| PhD Viva

Name of the Speaker: Mr. Kiran Y M (EE16D003)
Guide: Prof. Srirama Srinivas
Co-Guide: Dr. Rahul Kumar Dubey
Online meeting link: https://meet.google.com/cmn-zwmz-vpk
Date/Time: 27th March 2024 (Wednesday), 3:00 PM
Title: Efficient and Effective Maximum Power Point Tracking Implementation Methods for Photovoltaic Systems

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) modules can be utilized to garner solar energy for electrical usage. Single Diode Model (SDM) are widely used to model PV modules and extraction of these parameters is a complex task. PV modules must be operated at their Maximum Power Point (MPP) in order to maximize the energy extraction. Note that, the MPP changes with change in irradiance and temperature. To implement MPPT in PV systems, an impedance matching network is developed using high voltage gain DC - DC converter. The ripple current drawn by the DC - DC converter makes the operating point oscillate about the MPP at the switching frequency. This degrades the power harnessed from the PV modules and hence degrades the performance of MPPT algorithms too. This thesis proposes (a) a simple and effective method for obtaining the SDM parameters of a PV module (b) an easy-to-implement method for tracking the MPP of a PV module using commercially available ICs and the proposed idea can be adopted on any of the well-known DC - DC converter topologies (c) an energy efficient high voltage gain DC - DC converter (HGDC) to reduce the ripple current drawn from the photovoltaic modules.

Efficacy of all the proposed ideas are demonstrated using detailed simulation studies and are experimentally validated. Besides, their superior performance is also showcased in comparison to the existing state-of-the art.