Analysis and design of ZVS-PWM active clamping DC-to-DC Cuk converter based PV generation system

This paper presents the application of the “ripple correlation control (RCC)” maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm for Stand-Alone photovoltaic (PV) system employing dc-dc Cuk converter to maximize the output power of PV module. The combination of auxiliary switch, clamp capacitor and resonant inductor is used to exploit the advantage of minimum voltage stress across the semiconductors at switching transitions due to clamping action. RCC technique uses the high frequency signal ripple, which is inherent in power converters to converge asymptotically to the maximum power point independent of module configuration and parameters. The operating modes of converter for different switching time intervals are analyzed and design considerations are presented. To evaluate the feasibility of ZVS Cuk converter with MPPT, simulation is carried out using MATLAB/SIMULINK platform for an 87 Wp solar PV system and the simulated performance results are presented.