Solar PV Power-Based Estimation and Control of Brushless DC Motor for Irrigation with Enhanced Robustness

A robust and simple control of brushless DC (BLDC) motor is proposed for irrigation using a power generated by the photovoltaic (PV) array. The reference speed is derived through an instantaneous power extracted from the PV array, corresponding to its maximum power point (MPP), taking the losses into account. The various loss components, associated with DC-DC boost converter, voltage source converter (VSC) and BLDC motor are estimated by controlling the DC bus voltage of VSC. An enhanced protection of the proposed BLDC motor drive is achieved through the continuous regulation of DC bus voltage of VSC, and speed, torque and stator currents of BLDC motor. The torque and current ripples are also minimized through the proposed control. The working of proposed system is demonstrated through its design and simulation using MATLAB/Simulink. The rapid variation in operating conditions is considered for the demonstration.