Multilevel solar power converters

Abstract

The thesis aims to draw the main issue of the solar panel on solar system configuration and giving the solution for the issue. From the beginning, the thesis studies the characteristics of the solar panel under the varying condition as irradiance and temperature. For optimizing the performance of the non-linear characteristic, a method Perturb & Observe (P&O) based on Maximum Power Point (MPP) tracking is tested and applied with the DC/DC converter. The commonly used solar structure converter and the multilevel converter structure have been implemented. Both configurations have a series connection between panel to panel or module to module. The analysis is divided into two cases as ideal condition and partial – shading condition. The ideal condition complied as standard test condition (STC) that the solar panel is illuminated by the irradiance of 1000W/m2 with the temperature during test 25°C. The partial – shading is levelized for every panel. The inherent issues are shown by the characteristic of the commonly used solar converter. The current path has been affected by the series connection which leads to the low power extraction from the solar cell. The multilevel solar converter has taken the advantages against the commonly used one. The results are shown by doing the numerical simulation in the MATLAB environment.