Sliding Mode Extremum Seeking Control Scheme Based on PSO for Maximum Power Point Tracking in Photovoltaic Systems

Abstract

An extremum seeking control (ESC) scheme is proposed for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in photovoltaic power generation systems. The robustness of the proposed scheme toward irradiance changes is enhanced by implementing the ESC scheme using a sliding mode control (SMC) law. In the proposed approach, the chattering phenomenon caused by high frequency switching is suppressed by means of a sliding layer concept. Moreover, in implementing the proposed controller, the optimal value of the gain constant is determined using a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The experimental and simulation results show that the proposed PSO-based sliding mode ESC (SMESC) control scheme yields a better transient response, steady-state stability, and robustness than traditional MPPT schemes based on gradient detection methods.