The work proposes a sliding mode control strategy, a solution that significantly enhances the performance of a photovoltaic water pumping system. The configuration utilizes a solar PV source with boost converter implementing, a two-level inverter for AC conversion and an induction motor mechanically linked to a centrifugal pump. We thoroughly evaluate the performance of the system under the control of the proposed Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) and compare it to the Indirect Field-Oriented Controller (IFOC) using the MATLAB/Simulink environment. The simulation results provide strong evidence of the SMC’s high-level efficiency, surpassing that of the PI controller. Importantly, the proposed controller demonstrates exceptional stability even in the presence of disturbances, a feature that instills confidence in its performance compared to the IFOC, which is sensitive to disturbance and necessitates careful parameter calibration.
Lehssen et al. (Mon,) studied this question.