential to yield significant fuel savings and air emissions improvements. However, developing the required components to electrify these systems is an extremely challenging task due to high force and power density requirements and highly variable drive cycles. This article investigates a new approach to off-highway vehicle electrification based around a linear piston pump integrated into a linear actuator. The article first reviews linear actuator machine topologies within the context of the charge pump application requirements. A tubular machine topology is optimized for integration with a hydraulic pump and experimentally validated using a prototype machine. A multiphysics simulation framework is developed to simulate the entire charge pump design with a position regulator. An optimized design is proposed with an oscillation frequency of 132 Hz and a total system efficiency (pump and motor) calculated to be 81.3% at full load.

Application of thermoelectric devices in performance optimization of a domestic PEMFC-based CHP system

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)-based combined heat and power (CHP) hybrid system is a promising power source to achieve residential energy independence because it can generate electricity and heat simultaneously. However, a large amount of energy waste remains because the ratio of electricity and heat output fluctuates with the end user requirement. A thermoelectric generator (TEG) is introduced to enhance the power output of the PEMFC-CHP hybrid system. It can also increase system performance and alleviate the mismatch between energy supply and demand. This research establishes a comprehensive model of the PEMFC-TEG-CHP hybrid system to deeply analyze its operating mechanism and optimize power output performance. The corresponding experimental setup is built to validate its availability of the proposed model. Results reveal that the conversion efficiency of TEG is 0.408% when converting heat to electric power from a 5 kW PEMFC-based CHP hybrid system. Furthermore, the total hybrid system efficiency can reach 85.1% with increments in the electrical efficiency and the energy efficiency of the CHP system of 0.325% and 0.129%, respectively, by exploiting 30-unit TEG modules. The present study demonstrates the feasibility of the PEMFC-TEG-CHP system and implies the promising future of low-grade heat energy recovery using TEGs.

Dynamic simulation of a trigeneration system using an absorption cooling system and building integrated photovoltaic thermal solar collectors

Solar systems are the most promising technologies to reduce building energy consumption. In recent years, one of the popular solar technologies is building integrated photovoltaic-thermal collectors, because of profitability and no need for separate architectural space. In this study, a new combination of glazed building integrated photovoltaic thermal solar collectors and an absorption cooling system, as a trigeneration system, to provide thermal and electrical energy demands of a case study residential building, is proposed. Dynamic simulation of the proposed system is performed using the TRNSYS-MATLAB co-simulator. Because there is no model for the glazed photovoltaic thermal solar collectors in TRNSYS, the thermal model of the glazed building integrated photovoltaic thermal solar collectors is developed in MATLAB and connected to the TRNSYS model. Taking into account the passive and active effects of the BIPVT system, as well as the allocation of thermal energy generation by the BIPVT system so that the absorption chiller is a priority, the cooling energy demand of the building is reduced by 36%. The result showed that the proposed system provides 29% (55.81 Mwh/year) of the annual building energy demand, i.e. 34% of the electrical energy demand and 22% of the thermal energy demands of the building. The annual solar fraction and the total efficiency of the trigeneration system are 28% and 18%, respectively. The findings indicate that the building energy consumption decreases significantly using the proposed system, which resulted in considerable energy and economic savings.

Thermo-Economic Modeling and Evaluation of Physical Energy Storage in Power System

In order to assess the electrical energy storage technologies, the thermo-economy for both capacity-type and power-type energy storage are comprehensively investigated with consideration of political, environmental and social influence. And for the first time, the Exergy Economy Benefit Ratio (EEBR) is proposed with thermo-economic model and applied to three different storage systems in various scenarios, including pumped storage, compressed air energy storage and flywheel energy storage. The impact of the total system efficiency, annual utilization hour, life time, and other key factors are also analyzed. The results show that the EEBRs of pumped storage and compressed air energy storage under peak load shaving condition and flywheel energy storage under frequency modulation service condition are all larger than zero, which means they are all thermo-economically feasible. With extra consideration of political, environmental and social impact, the exergy cost could reduce by about 25% and the EEBR doubles. The sensitivity analysis indicates the similarity and diversity of influence to EEBR between capacity-type and power-type energy storage systems. The former is that energy efficiency is the dominated factor for all three storage systems. The latter is that the difference of exergy benefit mode causes variety in other major factors. For energy-type storage system, like pumped storage and compressed air storage, the peak-to-valley price ratio is very sensitive in energy arbitrage. For power-type storage system, like flywheel storage, the mileage ratio is in leading position in auxiliary service benefit by mileage. In the three cases studied, the pumped storage has the best thermo-economy; the compressed air energy storage is the second, and the flywheel energy storage is the third. The main reason is that the pumped storage has the least non-exergy cost, and flywheel has the most.

The role of 4th generation district heating (4GDH) in a highly electrified hydropower dominated energy system

District heating (DH) is considered an important component in a future highly renewable European energy system. With the turn towards developing 4th generation district heating (4GDH), the integral role of district heating in fully renewable energy systems is emphasized further. Norway is a country that is expected to play a significant role in the transition of the European energy system due to its high shares of flexible hydropower in the electricity sector. While the country is moving towards electrification in all sectors and higher shares of variable renewable electricity generation, district heating could potentially decrease the need for electric generation and grid capacity expansion and increase the flexibility of the system. In this paper we investigate the role of 4GDH in a highly electrified future Norwegian energy system. A highly electrified scenario for the Norwegian energy system is constructed based on a step-by-step approach, implementing measures towards electrification and expansion of renewable electricity generation. Then, a 4GDH scenario is constructed for the purpose of analysing the role of 4GDH in a highly electrified hydropower based energy system. EnergyPLAN is used for simulation. Results show that an expansion of 4GDH will increase the total system efficiency of the Norwegian energy system. However, the positive effects are only seen in relation to the introduction of efficiency measures such as heat savings, more efficient heating solutions and integration of low-temperature excess heat. Implementation of heat savings and highly efficient heat pumps in individual based heating systems show a similar effect, but does not allow for excess heat integration. In the modelled DH scenario, the introduction of large heat storages has no influence on the operation of the energy system, due to the logic behind the EnergyPLAN model and the national energy system analysis approach chosen, and thus the effect of implementing 4GDH may be underestimated.

Desiccant-based water production from humid air using concentrated solar energy

The extraction of water from atmospheric air is a beneficial solution to solve the crisis of freshwater shortage. The usage of desiccant material to absorb water vapor from ambient air during the nighttime, followed by regeneration using a heat source during the daytime, is getting increased attention nowadays to produce potable water. In this study, the usage of short cylinder-type receiver along with a 16-m2 Scheffler-type solar concentrator system is experimented as a heat source for regeneration purpose. Silica gel is used as the desiccant material for performing the experiments. Tests are conducted on different radiation conditions to assess water extraction possibilities of the solar dish-receiver system. The experiment shows a maximum adsorption capacity of the silica gel as 0.25 g g−1 at a temperature of 25 °C and relative humidity of 80%. The results reveal that for the average beam radiation of 624 W m−2, the maximum receiver temperature is 132 °C and the corresponding water collection is 105 mL kg−1 of silica gel in a day with a total system efficiency of 10.9%. For a low value of average beam radiation of 370 W m−2, the maximum receiver temperature is observed as 109 °C and its corresponding water extraction is 64 mL kg−1 of silica gel in a day with a total system efficiency of 11.3%. The possible ways for performance enhancement of the system for increased yield are also presented. This system has the potential to be employed in the temperature range 30–340 °C, especially in remote and decentralized areas where there is no electricity.

Energy, exergy, and economic analysis of a data center energy system driven by the CO2 ground source heat pump: Prosumer perspective

With increasing reliance on information technology by modern society, the scale and energy consumption of data centers (DCs) are rising rapidly. Approximately 40% of the energy consumed by DCs is associated with refrigeration systems used to maintain optimal operation temperatures. Such systems produce large amounts of waste heat; therefore, the utilization of the waste heat is essential for the optimization of the energy efficiency of DCs, especially with regard to DC prosumers (producers and consumers). However, the low temperature of the waste heat and variation in load demand are two factors limiting the exploitation of waste heat from DCs. In this study, a prosumer DC energy system based on a ground source heat pump (GSHP) is proposed for the recycling of waste heat from DCs for the heating of surrounding buildings. The heat generated in the non-heating period is stored in the soil and made available for building heating using a carbon dioxide (CO2) direct-expansion GSHP. Furthermore, the cooling power consumption, total power consumption, exergy efficiency, and net profit of the prosumer DC waste heat energy recovery system are evaluated. Compared to conventional cooling systems that use air source heat pumps (ASHPs) for building heating, the energy, exergy, and economic (3E) performance of the prosumer DC have the following advantages: 1) the prosumer DC waste heat energy recovery system yields a heat-power ratio of 5.70, with a total power consumption approximately half (52.86%) that of the conventional system; 2) the matching thermodynamic properties are greatly improved; specifically, the exergy efficiency of the prosumer DC waste heat energy recovery system is 3.87 fold that of the conventional system; 3) better economic revenue of the prosumer DC waste heat energy recovery system generates more economic revenue, with an annual net profit approximately 190.34% of that generated by the conventional system. In general, the prosumer system facilitates flexible and effective utilization of the low-temperature waste heat, by coupling the upstream power supplier and downstream thermal users through a GSHP.

Loss Assessment of the Axial-Gap Size Effect in a Low-Pressure Turbine

The aim of this work is the decomposition, quantification, and analysis of losses related to the axial-gap size effect. Both experimental data and unsteady RANS calculations are investigated for axial gaps equal to 20%, 50% and 80% of the stator axial chord. A framework for identifying sources of loss typical in turbomachinery is derived and utilized for the low-pressure turbine presented. The analysis focuses on the dependency of these losses on the axial-gap variation. It is found that two-dimensional profile losses increase for smaller gaps due to higher wake-mixing losses and unsteady wake-blade interaction. Losses in the end-wall regions, however, decrease for smaller gaps. The total system efficiency can be described by a superposition of individual loss contributions, the optimum of which is found for the smallest gap investigated. It is concluded that these loss contributions are characteristic for the medium aspect-ratio airfoils and operating conditions investigated. This establishes a deeper physical understanding for future investigations into the axial-gap size effect and its interdependency with other design parameters.

Performance analysis of a novel hybrid solar photovoltaic - pumped-hydro and compressed-air storage system in different climatic zones

It has been proven that the future of energy demands for human society is related to renewable energy sources such as solar energy. However, the operation of solar energy systems is associated with some challenges, such as naturally uncertainty, instability, and intermittently at different hours of the day, which has caused problems with their widespread use. One of the most innovative ways to overcome these challenges is to use energy storage systems. The Pumped-Hydro and Compressed-Air (PHCA) system is a new energy storage system which can be coupled with power generation from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the performance of the PHCA system is coupled with power generation from photovoltaic (PV) system from the energy and exergy points of view. The proposed energy system is able to generate electricity and storing energy. The solar PV system absorbs solar energy and converts it to the electricity. This electrical energy is then fed to the pump of storage system. Then, the required energy is produced by the turbine of storage system when needed. To examine the energy system performance, two different scenarios are considered: the first determines the required number of solar PV panels for a constant capacity of the PHCA storage system. In the latter, the storage system volume is determined for a solar PV system with a capacity of 1 kW. To evaluate the energy system performance the climatic conditions of two different cities in the Middle East (Dubai and Yazd) are considered. The results of the scenario I revealed that, the required pump work, which must be supplied by solar PV system, is equal to 3.69 and 4.0 MJ/m3 for isentropic and isothermal processes, respectively. In such a context, the total efficiency of the energy system is equal to 63.75%. In addition, the total exergy destruction of energy system for isentropic process is 8.36% and 8.39% less than that isothermal process in Dubai and Yazd, respectively. From scenario II, it was fond that the storage system should have a fixed capacity of 7.79 and 7.19 m3 for isentropic and isothermal processes, respectively. Based on research findings engineers must establish the right balance between the storage system and the solar system according to the energy needs for storage, storage volume, storing water method, and hours of operating and geological requirements.

Parallel PV Configuration with Magnetic-Free Switched Capacitor Module-Level Converters for Partial Shading Conditions

In this paper, a module-level photovoltaic (PV) architecture in parallel configuration is introduced for maximum power extraction, under partial shading (PS) conditions. For the first time, a non-regulated switched capacitor (SC) nX converter is a used at the PV-side conversion stage, whose purpose is just to multiply the PV voltage by a fixed ratio and accordingly reduce the input current. All the control functions, including the maximum power point tracking, are transferred to the grid-side inverter. The voltage-multiplied PV modules (VMPVs) are connected in parallel to a common DC-bus, which offers expandability to the system and eliminates the PS issues of a typical string architecture. The advantage of the proposed approach is that the PV-side converter is relieved of bulky capacitors, filters, controllers and voltage/current sensors, allowing for a more compact and efficient conversion stage, compared to conventional per-module systems, such as microinverters. The proposed configuration was initially simulated in a 5 kW residential PV system and compared against conventional PV arrangements. For the experimental validation, a 10X Gallium Nitride (GaN) converter prototype was developed with a flat conversion efficiency of 96.3% throughout the power range. This is particularly advantageous, given the power production variability of PV generators. Subsequently, the VMPV architecture was tested on a two-module 500 WP prototype, exhibiting an excellent power extraction efficiency of over 99.7% under PS conditions and minimal DC-bus voltage variation of 3%, leading to a higher total system efficiency compared to most state-of-the-art configurations.