Information Sciences and Computer Engineering, Vol. 2, No.

2, (2011) 16
International Journal of
Information Sciences and Computer Engineering
j our nal homepage: http://www.ijisce.org
Design and Simulation of DC/DC Buck Converter for Stand Alone Photovoltaic Energy
System with Lead Acid Battery Storage
Fatima Zahra Amatoul

, Moulay Tahar Lamchich, Abdelkader Outzourhit

Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco
Abstract This paper presents the design and simulation of DC/DC buck con-
verter using Matlab and Simulink. The model contains a detailed represen-
tation of the solar photovoltaic (PV) array, Lead Acid battery, DC/DC con-
verter, and DC load. In our studies, we conceived a PV system where the PV
generator is the panel NA-901(WQ). The simulation has been tested on So-
lar PV Module (Micro-amorphous silicon thin-lm) rated 90Wpeak at 49.3V,
1.83A at 25 degree Celsius and 1000W/m2 (STC). The complete model was
simulated during a variation transient in climatic conditions.
Keyword: Solar cells; photovoltaic (PV); battery; buck converter; modeling;
DC-DC regulator; design; simulation.
1. Introduction
Most large photovoltaic systems are solar energy supply sys-
tems, which either supply power directly to electrical equipment
or feed energy into the public electricity grid. In some small
applications, PV (photovoltaic) systems are operated in isolated
conguration where a battery storage system is required. The
electrical system powered by solar arrays requires special design
considerations due to varying nature of the solar power resulting
from unpredictable and sudden changes in weather conditions
[1], which change the solar irradiation level as well as the cell
operating temperature [2, 3].
The system under study is designed to power a 48V DC load
and require a 48V lead acid battery rated at 1100Ah. A DC load
is preferable for several reasons. First, since a photovoltaic cell
produces DC power, there is no need for an inverter to convert
the DC power to AC, as in most current PV systems. Second,
LED lighting has made huge advancements, and is more ecient
than the standard incandescent bulb. Also, batteries provide DC
power, and can be easily charged by DC source. Many electrical
appliances use DC power as well.
On the other hand, battery charging is very popular because of
its simplicity and versatility. Many papers on battery charging
have been written [4, 5].

Corresponding author:
Email: fatitoul@gmail.com, Ph: +212 6647210550
The main objectives of this paper is to model and analyze the
system, and predict the performance improvements that can be
achieved by altering the system conguration to better match the
load of the PV system.
This paper is organized as follows: In Section 2, The dynamic
model and characteristics of the PV array are described. The de-
sign and modelling of the buck converter will be presented in
Section 3. In Section 4, the battery model based on a lead-acid
battery is presented. In Section 5, the dc-dc regulator system is
discussed. The simulation descriptions and results will be de-
scribed in Section 6. Finally the conclusions will be present in
Section 7.
2. Modelling of photovoltaic system
A PV cell is a specially designed PN junction or Schottky bar-
rier device. The well-known diode equation describes the opera-
tion of the shaded PV cell [6].
In order to obtain an adequate output voltage, PV cells are con-
nected in series to form a PV module. If higher voltages or cur-
rents are not available from a single module, modules must be
connected into arrays as shown in Fig. 1. Series connections re-
sult in higher voltages, while parallel connections result in higher
currents.
Fig. 1. Example of PV arrays
Model for solar PV array is developed in Simulink. The PV ar-
2 Amatoul et al./Information Sciences and Computer Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2011
ray makes use of the equations of a typical solar cell. The typical
model of a solar cell is shown in Fig. 2. The current and voltage
of the solar cell is given as follows:
I
cell
= I
ph
I
D

V
cell
+ R
s
I
cell
R
p
(1)
I
D
= I
sat
_
exp
_
q
KT
(V
cell
+ R
s
I
cell
)
_
1
_
. (2)
Fig. 2. Solar cell equivalent model
Fig. 3. P-V characteristics of NA-901 (WQ) 90W PV module
The power-voltage output of the Simulink model is shown in
Fig. 3, while the obtained I-V curves are shown in Fig. 4, refer-
ence to the key specications of the NA-901 module illustrated in
Table 1 [7], the results of Simulink PVmodule showthe excellent
correspondence to the model.
Table 1. Key specications of the NA-901 PV module
Temperature T 25

C
Maximum power P
max
90 W
p
Open-circuit voltage V

65.2 V
Short-circuit current I
sc
2.11 A
Voltage, max power V
mpp
49.3 V
Current, max power I
mpp
1.83 A
3. Design and modeling of the buck converter
A dc-dc converter is used to increase the eciency of the sys-
tem by matching the supplied voltage to the voltage required by
the load.
In our application, the output voltage must be kept constant,
regardless of changes in the input voltage due to variation in cli-
matic conditions, or in the eective load. This is accomplished
by building a circuit that varies the converter control input, in
such a way that the output voltage is regulated to be equal to a
desired reference voltage.
Fig. 4. I-V characteristics of NA-901 (WQ) 90W PV module
Fig. 5. Circuit diagram of buck converter
The modeling begins as usual, by determining the voltage and
current waveforms of the inductor and capacitor (Fig. 5).
The operating mode of a buck converter circuit can be divided
into two modes. Mode 1 begins when the switch is in position
1, the circuit of Fig. 6(a) is obtained. The current ow through
inductor L, diode D, capacitor C.
In mode 2, the switch is in position 2, the circuit of Fig. 6(b)
is obtained. During this mode, the energy stored in the capacitor
is then transferred to the battery. Therefore, the output voltage is
less than the input voltage and is expressed as:
V
bat
= DV
pv
(3)
Where D represent the duty cycle.
4. Battery model
The battery model was based on a lead-acid battery PSpice
model [8]. Lead-acid battery cells consist of two plates, positive
and negative immersed in a dilute sulfuric acid solution. The pos-
itive plate, or anode, is made of lead dioxide (PbO
2
) and the nega-
tive plate, or cathode, is made of lead (Pb). The battery model has
two modes of operation: charging and discharging. The battery
is in the charging mode when the current owing into the battery
is positive and discharging mode when the current is negative.
The terminal voltage of the battery is given by:
V
bat
= V + RI
bat
. (4)
Where V and R are governed by a dierent set of equations de-
pending on which operating mode of the battery is in.
5. DC-DC regulator system
A block diagram of a typical DC-DC system incorporating a
buck converter and feedback loop is illustrated in Fig. 8.
A Proportional Integral Derivative controller (PID) compen-
sator is used to maintain a constant dc voltage of 48V in converter
Amatoul et al./Information Sciences and Computer Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2011 3
(a)
(b)
Fig. 6. Buck converter circuit: (a) when the switch is in position 1, (b) when the
switch is in position 2.
Fig. 7. Battery model [6]
output. It is desired to design this feedback system in such a way
that the output voltage is accurately regulated, and is insensitive
to disturbances in PV voltage or in the load current. In addition,
the feedback system should be stable, and properties such as tran-
sient overshoot, setting time, and steady-state regulation should
meet specications. [9]
To design the system of Fig. 8, we need a dynamic model
of the switching converter. To develop this dynamic model, we
will extend the steady-state models to include the dynamics intro-
duced by the inductor and capacitor of the converter. Simplied
terminal equations of the component elements are used.
_

_
L
di
L
(t)
dt
= Dv
pv
(t) v (t) .
C
dv (t)
dt
= i
L
(t)
v (t)
R
.
(5)
_
di
L
(t)
dt
dv(t)
dt
_
=
_
0
1
L
1
C

1
RC
_ _
i
L
(t)
v (t)
_
+
_
D
L
0
_
v
pv
(t) . (6)
Now apply standard linearization technique and apply pertur-
bations as follows:
Fig. 8. DC-DC regulator system including a buck converter power stage and a
feedback network
_

_
d

i
L
(t)
dt
d

v (t)
dt
_

_
=
_
0
1
L
1
C

1
RC
_
_

i
L
(t)

v (t)
_

_
+
_
D
L
V
pv
L
0 0
_
_

v
pv
(t)

d (t)
_

_
.
(7)
_

_
v
pv
(t) = V
+
pv

v
pv
(t) ,
d (t) = D +

d (t) ,
i
L
(t) = I
L
+

i
L
(t) ,
v (t) = V +

v (t) .
(8)
The line-to-output transfer function is
G
vd
(s) =
_

_
V
pv
1
1 + s
L
R
+ s
2
LC
_

_
. (9)
G
vd
(s) =

v (s)

d (s)

,
v
pv
(s)=0
(10)
Thus, the line-to-output transfer function contains a DC gain Gg0
and a quadratic pole pair:
G
vg
(s) = G
g0
1
1 +
s
Q
0
+
_
s

0
_
2
. (11)
Analytical expressions for the salient features of the line-to-
output transfer function are found by equating like terms in (9)
and (10). The DC gain is
G
g0
= V
pv
. (12)
By equating the coecients of s
2
and of s in the denominators of
(9) and (10), one obtains

0
=
1

LC
. (13)
and Q = R

C
L
. (14)
For simulation, the following values are used to simulate the
buck converter.
V
out
= 48VL = 2.5mH, C = 25F, R = 20, V
pv
= 197.2V.
(15)
4 Amatoul et al./Information Sciences and Computer Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2011
The Bode diagram of a typical loop transfer function is shown in
Fig. 9. The gain margin and the phase margin are easily visual-
ized in the Bode plot.
Fig. 9. Bode plot of the loop transfer function G
vg
(s) before correction
It is desirable to have high gain at low frequency and rapidly
decreasing gain after the gain crossover frequency. Since we re-
quire that the closed loop system should be stable, the slope of
the gain curve at crossover cannot be too steep at the crossover.
However, the phase of a system is related to its gain, and hence it
is not possible to independently specify these quantities.
As illustrated in Fig. 9, the system does not have enough phase
and gain margins which can inuence the stability and the speed
of the system. Consequently the voltage regulator must compen-
sate for this lack of phase without destabilizing the system, thus
by guaranteeing a good rejection of disturbance.
Aguideline in PIDcontrol systemdesign is to ensure a 310dB
gain margin and 20

phase margin. Here, it must be noted that

3dB and 20

are the endurable minimum values, and that when

these values are chosen, control systems are usually very oscil-
latory and can easily become unstable. If satisfactory damping
and robustness are expected, a phase margin () of greater than
50

is recommended.
The PID controller in the continuous time domain is described
by
G
c
(s) = G
c0
_
1 +
s

z
_ _
1 +

L
s
_
_
1 +
s

p
_ . (16)
Where

z
=
c

1 sin()
1 + sin ()
. (17)
G
c0
=
_

0
_
2
1
T
0

p
. (18)

p
=
c

1 + sin()
1 sin ()
. (19)

c
is the cut-o frequency of the system.
Fig. 10. Bode plot of the loop transfer function G
vg
(s) after correction
It is clear that closed loop PID controlled buck converter gives
improved transient and steady state performance and succeeded
in to add more phase margin.
6. Simulations and results
In this work a PID compensator is used to maintain a constant
bus voltage of 48V in converter output, irrespective of variations
in climatic conditions and load. The PID compensator minimizes
steady state error to zero.
For whole system simulation is used Matlab/Simulink.
Standard test conditions (T = 25

C and G = 1000W/m
2
) with
constant load resistance
The simulation results have been obtained under standard cli-
matic conditions (T = 25

C and G = 1000W/m
2
). It can be
clearly seen that, in steady state, the DC link voltage is main-
tained at reference.
Change of climatic conditions with constant load resistance
Fig. 12 presents the evolution of some characteristics of the
system during a variation transient in solar radiation between
t=0.4s and t=0.6s for G=200W/m
2
. It can be seen that the reg-
ulation of the DC link voltage is maintained at a constant level
Vref=48V, It has to be said that this is an extreme change in so-
lar radiation levels that is unlikely to occur but shows the good
performance of the controller.
Standard test conditions (T = 25

C and G = 1000 W/m

2
) with
varying load resistance
Fig. 13 presents a zoom-view of characteristics of the system
during a variation transient in load resistance between t = 0.06s,
R = 82 and t = 0.1s, R = 20 for G = 1000W/m
2
. The output
voltage is achieved quickly after the transient period following
each change in values of load resistance.
For all the results above, the DC-DC regulator system includ-
ing a buck converter power stage and a feedback network is able
to maintain the output voltage at the reference voltage and robust
to the variation of the external conditions.
Amatoul et al./Information Sciences and Computer Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2011 5
Fig. 11. Simulation results under Standard test conditions and constant load re-
sistance
7. Conclusion
Photovoltaic system, DC-DC buck converter, DC-DC regula-
tor and battery models have been described. From the proposed
design, the buck converter is able to produce a constant output
voltage of 48V from an inconstant PV array voltage Simulation
studies demonstrate that the use of a simple DC-DC buck con-
Fig. 12. Simulation results under change of climatic conditions and constant load
resistance
verter gives better adaptability to the variable radiation condi-
tions, and the optimized parameters of PID controllers show a
better response curve to control the output voltage. Therefore, it
can be attach to a grid connected system, as developed in [10],
for future works.
The DC solution features a simpler and more robust primary
control, as compared to AC micro-grids, where the control
is much more complex because it has to consider active and
reactive power aw and phase synchronization or phase loss [11].
6 Amatoul et al./Information Sciences and Computer Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2011
Fig. 13. Simulation results under Standard test conditions with varying load re-
sistance
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Fatima Zahra Amatoul has submitted her thesis
in electric engineering to the Faculty of Science
and Techniques of Marrakech in in September
2005, and received her Masters degree in De-
cember 2007 from the Faculty of Sciences Sem-
lalia at Marrakech. Currently, she is doing her
PhD (in her third year) at Faculty of Science and Techniques of Mar-
rakech. Her research interest area is renewable energy sources control.
Moulay Tahar Lamchich has submitted his the-
sis in electrotechnics in September 1991 and
received his third cycle degree from the Fac-
ulty of Sciences Semlalia at Marrakech. He re-
ceived his PhD from the same university in July
2000. He is presently Professor-ability at the
same Faculty, at the Department of Physics. His main activity is based
on short-circuit mechanical eects in substation structures and his re-
search interests have included active power lters, machine drivers,
static converters, and published several technical papers in this eld.
Abdelkader Outzourhit holds a PhD degree in
Applied Physics from the Colorado School of
Mines, Golden, CO, USA. He is currently a pro-
fessor of physics in the department of physics, of
the Faculty of Sciences, Cadi Ayyad University
in Marrakech, Morocco. His research is centred
on the energy conversion and storage and the coupling of renewable en-
ergy sources with desalination systems. He has participated in several
EU-funded project and renewable energy and hybrid systems. He is the
local responsible of the HYRESS project at the University.