Dynamic and Reconfigurable Photovoltaic Emulator Based on FPAA |
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| Francesco Barra, Marco Balato, Luigi Costanzo, Daniele Gallo, Carmine Landi, Mario Luiso, Massimo Vitelli |
- Abstract:
- A photovoltaic (PV) emulator is an electronic device which allows, without using real PV modules, to reproduce the current vs. voltage characteristics of PV sources in the desired operating conditions as concerns the values of the irradiance and of the temperature. This is very useful since it is possible to evaluate the performances of the electronic DC/DC or DC/AC converters adopted in PV systems, under perfectly replicable operating conditions. Moreover, it is possible to fairly compare advantages and drawbacks of different MPPT algorithms under perfectly controlled stationary or dynamic atmospheric conditions. In this paper a dynamic and reconfigurable photovoltaic emulator which allows to reproduce the PV current vs. voltage characteristics both in stationary and dynamic environmental conditions, is presented and discussed. It is based on the implementation of the circuital model of the considered PV module in a Field Programmable Analog Array. The field Programmable Analog Array provides a suitable time varying reference signal to the control circuitry of a step-down DC-DC converter. The output port of such a DC/DC converter emulates the current versus voltage characteristic which is obtained at the terminals of the considered PV module in the desired atmospheric conditions. The main advantages of the proposed PV emulator are represented by the simplicity of programming of the FPAA and by its low cost. The results of numerical simulations and of experimental activities are reported and discussed.
- Keywords:
- Photovoltaic, Emulator, Field Programmable Analog Array, Measurement, Maximum Power Point Tracking
- Download:
- IMEKO-TC4-2014-319.pdf
- DOI:
- -
- Event details
- IMEKO TC:
- TC4
- Event name:
- TC4 Symposium 2014
- Title:
20th IMEKO TC4 Symposium on Measurements of Electrical Quantities (together with 18th TC4 International Workshop on ADC and DCA Modeling and Testing, IWADC)
"Research on Electrical and Electronic Measurement for the Economic Upturn"- Place:
- Benevento, ITALY
- Time:
- 15 September 2014 - 17 September 2014