Design and Implementation of Cascaded Multilevel qZSI Powered Single-Phase Induction Motor for Isolated Grid Water Pump Application

This article presents the design and implementation of solar-powered V/f controlled single-phase capacitor-start induction motor. Multilevel quasi impedance source inverter controls the power flowing from the photovoltaic (PV) array to a single-phase induction motor. In solar powered drive systems, the main concern is stable intended operation of drive when subjected to variations in power generation of the PV array. For same environmental conditions, the PV power extraction is different at different torques for constant speed application. Due to this, the extraction of maximum power with an MPPT algorithm is not achieved with only motor load. To address this concern, concept of the battery storage system is introduced in the system that helps in achieving maximum power when the PV power generation capability exceeds rated motor input power. In addition to this, battery storage system can supply power to the load when the PV power generation is less than the rated motor input power. Conclusively, the design of control algorithm must address issues of the MPPT algorithm, control of battery storage system, and stable operation of V/f-controlled induction motor drive operation. MATLAB/Simulink model of the proposed system with 4 kW PV array rating is developed. The proposed control algorithm achieves satisfactory operation of single-phase motor drive in all the three operation modes (depending upon PV power generation). The variation of the solar irradiation and temperature are simultaneously considered for introducing perturbation in the PV power generation. Hardware results for this system are also presented, which validates the effectiveness of the control algorithm for the proposed system.