Publication: A fuzzy-based PI controller for power management of a grid-connected PV-SOFC hybrid system
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Date
2017
Authors
Sukumar S.
Marsadek M.
Ramasamy A.
Mokhlis H.
Mekhilef S.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI AG
Abstract
Solar power generation is intermittent in nature. It is nearly impossible for a photovoltaic (PV) system to supply power continuously and consistently to a varying load. Operating a controllable source like a fuel cell in parallel with PV can be a solution to supply power to variable loads. In order to coordinate the power supply from fuel cells and PVs, a power management system needs to be designed for the microgrid system. This paper presents a power management system for a grid-connected PV and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), considering variation in the load and solar radiation. The objective of the proposed system is to minimize the power drawn from the grid and operate the SOFC within a specific power range. Since the PV is operated at the maximum power point, the power management involves the control of SOFC active power where a proportional and integral (PI) controller is used. The control parameters of the PI controller Kp (proportional constant) and Ti (integral time constant) are determined by the genetic algorithm (GA) and simplex method. In addition, a fuzzy logic controller is also developed to generate appropriate control parameters for the PI controller. The performance of the controllers is evaluated by minimizing the integral of time multiplied by absolute error (ITAE) criterion. Simulation results showed that the fuzzy-based PI controller outperforms the PI controller tuned by the GA and simplex method in managing the power from the hybrid source effectively under variations of load and solar radiation. � 2017 by the authors.
Description
Computer circuits; Controllers; Distributed power generation; Electric power transmission networks; Fuel cells; Fuzzy logic; Genetic algorithms; Hybrid systems; Linear programming; Power control; Power management; Solar energy; Solar power generation; Solar radiation; Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC); Control parameters; Fuzzy logic controllers; Maximum power point; Photovoltaic; Photovoltaic systems; Power management systems; Proportional and integral controllers; Sofc hybrid systems; Electric power system control