Efficacy Design of a MPPT for FPGA Implementation in Nano-Satellites

Abstract

The electronic power supply prototype implements a perturb-and-observe maximum power point tracking algorithm as well as a battery charge regulation algorithm using a SmartFusion FPGA which allows the prototype to handle variation in load current while being able to charge the secondary source of power during the full period of sun exposure. The aim of the research project was achieved through the development and testing of a Nano-satellite power system prototype using the SmartFusion FPGA from MicroSemi. Maximum power point was achieved in 347ms at worst case which is slightly faster than that of Bester, 2011 who achieved 419ms at worst case as well as the 1s settling time achieved by Lee, Bae & Cho, 2006. The power consumption of the electronic power supply was estimated to be 330mW, however, the SmartFusion FPGA consumes only a worst case of 148.93mW showing a 55% decrease in power consumption estimate.
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