Study Method of the P&O Algorithm using Pulse Width Modulation and Duty Cycle Modulation: Application to the search for the Maximum Power Point of PV Systems

In this paper, we make a comparative study of the P&O algorithm using pulse width modulation (PWM) and duty cycle modulation (DCM) for the control of DC/DC converters used for the search of the maximum power point of photovoltaic systems. The converter used here is a boost chopper. Details of the two modulation techniques are presented, and the results are obtained using MATLAB/Simulink software. These results show that the power at the output of the PV oscillates around 0.2W for the DCM technique and 0.6W for the PWM. The output power of the boost chopper shows an oscillation of 0.8W for DCM and 2.4W for PWM. The DCM, in terms of speed reaches the PPM 0.012s less than the PWM. We can therefore say that DCM is better than PWM.