Solar direct torque controlled induction motor drive for industrial applications

Abstract

With the continuous decrease of the cost of solar cells, there is an increasing interest in photovoltaic (PV) system applications. Electric motors powered by solar energy are one of the most important applications now-a-days, such as in water pumping systems, electric vehicles etc. This paper investigates a photovoltaic-electro mechanic chain, composed of a PV generator, an impedance adapter DC-DC converter, inverter and a direct torque controlled induction machine. The PV generator is forced to operate at its maximum power point (MPP) by using a fuzzy based maximum power point tracking algorithm. Induction motor performance is obtained at different irradiation and temperature conditions. Simulation results show the effectiveness and feasibility of such an approach.