Simulation and modeling of a constant voltage controller based solar powered water pumping system

Abstract

In this paper the performance of a squirrel cage induction motor driving a water-pump load is investigated. The induction motor is fed through a Photovoltaic (PV) array. The PV array and the drive is designed and simulated in a Simulink/MATLAB environment. For tracking of maximum power point of PV array a constant voltage controller (CVC) is also presented. The performance of directly connected and constant voltage controller fed water pumping system is compared for different operating conditions. The system with constant voltage controller is found to have better performance as compared to directly connected system.