An Improved Mayfly Algorithm with Shading Detection for MPPT of Photovoltaic Systems

Abstract

A maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method based on improved mayfly algorithm (IMA) with shading detection is proposed to realize the global MPPT with multiple-peak P-V characteristic curve under partial shading condition (PSC) and rapid MPPT with single-peak P-V characteristic curve under uniform irradiance condition (UIC) for photovoltaic array in this paper. Firstly, the characteristic of current-voltage curve in the ideal current source region for photovoltaic array is analyzed, and a shading detection strategy is proposed to monitor the shading condition of photovoltaic array to identify the multi-peak and single-peak on P-V curve. Secondly, the IMA with the elimination strategy is proposed to realize multi-peak MPPT. Meanwhile, the IMA with the bisection searching strategy is utilized to realize quick single-peak MPPT. Finally, simulation and experiment are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed IMA MPPT method, and the results show that the IMA MPPT method can not only identify multi-peak and single-peak effectively, but also improve the tracking efficiency and accuracy in single-peak and multi-peak MPPT scenarios.