Enhanced Maximum Power Point Tracking Using Modified PSO Hybrid With MPC Under Partial Shading Conditions

Conventional methodologies such as Incremental Conductance (IC) and Perturbation and Observation (P&O) can be considered effective and low-cost solutions for PV Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) problems in most cases. However, these methods fail to guarantee global maximum tracking in certain situations, such as multiple peak challenges caused by Partial Shading Conditions (PSCs). Therefore, metaheuristic algorithms, like Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), are employed in literature to address the MPPT problems during PSCs. Nevertheless, traditional PSO encounters issues such as slow convergence and a high probability of failure in tracking the global maximum power point during complex PSCs, which cause a reduction of system efficiency. To address these issues, a modified PSO hybrid with a finite control set Model Predictive Control (MPSO-MPC) has been developed as a robust MPPT technique. The MPC is incorporated into the proposed method to increase the tracking speed. The proposed approach combines a new initialization scheme that ensures uniform initial population distribution across the P-I curve. Additionally, an innovative method is used to update the search space once the partial shading pattern is detected to include only the feasible solutions in the search process. Finally, Incremental Conductance (IC) is introduced to refine the tracking process of global peak and increase its efficiency. The proposed MPSO-MPC algorithm is implemented using dSPACE MicroLabBox for real-time applications. Comprehensive investigations through MATLAB/Simulink simulation and experimental studies validate that the developed method outperforms traditional PSO and Cuckoo Search (CS) algorithms, with a convergence time that does not exceed 0.35 s and a tracking efficiency above 99.5 % under various complex PSCs. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the proposed technique outperforms both PSO and CS across a range of environmental conditions and load disturbances.