Solarpoweredbatterychargingsystem

B.E.ElectronicEngineering
FinalYearProjectReportDraft

CatherineConaghan

Supervisor:Dr.MaeveDuffy

SOLARPOWEREDBATTERYCHARGINGSYSTEM| ElectronicEngineering

Abstract

In todays environmentally conscious climate there is more and more interest being
taken in alternative forms of power supply. Currently there are plans underway for a
new Engineering Building for the University, in which it is hoped that some of these
alternative and more environmentally friendly technologies may be incorporated. The
purpose of this project is investigate the feasibility of implementing a mobile phone
charging system, to be used by students, which is powered by energy generated from
solarpanelsthatmaybeintegratedintothefabricofthebuilding.
This project involves designing a small scale mobile phone charging system which is
powered via a solar panel and that is capable of charging multiple mobile batteries
simultaneously. The project also requires research into the different solar panels
availableforthesmallscalesystembeingdesigned,aswellasintolargersolarpanels
that may be implemented into a buildings design. Investigations will also have to be
made into how the overall system would change if these larger solar panels were
implemented. The small scale test system will also be able to display information
visuallytotheuserofthesystemregardingthesystemsoverallcapacitytochargeatany
giventimeandwillalsoincludepowermanagementfunctions.

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Acknowledgements

IwouldliketobeginbythankingmyprojectsupervisorDr.MaeveDuffy,forher
supervisionandadvicethroughoutthisproject.Withoutherhelpthisprojectwouldnot
havebeenpossible.IwouldalsoliketothankmycosupervisorDr.PeterCorcoranfor
hisadvicethroughouttheyear.
A special thanks must go to the Electronic Engineering department lab
technicians, Myles Meehan and Martin Burke. There help over the last year, and the
durationofthefouryears,hasbeeninvaluableandisverymuchappreciated.Ialsowish
to extend my thanks to postgraduate student Sara Armstrong for providing the solar
panel,aswellasansweringanyofquestionsthroughoutthecourseoftheproject.

Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for their support and

patiencethroughouttheyear,especiallytomyparentsPatandMaria,whowithouttheir
encouragementandfinancialsupport,thelastfouryearswouldnothavebeenpossible.

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DeclarationofOriginality

Ideclarethatthisthesisismyorginalwork,exceptwherestated.

Signature:______________________________

Date:______________________

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TableofContents

Abstract..................................................................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................................iii
DeclarationofOriginality..............................................................................................................................iv
TableofContents................................................................................................................................................v
ListofFigures...................................................................................................................................................viii
ListofTables.......................................................................................................................................................ix
Chapter1:Introduction..................................................................................................................................1
1.1DesignSolutions.....................................................................................................................................2
Chapter2:PhotovoltaicArray/SolarPanelCharacteristics...........................................................4
2.1PhotovoltaicArrayBackground......................................................................................................4
2.1.1PVCellChemistries[1].................................................................................................................4
2.1.2EquivalentCircuitofaPhotovoltaicCell[2]........................................................................5
2.1.3IVCharacteristicofthePhotovoltaicArray[3].................................................................6
2.210WattSolarPanel..............................................................................................................................7
2.2.110WattSolarPanelCharacteristics[4].................................................................................7
2.2.2TestingtheSolarPanel...............................................................................................................7
Chapter3:MaximumPowerPointTracking.........................................................................................9
3.1MaximumPowerPointofShellST10..........................................................................................10
3.2MPPTAlgorithms.................................................................................................................................11
3.2.1ThePerturb&Observe(P&O)Algorithm[5]....................................................................11
3.2.2TheIncrementalConductance(INC)Algorithm[6].......................................................13
Chapter4:DCDCConverters.....................................................................................................................14
4.1SwitchModeConverters..................................................................................................................14
4.1.1SwitchModeOperation[7].......................................................................................................14
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4.1.2PulseWidthModulation[7]......................................................................................................15
4.1.3TheBuckConverter....................................................................................................................16
4.1.3.1BuckConverterWaveforms[7]......................................................................................20
4.2DCDCConverterDesign..................................................................................................................21
Chapter5:CircuitSimulation.....................................................................................................................24
5.1Pspice[9]...................................................................................................................................................24
5.2TestingtheBuckConverterinPspice.........................................................................................24
Chapter6:BackupBattery..........................................................................................................................28
6.1BatteryChemistries[10].....................................................................................................................28
6.1.1LeadAcidBatteries.....................................................................................................................28
6.1.2NickelCadmium(NiCad).......................................................................................................28
6.1.3NickelMetalHydride(NilMh).............................................................................................29
6.1.4Lithiumion(Liion)...................................................................................................................29
6.2Determiningthecapacityofthebattery....................................................................................30
6.3LiionBatteryPack..............................................................................................................................31
6.4SafetyConcerns[12][13].......................................................................................................................32
6.5LiionBatteryChargerIC[14]..........................................................................................................32
Chapter7:ImplementingMPPTAlgorithm.........................................................................................34
7.1NIUSB6009[15]...................................................................................................................................35
7.2LabVIEW[16]...........................................................................................................................................35
7.2.1ImplementingP&OAlgorithminLabVIEW.....................................................................36
7.2.2LabVIEWBlockDiagram..........................................................................................................38
7.2.3LabVIEWFrontPanel................................................................................................................44
7.2.3.1DisplayingBackupBatteryVoltage.............................................................................46
Chapter8:MobilePhoneCharging..........................................................................................................47
8.1TheChargingAlgorithm...................................................................................................................47
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8.2ChargingaMobilePhonefromtheBuckConverterCircuit..............................................48
Chapter9:BuildingtheDemonstrationSystem.................................................................................50
9.1DemonstrationSystemDesign......................................................................................................50
9.2BuckConverterComponents..........................................................................................................51
9.2.1MOSFET...........................................................................................................................................52
9.2.2MOSFETDriver.............................................................................................................................54
Chapter10:ProblemsEncountered&Recommendations............................................................56
Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................................58
References..........................................................................................................................................................60

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ListofFigures

Figure1.1DesignSolutionwithchargingalgorithm........................................................................2
Figure1.2Designsolutionincludingbackupbattery......................................................................2
Figure1.3Designsolutionforfinalsystem..........................................................................................3
Figure2.1EquivalentcircuitofaPVcell...............................................................................................5
Figure2.2IVcharacteristicofasolarcell............................................................................................6
Figure2.4Testingsolarpanelcircuitdiagram...................................................................................7
Figure2.5IVcharacteristicofShellST10............................................................................................8
Figure3.1PVcharacteristicofaSolarCell[3]....................................................................................9
Figure3.2PVcharacteristicforShellST10.......................................................................................10
Figure3.3P&Oflowchart...........................................................................................................................12
Figure3.4IncrementalConductancegraph.......................................................................................13
Figure4.1DCDCchoppercircuit...........................................................................................................14
Figure4.2Choppercircuitoutputvoltagewaveform....................................................................15
Figure4.3GeneratingPWMwaveforms..............................................................................................16
Figure4.4BuckConverter.........................................................................................................................17
Figure4.5Mode1ofbuckconverter[8]...............................................................................................17
Figure4.6Mode2ofbuckconverter[8]...............................................................................................18
Figure4.7Buckconverterdutycycle....................................................................................................20
Figure4.8Buckconverteroutputcurrent..........................................................................................20
Figure4.9Buckconverterinductorcurrent......................................................................................20
Figure4.10Buckconverterdiodecurrent.........................................................................................20
Figure4.11Buckconverterwithselectedcomponents................................................................23
Figure5.1CorrespondingcircuitforPspicenetlist........................................................................25
Figure6.1Liionlifecycle[11]...................................................................................................................29
Figure6.2ChargingprofileforLiion[11].............................................................................................30
Figure6.3Liionbatterypack[12]...........................................................................................................31
Figure6.4ISL6291Liionbatterycharger..........................................................................................32
Figure6.5ISL6291Liionchargercircuitdiagram.........................................................................33
Figure7.1P&Oalgorithmtobeimplemented[5].............................................................................34
Figure7.2NIUSB6009...............................................................................................................................35
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Figure7.3LabiewcodeBlockdiagram.............................................................................................37
Figure7.4Setinitialdutycycleto0.5...................................................................................................38
Figure7.5Readinvoltageandcurrent................................................................................................38
Figure7.6DAQAssistantwindow..........................................................................................................39
Figure7.7Calculatingpower....................................................................................................................40
Figure7.8Comparingpowertopreviouspower.............................................................................42
Figure7.9Falseifstatement...................................................................................................................42
Figure7.10GeneratingPWMsignal[17]...............................................................................................43
Figure7.11IdealgeneratedPWM..........................................................................................................44
Figure7.12FrontPanelofLabVIEWVI...............................................................................................45
Figure7.13Displayingvoltageofbattery...........................................................................................46
Figure8.1Nokiaphonecharger..............................................................................................................47
Figure8.3LM78M05Cregulator.............................................................................................................48
Figure8.5Linearregulatorcircuit[19]..................................................................................................49
Figure9.1Finalsystemdesign.................................................................................................................50
Figure9.2Inductorusedindemonstratorcircuit...........................................................................51
Figure9.3Capacitorusedindemonstratorcircuit.........................................................................51
Figure9.4Diodeusedindemonstratorcircuit.................................................................................52
Figure9.5MOSFETcircuitsymbols[22]................................................................................................53
Figure9.6IRF740MOSFET.......................................................................................................................53
Figure9.8PinoutofLM2722MOSFETdriver..................................................................................54
Figure9.9CircuitschematicofMOSFETandMOSFETdriver[24]............................................54
Figure10.1bq24071....................................................................................................................................56

ListofTables

Table2.1VoltageandcurrentreadingsforShellST10...11
Table3.1PowercalculatedforShellST10..13

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Chapter1:Introduction

Solar power is a renewable source of energy, which has become increasingly

popular in modern times. It has obvious advantages over nonrenewable energy
sources, such as coal, oil and nuclear energy. It is nonpolluting, reliable and can
produceenergyanywherethatthereissunshining,soitsresourcesarenotgoingtorun
out anytime soon. It even has advantages over other renewable energy sources,
includingwindandwaterpower.Solarpowerisgeneratedusingsolarpanels,whichdo
notrequireanymajormechanicalparts,suchaswindturbines.Thesemechanicalparts
canbreakdownandcausemaintenanceissuesandcanalsobequitenoisy.Bothofthese
issuesarevirtuallynonexistentwithsolarpanels.Also,thesolarcells,thatconnected
togethermakeupthesolarpanel,canlastuptoseveraldecadeswithoutreplacement.
However,thereisadrawbacktosolarpowerenergycanonlybeproducewhen
the sun is shining. To overcome this, usually solar panels are coupled with back up
rechargeablebatteries,whichcanstoreexcesspowergeneratedduringthedayanduse
ittoprovideenergytosystemswhenthereisnosunshining.Inthiswaysolarpower
can be used to power houses and other large scale systems. In these systems DCAC
conversion is needed. This is because the solar panel produces an output that is DC
(Direct Current) and the power supply in homes usually runs off AC (Alternating
Current),soconversionisrequired.Forthisproject,however,theloadtobeconnected
onlyrequiresDCinput,soDCACconversionisnotneeded.Instead,DCDCconversion
wouldbeusedtoprovidethecorrectpowertothesystemfromthepowergeneratedby
thesolarpanel.Usingthisinformation,anumberofdesignsolutionsweredetermined
andconsidered.

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1.1DesignSolutions

In the early stages of the project various design solutions were employed. The initial
designsolutioncanbeseeninFigure1.1

Figure1.1DesignSolutionwithchargingalgorithm
The solar panels voltage would be controlled a DCDC converter, most likely a
commercial one, and the main circuitry design would be in implementing the mobile
phone charging algorithm to charge the mobile phones at the load. It was soon
discoveredthatthechargingalgorithmforthemobilephoneswouldnotbeneededas
the phones charging algorithms are contained on the phones themselves. However,
early research into solar panel powered systems highlighted the need to apply some
formofpowermanagementtothepaneltoallowforoptimumefficiency.Italsobecame
obvious that there would be a need for a storage device so that the solar panel could
store energy when there is no load connected. The design was varied to suit these
needs,asisshowninFigure1.2

Figure1.2Designsolutionincludingbackupbattery
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AcommercialchargecontrollerICwassourcedthatmetwiththespecificationsofthe
project.However,anumberofproblemswereencounteredwithusingtheICchip,
whichwillbediscussedinthefinalchapter,soadifferent,final,designapproachwas
developed.ItisseeninFigure1.3

Figure1.3Designsolutionforfinalsystem

This is the design method that the final system is based on. It is comprised of a solar
panelwhosevoltageisregulatedbyaDCDCconverter.Thepowermanagementofthe
solarpanelcomesintheformofmaximumpowerpointtracking(MPPT),whichwillbe
discussed in greater detail further on. For this design it entails using an outside
controllertocontrolthedutycycleoftheDCDCconverter.ItwasdecidedthattheDC
DC converter would have to be built in the lab, as it was difficult to find a suitable
commercialconverterthatcouldbecontrolledinthisway.Theoutputoftheconverter
isthenappliedtothebackupbatteryandtheload.

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Chapter2:PhotovoltaicArray/SolarPanelCharacteristics

2.1PhotovoltaicArrayBackground

APhotovoltaic(PV)arrayistheenergysourceusedinthisproject.PVarraysessentially
consistofanumberofinternalsiliconbasedphotovoltaiccellscombinedinseriesand
in parallel, depending on the voltage or current requirements. These cells are used to
convert solar energy into electricity. This occurs when the photovoltaic cells are
exposedtosolarenergycausingthecellselectronstodriftwhich,inturn,producesan
electric current. This current varies with the size of individual cells and the light
intensity.

[1]

2.1.1PVCellChemistries

Photovoltaic cells, or solar cells as they are more commonly referred to, are available
commercially in a number of different semiconductor materials. The most common
materials are monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon and
copperindiumselenide(CIS).Thesetechnologiesconsistofpnjunctiondiodescapable
ofgeneratingelectricityfromlightsourcesandusuallyhaveefficienciesof6%20%in
commercialuse.
The most popular type of thin film photovoltaic technologies are CIS arrays and
amorphoussiliconarrays.Thesethinfilmpanelsconsistofalayerofsiliconsandwiched
betweenasheetofglassandasheetofplastic.Alaserscribeisthenusedtomarkout
individual cells. They have very good efficiency on sunny days, better then the
crystalline silicon based cells mentioned below. However they do suffer from a
considerabledropinefficiencyundercloudyconditions.
Monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon arrays are constructed in much the same
way, however are made up of individual 0.5 V cells connected together toachievethe
desiredvoltage.TheyweighlessthantheamorphousandCISarrays,andareabouthalf

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the size. Although they do attain as high efficiencies as the amorphous cells, they do
performbetterundercloudyconditions,makingthemverysuitableforyearrounduse.
[2]

2.1.2EquivalentCircuitofaPhotovoltaicCell

TheequivalentcircuitofaPVcellisdemonstratedbelowinFigure2.1.

Figure2.1EquivalentcircuitofaPVcell
DerivedfromKirchoffsfirstlaw(alsoreferredtoasKirchoffscurrentlaw),theoutput
currentisgivenby

I=IphIDIp

I=IphIsat(expq.(Vo+I.Rs)1)Vo+I.Rs
n.K.Tcell.Ns
Rp

where

Outputcurrent
Iph

Photocurrent
Isat
Diodereversesaturationvoltage
Vo
OutputVoltage
Rs
Seriesresistance(Representingvoltagelossonthewaytoexternal
connectors)

Rp
Parallelresistance(Representingleakagecurrents)
k
Boltzmannsconstant
q
Chargeonelectron
Numberofcellsinseries
Ns
N
Idealityfactor
Tcell
Solarpaneltemperature

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[3]

2.1.3IVCharacteristicofthePhotovoltaicArray

FromFigure2.1,thecurrentgeneratedinthesolarcellbythecurrentsource(Iph)is
proportionaltotheamountoflightfallingonit.Whenthereisnoloadconnectedtothe
outputVoalmostallofthegeneratedcurrentflowsthroughdiodeD.TheresistorsRs
andRprepresentsmalllossesduetotheconnectionsandleakagerespectively.Thereis
verylittlechangeinVocformostinstancesofloadcurrent.However,ifaloadis
connectedtotheoutputthentheloadcurrentdrawscurrentawayfromthediodeD.As
theloadcurrentincreasesmoreandmorecurrentisdivertedawayfromthediodeD.
So,astheoutputloadvariessotoodoestheoutputcurrent,whiletheoutputvoltage
Vocremainslargelyconstant.Thatisuntilsomuchcurrentisbeingdrawnbytheload
thatdiodeDbecomesinsufficientlybiasedandthevoltageacrossitdiminisheswith
increasingload.ThisresultsinanIVcharacteristicasshowninFigure2.2.

Figure2.2IVcharacteristicofasolarcell

These characteristics of the solar cell can result in a loss of power when providing
powertoaload.Thiswillbediscussedinfurtherdetailinthenextchapter.
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2.210WattSolarPanel

[4]

2.2.110WattSolarPanelCharacteristics

ThePVpanelusedinthisprojectistheShellST1010WattsolarmoduleinFigure2.3.It
iscomposedofamonolithicstructureofseriesconnectedCopperIndiumSelenide(CIS)
basedsolarcells.Ithasthefollowingelectriccharacteristicsatthestandardtest
conditions(STC)ofanirradiancelevelof1000W/mandcelltemperatureof25C

RatedPower(Pr)=10Watts

PeakPower(Pmpp)=10Watts

PeakPowerVoltage(Vmpp)=15.6Volts

PeakPowerCurrent(Impp)=0.64Amps

OpenCircuitVoltage(Voc)=22.9Volts

ShortCircuitCurrent(Isc)=0.77Amps

MinimumPeakPower(Pmppmin)=9Watts
Figure2.3ShellST10

2.2.2TestingtheSolarPanel

The solar panel was tested under a constant light source in the lab, using different
resistancesandwassetupasinFigure2.4

Figure2.4Testingsolarpanelcircuitdiagram
VoltageVwasmeasuredacrossthesolarpanelterminalsforvaryingresistancesand
currentwascalculatedusingohmslaw:I=V

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Voc=11.4V

Table2.1VoltageandcurrentreadingsforShellST10

Resistance(k)
0.1
0.15
0.18
0.22
0.68
0.82
1
1.5
2.2
4.7
8.2
10
15
18
27

Voltage(V)
0.46
0.68
0.83
1.2
2.8
3.3
3.8
5.3
6.7
9.1
10
10.3
10.6
10.8
11

Current(mA)
4.6
4.5
4.5
4.4
4.1
4.02
3.8
3.5
3.04
1.9
1.2
1.03
0.7
0.6
0.4

ThedatawasgraphedinFigure2.5:

IVCharacteristicofShellST10
5

Current(milliamps)

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0

10

12

Voltage(volts)

Figure2.5IVcharacteristicofShellST10
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Chapter3:MaximumPowerPointTracking

As discussed in the previous chapter, from looking at the IV characteristic of the

photovoltaic cell (Figure 2.2), it can be seen when the array is operating at its short
circuitcurrent,thevoltageacrosstheoutputterminalswillbezero.Sincepoweristhe
product of current and voltage it is clear that the power is zero at this point.
Furthermore,itcanbeseenthatifthereisnoloadappliedtotheoutputterminalsofthe
arraynocurrentisbeingdrawnandthearrayisoperatingatthesocalledopencircuit
voltageVoc.WhenthepanelisoperatingatVoctheoutputpowerisalso0Watts.So,the
arraywillprovidepowerwhenthevoltageisbetween0VoltsandVoc.Formostsystem
itisdesiredthatthatthearraybeoperatingatapointcalledtheMaximumPowerPoint
(MPP).Thisisthepointwheretheproductofvoltageandcurrentisatitsmaximum.The
PVcharacteristicofanidealcellisshownbelowinFigure3.1

[3]
Figure3.1PVcharacteristicofaSolarCell

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3.1MaximumPowerPointofShellST10

Using the voltage and current data previously recorded in Table 2.1, power was
calculatedusingtheformulaP=VI
Resistance(k)
0.1
0.15
0.18
0.22
0.68
0.82
1
1.5
2.2
4.7
8.2
10
15
18
27

Voltage(V)
0.46
0.68
0.83
1.2
2.8
3.3
3.8
5.3
6.7
9.1
10
10.3
10.6
10.8
11

Current(mA)
4.6
4.5
4.5
4.4
4.1
4.02
3.8
3.5
3.04
1.9
1.2
1.03
0.7
0.6
0.4

Power(mW)
2.1
3.06
3.75
5.78
11.48
13.2
14.4
18.56
20.3
17.29
12
10.6
7.42
6.48
4.4

Table3.1PowercalculatedforShellST10

Thedatawasplottedanddisplayedbelow:

PVCharacteristicofSolarPanel
Power(milliWatts)

25

6.7

20
15
10
5
0
0

10

12

Voltage(Volts)

Figure3.2PVcharacteristicforShellST10
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ThePVarrayisoperatingatpeakpowerwhenV=6.7.UsingthegraphinFigure2.5it
canbeseenthatthisvoltagecorrespondstoacurrentof3.04mA.

3.2MPPTAlgorithms

AMPPTtrackingalgorithmwillbeusedtocontrolthedutycycleofaDCDCconverter.
In this way, the algorithm will force the solar panel to operate at, or very close to, its
maximumpowerpoint.Thealgorithmwillbeimplementedusingthesoftwareprogram
Labview.

ThereareanumberofdifferentMPPTalgorithmshavebeendevelopedovertheyears.
ThemostdominentmethodsarethePerturb&ObserveAlgorithmandtheIncremental
ConductanceAlgorithm.

[5]

3.2.1ThePerturb&Observe(P&O)Algorithm

TheP&Oisprobablythemostcommonlyusedapproachout ofalltheMPPTmethods
used today, as it is lacking in complexity and can be relitively easy to implement. It
works by periodically incrementing or decrementing the voltage of the PV array. The
changeinpoweristhenobserved.Iftheperturbtionhasresultedinanincreaseinthe
outputpowerthenthealgorithmcontinuestoperturbinthesamedirection.Ifthereisa
decrease in power then the algorithm will perturb in the oppisite direction. This is
demonstratedintheflowchartinFigure3.3.WhentheP&Oalgorithmhasfoundthe
MPPitneveractuallysettlesonit,ratheritoscillatesaroundit.

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Figure3.3P&Oflowchart

SetdutycyclereferstodutycyclethatwillcontroltheDCDcconverter,whichwillin
turnperturbthePVarrayvoltage.Duty(+)representsthedutycyclebeingperturbed
in the same direction again and Duty() means the duty cycle is perturbed in the
oppositedirection.

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[6]

3.2.2TheIncrementalConductance(INC)Algorithm

The INC algorithm uses the PV arrays incremental conductance to determine the
directionofperturbation.AscanbeseeninFigure3.4,attheMPPdp/dv=0.Also,

dp/dv=d(iv)/dv=i+v(di/dv)

Voltageandcurrentaremeasuredandifi+v(di/dv)=0thenthePVarrayisoperating
atitsmaximumpowerpointandnoperturbationoccurs.However,ifitisnotequalto
zeroadecisionhastobemadeastowhichdirectionthenextperturbationwillhappen.
Fromthegraphbelowitcanbeseenthatthedirectionofthenextperturbationcanbe
determinedbydetectingifdp/dv>0ordp/dv<0.

Figure3.4IncrementalConductancegraph

Theperturbandobservealgorithmwillbeusedintheisprojectasthecontrolmethod
tomanagethedutycycleoftheDCDCconverterasitisthemostreliableofthetwo
methods.

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Chapter4:DCDCConverters

ADCDCconverterisacircuitwhichtakesinaDCvoltageattheinputandconvertsitto
a different DC voltage level at the output. Linear DCDC converters drop the input
voltagetoaloweroutputvoltageonlyandcanbeusefulinsomeapplicationsastheyare
relativelylowincomplexity.However,theycanproveinefficientasthedroppedvoltage
isdissapatedasheat.Thisalsomeansthattheregulatormayrequireaheatsink,which
can sometimes be impractical. Switch mode converters are more complex in their
design as they use an inductor and a capactior to store energy, as well as having a
switch.Thisincreaseincomplexityisoffsetbythefactthatswitchmoderegulatorsare
largle more efficient then their linear counterparts. Also, as there is less energy being
lostinthetransfer,thermalmanagementisnotasimportant.Finally,becauseoftheuse
ofaninductorinthecircuit,theenergystoredinitcanbeusedtooutputvoltagesthat
aregreaterthentheinputvoltage.Thesebasiccomponentscanberearrangedtoform
differentconverter,namelythebuckconverter,theboostconverterandthebuckboost
converter,whichwillbediscussedinfurtherdetail.

4.1SwitchModeConverters

[7]

4.1.1SwitchModeOperation

They are called switch mode converters as they use power switching techniques to
achievetheDCDCconversion.Thebasicsoftheswitchmodeoperationisexplainedin
thissimplechoppercircuitinFigure4.1

Figure4.1DCDCchoppercircuit
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Whiletheswitchisclosed,thevoltageattheinputViisappliedtotheload.Whilethe
switchisopenthevoltageattheoutputVoiszero.ItcanbeseeninFigure4.2thatVo=
<Vo>.

Figure4.2Choppercircuitoutputvoltagewaveform

The duty cycle, D, is the ratio of the on time of the switch (closed switch) to the total
switching period, T. For example, if switching period is 10ms and the switch is on
(closed)for4ms,thenthedutycyclewouldbe0.4.

Fromthisitcanclearlybeseenthat
<Vo>=DVi

so,
Vo=DVi

[7]

4.1.2PulseWidthModulation

Theswitchisusuallycontrolledbyusingpulsewidthmodulation(PWM).PWMis
generatedbycomparingatriangularorasawtoothwaveformtoareferencevoltage,as
canbeseeninFigure4.3

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Figure4.3GeneratingPWMwaveforms

Ascanbeseenfromabove,whenevertheamplitudeofthereferencevoltageisgreater
thanthatofthesawtoothwaveformtheswitchisturnedon.Oncethereferencevoltage
amplitudeislowerthewaveform,theswitchturnsoff.ItisalsoclearfromFigure4.3
thatvaryingthefrequencyofthesawtoothortriangularwaveformwillalsovarythe
frequencyofthepulsewidthmodulatedsignalaccordingly.

Asithasalreadybeenmentioned,therearethreemaintypesofDCDCregulators,the
buck,theboostandbuckboost.Thebuckconverterconvertsthevoltageontheinputto
alowervoltagelevelontheoutput.Theboostconverterincreasestheinputvoltagetoa
higher voltage output. The buckboost converter is a combination of the two and can
operateinbothmodes.

4.1.3TheBuckConverter

Thebuckconverter,alsoknownasastepdownconverter,producesalowervoltageon
theoutputthenreceivedontheinput.Itscircuitconsistsofaninductor,acapacitor,a
diodeandaswitch(usuallyaMOSFET)andcanbeseeninFigure4.4

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Figure4.4BuckConverter

Thebuckcircuithastwomodesofoperation:

Mode1:

Figure4.5Mode1ofbuckconverter[8]
In the first mode the switch is on (closed). This causes all of the input voltage to be
appliedacrossthediode,D,causingittobereversebiased.Duringthetimethecircuitis
inthisstate,currentbuildsupintheinductorincreasingitsstoredenergy.Hence,the
outputvoltageis,

Vo=ViVL

Manipulatingthisequation,

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Vi=LodiL+Vo=LoI+Vo
dtDT
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Mode2:

Figure4.6Mode2ofbuckconverter[8]
Whentheswitchisoff(opened)thecurrentthatwasstoredintheinductornowflows
throughthediode,makingthediodeforwardbiased.ThereisnovoltageatVi,so,forthe
output,

0=Vo+LodiL=VoLoI
dt(1D)T

Theincreaseincurrentwhentheswitchisturnedon,mustbeequaltothedecreasein
currentwhentheswitchisturnedoff,astherecannotbeanetchangeinfluxinthe
inductor.Therefore,
I=I=I

manipulatingtheequationinmode1,weget

I=ViVoDT
Lo

manipulatingtheequationinmode2,weget

I=Vo(1D)T
Lo

itfollowsthat,
ViVoDT=Vo(1D)T
LoLo
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Vo=DVi

assuminganidealcircuit,
Pin=Po

ViIi=VoIo

Io=Ii
D

Sotheoutputvoltage,Vo,isdeterminedbythedutycycleoftheswitch,S.Sincetheduty
cycleisaratioandalwaysbetween0and1,itisclearthethatvoltageontheoutputwill
alwaysbelessthenVi.

Thereare,however,somedisadvantagesofusingaswitchmodeconverter.Theycanbe
quitenoisyandsuffercurrentrippleandvoltageripple.Inthebuckconvertertheseare
calculatedinthefollowingway

CurrentRippleI:

T=1=DT+(1D)T
f

T=ILo+ILo
ViVoVo
I=ViD(1D)
fLo

VoltageRippleV:

Since,

V=S=I.T=ViD(1D)
C2.2.2C8LoCf

Then,
V=ViD(1D)
8LoCf
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[7]

4.1.3.1BuckConverterWaveforms

Figure4.7Buckconverterdutycycle

Figure4.8Buckconverteroutputcurrent

Figure4.9Buckconverterinductorcurrent

Figure4.10Buckconverterdiodecurrent
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4.2DCDCConverterDesign

Abuckconverterwaschosenasthedcdcconvertertobeusedinthisproject.Itwas
chosenasthevoltage,undermostcircumstances,wouldbegreaterthevoltagerequired
attheload.Thepurposeoftheconverteristodrivethesolarpaneltooperateatits
maximumpowerpointbycontrollingthedutycycleoftheswitch,andtobringthe
voltagetoalowenoughleveltopowertheload.Indesigningthebuckconverter,the
maincomponentswhichhadtobedeterminedforthecircuitaretheinductorandthe
capacitor.Anumberofparametershavetobetakenintoconsiderationinchosing
appropriatevaluesforbothcircuitcomponents.Theinputvoltagewasalreadyspecified
fromtheoutputspecificationsofthe10wattsolarpanel.Theoutputrangewaschosen
tobebetween5voltsand10voltsasthisbroughttoalowenoughvoltagetobeinput
intomost5voltregulatorstochargethemobilephoneattheoutput.

Voltageinputrange(Vi):15.6V22.9V
Voltageoutputrange(Vo):5V10V
Switchingfrequency(fs):20Khz
CurrentRipple(I):100mA
VoltageRipple(V):30mA

Asalreadydiscussed,forthebuckconverter

Vo=DVi

Usingthisequationandtheminimumandmaximumvoltagerangeswecandeducethe
idealdutycyclerange

CatherineConaghan

Dmin=Vomin
Vimax

Dmin=5
22.9

Dmin=0.32

Dmax=Vomax
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Dmax=10
15.6

Dmax=0.44

Roundingthesenumbers,theidealrangeforthedutycycleisbetween0.3and0.5.

Fromtheequationforcurrentrippledescribedearlierwecandeterminethemaximum
andminimumvalesfortheinductor

I=ViD(1D)
fsLo

Lo=ViD(1D)
Ifs

Lomax=(22.9)(0.5)(10.5)
(0.1)(20000)

Lomax=2.8mH

Lomin=(15.6)(0.3)(10.3)
(0.1)(20000)

Lomin=1.6mH

Two inductors with suitable values were found. A 2.2 mH inductor and a 3.3 mH
inductor. From the equation dicussed earlier, regarding the buck converter output
current,isitknownthattheoutputcurrentinabuckcircuitwillalwaysbehigherthen
inputcurrent,
Io=Ii.
D

The3.3mHinductorcouldonlyholdverysmallcurrents,so2.2mHinductorprovedthe
betteroption.Theinductorchosenhadamaximumratingof900mA.Althoughthesolar
panelhasaratedIscof770mA,thecurrentsmeasuredintestingconditionsinthelab
were far off this so it was decided that the 2.2 mH inductor would be suitable and is
usedinthefinalcircuit.

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To choose an appropriate capacitor for the circuit the equation for voltage ripple V
previouslydeterminedinthesection4.1.3wasused

V=ViD(1D)
8LoCfs

C=ViD(1D)
8LoVfs

C=(22.9)(0.5)(10.5)
(8)(2.8x10)(20000)(30x10)

C=21.3F

A22Fwaschosenfortheconvertercircuit.FortheswitchaMOSFETwasthechosen
componentasthegateoftheMOSFETcouldbecontrolledbythedutycyclegenerated
bythecontroller.Theresistanceoftheloadcanbecalculatedbydividingthemobile
phonevoltagebythemaximumcurrentforamobilephone.Foratypicalmobilephone
battery,thevoltageis3.6Vwithacurrentof700mA.Thecalculatedresistanceforthis
particularbatterywouldbe5ohms.Thebuckconverterwiththesecalculated
componentsisshownbelowinFigure4.8.

Figure4.11Buckconverterwithselectedcomponents

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Chapter5:CircuitSimulation

5.1Pspice[9]

Pspice(SimulationProgramwithIntegratedCircuitEmphasis)isasimulationtoolthat
models the behaviour of analog circuits. It is used to verify and predict circuit
behaviour.Pspiceisaveryusefultoolinthecircuitdesignprocessasyoucantestand
modify the circuit design before ever having to use any hardware. The circuit can be
designedintwowaysbybuildingtheschematicofthecircuitinpspice,orbycreating
anetlistoftheparametersofthecircuit.

5.2TestingtheBuckConverterinPspice

Forthedesignofthebuckconverterthenetlistwasdesignedasbelow.

Buckconverternetlist:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
.PARAMINPUT=22.9

;inputvoltage
.PARAMDUTY=.44

;dutycycle
.PARAMRLOAD=5

;resistanceofload
.PARAML=2.2mh

;inductor
.PARAMC=22uF

;capacitor
.PARAMFREQUENCY=20k
;switchingfrequency

VS10DC{INPUT}

;dcvoltagesourcebetween0&1
SW1320SMOD

;switchbetween1,3,2&0
D103DMOD

;diodebetween0&3
L34{L}IC=0

;inductorbetween3&4
C40{C}IC=0

;capacitorbetween4&0
R40{RLOAD}

;resistanceofloadbetween4&0

;generatespulse
VPULSE20PULSE(1101nS1nS{DUTY/FREQUENCY}{1/FREQUENCY})

;switchmodel
.MODELSMODVSWITCH(RON=0.001VON=0.1VOFF=0.1)
.MODELDMODD(N=0.001)
.OPTIONSNOPAGEITL5=0
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;controlforswitch
.TRAN10US6000US02USUIC

.PROBE
.END
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

ThenetlistcorrespondstothecircuitschematicasdisplayedinFigure5.1

Figure5.1CorrespondingcircuitforPspicenetlist

Thecircuitwastestedbyenteringanumberofdifferentvoltageinputvaluesand
changingthevalueofthedutycycle.Toverifythecorrectoperationofthecircuitthe
maximumandminimumnumbersthatwereusedtocalculatetheinductorandthe
capacitorinchapter4wereused.Pspiceassumesidealconditionsforeachelementof
thecircuit.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Maximumvalues:

.PARAMINPUT=22.9

;inputvoltage
.PARAMDUTY=.44

;dutycycle
.PARAMRLOAD=5

;resistanceofload
.PARAML=2.2mh

;inductor
.PARAMC=22uF

;capacitor
.PARAMFREQUENCY=20k
;switchingfrequency
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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TheresultinggraphafterrunningthesimulationisshowninFigure5.2

Figure5.2Pspicesimulationofmaximumbuckparameters

Theoutputvoltageissimulatedandis10V,thuscorrespondstotheearliercalculations
inchapter4.

Thevoltageripplewasalsomeasuredbyplacingacursoratthehighestamplitudeofthe
voltageandacursoratthelowestpointandpspicecalculatedthedifferenceasshownin
Figure5.3

Figure5.3Voltageripplemeasured

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Thevoltagerippleusedinthecalculationswas30mV,andthemeasuredvoltage
displayedhereis35.752mV,whichisveryclose.

Belowarethefiguresandthegraphsimulated(Figure5.4)fortheminimumvalues
used

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
.PARAMINPUT=15.6

;inputvoltage
.PARAMDUTY=.32

;dutycycle
.PARAMRLOAD=5

;resistanceofload
.PARAML=2.2mh

;inductor
.PARAMC=22uF

;capacitor
.PARAMFREQUENCY=20k
;switchingfrequency
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Figure5.4Pspicesimulationofminimumbuckparameters

Undertheseconditionstheoutputvoltageisseento5v,whichisinaccordancewith
earliercalculationsfromchapter4.

Testingofthecircuitparametersinpspiceverifiedthecircuitdesign.

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Chapter6:BackupBattery

Insystemsthatutilizesolarpanelsasthesourceofenergyitisrecommendedtoemploy
somesortofstoragedevice.Astoragedevicecanproveveryusefulasitcanstoreany
unusedenergygeneratedbythesolarpanelthroughoutthedayand,inturn,thisstore
energycanbeusedtopowerasystemwhennosunlightisavailabletothesolarpanel,
thusmakingthesystemmorepractical.Themostrealisticchoiceforthisstoragedevice
isabackupbattery.Therearemanydifferentbackupbatteriesavailableonthemarket
today,withvariousdifferentbatterychemistries.Anumberofbatterychemistriesthat
wereresearchedforuseinthisprojectarediscussedbelow,highlightingtheadvantages
anddisadvantagesofeach.

6.1BatteryChemistries[10]

6.1.1LeadAcidBatteries

Lead acid batteries are the oldest rechargeable batteries in existance. They are
inexpensive, reliable and widely used today. However, they are quite heavy and for a
system like this storage may be a problem. Also charging times can be quite slow.
Overall,leadacidbatteriesaremoreappropriateforlargerpowerapplications.

6.1.2NickelCadmium(NiCad)

NickelCadmiumbatterieshavealongshelflife,theycanbelefttostoreenergyforupto
fiveyearsinsomecases.Theyhaveotheradvantagesaswell,theypreferfastcharging
andworkwellunderrigorouscondtions,aswellashavingquiteahighefficiencyat70%
90%.However,theyhavearelativelylowenergytoweightratioandcansufferfrom
memory effect. Memory effect is a phenomenom observed in some rechargeable
batteries, namely those with nickelcadium chemistries. It occurs when the
rechargeable battery is repeatedly recharged without being fully discharged. This
causes the battery to lose the capacity it orginally had, and the preformence of the
batteryissignificantlylowered.

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6.1.3NickelMetalHydride(NilMh)

NiMhbasedbatterycellshavealargercapacitythentheNiCadbatteries,sotheyare
lighter,andarelesspronetothememoryeffectdescribedabove.However,theycanbe
moreexpensiveandhavearelativelyshortstoragelifewithahighselfdischargerate,
makingthemlessefficient.

6.1.4Lithiumion(Liion)

Liion preforms the most efficiently out of all the battery chemistries discussed, with
efficienciesofupto99.9%.Italsohasthebestweighttoratio,weighingabouthalfthat
ofaNiCadorNIMhcellofthesamecapacity,makingthebatterieslightandeasytoto
store.TheaveragevoltageofaLiioncell(3.6v3.7v)meansonecellwouldberequired
for use in charging most mobile phones, compared to 3 NiCad or NiMh batteries at
1.2veach.Liioncellsalsorelivativelygoodlifecycle,asshowninFigure6.1.Takingall
ofitsadvantagesintoaccount,itwasdecidedthataLiionbackupbatterywouldbethe
mostsuitableforthissystem.

Figure6.1Liionlifecycle[11]

ThetypicalchargingprofileforaLiionbatteryisshowninFigure6.2

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Figure6.2ChargingprofileforLiion[11]

The battery charges under constant current, at almost 1C (capacitance), while the
voltagerises.Oncethevoltagereachesthemaximumof4.2volts,thechargeentersthe
constant voltage portion of the charging. Under constant voltage charging the current
beginstodecrease,untilthechargeisterminated.

6.2Determiningthecapacityofthebattery

Itisimportantthatthebackupbatteryhasenoughcapacitytostoretheexcessenergy
generatedfromthesolarpanel.Todeterminethecapacityofthebatterytwothingshad
tobetakenintoconsiderationthemaximumcurrentoutputofthesolarpanelandthe
maximumnumberofhoursofsunshineonagivenday.
Accordingtothedatasheetobtainedforthesolarpanelthepeakpowercurrentforthe
solarpanelwhileusingMPPTis0.64Amps.Thiswillbetheaverageamountofcurrent
beingsupplied.Theshortcircuitcurrentis0.77Amps.

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FrominformationobtainedontheIrishNationalMeteorologicalService(MetEireann)
website,thehighestmonthlyaverageofhoursofsunshineisinMay,with5.08hours.
BatteryCapacityistheproductofthecurrentandnumberofhours:
0.64Ax5.08Hrs=3.25AH
0.77Ax5.08Hrs=3.9AH
So,ifnoloadwasconnectedoveraperiodoftime,forexampleataweekend,aLiion
battery with a capacity of 4AH would be more than sufficient to store all the excess
energygeneratedinoneday.

6.3LiionBatteryPack

ThisLiion186503.7V4400mAhrechargeablebatterymoduleinFigure6.3atacostof
$27.00meetsalloftheserequirements

Figure6.3Liionbatterypack[12]

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6.4SafetyConcerns[12] [13]

Liion batteries are, however, not without their disadvantages. There are some safety
issuestobetakenintoaccountwhenusingthem.Acommonprotectivecircuittohelp
preventdamagetothebatteryisbuiltintothebatterypackinFigure6.3.Overcharging
isavoidedasthecircuitlimitsthechargevoltageto4.35Vmaximum.Thecircuitryalso
contains a thermal sensor which disconnects the charge if the battery reaches a
temperatureofover90c.Therearepreventativemeasuresinthecircuittoavoidover
discharge by limiting the discharge voltage to between 2.7V and 3V. However, over
dischargingcanstilloccurandifthevoltagedropsbelow1.5Vcoppershuntsmayform
inside the battery causing short circuits and the battery will become unstable and
unsafe to use. Most commercial Liion battery packs have these circuits built in, but
cautionisstillneededwhenusingthem.

6.5LiionBatteryChargerIC[14]

Evenwiththisprotectioncircuit,itisstillrecommendedtouseaICspecificallydesigned
for charging Liion batteries to ensure optimum safety precautions. There are a vast
rangeofcommercialchargerICsavailableforLiionbatteriessuchastheISL6291Liion
linearbatterycharger,ascanbeseeninFigure6.4.

Figure6.4ISL6291Liionbatterycharger

Thischargerwouldbeidealforthissystem,asittakesan5VDCvoltageattheinputto
chargethebattery,asisshowninthefollowingcircuitdiagraminFigure6.5.

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Figure6.5ISL6291Liionchargercircuitdiagram
ItoperatesbychargingatthevariousmodesoutlinedinFigure6.2.

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Chapter7:ImplementingMPPTAlgorithm

The perturb and observe algorithm discussed earlier was chosen as the method to
control the duty cycle of the buck converter to force the solar panel to operate at its
MPP.TheflowchartfortheP&OalgorithmforthissystemisshowninFigure7.1

Figure7.1P&Oalgorithmtobeimplemented[5]

ThealgorithmwasimplementedusingaNIUSB6009whichiscontrolledthrougha
computerusingtheprogrammingsoftwareLABVIEW.

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7.1NIUSB6009[15]

TheNIUSBshowninFigure7.2,isamoduleusedfordataaquistionwhichcanbe
connectedtoPCviaaUSB.Ithas8analoginputs,twoanalogoutputsand12digitalI/O
connections.

Figure7.2NIUSB6009

ThemoduleiscompatiablewithprogrammingsoftwareLABVIEW.

7.2LabVIEW[16]

LABVIEW (Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench) is a

development environment that utilizes a graphical programming language, called G,
developed by National Instruments. It is mainly used for data acquisition, instrument
controlandindustrialautomation.TheLABVIEWprogramcontainstoolsforacquiring,
analyzing,storinganddisplayingdata.ProgramscreatedinLABVIEWarecalledvirtual
instruments(VIs).VIsaremadeupofblockdiagramsandfrontpanels.Blockdiagrams
arewherethecodeisdevelopedandcontainallthesubVIs(orsubroutines)withinthe
program.Thefrontpanelactslikeauserinterfacewheretheusercaninputandextract
datafromtheVI.

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7.2.1ImplementingP&OAlgorithminLabVIEW

Having never used LABVIEW before this project it was essential to get a good
understandingofthesoftware,especiallythatwhichwouldberelevanttoimplementing
the algorithm. A tutorial provided with the LABVIEW software, named LABVIEW
Getting Started provided a good starting point. It demonstrated a simple program to
read in voltage via a NIUSB 6009 and display the waveform on the front panel (user
interface). From this basis the program was gradually built. The full LABVIEW block
diagramisdisplayedinFigure7.3

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Figure7.3LabiewcodeBlockdiagram
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7.2.2LabVIEWBlockDiagram

Theprogramrunsinsideawhileloop,ascanbeseeninFigure7.3.Thefirststepofthe
P&Oalgorithmflowcharttobeimplementedistosettheinitialdutycycleto0.5.Thisis
donebyinputting0.5intotheshiftregisterfromoutsidetheloop,ascanbeseenin
Figure7.4.Asitisplacedoutsidethelooptheshiftregisteronlyholdsthisvalueforthe
firstloopiteration.Everyiterationthereaftertheshiftregisteronlyusesvalues
obtainedinsidethewhileloop.

Figure7.4Setinitialdutycycleto0.5

Thenextstepistoreadvoltageandcurrent.Thisisdoneusingthedataaquistion
assistant(DAQassistant)tocommunicatewiththeNIUSB6009whichisconnectedto
theoutputofthesolarpanel.ThispartofthecodeisrepresentedinFigure7.5

Figure7.5Readinvoltageandcurrent
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BydoubleclickingontheDAQassistant,itopensupaswindowinwhichyoucanchoose
whichanaloginputschannelsyouwishtouse,ashighlightedFigure7.6

Figure7.6DAQAssistantwindow

The solar panel voltage is read from input channel ai0. The device itselt cannot read
readcurrentdirectly.Togetanaccuratereadingforcurrentasmallresistorisplacedon
theoutputofthesolarpanel.Thecurrentisbeingreadfromphysicalchannelai1,sothe
connectors of this channel are placed in parallel with the resistor (as voltage is
measuredinparallel).TheDAQassistantthenreadsinthevoltageacrosstheresistor,
andusingohmslaw,I=V/R,thecurrentiscalculation.Togetaprecisecalculationthe
correct resistor value must be input into the DAQ assistant, highlighted in Figure 7.6
above.Inthiscasetheresistoris3.3ohms.
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Thevoltageandcurrentofthesolarpanelaremeasuredcontinuously,attherateof
1kHz,andthedataisdisplayedintheformofawaveform,shownFigure7.5,whichis
thendisplayedonthefrontpanel.

Step3intheP&Oflowchartinvolvescalculatingthepower,whichwillbecomeP_new.
ThistaskisrepresentedwiththecodeinFigure7.7below

Figure7.7Calculatingpower

ThevoltageandcurrentdatareadinfromtheDAQassistantareconvertedintoa
numericarrayevery2seconds,asindicatedbythetimedelay.Theyarethenseperated
intotwovaluesandmultipliedtogethertodeterminethepower.Thepowervalueis
thenconvertedtoanabsoloutevalueandisdisplayedonasawaveformonthefront
panel.Thepowervalueisalsowrittentoaspecifiedfilestoredonthecomputerso
previouspowervaluescanbereadatanytime.Thedataisloggedtothefileinthe
followingformat:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
LabVIEWMeasurement

Writer_Version
0.92
Reader_Version
1
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Separator
Tab
Multi_Headings
Yes
X_Columns No
Time_Pref
Absolute
Operator
Catherine
Date 2008/03/05
Time 12:42:13.440999
***End_of_Header***

Channels
1

Samples
1

Date 2008/03/05
Time 12:42:13.441999

X_Dimension Time
X0
0.0000000000000000E+0
Delta_X
1.000000

***End_of_Header***

X_Value
Untitled
Comment

6.437026E9

Channels
1

Samples
1

Date 2008/03/05
Time 12:42:14.44
X_Dimension Time
X0
9.9900007247924805E1
1.000000

Delta_X
***End_of_Header***

X_Value
Untitled
Comment

1.314494E9
etc

Finally,thepowervaluecalculated,P_new,isputthroughashiftregister,tobecome
P_oldonthenextloopiteration,aswellasbeingusedtocompletethenextstepinthe
algorithm.

Thenextstepinthealgorithmistocomparethenewpowervaluemeasured,P_new,to
thelastpowervaluemeasured,P_oldanddecidethenextstepbasedontheoutcome.

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Figure7.8Comparingpowertopreviouspower

P_oldistakenfromtheshiftregisterandcomparedtoP_new.ThisisdoneusingtheG
programminggraphicalequivalentofanifstatement.IfP_newisgreaterthenP_old,
thenthestatementistrueandthedutycycleisincrementedby0.05.Ifthestatementis
false,asinFigure7.9,thedutycycleisdecrementedby0.05.Thenewdutycycleisthen
outputtothedisplayonthefrontpanelandputinashiftregistertobeusedastheold
dutycycleforthenextiteration.Theinitialdutycycleforthefirstiterationofthe
programissetto0.5,ashasbeenstatedearlier.

Figure7.9Falseifstatement

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Thefinalpartoftheprogramwastoconvertthisdutycycleinitsnumericformintoa
digitalpulsewidthmodulationsignal.Thispartoftheprogramwasbasedonatemplate
togeneratePWMobtainedfromthenationalinstruments(NI)website.Thecodeis
showninFigure7.10

Figure7.10GeneratingPWMsignal[17]

Thedutycycle,determinedbythepreviousifstatement,isdecimalformbetween0
and1,e.g.0.7.Thedutycyclevalueisthenmultipliedby100,thisvaluewillbereferred
toasN.Sofor0.7x100,Nis70.Thenumber70isthenenteredintoaforloopand
becomesthenumberofhighvaluese.g.70x1.Asecondlooptakesinthevalueoflow
values,thatis100N,soforthiscase10070=30.Theoutputsofthetwoloopsare
combinedinanarray,sointhisexamplethearraywouldcontain70highvalues,
followedby30lowvalues.Thisarrayisthentheinputtotheforloop.Inthisforloop
eachvalueisputonthedigitaloutlineoftheNIUSB6009viaasecondDAQassistant
subVI.Fortheexampleof0.7asthedutycycletheoutputshouldlooksimilartothatin
Figure7.11

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Figure7.11IdealgeneratedPWM

This PWM signal then controls the gate of the MOSFET in buck converter circuit.
However, the signal cannot be connected directly to the gate of the MOSFET as the
signal is only a digital signal and has no current to drive the MOSFET. Therefore, the
signalmustfirstbeconnectedtoaMOSFETdriver,whichwillthendrivetheMOSFET.

7.2.3LabVIEWFrontPanel

Whiletheprogramisrunning,theblockdiagramcanbeviewed,buttheuserinterfaceis
typically the front panel. In this program the front panel contains one waveform
displayingthevoltageandcurrentmeasured,andanotherwaveformdisplayingpower
measured over time. It also displays the duty cycle at the output. The front panel is
displayedinFigure7.12

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Figure7.12FrontPanelofLabVIEWVI
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7.2.3.1DisplayingBackupBatteryVoltage

ThefrontpaneloftheVIcouldalsobeusedtodisplayotherinformationvisuallytothe
user.Awaveformofnumericindicatorcommunicatingthechargeleftonthebackupup
batterycouldbeeasilyimplemented.Thebackupbatterycouldbeconnectedtoathird
physicalchannelontheNIUSB6009andthevoltageandcurrentreadthroughtheDAQ
assistantasbefore.,forthesolarpanel.Theinformationcouldthendisplayedonthe
frontpanelinthefollowingway

Figure7.13Displayingvoltageofbattery

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Chapter8:MobilePhoneCharging

8.1TheChargingAlgorithm

Attheearlystagesoftheproject,itwasthoughtthatamobilephonechargingalgorithm
would have to be implemented. Early research indicated that mobile phone charging
algorithm is employed on the phone itself and to charge a mobile phone it is just a
matter of supplying the correct voltage to the charging input of the phone. It was
decided that the best way to verify the operation of a mobile phone charger was to
reverseengineeracommercialcharger.

ThiswasdonewithaNokiaphonecarcharger,shownbelowinFigure8.1

Figure8.1NokiaphonechargerFigure8.2Mc34063aDCDCconverter[18]

Thechargerisconnectedintothecarcigarettelightersocket,whichsuppliesaDC
voltageof12V.Afterdisassemblingthechargeramc34063achipwasfoundinside,as
showninFigure8.2.Fromresearchingthechipintheinternetitwasfoundthatthe
mc34063achipisastepup,stepdownDCDCconverter.Thechipcanbeconfigured
eitherway,butwhenconfiguredasastepdownconverter,whichitwouldbeinthis
case,ithasanoutputvoltageof5V.

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Thiscanalsobeseeninthechargingofmobilephonesfromlaptops.Thephoneis
simplyconnectedtothelaptopviaaUSB(UniversialSerialBus).Whendevicesare
connectedtothelaptoptheUSBsupplies5volts(DC)tothedevice.Noothercircuitryis
requiredtochargethemobilephone.

Thesefactsconfirmedthefindingsduringresearchthatthechargingalgorithmforthe
mobilephoneislocatedinthephoneitself.

8.2ChargingaMobilePhonefromtheBuckConverterCircuit

TochargeamobilephonefromtheDCDCconverterbuilt,aregulatorwouldneedtobe
usedtosupplyaconstantvoltagetothephoneitself.FromlookingattheMc34063a
DCDCconverterinFigure8.2above,itwasdecidedthatsupplying5Vtothemobile
phonewouldbesufficient.Theoutputofthebuiltbuckconvertershouldbebetween5V
and10V.Thesevoltageswouldbelowenoughtobeinputtomost5Vregulators.Itwas
decidedtouseasimple5Vlinearregulatortoperformthetask.Thelinearregulator
selectedwastheLM78M05C

[17]

3terminalpositive5Vvoltageregulator,asshownin

Figure8.3andFigure8.4.

[19]

Figure8.3LM78M05CregulatorFigure8.4LM78M05Cpinout

TheLM78M05Cregulatorwasidealasitcouldhandlecurrentsinexcessof500mA,it
output a regulated voltage of 5 volts and it can handle input voltages up to 35 volts,
which is very high for a linear regulator. The regulator also contain internal short
circuit protection which limits the maximum output current, and safearea protection
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forthepasstransistorwhichreducestheshortcircuitcurrentasthevoltageacrossthe
passtransistorisincreased.ThecircuitwasbuiltasinFigure8.5

[19]

Figure8.5Linearregulatorcircuit

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Chapter9:BuildingtheDemonstrationSystem

9.1DemonstrationSystemDesign

ThelayoutofthedemonstrationsystemisshowninFigure9.1

Figure9.1Finalsystemdesign

TheoutputofthesolarpanelistheconnectedtotheDCDCconverter,aswellastothe
NIUSB6009wherethemeasurementstakeplace.Adiodemustbeplacedattheouptof
thesolarpaneltopreventvoltagereturningtopanelwhennopowerisbeinggenerated.
TheLABVIEWprogramtakesinthesemeasurementsviatheUSBconnectiononthePC
and changes the dutycycle accordingly. The duty cycle, as determined by therunning
program, is then output digitally via the NIUSB 6009 in the form of PWM. This PWM
signalthendrivestheMOSFEToftheDCDCconverter(viaaMOSFETdriver)whichin
turn controls the buck converter. All of these actions bring the voltage down to an
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acceptablevoltageleveltoconnecttotheload,aswellasforcethesolarpaneltooperate
atitMPP.

9.2BuckConverterComponents

When it came to building the buck converter circuit it was necessary to choose
components that would be suitable for the circuit. The values of the different buck
convertercomponentswerecalculatedpreviously,asdiscussedinchapter4.
Theinductorvaluecalculatedwastobebetween1.6mHand2.8mH.A2.2mHinductor
wasselected,forreasonsoutlinedinchapter4.The1422509C [20]2.2mH,highcurrent
(upto0.9Amps)inductor,asshowninFigure9.2,wasusedinthecircuit.

Figure9.2Inductorusedindemonstratorcircuit

The capacitor used was a 22F capacitor, which corresponded with the 21.3 F
calculatedforearlier.ThiscapacitorisshowninFigure9.3andcanhandleavoltageup
to25V,whichissuitableforthiscircuit.

Figure9.3Capacitorusedindemonstratorcircuit

Thediodeusedinthebuiltcircuitisthe1N4001diode[21].Itwasselectedbecauseofits
high current capability (up to 1A), high voltage (up to 50V) and low forward voltage
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drop across the diode. It is important that the diode is placed correctly in the circuit,
withthe+andinthecorrectorder,asshowninFigure9.4.

Figure9.4Diodeusedindemonstratorcircuit

9.2.1MOSFET

Aspreviouslymentioned,theswitchinthebuckconverterwouldbeaMOSFET(Metal
Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor). MOSFETS are by far the most popular
transistors used for switching in circuits today, along with BJTs (Bipolar Junction
Transistors). The main difference between MOSFETs and BJTs is that the former are
voltage controlled (little or no current is used), and the latter are current controlled
(voltagesaretheretodrivecurrents).Therefore,MOSFETsrequirelesspowertodrive
them,sotheyarethepreferredchoice.
MOSFETs are either Nchannel, made mostly of Ntype semiconductor material, or P
channel,wheretheyaremademostlyofPtypesemiconductormaterial.Theyoperatein
twomodesenhancementmodeanddepletionmode.Thecircuitsymbolsfortheseare
showninFigure9.5.

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Figure9.5MOSFETcircuitsymbols[22]
TheMOSFETusedinthecircuitistheIRF740[23]NchannelpowerMOSFET,asshownin
Figure9.6andFigure9.7.

Figure9.6IRF740MOSFET

Figure9.7IRF740circuitsymbol

This particular MOSFET has a high current and voltage rating, 10A and 400V
respectively.Itwaschosenbecauseithashighswitchingspeeds,highinputimpedance
and is ideal for switching converters. The voltage in is applied at the source (3), the
PWMsignalisappliedatthegate(1),andthevoltageoutisatthedrain(2).
The PWM signal, which is generated in LabVIEW and output on the NI6009 USB, is
purelydigital.AvoltageisneededonthegatetodrivetheMOSFET,soaMOSFETdriver
deviceisneeded.

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9.2.2MOSFETDriver

AMOSFETdriverisusedtoprovideenoughvoltagesotodrivethegateoftheMOSFET.
ThedriverusedtodrivetheIRF740istheLM2722[22]highspeedsynchronousMOSFET
driver,whosepinoutisshowninFigure9.8.

Figure9.8PinoutofLM2722MOSFETdriver
TheMOSFETandMOSFETdriverwerebuiltascanbeseeninthecircuitschematicin
Figure9.9.

Figure9.9CircuitschematicofMOSFETandMOSFETdriver

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Chapter10:ProblemsEncountered&Recommendations

In the initial stages of the project a lot of time was spent on different design for the
system.OneoftheearlysystemdesignsthatwastobeimplementedisshowninFigure
10.1. The design incorporated a SingleChip LiIon Linear Charger and System Power
Path Management IC (the bq24071 chip). However, after further research, it was
discovered that it was not possible to implement a MPPT algorithm using the IC chip.
Thechipworkedbyensuringthatenoughpowerwasbeingdeliveredtotheload,and
anyexcesspowerwouldchargeabackupbatteryusingMOSFETs,butitdidnotactually
employmaximumpowerpointtracking.Also,dimensionsofthechipwereverysmall,
asitispartofthebqtinyrange,andasuitabletranslatorboardcouldnotbesourced
early on. Because of these reasons, it was decided to change the system the system
design.Thisateintosomeofthetimefortheoverallproject.

Figure10.1bq24071

AnotherproblemindesigningthedesignsystemwasdrivingtheMOSFETusingtheNI
USB6009.Aswasnotinitiallyrealised,theNIUSB6009doesnothaveacounterbuiltin
onthedigitaloutput,sotheoutputissoftwaretimedratherthehardwaretimed.Asitis
softwaretimed,eachpointonthePWMsignalarraycanonlybeoutputataminimumof
1ms.Thereis100pointsineachPWMsignal,sothefrequencyatitshightestwillonly
reach10Hz.DownsizingeachPWMsignalto10pointswouldincreasethefrequencyto
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100Hz,butthismeansthatthedutycyclecouldonlybetoonly1decimalplace,asthe
arraycannotoutputdecimalpoints,e.g.ifthedutycyclewas0.55,multiplyingby10
wouldbive5.5,whichwouldberoundedto5.Afrequencyof100Hzwouldstillnotbe
nearlyhighenoughtodrivetheMOSFET,whichwasdesignedwithaswitchingfrquency
of20kHz.Anotherproblemisthatsincetheoutputissoftwaretimed,alotdependson
the speed of the operating system. Depending on how much other code is being
implemented,andifotherprogramsarerunning,thePWMsignalcanbequitenoisy.To
overcometheseproblemsanupgradefromtheNIUSB6009wouldbeneeded.AnyNI
DAQAquistionMseriesincludecountersthatcanoperateupto10MHZ,makingthem
ideal for generating PWM signals. Using a DAQ Aquistion M series USB would require
littlechangetothesoftwarecodewhichwouldhaveincludeacountercorrespondingto
theMseriesUSBhardwarecounterontheforloopwhichoutputsthedata.

Ashasbeendiscussedpreviously,abackupbatterywouldbehighlyrecommendedfor
thesystem,andforanysolarpoweredsystemnomatterhowhowbigorsmall.Usinga
Liionbatteryasabackuprechargeablebatteryhasalreadybeenproposed.Forsystem
using larger amounts of solar power, the capacity of the backup battery would be
increasedtoensureallavailableenergyisbeingstoredifnotused.EventhoughmostLi
ion battery packs come with protection circuits it is always recommended to use a
suitableLiionchargingICtochargethebattery,asthiswillensurecorrectchargingof
the battery and prevent overcharging, undercharging and would terminate charging
oncecompleted,minimisingsafetyconcerns.

Ifbuildingalargersolarpowersystem,itshouldbenotedthatthereareawiderangeof
commercialMPPTavailable.Acommercialmaximumpowerpointtrackerthatcouldbe
used with the solar panel in this project is the Solar Boost SB2000 Charge Regulator
withDigitalMeter [25] .UsingacommercialMPPTwouldthatissuitableforyoursolar
panelwouldberecommendedforlargescalesystems,wherecostisnotanissue.

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Conclusion

The overall aim of this project was to develop a small scale battery charging system,
whichincludepowermanagementfunctionsandauserinterface.Itrequiredresearch
intovarioussolarcelltechnologiesandtheunderstandingofthevariouscharacteristics
ofphotovoltaicpanelstoensureanoptimumsolutionfortheproject.
Fromthestart,itwasobviousthataDCDCconverterwouldbeusedasthesourceand
theloadarebothDC.AfteritwasfoundthatasuitableDCDCconverterforthesystem
couldnotbesourceditwasdecidedtodesignandbuildaconverterspecificallyforthis
project. This would also provide a greater understanding of the DCDC conversion
process and the theory behind choosing the components. A buck converter was
designed, as the output voltage to the load would always be lower than the voltage
output by the solar panel. The various component values were calculated using
standardbuckconverterformulaeandthesimulatedcircuitworkedasdesigned.Parts
weresourcedfortherangeofcomponentsandthecircuitwasbuilt.
Power management functions came in the form of maximum power point tracking.
Various algorithms were studied, which provided valuable insight into the design
processforlargescalesolarsystems.Thealgorithmchosentobeimplementedwasthe
perturb and observe algorithm. The algorithm would ensure maximum power point
trackingbycontrollingtheMOSFETofthebuckconverterbyvaryingitsdutycycle.To
implementthisalgorithmitwasrealisedthatsomeformofmicrocontrollerwouldneed
tobeused.ItwasdecidedtousetheNIUSB6009DAQAcquisitiondevicealongwitha
computerbasedprogramdevelopedinLabVIEW.
TheNIUSB6009preformedanumberoftasksandwasusedtocommunicatewiththe
PCbasedLabviewprogram.Usingtheanaloginputsonthedevicevoltageandcurrentat
the output of the solar panel were measured. Since current could not be measured
directly,asmall3.3ohmhighpowerresistorwasplacedattheoutputofthesolarpanel,
and the voltage across the resistor was measured. The Labview program itself
calculatedthecurrentbyusingohmslaw.AdigitaloutputontheNIUSB6009wasused
to output the PWM signal, which was determined from the algorithm running on
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LabVIEW,whichinturncontrolledthedutycycleoftheMOSFETofthebuckconverter.
ThePWMsignalwasinputintotheMOSFETdriver.
TheLabVIEWprogramhadtwouses.AprogramwasdevelopedtoimplementtheP&O
algorithmanditalsoprovidedauserinterface.HavingneverusedLabVIEWpreviously,
initially implementing the algorithm was quite challenging, as LabVIEW programs are
writtenusingagraphicalprogramminglanguageG,whichisquitedifferentfromtext
basedcode,suchasC++andJava.However,overtimeLabVIEWbecamemoreandmore
intuitiveandthealgorithmwasimplementedsuccessfully.Theprogramdeterminedthe
duty cycle based on the voltage and current readings of the solar and its calculated
power. LabVIEW also provides a front panel window while the program is running in
thebackground.Thisfrontpanelcanusedtodisplaywaveformsandnumbersofvalues
thatarebeingusedatvariousstagesoftheprogram,sothefrontpanelcanbeusedasa
userinterface,asitdisplaysallrelevantinformationtotheuser.Italsocontainsastop
button,sotheusercanstoptheprogramrunningatanytime.
Thechargingalgorithmforconnectingamobilephoneattheloadwasresearchedand
foundthatnoalgorithmwasnecessaryontheexternalcharger,asthealgorithmtakes
placeonthemobilephoneitself.A5Vlinearregulatorwasplacedattheoutputofthe
buckconvertertoprovideaconstantvoltagetoaconnectedmobilephone
Althoughabackupbatterywasnotusedinthedemonstrationsystem,variousbattery
cellchemistrieswereresearchedandrecommendationsmadeastohowtoimplementa
backupbatteryintothedesign.
Therewereanumberofissuesencounteredinthedesign,whichhavebeendiscussed
andalongwithpossiblesolutionstothese,alongwithanumberofrecommendationsfor
largerscalesolarpoweredsystems.

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References

[1]

PVCells

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_cells

[2]

PVcellequivalentcircuitsandcharacteristics
http://emsolar.ee.tuberlin.de/lehre/english/pv1/index.html

[3]

IVandPVcharactersiticsofaSolarCell

http://www.chuckwright.com/SolarSprintPV/SolarSprintPV.html

[4]

ShellST10solarpanel
http://www.solarelectricsupply.com/Solar_Panels/Shell/ST10.html

[5]

JoeAirJiang,TsongLiangHuang,YingTungHsiaandChiaHongChen,Maximum
PowerTrackingforPhotovoltaicPowerSystems,PerturbandObserveAlgorithm
Flowchart

[6]

M.Glavin,W.G.Hurley,NationalUniversityofIrelandGalway,Ireland,Battery
ManagementSystemforSolarEnergyApplications,IncrementalConductance
MPPT

[7]

PWMDCDCConverters
Prof.W.G.Hurley,EE411PowerElectronicsnotes

[8]

DCDCConverters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_to_DC_converter

[9]

Pspice

http://www.electronicslab.com/downloads/schematic/013/tutorial/PSPICE.pdf

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[10]

RechargeableBatteries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_batteries

[11]

LiionTechnicalManual

http://www.moltechpower.co.uk/pdfs/LithiumIon_Technical_Manual2.pdf

[12]

LiionBatteryPack
http://www.allbattery.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1143

[13]

LiionProtectionCircuits
http://www.moltechpower.co.uk/technical__lighting_sub50_page1.htm

[14]

LiionLinearChargerIC
http://www.intersil.com/isl6291/

[15]

NIUSB6009

http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/14604

[16]

GraphicalProgramminginLabVIEW

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LabVIEW

[17]

ImplementingMPPusingLabVIEW

http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5056

[18]

NokiaDCDCconvertermc34063achip
http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/MC34063AD.PDF

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[19]

LM78M05CDatasheet
http://cache.national.com/ds/LM/LM341.pdf

[20]

1422509CInductor
http://octopart.com/info/C&D%20Technologies/1422509C

[21]

1N4001diode
http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/1N/1N4007.pdf

[22]

MOSFETs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSFET

[23]

IRF740NchannelMOSFET
http://www.ortodoxism.ro/datasheets/irf/irf740.pdf

[24]

LM2722MOSFETDriverDatasheet
http://cache.national.com/ds/LM/LM2722.pdf

[25]

SolarBoostSB2000ChargeRegulatorwithDigitalMeter
http://www.solarelectricsupply.com/Charge_Controllers/

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