INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 8, ISSUE 11, NOVEMBER 2019 ISSN 2277-8616

Solar Photovoltaic Emulation Under Uniform

Irradiance And Partial Shading Conditions Using
Fuzzy Logic Control
Mustapha ALAOUI, Hattab MAKER, Azeddine MOUHSEN, Hicham HIHI

Abstract: This paper proposes a new design and development of photovoltaic (PV) source emulator, this nonlinear power supply has as purpose to
facilitate the research on PV systems by reproducing the electrical behavior of actual PV modules and providing as a result similar current-voltage (I-V)
and power-voltage (P-V) characteristics. The current study provides some simulation results using Matlab Simulink software of the developed PV array
emulator, which consists basically on a fuzzy logic controlled interleaved DC-DC buck converter, this nonlinear controller is able to deal with the
nonlinearity of the PV characteristics and it has good robustness against weather parameters variation and dynamic loading. Furthermore, the proposed
PV array emulator can emulate PV array under uniform solar irradiance as well as partial shading conditions.

Index Terms: Fuzzy Logic Controller, Interleaved DC-DC Buck Converter, I-V characteristic, Partial Shading Conditions, PV array emulator
——————————  ——————————

1. INTRODUCTION The reason behind using a fuzzy logic controller is its ability to
With a huge interest in renewable energy recently so as to deal with the non-linearity of both the power topology and the I-
reduce the impact of climate change and contribute strongly to V characteristic, and its robustness against external
the sustainable development, many researchers and disturbances, system uncertainty, dynamic load change and
industrials are interested in the study of photovoltaic (PV) variation of weather conditions. Moreover, this controller
systems and all related subjects including modeling, power ensures good performances in terms of speed, accuracy and
optimization (Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) overshoot limitation so that the designed circuit can meet the
algorithms) , solar connected inverters and many other fields. requirements and have similar output response as a real PV
Those studies require the use of a device able to mimic module [5], [6]. Many research works were interested in the
faithfully the electrical behavior of PV modules at any time development of PV array emulators, however, the majority of
regardless of the variation of atmospheric conditions such as those studies focus only on the solar PV emulation under
temperature (T) and irradiance (G) [1]–[3]. Therefore, such uniform solar insolation without interesting in partial shading
equipment will allow researchers to carry out efficiently their which can be caused by clouds, dirt, and many others
experiences and tests on photovoltaic systems without causes.[2], [7]–[10] This work provides simulation results of PV
needing real PV sources which are actually too much array emulation under different cases of partial shading as well
expensive and require a large space [1], [2]. In this regard, this as uniform irradiance.
work aims to boost the scientific research on photovoltaic
energy by designing a PV source emulator based on a fuzzy 2 EMULATION SYSTEM STRUCTURE
logic controller (FLC) in order to track accurately the I-V The full system of the proposed PV emulator is described in
characteristic of the PV module. Furthermore, the proposed PV figure 1:
emulator is based on a DC-DC interleaved buck converter with
closed-loop current control, which provides the system with a
little amount of ripple, high efficiency, reduced conduction
losses and fast dynamic response thanks to its downsized L-C
filter[3], [4].
__________________________________

 Mustapha ALAOUI is currently pursuing Ph.D. degree program in

power electronic and renewable energy in Hassan First University,
Morocco.
E-mail: [email protected]
 Hattab MAKER is currently Professor at Hassan First University,
Morocco, his main research activity concerns renewable energy,
power management and power electronic, E-mail:
[email protected]
 Azeddine MOUHSEN is currently Professor at Hassan First
University, Morocco, his main research activity concerns Energy
transfer, Instrumentation and measurements, sustainable energy,
radiation-matter, applied optics, E-mail: [email protected]
 Hicham HIHI is currently Professor at Cadi Ayyad University,
Morocco, his main research activity concerns Renewable Energy,
Bond Graph Approach, Nonlinear and Hybrid Systems Control,
Automation.

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 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 8, ISSUE 11, NOVEMBER 2019 ISSN 2277-8616

generator and the FLC. The I-V curve is implemented in the

reference generator which generates the reference current Ipv
that corresponds to the given output voltage (Vo), T and G. the
FLC is used then to track the Ipv and follow accurately the I-V
characteristic of the PV module, this controller delivers the
control signal u which will be used by the Pulse Width
Modulation (PWM) bloc to control the power converter
transistors. The Matlab Simulink model is given in figure 4, it
includes the PV source emulator based on the interleaved
buck converter, the Fuzzy logic controller and the Look-Up
Table (LUT) where the one resistance two diodes (1R2D) PV
model is implemented[2]. The LUT technique has been chosen
due to the fact that it is faster than the direct calculation
method of the mathematic model, and the accuracy of the LUT
has been guaranteed by using a sufficient number of points
[2]. The PV array is composed of four PV modules with bypass
diodes, the outputs of the PV emulator with the PV array
model are compared and analyzed in full details in the current
study.

3 CONTROLLER AND SYSTEM PROPRIETIES

The FLC characteristics are shown in figure 2. It contains
essentially 25 rules with three fuzzy variables which consist of
the error (e) between the load current and the reference
current generated by the PV Model, the change of error (de)
and the elementary control signal output (du). The
Fig. 1. An overall diagram of the proposed PV source
membership functions have been chosen as triangular
emulator
functions with 5 values as illustrated in figure 3. The table 1
includes the different characteristics of the chosen PV module
The proposed system is based essentially on two parts, the
to emulate, those parameters have been extracted from the
first part so-called Power Part contains the DC input voltage
datasheet, besides, the parameters of the electronic power
source, the power converter which is the interleaved buck
topology are given too.
converter, the load that can be either a resistance, battery,
pump….beside the voltage and the current sensors. The
output voltage is sensed and delivered to the second part
which consists of the control part based on the reference

Fig. 3. FIS Variables with Membership functions

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 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 8, ISSUE 11, NOVEMBER 2019 ISSN 2277-8616

4.1 Dynamic Study of the PV Module Emulator

Fig. 4. Matlab Simulink Model of the proposed PV array emulator

As shown in figure 6, the proposed PV emulator is

TABLE 1
PV EMULATOR PARAMETERS
able to track the output current and voltage of the PV
module with accuracy, little amount of overshoot and
Input voltage Vdc 200 V fast dynamic transient response; the settling time
Capacitor C 50 µF doesn’t exceed 300 µs and the output ripples are very
Inductors L 10 mH small.
Switching frequency f 100 kHz
Peak rated power 335 W
Open circuit voltage Voc 46.1 V
Short circuit current Isc 9.41 A
Maximum power point voltage Vmpp 37.8 V
Maximum power point current Impp 8.87 A
Temperature coefficient of Isc : ki 0.053 A/C°
Temperature coefficient of Voc : kv -0.31 V/C°
Temperature coefficient of power: kp -0.41 %/C°
Cell number Ns 72

The DC-DC Interleaved Buck Converter is depicted in figure 5

from the model of Matlab Simulink Software, it has been
chosen in order to reduce current and voltage ripples as well
as to ensure a high transient response[3], [4].

4 SIMULATION RESULTS OF THE PV MODULE EMULATION

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Fig. 5. DC-DC Interleaved Buck Converter from Matlab Simulink Model
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 8, ISSUE 11, NOVEMBER 2019 ISSN 2277-8616

various scenarios of partial shading conditions are

60
presented, for each case, the output current and
Voltage (V)

40 voltage of the PV array emulator are given and

compared with the outputs that would have been
20 Vpv
obtained if the load were fed directly from the PV
Vemu
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
array. Different waveforms are given and analyzed,
time(s) -3 the first waveform shows the I-V characteristic curve
x 10
10
under given partial shading conditions and the
resistive load characteristic. The intersection point
Current (A)

corresponds to the operating point of the system. The

5
Ipv second waveform shows the PV power characteristic
Iemu with the load power characteristic, the third and fourth
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
waveform illustrate respectively the output voltages
time(s)
x 10
-3 and current of the PV array and the PV emulator in
order to compare them and judge the accuracy and
Fig. 6. Voltage and Current outputs of the proposed PV
emulator for R = 4.26 Ω under STC conditions the dynamic performance of the proposed circuit.
 Under uniform solar irradiance ( G1 =
4.2 Steady-State Study of the PV Module Emulator G2=G3 =G4 = 1000 W/m2)
The designed PV emulator can generate accurately  T = 25 °C
the voltage and current outputs of PV module for any  R=5 Ω
operating point in the I-V curve, so it can efficiently
mimic the electrical behavior of an actual PV module. Ipv=f(V)
10
I = V/R
Current(A)

5 SIMULATION RESULTS OF THE PV ARRAY

EMULATION 5

5.1 Dynamic Study of the PV Array Emulator 0

In this part, simulation results of the PV array 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
emulator are illustrated, series configuration is used Voltage V (V)
1500
Ppv=f(V)
10
P = V 2/R
Power(W)

1000
9
500
8

0
7 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Voltage V (V)
Voltage(V)

6 50
PV Module Emulator Under STC Conditions
2 Vpv
G = 1000 W/m
5 T = 25 ° C Vemu
0
I-V characteristic curve of the PV model 0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01
4
Data points from the PV module datasheet time(s)
Current (A)

Data points from the PV emulator

3 10
5 Ipv
2 Iemu
0
0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01
1 time(s)
Fig. 8. Comparison between the PV array emulator with the
0 PV array outputs for R = 5 Ω under uniform solar irradiance
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Fig. 7. Comparison between the I-V curve characteristic of the PV  For G1 = 1000 W/m2, G2 = 700 W/m2,
model, PV module datasheet and PV emulator under STC conditions
G3 = 500 W/m2, G4= 300 W/m2
 T = 25 °C
 R=10 Ω

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12
Ipv=f(V)
10 I = V/R
2 2
 For G1 = 1000 W/m , G2 = 1000 W/m , 8
G3 = 1000 W/m2, G4= 200 W/m2

Current(A)
6
 T = 25 °C
 R=5 Ω 4

2
10
Ipv=f(V)
0
8 I = V/R 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Voltage V (V)
Current(A)

6 1000 Ppv=f(V)
4 P = V 2/R

Power(W)
2 500

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Voltage V (V)
0
600
Power(W)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Ppv=f(V) Voltage V (V)
2
P = V /R
400 60

Voltage(V)
40
200
Vpv
20
Vemu
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Voltage V (V)
time(s) -3
Voltage(V)

100 x 10
10
Current (A)

50
Vpv
Vemu 5
Ipv
0
0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01 Iemu
time(s) 0
10 0 1 2 3 4 5 time(s) 6 7 8 9
Current (A)

-3
x 10
5 Fig. 10. Comparison between the PV array emulator with the PV array
Ipv
outputs for R = 5 Ω under partial shading conditions
Iemu
0
0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01
time(s)
Fig. 9. Comparison between the PV array emulator with the PV array outputs
for R = 10 Ω under partial shading conditions

As depicted above in figures 8,9,10 and 11, the

proposed PV array emulator is effectively able to
 For G1 = 1000 W/m2, G2 = 500 W/m2, produce similar output current and voltage as a PV
G3 = 500 W/m2, G4= 200 W/m2 array, the dynamic performances are satisfactory
 T = 25 °C since the settling time is small, the static error is
 R=15 Ω negligible and the overshoot is limited. It is noted that
the current and voltage of the operating point, which
corresponds to the intersection points in the I-V and
P-V curves, are the same as the PV emulator outputs,
therefore, the proposed system is endowed with good
accuracy.
In the following section, we will cover different points
from the I-V characteristics for each partial shading
case, in order to show the ability of the designed
emulation system to deliver similar PV curves.
5.2 Steady-State Study of the PV Array Emulator
In this part, the static performances are evaluated, a
comparison is effected between the current and
voltage outputs of the PV array emulator with the I-V

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 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 8, ISSUE 11, NOVEMBER 2019 ISSN 2277-8616

10 10
Ipv=f(V)
8 I = V/R
Current(A)

6 8

4
6
2

Current (A)
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 4
Voltage V (V)
600 PV Array Emulator under Uniform Solar Irradiance
Ppv=f(V) G1 = G2 = G3 = G4 = 1000 W/m 2
2
P = V /R T = 25 °C
400 2
Power(W)

I-V curve of the PV array

Data points from the PV array emulator

200 0

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 -2
Voltage V (V) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
100
Voltage (V)
Voltage(V)

Fig. 12. Comparison between the I-V curve characteristic of

50
Vpv
the PV array and the PV emulator under uniform solar
insolation
Vemu
0  Under Partial Shading Conditions
0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01 10
time(s) I-V characterestic of the PV array model
8 8 Data points from PV array Emulator
Current (A)

6
Current (A)

6 G1 = 1000 W/m 2
4 G2 = 700 W/m 2
Ipv 4 G3 = 500 W/m 2
2
Iemu G4 = 300 W/m 2
0 2 T = 25 C°
0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01
time(s) 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Fig. 11. Comparison between the PV array emulator with the Voltage (V)
PV array outputs for R = 15 Ω under partial shading 10
conditions I-V characterestic of the PV array model
8
Data points from PV array Emulator
G1 = 1000 W/m 2
Current (A)

characteristic curve of the PV array under uniform 6

G2 = 500 W/m2
solar insolation and partial shading conditions as 4 G3 = 500 W/m2
described in figure 12 and 13. G4 = 200 W/m2
2
 Under uniform solar irradiance T = 25 C°

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Voltage (V)
10

8
Current (A)

6 G1 = 1000 W/m 2
G2 = 1000 W/m 2
4
G3 = 1000 W/m 2
2 G4 = 200 W/m 2 I-V characterestic of the PV array model
T = 25 C° Data points from PV array Emulator
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Voltage (V)
Fig.13. Comparison between the I-V curve characteristic of
the PV array and the PV emulator under partial shading
conditions

According to figure 12 and 13, the developed power

electronic circuit is highly capable of reproducing the
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same I-V characteristic curves of the PV array

subjected to uniform irradiance and several cases of
partial shading conditions. The accuracy and fidelity of
the proposed PV array emulator are investigated, we
can affirm thus that the developed circuit acts faithfully
as an actual PV array.

6 CONCLUSION
It has been presented in this paper the design and the
simulation using Matlab Simulink software of PV array
emulator. Simulation results have proven the
effectiveness of the developed PV emulator in
tracking the I-V curve of the PV array with high
accuracy and fast dynamic response. Partial shading
conditions emulation has been tested and
investigated whereas the development of PV array
emulator capable of mimicking PV array under partial
shading is rarely being improved. Fuzzy logic control
has been used to deal with the nonlinearity of both the
PV characteristics and the power converter. Further
work will be dedicated to the experimentation and
prototyping of the developed PV source emulator.

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