2014 Ninth International Conference on Ecological Vehicles and Renewable Energies (EVER)

P&O MPPT Implementation Using

MATLAB/Simulink

Tarek Selmi, Mohamed Abdul-Niby, Andrew Davis

and Laura Devis Solsatisfaction
Australian college of Kuwait, Colorado, USA
P.O. Box 1411, Safat 13015 Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
and [email protected]

AbstractIn this paper, a mathematical analysis of a Accordingly, this paper provides a review of the P&O
photovoltaic cell is presented for the single diode and algorithm method and a final conclusion based on a
double diode cell configurations. The model of the double MATLAB simulation. The simulation generates strict
diode representation was implemented using a proprietary conditions such as different irradiance levels and
algorithm and MATLAB/Simulink. To track the point of
measures the maximum output power for the condition
maximum power, the perturb and observe (P&O)
algorithm method was implemented. It was shown that the
applied. The MATLAB Simulink tool is widely used to
point of maximum power is always located at the expected make sound judgments in selecting the best tracking
position, is readily tracked, and maintained by minute methods.
increases and decreases in voltage. These encouraging
results indicate opportunities for the utilization of this II. SOLAR CELL MODELLING
algorithm and its hardware implementation.
The photovoltaic cell modelling was made possible by
KeywordsPV Cell, MPPT, MATLAB/Simulink, using equivalent circuits. There are two key parameters
Model, P&O, Single-Diode, Double-Diode. that are generally used to characterize a photovoltaic
cell. The first parameter is called the short-circuit current
(Isc) which is obtained by short-circuiting both terminals
I. INTRODUCTION of the photovoltaic cell. In this case, the photovoltaic
For the past several years, solar technology has been current is expected to reach its maximum value, while
readily available in the international market. It allows for the voltage between the two terminals (Vsc) is zero. The
the generation of power without the use of fossil fuel. second parameter is of great importance when it comes
However, power generated by solar cells can face losses. to a photovoltaic cell with two terminals that are not
Losses can be due to adverse weather conditions from connected. In this case, the cell appears as an open
cloudy or rainy days, decreased irradiance levels, circuit and the photovoltaic current is shunted within the
temperature changes etc. Sometimes, it can even be due cell by the intrinsic diode of the PN junction and the
to the MPPT method used to regulate power [1]. voltage across the cell reaches its maximum value called
Most if not all solar circuitry designs will generate the open-circuit voltage (Voc), while the current in the
power output. However, all solar designs require fine- external circuit is zero (Ioc = 0A). The manufacturer of
tuning to produce maximum power output at all times. the photovoltaic module usually supplies these two
Despite weather condition limitations and their effects on parameters in the modules data sheet.
solar modules, most solar circuitry designs nowadays use The simplest model of a photovoltaic cell is that of
maximum power point tracking for maximum power Figure 1 [5-7], [8], [9]. It is based on an equivalent
generation. Many different algorithm methods can be circuit consisting of an ideal current source connected in
applied for MPPT. The most familiar methods use parallel with a diode, a shunt resistor (Rsh) and a series
perturb and observe (P&O) [2-4]. resistor (Rs).

978-1-4799-3787-5/14/$31.00 2014 IEEE

 However, a second model, where the equivalent The power delivered to the load and the quality
circuit diagram is shown in Figure 2, is also adopted factor of the diode that will make part of the modeling
[10]. In this case, the electrical model is known as a process are given respectively by [10]:
double-diode model.
P =I V (4)
The current source, or insolation, in both equivalent PV PV PV
circuit diagrams is represented by the photovoltaic
current Iph. The PV cell current Ipv, for both models, is V + I R V
mpp mpp s co (5)
given by equations 2 and 3, respectively [5, 8, 9, 10]. A=

V I
V mpp
mpp co
V Ln I
T cc R
I
mpp
Ln I
cc R
+
V

sh I co
cc R
s

It is noted that the short-circuit current given in a PV

module datasheet is for standard test conditions of
irradiance and air mass at a temperature of 25 C (G0 =
Fig. 1. Single-diode equivalent circuit of a PV cell 1000W/m, 25 C, AM1.5). Accordingly, for any given
irradiance G, the PV cell current is adjusted using the
following equation [8]:
(Vpv+RsIpv) Vpv +Rs I pv
q G
I =I I (e AKT
1) ( ) (1) I = I (6)
pv ph 0 Rsh sc G G sc G
0 0

(Vpv+RsI pv) (Vpv+RsIpv) The model described by equation (3) was

q Vpv +Rs I pv constructed using MATLAB/Simulink (Figure 3). It
I =I I (e AKT
1) I (e AKT
1) ( ) (2)
pv ph s1 s2 Rsh includes the parameters that affect the behaviour of the
PV cell in terms of output current and voltage. Those
parameters are: the radiation G, the temperature T (in
Kelvin), the series resistance Rs and the shunt resistance
Rsh. Figure 4 shows the effects of insolation variation.

Fig. 2. Double-diode equivalent circuit of a PV cell

For the situation corresponding to the maximum

power point (MPP), the current and voltage are
respectively Impp and Vmpp. Accordingly, and based on
equation (2), the following equation can be deduced:
( )
Vmpp+RsImpp
q Vmpp+RsImpp
1)
AKT

I = I I (e (3)
mpp ph 0 R
sh Fig. 3. Double-diode MATLAB/Simulink Model
 The perturbation method is very simple to apply.
However, it has some power losses due to the constant
oscillation at the maximum power operating point. The
literature also describes another disadvantage to the
P&O method, which is that it doesnt give a stable
response when there are rapid condition changes in
irradiance levels [5]. The circuit models for the PV cell
have been designed using realistic parameters taken from
manufacturers data sheets and using the developed
analytical approach. It is worth noting that the analytical
model presented above is very useful for simulation and
(a) modelling of PV based systems.
It simplifies the mathematical computations and
design of solar modules without altering physical
parameters that are very well known for solar cells.
Hence, the parameters derived even though purely
mathematical (Figure 6), give an accurate description of
the expected physical behaviour of a PV module and
array (Figure 7).

(b)
Figure 4. Effect of insolation on cell output, a:I(V), b:P(V)

III. P&O MPPT ALGORITHM ANALYSIS AND

IMPLEMENTATION

As shown in figure 5, the P&O algorithm works on

the idea of introducing perturbation to the systems
operating point to generate maximum output power. The
PV array is perturbed by adding small increments until
the maximum power point is reached. Initially P1 (power
output) is calculated by measuring the values of V1 and
I1 of the solar module. Then a small perturbation is
added in the form of V. Then P2 is calculated by
measuring the new values of V2 and I2. If the P2 reads
positive, the system will keep perturbing in the same
direction. Once P2 reads negative, the algorithm will
bring the output power value back towards the maximum
power point by adding a negative increment. When the
maximum power point is reached, the system operating
point will start to oscillate constantly around that
maximum power point. The controller will track this
operating point and try to bring the V of the solar
module to perform on this maximum power point. [5]
The controller, in this case would be in a DC-DC
Fig 5. P&O algorithm chart
converter located along the DC module output.
 REFERENCES

[1] R. Faranda and S. Leva, Energy Comparison of

MPPT techniques for PV Systems, WSES
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[7] Ch.-E. Bonnet, B. Freuge, Le secteur du
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IV. CONCLUSION [8] T. Selmi, M. Bouzguenda, A. Gastli and A.
This paper deals with modeling a double-diode solar Masmoudi, MATLAB/Simulink based modeling of
cell based on mathematical equations using solar photovoltaic cell, International Journal of
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maximum power point or MPP. The results indicated
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The results suggest that using this method, power output PV Arrays Built with Non-Equivalent Units,
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