Investigation of 3-Z-network boost converter for photovoltaic power generation system using MPPT control strategies

This paper investigates the performance of 3-Z-Network boost converter for a standalone Photovoltaic (PV) power generation system. This proposed converter integrates a single-switch with 3-Z-active Network by diodes, capacitors & inductors. The 3-Z structure of the converter improves the energy conversion efficiency with low switching losses and also reduces the shoot through problem. The different operating modes of this converter and the input-output responses have been analyzed. The Voltage gain (Gv) characteristic curve of this converter circuit has been studied for various duty cycle (D) and it is compared with conventional and Quadratic boost converters. The comparative result illustrates that the Voltage gain of the converter is more than the other boost converters. Further, this proposed converter is integrated with the Photovoltaic panel for promoting the green energy. The sun radiates more photons which are used to generate the electrical power. The solar energy has certain intermittency issues, not available at night and also during daytime there may be cloudy or rainy weather and partial shadow effects which affect the performance of the system. During, the Partial Shading Conditions (PSC) multiple peaks and multiple steps are accomplished in the photovoltaic characteristics curve. One way to improve the systems performance is by operating the PV system at its Maximum Power Point (MPP). Here, the Perturb and Observe (P&O), Incremental Conductance (IC) and Improved Incremental Conductance (IIC) algorithms have been incorporated and the simulations are carrying out under Psim-circuit environment to track the MPP. The simulation results show that the Improved Incremental Conductance algorithm overcomes the drawbacks of conventional algorithms where it fails to track the MPP effectively under PSC. The parameters of the PV module have been referred from the manufacturer datasheet (MS24250) for these analyzes.