Design of an Isolated Converter for Cable-free PV Modules
D. Pang (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
Patrizio Manganiello (TU Delft - Photovoltaic Materials and Devices)
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Abstract
Climate change has called for an urgent revolution in our energy sector. Concerning energy generation, the use of fossil fuels must be decreased, due to the carbon pollution they produce, and more and more green energy is required to be integrated into the power system. Solar energy represents a valid alternative to generates electricity without harming the environment. Furthermore, compared to other renewable technologies, photovoltaic (PV) panel are easier to integrate in the urban environment. Indeed, the concept of Nearly Zero-energy Buildings has been frequently mentioned in EU’s energy plan, which requires the new buildings, as of 1 January 2030, to perform energy efficiently almost without any consumption of non-renewable energy. However, building integration of PV systems comes with some challenges, such us complex installation and performance under partial shading.
This thesis proposes an isolated module-level converter to address the challenges mentioned above that arises in urban PV systems. Such a converter is expected to transfer energy as well as ease the installation of PV modules by splitting the magnetic core of its transformer in two parts: the first installed on the PV module and the second on the building. In the idea, the magnetic core of the converter is the key element to realize the objective. Therefore, the thesis starts with investigating the materials used in the magnetic core of the converter, after which the possible isolated topologies fit for the project are studied.
By combining analytical models with Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations in COMSOL, different cores are designed for the various converter topologies, core materials and core geometries. They are then compared in order to select the optimal solution and thus chose the optimal design. Finally, circuit simulations are performed to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach and evaluate the performance of the proposed solution when the transformer of a LM25184EVM-S12 flyback converter from Texas Instruments is replaced by the one designed using the methodology developed during this thesis project. According to the simulations, an efficiency up to 89.75\% is obtained with the proposed methodology, similar to the efficiency of the original converter.