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Solar Energy 83 (2009) 1335–1344

www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Theoretical and experimental analysis of the behaviour

of a photovoltaic pumping system
Nejib Hamrouni *, Moncef Jraidi, Adnène Chérif
High Engineering Faculty of Tunis PB 37, Belvedere, Tunis, Tunisia

Received 29 November 2007; received in revised form 16 October 2008; accepted 2 March 2009
Available online 5 April 2009

Communicated by: Associate Editor Elias Stefanakos

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present the influence of the solar radiation variation on the performances of a stand alone photovoltaic
pumping system which consists of photovoltaic generator, dc–dc converter, dc–ac inverter, an immersed group motor-pump and a stor-
age tank that serves a similar purpose to battery storage. Hence a theoretical analysis (modelling and control) of the system is needed.
Attention has been paid to the command of the power converters using MPPT and variable Vf laws. The MPPT control allows the extrac-
tion of the maximal output power delivered by the PV generator. The inverter ensures the PWM control of the asynchronous motor and
a sine wave form of output signals. From the obtained simulation results, we will show that the decrease of the solar radiation degrades
performances (the global efficiency and the flow rate) of the PV pumping system. The analysis is validated by simulation and experimen-
tal results.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Modelling; Control; Solar radiation; Pumping system

1. Introduction systems include low maintenance, ease of installation, reli-

Photovoltaic have been employed around the whole
world in most recent years (Annan and Herwig, 1991;
Miyazato et al., 1991). It was widely used in many applica-
tions in islands and remote areas.
The use of the photovoltaic as the power source for
pumping water is considered as one of the most promising
areas of PV application. Photovoltaic water pumping sys-
tems are particularly suitable for water supply in remote
areas where no electricity supply is available. Water can
be pumped during the day and stored in tanks, making
water available at night or when it is cloudy. The pumped
water can be used in many applications such as domestic
use, water for irrigation and village water supplies. The
advantages of using water pumps powered by photovoltaic
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +216 98 961 634; fax: +216 79 491 300.
E-mail address: hamrouni_nejib2003@yahoo.fr (N. Hamrouni).
ability and the matching between the powers generated and
the water usage needs. In addition, water tanks can be used
instead of batteries in photovoltaic pumping systems.
Among of its disadvantages, two main obstacles for
using solar energy are the high initial costs and the very
low PV cell conversion efficiency. The PV pumping system
efficiency depends on several factors such as the solar radi-
ation, the ambient temperature and the state of the solar
panels (Kim, 2007). Water requirement increases during
hot weather periods when the solar radiation intensity is
high and the output of the solar array is at its maximum.
On the other hand, the water requirement decreases when
the weather is cold and the sunlight is less intense. In (Jay-
anta et al., 2007), the authors investigate the impact of the
PV surface orientation and inclination on the PV system
performance. They show that incident insulation and PV
output power were maximum for a surface with inclination
30° facing due south and minimum for a vertical surface

0038-092X/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.solener.2009.03.006
1336 N. Hamrouni et al. / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 1335–1344

Nomenclature

PV Photovoltaic Vin Input voltage of the dc–dc converter (V),

ASM Asynchronous motor, a Duty Cycle,
PWM Pulse width modulation, vas Stator voltage of the ASM (V),
G Global horizontal irradiance (W/m2), var Rotor voltage of the ASM (V),
Iph Photocurrent of the photovoltaic generator (A), ias Inverter output current (A),
Is Cell reverse saturation current (A), iar Rotor current of the ASM (A),
Icc Short circuit current (A), fca PWM control signals,
n Ideal constant of diode (1–2), Usa Stator flux of the ASM,
k Boltzman’s constant (13,807 1023 Jk1) f Frequency of the dc–ac output voltage (Hz),
q Electronic charge (1.6022 1019 C), C Electromagnetic torque (N m),
Ns series modules, Cr Centrifugal pump torque (N m),
Np parallel modules, J Inertia of the ASM (Kg m2),
T Ambient temperature (C°) p Number of pole
Rse Cell series resistance (X), h Voltage phase angle (°),
Rsh Cell shunt resistance (X), kp Constant,
Tref Cell temperature at reference conditions (K), Hn Total height (m),
Tj Cell junction temperature (C°), Q Flow rate of the pump (m3/h),
Ipv Photovoltaic current (A), gp Pump efficiency (%),
Vpv Photovoltaic voltage (V), Ppv-optimal Solar generator optimal power (Wp),
Ppv photovoltaic power (Wp) Ppv photovoltaic generator nominal power under
wr Pulsation of the rotor (rd/s) standards Climatic conditions (Wp),
Vout Output voltage of the dc–dc converter (V), 
w Water density (Kg/m3)

with orientation 90° east or west from south. The efficiency

dc-dc dc-ac
of the PV plant is not only strongly depends on irradiance G PVG
Converter
Motor
T Inverter pump
but also depends on the module temperature (Chokmavi-
oroj, 2006).
This paper describes a renewable energy system that can
fca, fcb, fcc
supply 2.1 kW of power to a group motor pump. The sys-
(i123, v123)
(vpv, ipv)

tem was constructed in Louata (1994) within the frame of

the German–Tunisian Cooperation for the promotion of
renewable energies.
In this article, we study the influence of the irradiance on
the global efficiency and consequently on the water flow
generated by the pump in normal and disturb mode.
In the first part we develop a complete model (Jraidi,
2005), under MATLAB environment, simulating the above
architecture of the PV pumping system. Then, we will
investigate the effect of the solar radiation variation on
the performances of the stand alone PV pumping system.
Finally we will illustrate some typical variation of a real
pumping system installed in Louata (Tunisia), in order to
evaluate our obtained simulation results.
2. Describing and modelling of PV pumping system
Fig. 1 shows the bloc diagram of the PV pumping sys-
tem analysed in our paper. The whole system is composed
of a PV generator, a power dc–dc adapter, a natural sinu-
soidal PWM voltage source inverter and a three phase
squirrel cage induction motor driving a centrifugal pump.
MPPT V/f
Fig. 1. PV pumping scheme structure.
The detection variables are the photovoltaic current (ipv),
the photovoltaic voltage (vpv), the inverter output current
(i1, i2, i3) and the voltages (v1, v2, v3).
2.1. Photovoltaic generator
For obtaining high power, numerous photovoltaic cells
are connected in series and parallel circuits on a PV mod-
ule. A PV array is defined as a group of several modules
connected in series/parallel combinations to generate the
appropriate voltage and current.
The photovoltaic generator is neither a constant voltage
source nor a current source. It is modelled and described by
the relation between current and tension (Jraidi, 2005).
Fig. 2 shows an equivalent circuit model of a PV cell
used in the study. Based on this circuit model, behaviour
 N. Hamrouni et al. / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 1335–1344 1337

I ph Rse I pv The PV modules are arranged in three parallel strings with

G
Ta + fourteen in each and connected to the dc–dc converter.
For several climatic conditions (irradiance and ambient
Ud Id R sh I sh Vpv temperature), an example of simulated I–V characteristic
for the previously photovoltaic plant are given by Fig. 3.
-
Fig. 2. Equivalent circuit of a PV cell. 2.2. Buck Converter

In order to allow the load working at the maximum sup-

of the PV array with Ns. Np modules model may be plied power of PV generator, a dc–dc converter for a better
described by Eq. (1). matching PV-load around the optimal power is needed
    
q V pv I pv :Rse (Fig. 4).
I pv ¼ N p I ph  N p I s : exp : þ 1 The dc–dc converter is inserted between the solar gener-
nkT Ns Np
  ator and the load. Its objective is to make the solar array
N p V pv I pv :Rse
 þ ð1Þ operate at an operating point corresponding to the maxi-
Rsh N s Np mum output power. This is accomplished by varying the
The photocurrent Iph is assumed to be proportional to the duty cycle of the dc–dc converter and thus adjusting the
incident radiation. It can be expressed as follows: solar array output voltage. The duty cycle a (0 < a < 1)
linked to the ratio between the input and the output volt-
G age, is given by the relationship (losses are neglected):
I ph ¼ ½I cc þ T coef ðT  T ref Þ ð2Þ
1000
V out ¼ aV in ð4Þ
The cell junction temperature Tj is a function of the ambi-
ent temperature and the solar radiation. It is the operating Vout and Vin were, respectively, the dc–dc converter output
temperature of the PV cells and is assumed to be uniform in and input voltages.
the whole PV collector. Tj can be expressed as follows:
2.3. Inverter
T j ¼ T þ k1G ð3Þ
As mentioned in Eqs. (2) and (3), the I–V curve is essen- The dc–ac inverter provides three-phase system of volt-
tially influenced by the variation of the solar radiation ages which is variable in amplitude and frequency accord-
and the array temperature. ing to the solar radiation. They vary from 0.1 up to 1 time
Parameters of Eq. (1) are given by experiments for a the rated voltage and frequency (Jraidi et al., 2004). It
type of selected generator (Table 1). The experimental depend of the loads and climatic conditions. The current
plant consists of 42 BP solar polycrystalline modules is modulated sinusoidally to obtain a high efficiency.
(AEG PC4050). Each module is formed by 40 series cells. The switching frequency is equal to 2 kHz. The phase
voltage is given by the following expression (Seguier, 1987):
2 3 2 32 3
Table 1 vas 2 1 1 fca
Parameters of the simulating PV pumping system. 6 7 aV pv 6 76 7
4 vbs 5 ¼ 4 1 2 1 54 fcb 5 ð5Þ
Parameter Value
3
vcs 1 1 2 fcc
Rse 0.011 X
Rsh 10.35 X With aVpv is the input voltage. fca, fcb and fcc are the PWM
N 1.25 control signals.
Is 13.89 103 T3exp (13.2.103 T) The harmonics which appear as sidebands centred on
Iph [2.807 + 1.4.103 (T  Tref)].G
the switching frequency are naturally filtered by the motor
Tref 298.15 °K
Tcoef 1.08 e3 K itself.
k1 0.029 °C m2/kW
Ns 14 2.4. The asynchronous motor ‘‘ASM”
Np 3
Lpv 1.28 105 H
Cpv 47 104 F
The ASM has already been modelled by the phase
Rr 1.8 X model (Fig. 5). It is defined by equations of stator and
Rs 1X rotor voltages, the magnetic flux, the mechanical equation
Ls 0.15 H and the electromagnetic torque, given, respectively, by the
Lr 0.16 H following equations (Hamrouni et al., 2005):
M 0.13 H 8 8
0.013 kg m3 d d
J
< vas ¼ Rsias þ dt Uas >
> < var ¼ Rsiar þ dt Uar
P 1
w
 1000 kg/m3 vbs ¼ Rsibs þ dtd Ubs vbr ¼ Rsibr þ dtd Ubr ð6Þ
>
: d
>
:
wr 15 rd/s vcs ¼ Rsics þ dt Ucs vcr ¼ Rsicr þ dtd Ucr
1338 N. Hamrouni et al. / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 1335–1344

Fig. 3. I–V Characteristics of the PV generator.

 2
Ipv Lpv Idc xr
Cr ¼ kp 1 :x2s ð10Þ
xs
α Where kp is a constant which depends on pump nominal
Vpv Cpv D Vdc data.
The flow head characteristic of a centrifugal pump is
given by the following expression (Lavoisier, 1986):
Fig. 4. Buck converter. H n ¼ a1 x2 þ a2 xQ þ a3 Q2 ð11Þ
a1, a2 and a3 are geometric parameters characterizing the
pump.
The motor speed is expressed as follow (Saadi and
Moussi, 2002):
 
xr
x¼ 1 :xs ð12Þ
xs
The pump efficiency is defined as the ratio of the hydrau-
lic power imparted by the pump to the fluid to the shaft
mechanical power. It is expressed by the following equa-
tion (Saadi and Moussi, 2002):
 QHn
w
gp ¼  3 ð13Þ
k p 1  xxrs :x3s
Fig. 5. ASM representation.

3. Control
/ ¼ LI ð7Þ
The SIMULINK model diagram of the global system is
L is a matrix which includes parameters of the ASM (Lr, Ls,
given by Fig. 6. It includes all the elementary models previ-
and M) (Hamrouni et al., 2005).
ously developed as well as the Vf and the MPPT control
dX laws.
C  Cr ¼ J ð8Þ
dt
    3.1. Maximal power point tracking law (MPPT)
2p 4p
C ¼ 3pM ias ibr sin h  þ ibs iar sin h 
3 3 The coupling of a load at constant power, without using
ðias iar þ ibs ibr Þ sin h ð9Þ battery, does not ensure an optimal operation. Then, it is
essential to envisage an adapter of power to extract the
maximum power from the PV generator. The solar cell
2.5. The pump modules can only provide this maximum at specific voltage
and current levels. So for the PV array there is a unique
The centrifugal pump torque Cr is assumed to be pro- point on its I–V curve at which the power is at its maxi-
portional to the square of the rotor speed (Saadi and mum value and for optimum utilization, the equilibrium
Moussi, 2002; Jraidi, 2005). operating point of the PV array should coincide with this
 N. Hamrouni et al. / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 1335–1344 1339

Ta(t) Vpv

Ipv Vdc Vdc Q

G (t)
vas vas Cem
PVG Alp fca N N
iar Cr
dc-dc fcb vbs ibr
Im
Calculator em vbs ias
Vm fcc Pump
Cr ibs
MPPT
Vdc w dc-ac+ filter ASM
vas P
measures vbs Q
vcsVas_max V/F
ias Ias_max
ibs Pe
N

Fig. 6. SIMULINK diagram of the PV pumping system.

point. In order to improve the performance of the PV

Begin
pumping system, a dc–dc converter known as MPPT is
used to mach continuously the output characteristics of Initializing
the PV generator to the input of the load (Fig. 7).
Several MPPT algorithms have been proposed (Saadi n=n+1
and Moussi, 2002; Veerachary and Yadaiah, 2000), namely;
perturbation and observation (P&O) (Sugimoto and Dong, Measure de V et I
1997), incremental conductance (IncCond) (Won, 1994),
fuzzy based algorithms, MPPT using sliding mode control- V(n)- V(n-1)=0
ler (LI-Song, 2006). They differ from its complexity and
No Yes
tracking accuracy but they all required sensing the PV cur-
rent and the PV voltage. IncCond algorithm has an advan- Yes Yes
tage over the P&O method in that it can determine when the dI/dV=-I/V I(n)- I(n-1)=0

MPPT reaches the MPP, while the output power in the No No

P&O method oscillates around the MPP. IncCond can also
track rapidly changing irradiance conditions with higher dI/dV>-I/V I(n)> I(n-1)>0

accuracy than in the P&O method. The incremental con- No Yes No

Yes
ductance method for MPPT is used here. Its principle is pre-
sented by the flowchart shown in Fig. 8. The Algorithm was Vpv*= V pv-ΔVn Vpv*= V pv+ΔVn Vpv*= V pv-ΔVn Vpv*= V pv+ΔVn
coded into an s-function in SIMULINK and linked with the
PV module model developed in section 2. Return
When the generator voltage is operating at voltage Vpv
and current Ipv, the power Ppv is equal to Vpv. Ipv. At the Fig. 8. Flowchart of the MPPT process.
dP dP
maximum, dV pvpv should be zero and the sign of dV pvpv may be
identified by Eq. (14). Increase or decrease in the PV volt- 1 dP pv dðV pv  I pv Þ 1 dI pv
age is determined by judging the sign of the Eq. (14). ¼ ¼ þ ð14Þ
V pv dV pv V pv  dV pv V dV pv
The MPPT process returns the desired Vpv for the dc–dc
3000 converter. The Vpv is regulated to the desired voltage
PPM : dP/dV=0 (Vpv*) by controlling the inductor current ILpv through
2500 PWM switching.
dP/dV>0 dP/dV<0
2000
V
3.2. The law
Ppv (W)

f
1500
Variable Vf control will be best adopted for PV pumping
1000 system (Liaw and Tsong, 1992). The traditional Vf com-
mand will not be constant during the functioning of the
500
system. It varies versus the climatic conditions in order to
0
ensure a maximal PV pumping operation during the day.
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
The Vf ratio can be regulated in a constant or variable
Vpv (V)
way, according to requirements of drive. It varies with
Fig. 7. P–V curve of the PV generator. the climatic conditions. For example, for lower irradiances,
1340 N. Hamrouni et al. / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 1335–1344

w
vas*
before 09 h:00 or after 17 h:00, the inverter frequency is
g*ws
1/s theta lower than 10 Hz. In order to start or to maintain the func-
vbs* tioning of the system the V/f ratio changes instantaneously
V/f = equation 15 Vs (Betka and Moussi, 2003).
vcs*
Then we obtain for a lower irradiance, the couple (volt-
Fig. 9. V/f command diagram of the dc–ac inverter.
age and frequency) permitting the functioning of the sys-
tem. The V/f law is defined as (Jraidi, 2005):

Fig. 10. Power adaptation: (a) Several irradiances (25 °C), (b) several ambient temperatures (1000 W/m2).

a 3 b 4

3.5 5 °C
2.5
15 °C
3 25 °C
Pump flow (m3/h)
Pump flow (m3/h)

35 °C
2
2.5 45 °C
55 °C
65 °C

2 75 °C
1.5

1.5
1
1
0.5
0.5

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
time (s) time (s)

Fig. 11. Pump flow rate variation: (a) several irradiance (25 °C), (b) Several ambient temperatures (1000 W/m2).

3.5

3
V/f (V/Hz)
alpha

2.5

1.5
0 300 600 900 1200
time (s) Solar radiation (W/m²)

Fig. 12. V/f ratio and duty cycle (Alpha) versus the solar radiation.
 N. Hamrouni et al. / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 1335–1344 1341

V 50 Hz). All these components form an association which

¼ 1:1011 G4  3:108 G3 þ 3:105 G2  1:17:102 G þ 3:92
f is shown in Fig. 6.
ð15Þ
4.1. Normal mode
The diagram of the V/f algorithm is shown by Fig. 9.
For several solar radiation and ambient temperature
4. Simulations during a normal day, we recorded some simulation results
which reflect performances of command laws.
The simulated results, obtained with the SIMULINK Fig. 10 shows performances of the MPPT and V/f com-
tool integrated the MPPT command and the V/f law, are mands. The adaptation of the photovoltaic power to the
in the steady state operation mode. The system consists MPPT was realized in 2 seconds for various irradiance
of a PV generator (230 V/2100Wp), an MPPT power adap- and temperature. Fig. 11 shows the great depends of the
ter, a three phase inverter (3KVA/12. . .127 V/5. . .60 Hz) pump flow to the solar irradiance and ambient tempera-
and a submersed motor-pump group (1.5 kW/3  127 V/ ture. Fig. 12 shows both; the V/f law and the duty cycle
versus the solar radiation. They decrease with the solar
2 radiation.
Maximal PV power (kW)

1.5 2

Maximal PV power (kW)

1 1.5

0.5 1

0 0.5
0 500 1000
Solar radiation (W/m²) 0
7 12 17
3 time (h)

2.5 3
Pump flow rate (m3/h)

2
Pump flow rate (m3/h)

1.5 2

0.5 1

0
200 600 1000
0
Solar radiation (W/m²) 7 12 17
time (h)
4.5
5
4
Global efficiency (%)

3.5
4
Global efficiency (%)

2.5 3
2

1.5 2
1
1
0.5

0
0
200 700 1200
7 12 17
Solar radiation (W/m²) time (h)

Fig. 13. Characteristics of the PV pumping system versus the solar Fig. 14. PV system characteristics versus the time for disturbance
radiation. meteorological parameters.
1342 N. Hamrouni et al. / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 1335–1344

Fig. 15. PV pumping plant installed in Louata – Tunisia.

Table 2 15 25
Parameters of the Louata PV pumping plant.
ηpv η global Q
Parameter Value
12 20
Photovoltaic power 2.1 kWp
Total height 65 m ηpv, ηglobal (%)
Water demand 2 m3/day 9 15

Q (m3/day)
Global efficiency 3%
Necessary PV power 1.7 kW
6 10
Pump flow (1000 W/m2) 2.5 m3/h
Hydraulic power 320 W
Inclination angle 35°210 3 5
Latitude of region 60 m
Date of experiment 1994
0 0
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31
time (days)
4.2. Influence of the solar radiation changing
Fig. 17. Experimental results versus days of the PV pumping system of
2 Louata (January 1994).
For an irradiance variation between 100 and 1000 W/m
and a constant ambient temperature (25 °C), we have rep-
resented, respectively, variations versus the solar radiation linearly dependent on the irradiance, except for small val-
of the maximal output PV generator power, the pump flow ues due to the non linear characteristics. The PV generator
and the global efficiency of the PV pumping system. power increases as the solar radiation increases, therefore,
Fig. 13 shows the obtained simulation results versus the the pump flow rate. As a result, the global PV system effi-
solar radiation. The power generated by the PV plants is ciency increases and still constant equal to 3%. The global

12 2500
Ppv (W), G(W/m²), HP (W)

10
ηpv (%),ηglobal (%), Q (m3/h)

2000

8
1500
6
1000
4

500
2

0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Global efficiency (%) time(h)
Pump flow (m3/h)
Solar radiation (W/m²)
PV efficiency (%)
PV power (W) Hydraulic Power (W)

Fig. 16. Experimental results versus hours of the PV pumping system of Louata.

15
ηpv η glob
12
η pv,,η global (%)
9 15
6 10
3 5
0 0
1 4 7 10 13 16
time (days)
Fig. 18. Experimental results versus days of the PV pumping system of
Louata (July 1994).
efficiency depends of the irradiance, the ambient tempera-
ture and the performance of command laws.
For disturbance meteorological parameters (solar radia-
tion and ambient temperature) we recorded the same sim-
ulation results for a transition of a cloud between 14 h:00
and 15 h:00 PM (Fig. 14).
For disturbance meteorological parameters, due to the
transition of a cloud, the different characteristics of the
PV pumping system are decreased. The maximum PV gen-
erator is decreased to 1000 W, consequently the pump flow
rate is decreased to 1,6 m3/h. The total efficiency of the PV
pumping system oscillates round 3%.
5. Experimental results
Within the frame of the German–Tunisian Cooperation
for the promotion of renewable energies, 14 photovoltaic
pumping systems (2.1 and 2.8 kWp) have been installed
in Tunisia (Deutsche Aerospace AG., 1994) in order to
demonstrate the reliability of this technology and to evalu-
ate the conditions for an economic competition. In fact, it
can contribute to the improvement of the water supply in
rural regions of Tunisia. These systems have been equipped
by several data acquisition systems collecting meteorologi-
a b
5
4
3
ηglb (%)
2
1 sim
0
0 300
N. Hamrouni et al. / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 1335–1344 1343
25 cal data, well characteristics, flow rate of the pump and
Q water consumption which allows to identify the reason in
20 case of unexpected stops. Among obtained results, we pres-
ent the most important results for Louata PV pumping
plant sets in Kairouan-Tunisia (Fig. 15). Table 2 presents
Q (m3/day)
the principal characteristics of this plant.
The collected data obtained with a MODAS 1220
(Deutsche Aerospace AG., 1994), have been analysed and
treated in order to evaluate the performances and the char-
acteristic parameters of these systems and to interpret pre-
cisely their evolution. We have illustrated by the following
figures the typical variations of the Louata PV pumping
19 22 25 28
system in order to validate our developed models and com-
mands investigated in previously parts. Then, we interpret
influences of the irradiance and temperature variations on
the performances of the real system.
Fig. 16 shows the important characteristics of the exper-
imental PV pumping system. The optimum pump flow
(2,5 m3/h), the global efficiency (3%) and the PV power
(1900 W) are obtained at midday corresponding to
1000 W/m2. In the beginning of the day there is no energy
generation by the photovoltaic generator until the solar
radiation reaches about (200 W/m2). During this time the
dc–dc converter performs an MPPT search. When the irra-
diance decreases at the end of the day a lower dc power is
generated at the same irradiance.
Figs. 17 and 18 show some characteristics of the PV
pumping system of Louata represented, respectively, in
January and July (1994). They show the daily quantity of
the pumping water, the PV and the global efficiency. Those
parameters have been changed from season to another.
They depend on the climatic conditions (irradiance and
ambient temperature).
The average quantity of water generated per day is equal
to 7,7 m3/day in winter and 14,7 m3/day in summer. The
global efficiency fluctuates between 3% and 4%. According
to the previously figures, we can noticed a fall of flow (Jan-
uary 19 and July 25). This is due to the stop of the PV
pumping system.
Fig. 19 shows both; the simulating and experimental
results of the global efficiency and pump flow rate. The
comparison between experimental and simulating curves
3
2.5
2
Q (m 3 /h)
1.5
1
sim
0.5 exp
exp
0
600 900 1200
0 300 600 900 1200
(W/m²) (W/m²)
Fig. 19. Experimental and simulating PV pumping system.
1344 N. Hamrouni et al. / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 1335–1344
reflect clearly a good optimization of the simulation results
that is obtained thanks to the dynamic aspect of the mod-
eling and the real time controlling of the PV pumping
system.
6. Conclusions
The goal achieved via this study is the investigation of
the influence of the solar radiation changing effects on
the system performances. We have analysed both experi-
mental and simulating PV pumping systems. For the theo-
retical study we have developed the model and the
appropriate commands permitting the optimization and
power conversion. We have shown through obtained
results the influence of the solar radiation changing on
the global efficiency and the pump flow.
It has been concluded that these performances are max-
imal at midday, but they are degraded when meteorological
parameters disturb.
In the last part of the paper, we have present several
results of an experimental PV pumping system for a normal
day in January and in July. For a normal functioning
mode, all figures show good concordance and similarity
between experimental and simulating results.
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