A study of high-frequency photovoltaic pulse charger for lead-acid battery guided by PI-INC MPPT

A high-frequency photovoltaic pulse charger (PV-PC) for lead-acid battery (LAB) guided by a power-increment-aided incremental-conductance maximum power point tracking (PI-INC MPPT) is proposed. The PV-PC implemented by a boost current converter (BCC) is to eliminate sulfating crystallization on the electrode plates of the LAB and to prolong the battery life. The BCC associated with the PV module is modeled to maximize the energy charging to battery under maximum power transfer. A duty-control guided by the PI-INC MPPT is designed to drive the BCC operating at MPP against the random insolation. A design example of a PV-PC system for a four-in-series LAB battery (48 V
dc
) is examined. The charging behavior of the PV-PC system in comparison with that of CC-CV charger is studied. Four scenarios of solar insolation changes to describe tracking behavior of PI-INC MPPT in PV-BC system are investigated, which is also compared with that of INC MPPT.