Grid-Connected Solar PV Fed BLDC Motor Drive for Water Pumping System

Abstract

This article proposes a unidirectional power flow of a grid-connected brushless DC motor powered water pumping system fed by a photovoltaic array using a bridgeless power factor corrected (PFC) boost converter. The system consists of a bridgeless PFC converter, a boost converter, and a voltage source inverter to drive a brushless DC motor coupled with a pump. As a backup source, the grid is used. This system allows the water pump to run at maximum capacity regardless of the weather conditions. The grid will provide power if the photovoltaic array is unable to fulfil the required power demand. The unidirectional power flow through a conventional power factor corrected (PFC) boost converter causes conduction loss in the input bridge rectifier, thereby hurting efficiency, power factor, and THD. This paper presents a bridgeless PFC boost converter topology to reduce the conduction losses, thereby increasing the efficiency and obtaining a nearly unity power factor as well as lower total harmonic distortion (THD) of input current. The system is simulated using MATLAB /Simulink. The proposed system’s real-time validation is realized through the OPAL-RT simulator OP5700. The THD results obtained are well within the specified standard of IEC 61000-3-2 and IEEE 519-1992.