Experimental studies and performance evaluation of MPPT control strategies for solar-powered water pumps

The photovoltaic (PV) system is one of the renewable energies that attract the attention of researchers in the recent years. The output powers of photovoltaic PV system are crucially depending of the two variable factors, which are the cell temperatures and solar irradiances. Since the maximum power point (MPP) varies, based these variables, appropriate algorithms must be utilized to track the MPP and maintain the operation of the system in it. These algorithms, known as Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), are essential in a PV system. This paper presents evaluations among the most usual MPPT control strategies, doing meaningful studies on merits, demerits and classification of each method. The algorithms, were digitally implemented on the dSPACE DS1104 platform, are Constant voltage (CV), short circuit current (SCC), perturb and observe (P&O) and incremental conductance (IC). The PV system operate at MPPT is used to supply three phase induction motor driving a centrifugal pump. DC/DC boost converter and three phase inverter are connected into between PV generator and motor for power conditioning. The experimental results verify that the proposed MPPT algorithms are able to find real global MPP correctly and quickly. Advantages, disadvantages, and characteristics of different MPPT techniques are studied, evaluated, and compared through extensive computational experiments.