Improved Perturb and Observe (P&O) MPPT Algorithm for Solar PV Systems with MATLAB/SIMULINK Simulations

Abstract

This study employs the Perturb and Observe (P&O) method, where the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) process is based on evaluating the power output of a photovoltaic (PV) system by measuring both current and voltage. A modified P&O algorithm is proposed in this work for optimizing the performance of PV modules. PV panels exhibit nonlinear voltage-current characteristics, which are significantly influenced by sunlight and temperature variations. Therefore, developing an effective strategy to extract maximum power from PV systems has been a key focus in recent years. Initially, the PV system is designed using the observation and perturbation technique. The system's performance under varying irradiance levels is then analyzed. However, a limitation of this approach is its inability to handle abrupt changes in irradiance and temperature effectively. To address this issue, an improved P&O algorithm, also acknowledged as the mutable step size P&O method, was presented and realized to overawed the shortcomings of the traditional scheme. The performance of the complete solar system with MPPT was evaluated using simulations conducted in MATLAB/Simulink. Additionally, comparisons were made between the improved algorithm and the conventional P&O method, highlighting that the enhanced approach reaches the maximum power point more rapidly. The entire system was modeled and implemented in MATLAB/Simulink.