Analysis and simulation of characteristics and maximum power point tracking for photovoltaic systems

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a photovoltaic simulation system with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) function using Matlab/Simulink software in order to simulate, evaluate and predict the behaviors of the real photovoltaic system. A model of the most important component in the photovoltaic system, the solar module, is the first to have been established. The characteristics of the established solar module model were simulated and compared with those of the original field test data under different temperature and irradiance conditions. After that, a model of a photovoltaic system with maximum power point tracker, which was developed using DC-DC buck-boost converter with the perturbation and observation method, was then established and simulated. According to comparisons of the simulation results, the I-V curves of the established solar module model could closely match those of the original field test data, and the model of the photovoltaic system that was built in this paper can track the maximum power point of the system successfully and accurately under arbitrary temperature and irradiance conditions. The accuracy and practicability of the photovoltaic simulation system proposed in this paper are, therefore, validated.