Maximum Power Point Tracking Controller for Pumping Photovoltaic System Based on Induction Motor

In this paper, a photovoltaic (PV) water pumping system (PWPS) based on three phase induction motor (IM) is proposed. A proposed algorithm based on fuzzy logic control (FLC) is introduced to improve the conventional fixed step size perturb and observe (P&O). This algorithm is used to extract the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) from the panel. To control the IM, coupled with a centrifugal pump, conventional direct torque control (DTC) is introduced. The main objective of this work is to propose a low-cost (PWPS) without the use of chemical energy storage. A complete simulation model is developed using MATLAB/Simulink. Simulation results of the MPPT based on FLC are compared with those of P&O. The comparison results show the excellent performance of the proposed control scheme in terms of stator current harmonics, reducing the flux ripple and increasing the water flow.