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Modern PV arrays are generally designed with bypass diodes to avoid damage. However, such arrays exhibit multiple peaks in their P-V characteristics under partial shading conditions. Owing to the limitation in the abilities of conventional maximum power point tracking algorithms in such cases, the application of other optimisation algorithms has been explored. This study proposes a modified particle velocity-based particle swarm optimisation (MPV-PSO) algorithm for tracking the global power peak of the multiple peak P-V characteristics. The MPV-PSO algorithm is both adaptive and deterministic in nature. It eliminates the inherent randomness in the conventional PSO algorithm by excluding the use of random numbers in the velocity equation. The proposed algorithm also eliminates the need for tuning the weight factor, the cognitive and social acceleration coefficients by introducing adaptive values for them which adjust themselves based on the particle position. These adaptive values also solve problems like oscillations about the global best position during steady-state operation and particles getting trapped in local minima. The effectiveness of the proposed MPV-PSO algorithm is validated through MATLAB/Simulink simulations and hardware experiments.

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This paper deals with the investigation of active constrained layer damping (ACLD) of smart laminated continuous fuzzy fiber reinforced composite (FFRC) shells. The distinct constructional feature of a novel FFRC is that the uniformly spaced short carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are radially grown on the circumferential surfaces of the continuous carbon fiber reinforcements. The constraining layer of the ACLD treatment is considered to be made of vertically/obliquely reinforced 1–3 piezoelectric composite materials. A finite element (FE) model is developed for the laminated FFRC shells integrated with the two patches of the ACLD treatment to investigate the damping characteristics of the laminated FFRC shells. The effect of variation of the orientation angle of the piezoelectric fibers on the damping characteristics of the laminated FFRC shells has been studied when the piezoelectric fibers are coplanar with either of the two mutually orthogonal vertical planes of the piezoelectric composite layer. It is revealed that radial growth of CNTs on the circumferential surfaces of the carbon fibers enhances the attenuation of the amplitude of vibrations and the natural frequencies of the laminated FFRC shells over those of laminated base composite shells without CNTs.

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