Solar Power Based PMSM Drive Employed in Refrigeration Plants for Isolated Areas

Abstract

This paper presents design, modeling, and control of a quasi-resonant zero-current switching boost converter used in a photovoltaic (PV) power based surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor (SPMSM) for driving compressor loads of a refrigeration plant situated in remote locations. The solar-based refrigeration system is an attractive solution as cooling burden matches with the peak incident solar radiation. The field-oriented controlled voltage source inverter is employed for speed control of the SPMSM drive under variation in solar irradiation. The MATLAB/SIMULINK environment is used to model the control of a PV power based SPMSM drive. The performance of the developed system is investigated under wide changes in operating conditions. A prototype of an 800 W PV power based SPMSM drive is developed in the laboratory to validate the simulation results.