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The power voltage (P-V) characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) systems exhibit multiple power peaks under partially shaded conditions. Several global maximum power point tracking (GMPPT) algorithms in the literature recognize the irradiance change, only after the convergence of operating point to global peak, or use additional hardware to call GMPPT subroutine at definite time intervals to detect any insolation change, and thus track the global peak. However, during fast changing partial shading conditions, these methods are less effective, as they do not detect any irradiance change during the tracking phase of any shading pattern. This paper proposes a novel modified current control approach that uses current as a parameter to detect the insolation change during the tracking phase and track the global peak under fast changing partial shading conditions without any additional hardware. The proposed technique improves the tracking efficiency by as much as 39%, thus proving to be effective under fast changing partial shading conditions. The superior tracking performance of the proposed algorithm over the existing techniques in terms of its tracking efficiency, dynamic tracking capability, tracking speed, and convergence to the global peak is demonstrated with extensive simulations using MATLAB/Simulink and experimental results.

Partial shading is one of the certain conditions in photovoltaic (PV) power plants. Often the panels get partially shaded due to soiling, clouds, and trees. The effect of shading is of high concern and importance especially in applications such as water pumps due to agricultural environments in which they are employed in. However, the research focus on PV fed pumps till date has been restricted to only uniform shading conditions. Unlike uniform shading conditions during maximum power tracking, where the panel voltage remains almost constant for an entire range of irradiance, partial shading offer conditions such as highly variable panel voltage and transitions of intermediate DC–DC power converter from continuous conduction mode to discontinuous conduction mode. These effects severely affect the performance of the power converter and, therefore, the power output of the pump. This paper presents a study on the effects caused by partial shading conditions on pumps through simulations and verified by experimentations. The simulation and experimental results are found to be in good agreement with each other. This research thus helps in understanding the detrimental effects caused by partial shading conditions and thus serves as a reference tool for practitioners who wish to study PV fed pumps.