Double Stage Solar PV Array Fed Water Pump Driven by Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor

This article presents an improved standalone double stage solar photovoltaic (PV) array powered water pumping system with protection capability. The proposed system utilizes a solar PV array boost dc–dc converter, three-phase voltage source inverter, permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), and a centrifugal pump, where the boost converter serves dual purposes. The first purpose is of maximum power point tracking by adjusting the duty ratio using an incremental conductance (INC) method in order to extract optimum power from the PV array, whereas the second purpose that it serves is system protection, which has been proposed for the first time. A modified INC algorithm with the capability of system protection is proposed for this purpose. The PMSM is driven in vector control mode and drives the pump. A power feed-forward term is utilized, which improves the system dynamic response. In this way, the purpose of effective and efficient water pumping is fulfilled. The proposed system is modeled using MATLAB/Simulink environment and its performance is validated through simulation and hardware validation by studying its behavior under varying insolation levels.