Interface de supervisão para uma plataforma experimental de pesquisa e ensino em energia solar fotovoltaica

Abstract

This work presents the development of a supervision interface to integrate two different topologies of photovoltaic systems installed in Unisinos, making possible local and distance studies, allowing students and researchers from other academic communities to view real time data and to exchange information and discussions on this subject. To achieve the established goals, the system was developed over LabVIEW® software, with measurements of electrical and thermal values automatically sent to Microsoft OneDrive®, which is in synchronism with the Photovoltaic Teaching and Research Experimental Platform website. In addition to the integration of the mentioned systems, a hardware was implemented to adjust the angle of inclination of a PV module, an I-V and P-V curve plotter was added, which allows to perform analyzes under real operating conditions and also installed two sensors to measure the irradiance in the plane of the PV generator, both with temperature monitoring and properly calibrated. However, the main difference of this research is in the results found in the use of the interface, in which it was possible to compare the performance of the modules by varying the angle of inclination, correlating it with the irradiance and the temperature on different typical days. For a specific case, the behavior of the I-V curve was analyzed during a shading period, where the conversion efficiency reached less than 6% and the maximum delivered power was 40% lower, even cover only one of the 60 cells that make up the module. This fact reinforces the importance of the experimental analysis of the characteristic curve to evaluate the quality and performance of the system, as well as to identify defects in the cells and/or bypass diode. Finally, a mathematical model was simulated, based on the characteristics of the PV module used, in order to evaluate the impacts of temperature and irradiance variation and to validate the results found in practice.