BLDC Motor Driven Solar PV Array Fed Water

Pumping System Employing Zeta Converter

Rajan Kumar, Student Member, IEEE Bhim Singh, Fellow, IEEE
Department of Electrical Engineering Department of Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016, India Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016, India
[email protected] [email protected]
Abstract— This paper proposes a solar photovoltaic (SPV) – Belonging to the family of buck-boost converters, the zeta
array fed water pumping system utilizing a zeta converter as an converter can be operated either to increase or to decrease
intermediate DC-DC converter in order to extract the maximum the output voltage. This property offers a boundless
available power from the SPV array. Controlling the zeta
region for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of the
converter in an intelligent manner through the incremental
conductance maximum power point tracking (INC-MPPT) SPV array [7]. The MPPT can be performed with simple
algorithm offers the soft starting of the brushless DC (BLDC) buck and boost converter if the MPP occurs within the
motor employed to drive a centrifugal water pump coupled to its prescribed limits.
shaft. Soft starting i.e. the reduced current starting inhibits the – The aforementioned property also facilitates the soft
harmful effect of the high starting current on the windings of the starting of the BLDC motor unlike a boost converter
BLDC motor. A fundamental frequency switching of the voltage which habitually step up the voltage level at its output,
source inverter (VSI) is accomplished by the electronic not ensuring the soft starting.
commutation of the BLDC motor, thereby avoiding the VSI
losses occurred owing to the high frequency switching. A new – Unlike a simple buck-boost converter, the zeta converter
design approach for the low valued DC link capacitor of VSI is has a continuous output current. The output inductor
proposed. The proposed water pumping system is designed and makes the current continuous and ripple free. However, a
modeled such that the performance is not affected even under the small ripple filter may be required at the input to
dynamic conditions. Suitability of the proposed system under smoothen the input current.
dynamic conditions is demonstrated by the simulation results
using MATLAB/Simulink software.
– Although consisting of the same number of components
as the Cuk converter, the zeta converter operates as non-
Keywords— SPV array, Zeta converter, INC-MPPT, BLDC inverting buck-boost converter unlike an inverting buck-
motor, Electronic commutation. boost and Cuk converter. This property obviates the
I. INTRODUCTION requirement of associated circuits for negative voltage
sensing hence reduces the complexity and probability of
Drastic reduction in the cost of power electronic devices
slow down the system response [8].
and annihilation of the fossil fuels in near future invite to use
The merits of the zeta converter mentioned above are
the solar photovoltaic (SPV) generated electrical energy for
favorable for the proposed SPV array fed water pumping
various applications as far as possible. Water pumping, a system. An incremental conductance (INC) MPPT algorithm
standalone application of the SPV array generated electricity [9-10] is used to operate the zeta converter such that the SPV
is receiving wide attention now a days for irrigation in the array always operates at its MPP and the BLDC motor
fields, household applications and industrial usage. Although experience a reduced current at the starting. A three phase
the several researches have been carried out in the area of SPV voltage source inverter (VSI) is operated by fundamental
array fed water pumping, combining various DC-DC frequency switching for the electronic commutation of BLDC
converters and motor drives, the zeta converter in association motor [6]. Simulation results using MATLAB/Simulink
with the permanent magnet brushless DC (BLDC) motor is software is examined to demonstrate the starting, dynamics
still unexplored to develop such kind of system. However, the and steady state behavior of the proposed water pumping
zeta converter has been used in some other SPV based system subjected to the random variation in the solar
applications [1-4]. The merits of both the BLDC motor and irradiance. The SPV array is designed such that the proposed
zeta converter can contribute to develop a favorable SPV array system always exhibits satisfactory performance regardless of
fed water pumping system possessing the potential of the solar irradiance level or its variation.
operating satisfactorily under the dynamically changing This paper is organized as follows. Configuration and
atmospheric conditions. The BLDC motor has high reliability, operation of the proposed system are illustrated in section II
high efficiency, high torque/inertia ratio, improved cooling, and section III respectively. Section IV presents the design of
low radio frequency interference and noise and requires the various stages of the proposed system. The control
practically no maintenance [5-6]. On the other hand, a zeta techniques used are briefly described in section V. Finally, the
converter exhibits following advantages over the conventional performance of the proposed system is evaluated using the
buck, boost, buck-boost converter and Cuk converter when simulated results in section VI followed by the concluding
employed in SPV based applications. remarks in section VII.

978-1-4799-6046-0/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE

 II. CONFIGURATION OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM IV. DESIGN OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM
The structure of the proposed SPV array fed BLDC motor The various operating stages shown in Fig. 1 are
driven water pumping system employing a zeta converter is intellectually designed in order to develop an effective water
shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the proposed system pumping system, capable of operating under uncertain
consists of (left to right) the SPV array, the zeta converter, the conditions. A BLDC motor of 2.89 kW power rating and the
VSI, the BLDC motor and the centrifugal water pump. The SPV array of 3.4 kW maximum power capacity under
BLDC motor has an inbuilt encoder. The pulse generator is standard test conditions (STC) are selected to design the
used to operate the zeta converter. The step by step operation proposed system. The detailed design of the various stages
of the proposed system is reported in the following section in such as the SPV array, the zeta converter and the centrifugal
detail. pump are described as follows.

III. OPERATION OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM A. Design of SPV Array

The SPV array generates the electrical power demanded by As per the discussion in section III, the practical converters
the motor-pump system. This electrical power is fed to the are associated with the various power losses. In addition, the
motor-pump system via the zeta converter and the VSI. SPV performance of the BLDC motor-pump is influenced by the
array appears as the power source for the zeta converter as mechanical and electrical losses associated with them. To
shown in Fig. 1. Ideally, the same amount of power is compensate these losses, the size of SPV array is selected with
transferred at the output of zeta converter which appears as the slightly more maximum power capacity to ensure the
input source for the VSI. In practice, due to the various losses satisfactory operation regardless of the power losses.
associated with a DC-DC converter [11], slightly less amount Therefore the SPV array of maximum power capacity of Pmpp
of the power is transferred to feed the VSI. The pulse = 3.4 kW under STC (STC: 1000W/m², 25°C, AM 1.5),
generator generates, through INC-MPPT algorithm, the slightly more than demanded by the motor-pump is selected
switching pulse for the IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar and its parameters are designed accordingly. Sunmodule®
Transistor) switch of the zeta converter. The INC-MPPT Plus SW 280 mono [12] SPV module made by SolarWorld is
algorithm takes the voltage and current variables as feedback selected to design the SPV array of an appropriate size.
from SPV array and returns an optimum value of duty cycle. Electrical specifications of this module are listed in Table I
Further, the pulse generator generates actual switching pulse and the numbers of modules required to connect in
by comparing the duty cycle with the high frequency carrier series/parallel are estimated by selecting the voltage of the
wave. In this way, the maximum power extraction and hence SPV array at MPP under STC as, Vmpp = 187.2 V.
the efficiency optimization of the SPV array is accomplished. The current of the SPV array at MPP, Impp is hence
On the other hand, VSI converting the DC power output estimated as,
from the zeta converter into the AC power feeds the BLDC Impp = Pmpp/Vmpp = 3.4/0.1872 = 18.16 A (1)
motor to drive the centrifugal pump coupled to its shaft. The
VSI is operated by the fundamental frequency switching The numbers of modules required to connect in series are as,
availed by the so called electronic commutation of BLDC Ns = Vmpp/Vm = 187.2/31.2 = 6 (2)
motor assisted by its built-in encoder. The high frequency
switching losses are thereby eliminated, contributing in the The numbers of modules required to connect in parallel are as,
effective and increased efficiency operation of the proposed Np = Impp/Im = 18.16/9.07 = 2 (3)
water pumping system.

Fig.1 Configuration of proposed SPV array-Zeta converter fed BLDC motor drive for water pumping system.
TABLE I. ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF SUNMODULE® PLUS SW 280 supply (AC) voltage is reflected on the DC side as a dominant
MONO SPV MODULE
harmonic in the three phase supply system [13]. Here, the
Peak power, Pm (Watt) 280 fundamental frequencies of the output voltage of the VSI are
Open circuit voltage, Vo (V) 39.5 estimated corresponding to the rated speed and the minimum
Short circuit current, Is (A) 31.2 speed of the BLDC motor essentially required to pump the
Voltage at MPP, Vm (A) 9.71 water. These two frequencies are further used to estimate the
Current at MPP, Im (A) 9.07 values of their corresponding capacitors. Out of the two
Number of cells connected in series, Nss 60 estimated capacitors, larger one is selected to assure the
satisfactory operation of the proposed system even under the
Connecting 6 and 2 modules respectively in series and duration of minimum solar irradiance level.
parallel, the SPV array of required size is designed for the
The fundamental output voltage frequency of the VSI
proposed system and its detailed data are given in Appendix
corresponding to the rated speed of BLDC motor, ωrated is
A.
estimated as,
B. Design of Zeta Converter N rated P 3000 * 6
ωrated = 2π f rated = 2π = 2π * = 942 rad/sec. (9)
The zeta converter is the next stage to the SPV array. Its 120 120
design consists of the estimation of the various components
such as input inductor, L1, output inductor, L2 and intermediate The fundamental output voltage frequency of the VSI
capacitor, C1. These components are so designed that the zeta corresponding to the minimum speed of the BLDC motor
converter always operated in continuous conduction mode essentially required to pump the water (N = 1100 rpm), ωmin is
resulting in the reduced stress on them. Estimation of the duty estimated as,
cycle, D initiates the design of the zeta converter which is NP 1100 * 6
estimated as [6], ωmin = 2πfmin = 2π = 2π * = 345.57 rad/sec. (10)
120 120
Vdc 200
D= = = 0.52 (4) where frated and fmin are the fundamental output voltage
Vdc + Vmpp 200 + 187.2 frequencies of the VSI corresponding to the rated speed and
the minimum speed of the BLDC motor essentially required to
where Vdc is an average value of output voltage of the zeta
pump the water respectively, in Hz; Nrated is rated speed of the
converter (DC link voltage of the VSI) equal to the DC
BLDC motor; P is the numbers of poles in the BLDC motor.
voltage rating of the BLDC motor.
The value of DC link capacitor of the VSI corresponding to
An average current flowing through the DC link of the VSI, Idc
ωrated is as,
is estimated as,
I dc 17
Idc = Pmpp/Vdc = 3400/200 = 17 A (5) C2, rated = = = 150.4 µF (11)
6 * ωrated * ΔVdc 6 *942 * 200 * 0.1
Then L1, L2 and C1 are estimated as [6],
Similarly, the value of DC link capacitor of the VSI
DVmpp 0.52 *187.2 corresponding to ωmin is as,
L1 = = = 4.5*10−3 ≈ 5 mH (6)
f sw ΔI L1 20000 *18.16 * 0.06 I dc 17
C2,min = = = 410 µF (12)
(1 − D )Vdc (1 − 0.52) * 200 6 * ωmin * ΔVdc 6 *345.57 * 200 * 0.1
L2 = = = 4.7 *10−3 ≈ 5 mH (7)
f sw ΔI L 2 20000*17 *0.06 where ∆Vdc is the amount of permitted ripple in the voltage
across the DC link capacitor, C2.
DI dc 0.52 *17
C1 = = = 22 µF (8) Finally, C2 = 410 µF is selected to design the DC link
f sw ΔVC1 20000* 200*0.1 capacitor.
where fsw is the switching frequency of IGBT switch of the
D. Design of Centrifugal Pump
zeta converter; ∆IL1 is the amount of permitted ripple in the
current flowing through L1, same as Impp; ∆IL2 is the amount of To estimate the proportionality constant, K for the selected
permitted ripple in the current flowing through L2, same as Idc; centrifugal water pump, its torque-speed characteristics [14] is
∆VC1 is the amount of permitted ripple in the voltage across used as,
C1, same as Vdc.
TL = K ωr2 (13)
Detailed data of the zeta converter is given in Appendix B.
where TL is the load torque offered by the centrifugal pump
C. Estimation of DC Link Capacitor of VSI which is equal to the electromagnetic torque developed by the
A new design approach for the estimation of DC link BLDC motor under steady state for stable operation and ωr is
capacitor of the VSI is presented in this sub-section. This the mechanical speed of the rotor in rad/sec. Since the rated
approach is based on a fact that 6th harmonic component of the torque, TL and the rated speed, Nrated of the selected BLDC
motor is 9.2 Nm and 3000 rpm respectively, the array, zeta converter and BLDC motor-pump are depicted on
proportionality constant, K is estimated using (13) as, an individual basis in the following sub-sections.

TL 9.2 A. Performance of SPV Array

K= = = 9.32 *10−5 (14)
ωr2 ( 2π *3000 60 )
2
The performance of the maximized power SPV array used
to feed the water pumping system is shown in Fig. 2(a). The
The centrifugal pump with this data is selected for the solar irradiance level, S is varied following the sequence
proposed system and its detailed data are given in Appendix indicated in Table II. Other variables such as the SPV array
C. voltage, vpv, SPV array current, ipv and the SPV array power,
Ppv are varied accordingly. The presented results manifest that
V. CONTROL OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM the maximum power available from the SPV array is extracted
regardless of the irradiance level and its dynamic variation.
The proposed system is controlled at two stages. These two
Since it is desired to achieve the soft starting of the BLDC
control techniques namely, MPPT and electronic commutation
motor, the MPP is tracked appropriately at the starting. It is
are discussed in brief as follows.
clear from Fig. 2(a) that the INC-MPPT algorithm is allowed,
at the starting, to take more time for maximum power
A. INC-MPPT Algorithm extraction by selecting an optimum value of perturbation size
An efficient and commonly used INC-MPPT technique [9] in order to achieve the soft starting of BLDC motor.
in various SPV array based applications is utilized in order to Oscillation around the MPP is also reduced by properly
optimize the power available from the SPV array and to selecting the optimum value of perturbation size.
facilitate the soft starting of the BLDC motor. Selecting an
optimum value of perturbation size (∆D = 0.001) not only Under steady state condition, at the standard value of solar
avoids the oscillations around the MPP but provides the soft irradiance i.e. 1000 W/m2, all the variables possess their rated
starting of the BLDC motor also. An intellectual agreement values while they possess the minimum values at minimum
between the tracking time and the perturbation size is held to solar irradiance i.e. 200 W/m2.
fulfill the objectives.
B. Performance of Zeta Converter
B. Electronic Commutation Fig. 2(b) clarifies the various performances of the zeta
The BLDC motor is controlled by the VSI operated converter. All the variables viz. the current flowing through
through the electronic commutation of BLDC motor. 6 the input inductor, iL1, the voltage across the intermediate
switching pulses are generated as per the various possible capacitor, vC1, the current flowing through the output inductor,
combinations of 3 Hall-effect signals. These 3 Hall-effect iL2 and the voltage at the output (DC link voltage of the VSI),
signals are produced by the inbuilt encoder according to the vdc comply the variation in the solar irradiance level.
rotor position. A particular combination of the Hall-effect Regardless of the irradiance level, the zeta converter is always
signal is produced for specific range of rotor position [6]. The operated in continuous conduction mode.
electronic commutation provides fundamental frequency Unlike a simple buck-boost converter, the zeta converter
switching of the VSI, hence the losses associated with the high has positive polarity voltage at its output as shown in Fig. 2(b)
frequency switching is completely eliminated. TETRA which reaches, under steady state, the rated DC voltage of the
115TR9.2, a BLDC motor of motor power company [15] with BLDC motor at 1000 W/m2 of solar irradiance level.
inbuilt encoder is selected for the proposed system and its Moreover, at the solar irradiance level of 200 W/m2, it
detailed data are given in Appendix C. provides a DC voltage level to the BLDC motor sufficient to
make attained more than the required speed to pump the water.
VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Small amount of ripples in the zeta converter variables are
Performance evaluation of the proposed SPV array fed observed caused by permitting the ripples up to an extent in
BLDC motor driven water pumping system employing zeta order to reduce the size of the components.
converter is carried out using simulated results in
MATLAB/Simulink. The proposed system is designed, C. Performance of BLDC Motor-Pump
modelled and simulated considering the random and instant Performance of the BLDC motor-pump is shown in Fig.
variation in solar irradiance level and its suitability is 2(c). Following points are clearly observed from the presented
demonstrated by testing the starting, steady state and dynamic simulation results.
behaviour. — The motor pump variables viz. the back EMF, ea, the stator
Fig.2 presents the starting, steady state and dynamic current, isa, the rotor speed, N, the electromagnetic torque,
performance of the proposed water pumping system. To Te and the pump load torque, TL are abide by the variation
demonstrate the suitability of the proposed system under in solar irradiance.
dynamic condition, solar irradiance level is varied as indicted — At the starting, the rate of rise of stator current is decreased
in Table II. Behaviour of the various stages such as the SPV as an evidence of soft starting of the BLDC motor.
— The motor-pump variables reach their rated values under
steady state at 1000 W/m2, standard value of solar
irradiance. However, it should be highlighted that the
motor always attains a higher speed than minimum speed
required to pump the water i.e. 1100 rpm (even at 200
W/m2) regardless of the solar irradiance level.
— The electromagnetic torque developed by BLDC motor is
same as torque required by the centrifugal pump. This
torque balance between the BLDC motor and the
centrifugal pump irrespective of the solar irradiance
variation verifies the stable operation of the proposed
system.
— A small and acceptable pulsation in the electromagnetic
torque is observed because of the electronic commutation
and reflection of the ripples present in the DC link current
of VSI.
— Fast and precise response of the BLDC motor subjected to
the dynamic variation in solar irradiance is undoubtedly
ascertained by the simulated results.

(c)
Fig.2 Performances of the proposed SPV array based Zeta converter fed
BLDC motor drive for water pumping system (a) SPV array variables, (b)
Zeta converter variables, and (c) BLDC motor-pump variables.

TABLE II. VARIATION IN SOLAR IRRADIANCE LEVEL

Solar Irradiance Level, S (W/m2) Duration (Sec.)
600 0.0 - 0.3
200 0.3 - 0.6
(a)
1000 0.6 - 0.9

VII. CONCLUSIONS
The SPV array-zeta converter fed VSI-BLDC motor-pump
for water pumping has been proposed and its suitability has
been demonstrated by simulated results using
MATLAB/Simulink and its sim-power-system toolbox. First,
the proposed system has been designed logically to fulfil the
various desired objectives and then modelled and simulated to
examine the various performances under starting, dynamic and
steady state conditions. The performance evaluation has
justified the combination of zeta converter and BLDC motor
drive for SPV array based water pumping. The system under
study availed the various desired functions such as MPP
extraction of the SPV array, soft starting of the BLDC motor,
fundamental frequency switching of the VSI resulting in a
reduced switching losses, reduced stress on IGBT switch and
the components of zeta converter by operating it in continuous
(b) conduction mode and stable operation. Moreover, the
proposed system has operated successfully even under the [3] S. Satapathy, K.M. Dash and B.C. Babu, “Variable Step Size MPPT
Algorithm for Photo Voltaic Array Using Zeta Converter - A
minimum solar irradiance.
Comparative Analysis,” Students Conference on Engineering and
Systems (SCES), pp.1-6, 12-14 April 2013.
APPENDIX A
[4] A. Trejos, C.A. Ramos-Paja and S. Serna, “Compensation of DC-Link
Parameters of solar PV array: Open circuit voltage, Voc = 237 Voltage Oscillations in Grid-Connected PV Systems Based on
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Alternative Energies and Energy Quality (SIFAE), pp.1-6, 25-26
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MPP, Impp= 18.16 A; Numbers of cells connected in series in a
[5] G. K. Dubey, Fundamentals of Electrical Drives, 2nd ed. New Delhi,
module, Nss= 60; Numbers of modules connected in series, Ns India: Narosa Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 2009.
= 6; Numbers of modules connected in parallel, Np = 2. [6] B. Singh and V. Bist, “A Single Sensor Based PFC Zeta Converter Fed
BLDC Motor Drive for Fan Applications,” Fifth IEEE Power
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APPENDIX B
[7] R.F. Coelho, W.M. dos Santos and D.C. Martins, “Influence of Power
Parameters for Zeta converter: Switching frequency, fsw= 20 Converters on PV Maximum Power Point Tracking
kHz; Input inductor, L1 = 5 mH; Intermediate capacitor, C1 = Efficiency,” 10th IEEE/IAS International Conference on Industry
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APPENDIX C 2012.
Parameters for BLDC Motor-Pump: Stator phase/phase [9] Zhou Xuesong, Song Daichun, Ma Youjie and Cheng Deshu, “The
resistance, Rs = 0.36 Ω; Stator phase/phase inductance, Ls= 1.3 Simulation and Design for MPPT of PV System Based on Incremental
mH; Torque constant, Kt = 0.49 Nm/Apeak; Voltage constant, Conductance Method,” WASE International Conference on Information
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Ke = 51 VpeakL-L/krpm; Rated current, Israted = 18.9 A; Rated
[10] Ali Reza Reisi, Mohammad Hassan Moradi and Shahriar Jamasb,
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V DC; Rated power, Prated = 2.89 kW; No. of poles, P = 6; Techniques for Photovoltaic System: A review,” Renewable and
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT Conference on IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, pp.373-378, 7-10
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Authors are very thankful to Department of Science and
[12] Sunmodule® Plus SW 280 mono, Performance Under Standard Test
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Shunt Active Power Filter for Line Commutated Rectifiers to Mitigate
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