DC Motor Load performance in DC system with reconfiguration of PV Array

Abstract

Objectives: To examine if the changing of the series-parallel configuration of photovoltaic (PV) array can influence a simple DC drive performance. Methods: In this study, a simulated investigation is carried out for a PV system consisting of 30 panels arranged in 3*5 and 5*3, 3*6 and 6*3, 5*6, and 6*5 configuration. Two motors of rating 5 HP and 10 HP are used for the simulation. The first category includes the mentioned configuration in which the number of series PV panels (N_s) is higher than the number of the parallel panel (N_p) such as 5*3, 6*3, and 6*5. The second category includes the combination in which the number of PV panels connected in parallel is higher, such as 3*5, 3*6, and 5*6. Findings: The performance of the 5HP motor gets increased by 173.36%, and the performance of the 10 HP motor gets risen by 121.26% in 18 PV panel system when Ns is higher than N_p. Also, the system’s overall efficiency gets improved when Ns is higher than N_p. Novelty: Usually, to vary the performance of the DC motor, power electronics circuitry is implemented. However, the performed simulated result shows that certain configurations will give better performance. Therefore, control for the DC motor’s enhanced performance can be accomplished without the power electronics control system.

Keywords: PV array combination; DC motor load; Performance analysis; Simulink-Matlab