Design of solar‐powered agriculture pump using new configuration of dual‐output buck–boost converter

Abstract

This paper proposed a new structure of single switch dual output Zeta derived DC-to-DC converter for an efficient harvesting of photovoltaic (PV) power for a 4-phase switched reluctance motor (SRM) driven agriculture pump. The system is essentially developed to minimise both cost and complexity, while synchronously guaranteeing optimal operation of the PV array. The proposed converter is derived from a hybrid of a 'Zeta' and Landsman converters and so it contains all the benefits of both converters including balanced outputs. Due to an identical instantaneous duty cycle, the switching node is shared by both Zeta and Landsman converters. The proposed converter offers continuous power to drive, a low ripple in output current, and balanced dual output supply. The PV power optimisation and to deliver smooth start of SRM, are the two major objectives of proposed DC-to-DC converter. A new maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique is also used in the system to optimise the performance of PV array. Moreover, the proposed MPPT control has an additional advantage of regulating the flow rate of water pumping by adjusting the duty cycle of DC-to-DC converter. The motor speed is smoothly regulated through the variable DC link voltage of a mid-point converter.