High-Performance Hybrid MPPT Algorithm Based Single-Stage Solar PV Fed Induction Motor Drive for Standalone Pump Application

The article presents a high-performance hybrid sample-based perturb and observe (P&O) maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm for a single-stage solar photovoltaic (SPV) fed open-end winding induction motor (OEWIM) driven standalone pumping system. Traditionally, the P&O algorithm utilizes slow sample-based computation for MPPT to avoid high oscillations near MPP. The slow sample-based algorithm has the drawback of poor tracking speed and loss of MPPT for the environmental change corresponding to the decrement in the PV power (i.e., step decrement in irradiance). Conversely, the algorithm designed for a faster sample rate faces the drawback of poor MPPT performance due to high oscillations near MPP. The proposed algorithm integrates the advantages of both fast and slow sample-based P&O MPPT algorithms. It switches to the fast sample-based MPPT when the PV operating point is away from MPP or there is a change in environmental conditions. It switches back to slow sample-based MPPT algorithms when the operating point reaches near MPP. The complete details of the proposed hybrid sample-based MPPT algorithm for the SPV pump application system are given in the article. Further, a comparative analysis of the proposed algorithm performance with both fast and slow sample-based algorithms is also carried out using MATLAB/Simulink simulation environment. The simulation results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed algorithm in terms of MPPT speed and accuracy. The enhanced MPP accuracy further improves the pump performance by minimizing torque and speed ripple. The robustness of the proposed strategy is also elucidated experimentally.