Metaheuristic optimization of photovoltaic water pumping system using the scalar control of an induction motor drive

This paper aims to research a photovoltaic solar water pumping system (PVWPS) based on a three-phase induction motor (IM) connected with a centrifuge pump. This work presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of a standalone PVWPS based on both experimental validation and numerical modelling. A model was generated in MATLAB/Simulink containing the same specifications as a real installation and validated against experimental data. The comparison between experimental and simulated data was very close, with maximum differences of less than 3%, thus confirming that the proposed model is accurate and reliable. In addition, the performance of maximum power point tracking methods using a conventional Perturb and Observe (P&O) compared to an intelligent optimisation method based on Harris Hawks Optimisation (HHO) was evaluated under four different seasons. As a result of using an HHO-based MPPT approach, it was found that improvements in tracking efficiencies by as much as 4.26%, reductions in oscillations of approximately 80%, and reductions in average response times of greater than 65% were achieved when compared to a P&O methodology for tracking maximum power. As demonstrated by these findings, the HHO approach provides a better P&O tracking methodology and represents the effectiveness of intelligent optimisation techniques for increasing photovoltaic water pumping systems.