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Simulation of push-pull inverter for photovoltaic applications via Multisim

Article · June 2011

DOI: 10.1109/PEOCO.2011.5970435

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 The 5th International Power Engineering and Optimization Conference (PEOCO2011), Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia : 6-7 June
2011

Simulation of Push-Pull Inverter for

Photovoltaic Applications via Multisim

S.S. Shema, I. Daut, Syafawati A.N., M. Irwanto, Shatri C.

inverter that converts DC input into AC output. The inverter is

Abstract-- This paper presents the circuit design of a a critical component responsible for the control of electricity
push-pull topology inverter for photovoltaic (PV) flow between the modules, battery and loads in any PV based
applications. The inverter is a critical component system.
responsible for the control of electricity flow between the
modules, battery and loads in any PV based system. A II. SYSTEM DESIGN
brief technical information is given on the inverter design
and the operation of the circuit used. This circuit design is
simulate using the NI Multisim software. The circuit PV
design and simulation result are presented in this paper. Module
Based on the simulation result obtained it has been
possible to build this inverter for feeding small house
appliances.
Balance-of-system
Index Terms-- Push-pull inverter, Photovoltaic, NI
Multisim software, Simulation. Charger Battery INVERTER
Controlle

I. INTRODUCTION

R ecently, the need of renewable energy has become

important contribution in energy consumed such as solar,
wind, biomass and geothermal. Among them, solar energy is AC
Load
one of the important renewable energy sources because it is
inexhaustible. Besides, its conversion free from the emission
Fig. 1. Block diagram representation of photovoltaic system.
of air or water pollutions or the generation of solid waste [3].
Malaysia is one of the countries that receive abundant of sun
This photovoltaic system consists of three main subsystem
light in average mostly in northern side of Peninsular Malaysia
which are PV devices (modules, panel or arrays), balance of
where Perlis, Kedah and Penang have high potential in
system (BOS) and AC load. PV devices collect solar radiation
applying solar energy [5]. The output of photovoltaic (PV) is
from the sun and actively convert that energy to electric dc
in DC form. Therefore, it requires sophisticated conversion
power. The BOS typically contains structures for mounting the
techniques to make them usable because the power utilisation
PV arrays or modules and the power conditioning equipment
is mostly in AC form. This conversion can be done by using
that converts the electricity to the proper form and magnitude
required by load. The BOS in this system consists of charger,
This work was supported in part by the Universiti Malaysia Perlis battery and inverter [5].
(UniMAP) under Grant 9001-00280.
S.S.Shema is with School of Electrical Systems Engineering, University Input side Output side
Malaysia Perlis ([email protected]). DC Voltage AC Voltage
I.Daut is with Research Kluster, University Malaysia Perlis
([email protected]). Idc Irms_load
Syafawati A.N. is with School of Electrical Systems Engineering,
University Malaysia Perlis ([email protected]). AC Load
M. Irwanto is with School of Electrical Systems Engineering, University Vdc Inverter Vrms_load
Malaysia Perlis ([email protected]).
S. Champakeow is with School of Electrical Systems Engineering,
University Malaysia Perlis ([email protected]). Pin = Vdc x Idc Pout = Vrms_load x Irms_load x PF
Fig. 2. Power flow in an inverter.

978-1-4577-0354-6/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE

978-1-4577-0353-9/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE 103
 The inverter is a DC to AC converter that converts DC SPICE to simulate and analyze circuits. Multisim is available
input into AC output. The power flow in an inverter is shown in two distinct versions to meet the teaching needs of
in Figure 2. The inverter finds very useful applications and educators or the design needs of professionals [4].
widely used in industrial applications such as variable speed Multisim Education is for circuit teaching. Multisim makes
drives for single-phase and three-phase AC motors, standby or it easier to engage students and reinforce theory. Educators
emergency power supplies, induction heater and AC worldwide are using the academic features of the Multisim
appliances run from an automobile battery. Inverter is education edition to foster learning and guide student
inevitably an integral part of the photovoltaic system. An exploration of circuit concepts. Using “what-if” experiments
inverter design consist of the DC input, control circuit, power and simulation-driven instruments to visualize circuit
circuit and step-up transformer. behaviour, students gain intuition and a deeper understanding
of circuit concepts [4].
12VDC 12VAC Multisim Professional is for circuit design and prototyping.
Battery Push-pull Step-up Engineers, researchers, and domain experts use the Multisim
circuit Transforme environment for schematic capture, SPICE simulation, and
circuit design. Without needing any expertise in SPICE,
240VAC engineers can use simulation to reduce prototype iterations
earlier in the design flow. Multisim can be used to identify
AC Loads errors, validate design behaviour, and prototype faster.
Schematics can then be transferred to NI Ultiboard layout to
Fig. 3. General flow of push-pull inverter topology.
prototype completed printed circuit boards (PCBs) [4].
The DC input voltage into an inverter can be obtained in This project use NI Multisim 10 Power Pro Edition for the
various ways. For this system, the inverter draws its DC input circuit design and simulation. This software is the premier
from batteries charged by photovoltaic. The charger will circuit capture and simulation environment. It optimizes
regulate the voltage and current coming from the photovoltaic design behaviour with 20 advanced analyses and 22 virtual
going to the battery. The battery is the key components in PV instruments and has comprehensive database of more than
systems as it act as energy back-up for the renewable energy 17,500 devices and simulation models. This software also
systems. It also functions as storage devices for storing PV advanced integration with real measurement data for custom
generated electricity during cloudy days and at night. design verification, advanced project management; includes
The control circuit and power circuit is an important part in project packing, version control and advanced spreadsheet
an inverter. The selection of the main devices are depends on view. It was integrated with NI Ultiboard layout for complete
factors such as the DC voltage, the load current, the maximum and streamlined prototyping [4].
operating frequency and others. The devices need to be force-
commutated devices with high switching frequencies like IV. SIMULATION RESULT
insulated gate bipolar junction transistors (IGBTs), power The design of the inverter circuit was implemented using
MOSFET or gate-turn-off thyristors (GTOs) that can provide push-pull topology as shown in Figure 3. The push-pull
natural turn-off facilities [1]. topology is suitable for producing square and modified square
To produce the required output waveform, the devices are wave inverter. This design will convert the 12 VDC to 12VAC
switched in a particular sequence determined by the control and use step-up transformer to step-up the voltage to 240VAC.
circuit. The control circuit of the inverter determines the
waveform of the output voltage and its frequency. In inverter
that having high power ratings, the control circuit may
incorporate protection circuits such as current limiting. The
power circuit consists of the main switching devices that carry
the load current. The power circuit also includes protection
circuits such as reverse conduction diodes [1].

III. NI MULTISIM SOFTWARE

NI Multisim was formerly known as MultiSIM is an
electronic schematic capture and simulation program which is
part of a suite of circuit design programs. Multisim is widely
used in academia and industry for circuit education, electronic Fig. 3. Simulation Layout using Multisim.
schematic design and SPICE simulation. This software equips
user such as educators, students and professionals with the This circuit used a simple multi-vibrator oscillator, Q1 and
tools to analyze circuit behavior. Q2 which is BC547. The frequency is determined by the
The intuitive and easy-to-use software platform combines 100nF capacitor and 100kȍ resistors, R3 and R4 which is
schematic capture and industry-standard SPICE simulation 60Hz operating frequency. It is common to choose either
into a single integrated environment. Multisim abstracts the MOSFET or IGBT as a switching device. They offer several
complexities and difficulties of traditional syntax-based advantages over the BJTs which are very high input
simulation. Therefore, user no longer needs to be an expert in impedance, very high switching frequency and low switching

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loss. The power transistor use in this circuit design is a
MOSFET IRFP260.

Fig. 6. The output waveform of push-pull inverter circuit.

Based on Figure 6, it shows that this inverter circuit produced

Fig. 4. The output waveform of Q1 and Q2 transistors. a square waveform. This circuit design also successful
converts the 12VDC to 220 VAC using step up transformer.
The multi-vibrator output of Q1 and Q2 could be fed
directly to the gates of MOSFET but it needs to be turned V. CONCLUSION
100% ON or 100% OFF for best efficiency. From the Figure
In this paper, a model of a push-pull topology inverter was
4, it shows that the Q1 and Q2 not generate a nice and clean
designed and simulated. The simulation was performed using
square wave. It has a problem on the positive slope. There will
the NI Multisim software. The inverter design consist of the
be dissipation of power if the MOSFETs are only ½ ON. The
DC input, control circuit, power circuit and step-up
time interval between OFF and ON may be small but it is
transformer. From the simulation result obtained, the output
enough to cause the output of MOSFET to dissipate power.
waveform of this inverter circuit is square waveform. This
However, this slope can be use to cause a delay. So, there is a
inverter successfully converts the 12 VDC into 220 VAC.
moment of pause between the two MOSFETs ON time and
this will avoid overlap.
VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research was supports by the Electrical Energy &
Industrial Electronic Systems Research Cluster (EEIES) of
University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). The authors gratefully
acknowledge the contributions of I. Daut, N.Syafawati, M.
Irwanto and Shatri C. for their work on reading, reviewing,
revising and adding to this work.

VII. REFERENCES
Periodicals:
[1] T. I. Maris, St. Kourtesi, L. Ekonomou and G.P. Fotis, “Modeling of a
Single-phase Photovoltaic Inverter,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar
Cells 91 (2007) 1713-1725. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com.

Books:
[2] S. Shaari, A.M. Omar, A.H. Haris, S.I. Sulaiman and K.S.Muhammad,
“Solar Photovoltaic Power: Design and Installation of Stand-Alone
Systems”, Pusat Tenaga Malaysia, 2009
Fig. 5. The output waveform of Q5 and Q6 MOSFETs.
Technical Reports:
The operation amplifier LM358 is use to switch ON and [3] Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zainal Salam, “Design and Development of a Stand-
OFF cleanly and also act as a level detector. When the Alone Multilevel Inverter for Photovoltaiv Applications”, Reseacrh
transistors Q1 and Q2 have reached about 11 Volt, the LM358 Report, Malaysia, September 2003.
[4] National Instruments (2011), “What is NI Multisim?”. Available:
will change the state with clean 0-12 Volt square waves to Q5 http://www.ni.com/multisim/whatis.htm
and Q6 MOSFETs.
Dissertations:
[5] N.S. Ahmad, “Development of Solar Water Pump for Small Scale Paddy
Field Irrigation”, MSc. Thesis University Malaysia Perlis, 2010.

105
 VIII. BIOGRAPHIES

Saidatul Shema Binti Saad was born in Perlis,

Malaysia on February 1, 1984. She is postgraduate
student in Electrical System Engineering at
University of Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). She
received her Bachelor of Electrical and Electronic
Engineering at University of Malaysia Pahang
(UMP) in 2007.
Her master research is about inverter design and
her research interest is in renewable energy.

Noor Syafawati Binti Ahmad was born in

Perlis, Malaysia on October 2, 1985. She received
her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at
University of Tun Hussien Onn (UTHM) in 2008
and Master of Science in Electrical Systems
Engineering from University of Malaysia Perlis
(UniMAP) in 2010. She is currently a lecturer in
the School of Electrical System Engineering at
University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP).
Her research interest includes renewable energy.

Ismail Daut received his B. App Sc. (Hons) from

University of Science Malaysia in 1980 and M.Sc.
in Electrical and Electromagnetic Engineering from
University of Wales, College of Cardiff, United
Kingdom in 1984 and Ph.D. in Energy
Conservation and Power Engineering from
University of Wales, College of Cardiff, United
Kingdom in 1991.
His research interest includes energy
conversion, electrical machine design and high voltage. He has authored and
co-authored more than 185 technical papers in the national, international
journal and conferences.

Muhammad Irwanto was born in Tebing Tinggi,

Indonesia on October 27, 1974. He received his
B.Eng from Medan Institute of Technology in 1998
and Master Degree in Electrical Power System from
University of Gadjahmada, Jogjakarta, Indonesia in
2002.He is currently a lecturer in the School of
Electrical System Engineering at University
Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). He is member of
Electrical Energy and Industrial Electronic System
Cluster, University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP)
Perlis, Malaysia. His research interest includes electrical power system
stability and solar power.

Shatri Champakeow A/L Eh Bon was born in

Kedah, Malaysia on July 6, 1985. He received his
Bachelor of Electrical System Engineering at
Unimap in 2009. He is currently postgraduate
student in Electrical System Engineering at
University of Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP).
His master research is about solar, wind and
hybrid system and his research interest is in
renewable energy.

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