Multi-level cascaded DC/DC converters for PV applications

A robust multi-level cascaded DC/DC system for Photovoltaic (PV) application is advised in this article. There are three PV generators, each is coupled to a half-bridge buck cell. Each PV-generator-buck-converter channel is controlled such that maximum power is captured independently under different irradiation and temperature levels. The system operation under normal and abnormal conditions was comprehensively investigated. Internal Model Control (IMC) technique was adopted for tuning the controllers. An elaborate switching modulation strategy was used to reduce the current ripple and inductor size, while maintaining high efficiency. Annotative, simple and robust remedial strategies were proposed to mitigate different anticipated faults. Comprehensive simulation results in Matlab environment were illustrated for corroborating the performance of the advised cascaded DC/DC system under normal/abnormal conditions. The proposed system enjoys the merits of independency, reduced volumetric dimensions and improved efficiency. Furthermore, the system is inherently fault-tolerant. (C) 2015 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.