A. Nazer
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Photovoltaic (PV) systems are frequently subject to voltage and current mismatches caused by various factors, such as partial shading, differing panel tilt angles, dust accumulation, and cell degradation among PV elements. These mismatches can significantly reduce the overall efficiency of PV systems by preventing individual modules or strings from operating at their maximum power point (MPP). This article introduces a novel architecture termed PV to virtual bus series–parallel differential power processing, which effectively mitigates mismatches in both series-connected PV modules (i.e., current mismatches) and parallel-connected PV strings (i.e., voltage mismatches). The proposed architecture employs a combination of string-level converters (SLCs) and module-integrated converters (MICs) that process only a fraction of the total power. Notably, the architecture leverages virtual buses on the primary side of both SLCs and MICs, leading to reduced voltage rating requirements for SLCs and lower power rating demands for MICs. This design reduces the stress on individual components, making the system more cost-effective and reliable. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the requirements for SLCs and MICs, along with a detailed explanation of how the proposed architecture ensures that PV modules consistently operate at their respective MPPs. In addition, it explains how the virtual bus voltage is balanced through mathematical power flow equations, ensuring stable and efficient operation. Finally, the architecture’s effectiveness is validated through real-time simulation results with two PLECS real-time (RT) boxes, which demonstrate its capability to address mismatch issues and optimize the performance of PV systems.
Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking Architecture for Photovoltaic Systems
Photovoltaic to Virtual Bus Differential Power Processing
PV to Virtual Bus Parallel Differential Power Processing (PV2VB PDPP) Architecture: A new PV2VB PDPP architecture is introduced, leveraging a virtual bus as the input for string-level converters (SLCs). This design allows for reduced components’ voltage ratings by operating the virtual bus at a lower voltage than the main bus or PV strings. The architecture employs Dual Active Bridge converters connected to Bridgeless converters as SLCs to provide isolation and handle both positive and negative outputs. Experimental results demonstrate system efficiency ranging from 96.4% to 99%.
Dynamic Analysis and Stability: The thesis includes a comprehensive dynamic analysis of the PV2VB PDPP architecture, deriving small-signal models, transfer functions, and frequency responses. These analyses aid in understanding the system’s dynamic behavior, enabling effective controller design and stability studies. Experimental validation confirms fast stabilization of the virtual bus voltage (0.6 seconds) and intermediate bus voltages (15 milliseconds), ensuring efficient Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) for each PV string.
Battery Integration in PV2VB PDPP Architecture: The work extends the PDPP architecture to include battery integration at the virtual bus, facilitating energy storage and management while performing MPPT. The battery integration reduces component voltage ratings and allows for efficient charging and discharging control by the central converter. Experimental evaluations show system efficiencies between 95.5% and 99%.
PV to Virtual Bus Series-Parallel Differential Power Processing (PV2VB SPDPP) Architecture: To address mismatches in both series-connected modules and parallel-connected strings, a PV2VB SPDPP architecture is proposed. This architecture uses a combination of SLCs and module-integrated converters (MICs), processing only a fraction of the total power. By leveraging virtual buses for both SLCs and MICs, the architecture reduces voltage and power stress on components, improving cost-effectiveness and reliability. Real-time simulations validate the system’s ability to balance power flow, ensure stable operation, and optimize PV module performance under mismatch conditions.
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PV to Virtual Bus Parallel Differential Power Processing (PV2VB PDPP) Architecture: A new PV2VB PDPP architecture is introduced, leveraging a virtual bus as the input for string-level converters (SLCs). This design allows for reduced components’ voltage ratings by operating the virtual bus at a lower voltage than the main bus or PV strings. The architecture employs Dual Active Bridge converters connected to Bridgeless converters as SLCs to provide isolation and handle both positive and negative outputs. Experimental results demonstrate system efficiency ranging from 96.4% to 99%.
Dynamic Analysis and Stability: The thesis includes a comprehensive dynamic analysis of the PV2VB PDPP architecture, deriving small-signal models, transfer functions, and frequency responses. These analyses aid in understanding the system’s dynamic behavior, enabling effective controller design and stability studies. Experimental validation confirms fast stabilization of the virtual bus voltage (0.6 seconds) and intermediate bus voltages (15 milliseconds), ensuring efficient Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) for each PV string.
Battery Integration in PV2VB PDPP Architecture: The work extends the PDPP architecture to include battery integration at the virtual bus, facilitating energy storage and management while performing MPPT. The battery integration reduces component voltage ratings and allows for efficient charging and discharging control by the central converter. Experimental evaluations show system efficiencies between 95.5% and 99%.
PV to Virtual Bus Series-Parallel Differential Power Processing (PV2VB SPDPP) Architecture: To address mismatches in both series-connected modules and parallel-connected strings, a PV2VB SPDPP architecture is proposed. This architecture uses a combination of SLCs and module-integrated converters (MICs), processing only a fraction of the total power. By leveraging virtual buses for both SLCs and MICs, the architecture reduces voltage and power stress on components, improving cost-effectiveness and reliability. Real-time simulations validate the system’s ability to balance power flow, ensure stable operation, and optimize PV module performance under mismatch conditions.
Photovoltaic (PV) to virtual bus parallel differential power processing (PDPP) architecture can mitigate mismatch losses among PV strings. This article presents a comprehensive dynamic analysis by deriving a small-signal model of the PDPP architecture based on its state space model. Subsequently, the corresponding transfer functions and frequency response are obtained, offering valuable insights into the dynamic behavior of the architecture. To validate the accuracy of the derived model, the frequency response has also been achieved by observed data from both PLECS simulation and experiment through system identification. Besides, this article discusses the design considerations of the discrete controllers' parameters for both virtual and intermediate bus voltages and studies the stability of the architecture. Experimental measurements confirm the ability of the central controller to stabilize the virtual bus voltage to the desired level within 0.6 seconds, while the intermediate bus voltages settle within 15 ms, enabling proper maximum power point tracking of each PV string.
Photovoltaic (PV) systems are often exposed to mismatch caused by partial shading, different mounting angles, dust accumulation, cell degradation, and so on. This paper proposes a novel parallel differential power processing (P-DPP) configuration to minimize mismatch-related losses among PV strings. The proposed configuration, called PV to Virtual Bus P-DPP, uses a virtual bus as an input for all P-DPP converters. Since the virtual bus voltage can be selected lower than the DC Bus voltage, components’ voltage rating can be reduced. An essential feature of the proposed configuration is the ability of the converters to generate both positive and negative output voltage. Therefore, a bidirectional flyback converter connected to a bridgeless converter is proposed as the P-DPP converter. To find the MPP of each PV string, the Perturb and Observe (P&O) algorithm is implemented. Moreover, a proportional–integral feedback controller controls the virtual bus voltage through the central converter. The benefits of the proposed configuration are discussed, and the operation of the proposed structure is further verified through simulations with the software PLECS.