Simulation of reconfiguration system using matlab - Simulink environment

initial configuration, the P-V characteristic is green line with peak power at Pmax =
79.60W. By using the DES switching matrix and Controller, the PV system reconfiguration
to optimal configuration by changing position of module 3 from row 2 to row 1. Then, the
P-V characteristic of PV system is red line with peak power increase to Pmax = 368.6W .
In order to find out the optimal configuration for PV array, we use a hybrid algorithm
which is published in [22, 29]. Dynamic programming (DP) [29] is used for Subset Sum
problem in “Knapsack problems”. DP technique assesses for each panel the power able
to be supplied and inserts it into a dynamic array, which gives rise to the connections
between panels. With an intelligent method, DP select panels with total irradiation that are
equalization and then arrange them in a separated row. However, DP offers the best result
in almost all cases, but in some special situations DP does not bring good results. Smart
choice (SC) [22] proposed to overcome the special case of DP. Finally, SC combined with DP
in order to create a hybrid algorithm and obtain better results as compared to established
methods for irradiance equalization. Diagram of hybrid algorithm is shown in Figure 7.
In the paper, we use Matlab-simulink environment to simulate the operation of RS for
optimal PV array configuration. Simulation is executed on PV system including 9 PV mo-
dules operating under non-homogeneous solar irradiance. Based on the irradiation received
134 NGO NGOC THANH, NGUYEN PHUNG QUANG
Figure 5. a) Dynamic electrical scheme (DES) switching matrix [27]; b) Generator TCT
topology
Figure 6. PV system before and after reconfiguration based on irradiance equalization
SIMULATION OF RECONFIGURATION SYSTEM 135
Figure 7. Hybrid algorithm
from the PV modules, irradiance equalization algorithms as proposed can be used to find
the optimal configuration. Consequently, the controller controlling DES switching matrix
reconfiguration PV system from initial configuration to optimal configuration, PV system
will operate at maximum power.
4. MATLAB SIMULATION
There have been several publications using Matlab-Simulink to simulate PV module
operation under non-homogeneous solar irradiance [1, 5, 8, 9, 17, 24, 28] which mainly focus
on the simulation of PV module operation, thereby graphing features I-V and P-V. In this
part, we mainly focus on simulation of RS to verify behavior of the system. Hence, we do
not focus on how to simulate PV module under non-homogeneous solar radiation, we use
the result of “partial shading of a PV module” in [21] for simulating PV module operation.
Matlab simulation (Figure 8) includes four main parts: input data; PV modules, hybrid
136 NGO NGOC THANH, NGUYEN PHUNG QUANG
algorithm, DES switching matrix. A flowchart of the simulation is shown in Figure 9.
Figure 8. Matlab simulation for PV system
Figure 9. Flowchart of the simulation
SIMULATION OF RECONFIGURATION SYSTEM 137
4.1. PV module
It is the result of PV module simulation under conditions of non-homogeneous irradiance
at [21], the PV module with the input data being irradiance (W/m2) and temperature (◦C);
and the output data being DC current (+ and -). The model parameter is selected as in the
standard PV module data-sheet parameter: ISC , VOC , rated current IR at MPP and rated
voltage VR at MPP under standard test conditions (1kW/m
2, 25◦C) (Figure 10).
Figure 10. Parameters of PV module
Figure 11. Schematic design of DES switching matrix
When the PV system operates under conditions of non-homogeneous solar irradiance,
depending on the irradiance level received, each PV module brings forward a different DC
current. In this simulation, we focus on the PV system working at non-homogeneous irradi-
ance, hence we chose the ideal condition for PV modules is 25◦C.
138 NGO NGOC THANH, NGUYEN PHUNG QUANG
Figure 12. DES switching matrix
Figure 13. Input data for simulation
SIMULATION OF RECONFIGURATION SYSTEM 139
4.2. Hybrid algorithm
In this section, we modelize hybrid algorithm in a Matlab function block. The main
aim of the hybrid algorithm is to seek the optimal connection configuration of the system to
archive the best performance. The hybrid algorithm is shown in Figure 7. The input data
of the hybrid algorithm are irradiances and positions of each PV module. The result is the
optimal configuration: new position of each PV module on each parallel connection in TCT
topology.
4.3. DES switching matrix
Figure 11 demonstrates a schematic design of the DES switching matrix designed for 9
PV modules. Each PV module is connected into three rows via switches. It can change the
Figure 14. PV system before reconfiguration (a-c) and after reconfiguration with RS (b-d)
140 NGO NGOC THANH, NGUYEN PHUNG QUANG
position of the connection between the rows. Switching from row x to row y can be done
by opening switch at row x and closing switch at row y. For example, PV module want to
connect to row 1: switches in row 2 and 3 are open, switch in row 1 is close.
Through opening/closing the switches in DES, PV system can change the configuration
from the initial TCT topology to any TCT topology with up to three rows.
Figure 12 is an illustration of the basis of schematic design in Matlab-simulink environ-
ment with the input data for each PV module as: DC current and the new position after
the reconfiguration. DES switching matrix is restructured within three circuits connected in
parallel to ensure the input assumptions for the inverters. Based on the new position of each
PV module, the controller is able to control ideal switches for the corresponding connection
configuration. The result of the DES switching matrix is DC currents of the PV system.
4.4. Result of simulation
Simulation with 9 PV modules is connected as shown in Figure 14a. At the initial
configuration, the PV modules received different irradiance. Hence, total irradiation in
the parallel circuit is different. The I-V and P-V characteristics of the system before the
reconfiguration with Pmax = 791.1W is demonstrated in Figure 14c.
With PV system as seen in Figure 14a (input data of Matlab simulation show in Figure
13), the hybrid algorithm provides an optimal PV configuration. Then, DES switching
matrix used the result of hybrid algorithm to change the connection of PV system from
initial configuration to the optimal configuration (Figure 14b with irradiance equalization
on each row of PV system). The position of PV modules 7, 4, 6, 3 has changed. After using
the reconfiguration system, P-V characteristics (Figure 14d) have been improved markedly
with Pmax = 1079W (performance increases by 29%).
5. CONCLUSIONS
A Matlab/Simulink software has been developed to simulate the behavior of PV modules
with different configurations under non-homogeneous of solar irradiance. The effect of the
reconfiguration system on PV characteristics under partially shaded conditions has been
modelized in the study. Additionally, an experimental measurement has been performed
and validity of the simulation software has been verified. The results show that the software
is a promising tool for further research on the effectiveness of reconfiguration algorithms in
solar power plant.
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Received on February 03, 2017
Revised on September 12, 2018