IoT Monitoring Scheme in Solar-based Motor Drive for Water Pump Applications

Abstract

A solar PhotoVoltaic (PV) water pumping system is a possible replacement for traditional power and diesel-based pumping systems, particularly in agriculture and water distribution in communities. This paper describes the PV-fed BrushLess Direct Current (BLDC) motor for water pump application and the motor parameters are monitored using Internet of Things (IoT) technology. At the intermediate phase, an effective direct current (DC)/DC converter is necessary to get the most power out of the solar array. The PV array is run at its highest power using a cuk converter with the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) using Incremental conductance (IC) method. The converter is connected to a voltage source inverter (VSI) which feeds the BLDC motor by controlling its switches. Using the back electromotive force (EMF) observer, the motor's current and speed is inferred from the terminal currents and voltages. The IoT monitoring scheme is integrated into the system and a sensor is used to collect data about motor status, which may then be viewed remotely on a monitoring panel that includes a web application. The overall performance of the developed model is examined using Matlab results.