Two Degrees Of Freedom Solar Cell Tracker Control Using Sliding Mode Method

One of the main components of a solar power station is panels. The photovoltaic panel has the highest energy absorption when the sun’s rays are perpendicular to it. To track the sun for absorbing maximum radiation, The panel is placed on a platform with two degrees of freedom. Depending on the latitude and longitude and the position of the year, the path of the sun is determined by a predetermined path and the tracker must follow that path. Due to the existence of uncertainties in the tracking system, in this article, a sliding mode controller is used. Therefore, to design the control system and evaluate the performance of the control system, the model of the tracking platform and solar radiation has been extracted. The designed control system has been evaluated by performing computer simulations as well as by performing a processor in the loop simulation. The simulation results show better performance of the sliding mode controller than the classical PID controller in the presence of uncertainty. also, the results of a processor in the loop simulation indicate its ability to be implemented in realtime.