Analysis of realtime inverter for Kite energy system

using TI-C2000 Microcontroller

Roystan Vijay Castelino
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department
National Institute of Technology Mizoram
Aizawl, Mizoram, India
Email Id: roycas3@gmail.com
Suman Jana
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department
National Institute of Technology Mizoram
Aizawl, Mizoram, India
Email Id: sumanjana@live.com
Pabitra Kumar Biswas*
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department
National Institute of Technology Mizoram
Aizawl, Mizoram, India
Email Id: pabitra.eee@nitmz.ac.in

Abstract— The high-elevation wind of the troposphere less consistent sort of energy kites are accessible, they are
illustrates an unexplored power source that is bigger than the rigid-framed kites and soft single skin kites. There are a few
world's present energy needs. High-elevation wind has the diverse control frameworks utilized with these kites which
biggest energy per square meter contrasted with the greater part have two to five lines and a bar or handles.
of the sustainable power source advancements. Kite energy is the The mechanical vitality of the system might be changed
energy system to harness wind energy using parafoil kite from over to heat, sound, power, light, pressure etc. Traction is a
very high-elevation. This paper introduces an analytical major direct utilization of the mechanical vitality as in pulling
investigation of three phase two level full bridge inverter with payload ships and kite flyers. There are a few strategies for
supercapacitor integration for kite energy framework utilizing
getting the mechanical vitality from the kinetic energy of wind
real-time equipment setup. The pulse is generated for inverter
[4].
using TI-C2000 microcontroller through MATLAB Coder. This
paper also shows the measured responses of the inverter using The system described in this paper also contains a complex
DSO. In a full bridge inverter there is a problem of voltage drop chain drive. Chain drive is a method for transmitting
between high side and low side. Thus, this paper shows a high mechanical power starting with one place then onto the next
side and low side switching circuit to solve this issue utilizing [5]. In spite of the fact that drive chains are regularly basic oval
IR2110 switching IC. circles, they can likewise circumvent corners by setting in
excess of two riggings along the chain. By differing the breadth
Keywords— Kite Energy, Inverter, Two-level Inverter, of the info and yield gears concerning each other, the apparatus
Supercapacitor, Supercapacitive storage, Microcontroller Inverter, proportion can be modified [6].
TI-C2000, IR2110, Inverter switching
II. SYSTEM OVERVIEW
I. INTRODUCTION This paper presents an analytical study of three phase two
level full bridge inverter for kite energy system [7,8]. The
Kite energy is power derived from an airborne wind vitality
generated power is stored in supercapacitor bank and converted
transformation described by a kite framework that has energy
into alternating current using inverter for various type of AC
collecting parts that fly transverse to the surrounding wind, at
loads [9-11].
times the whole wing set and tie set is flown in crosswind
method [1]. These frameworks at numerous scales from toy to
power-grid-feeding sizes might be utilized as high-elevation
wind energy systems or low-height wind energy systems
without using towers. Adaptable wings or unbending wings
might be utilized as a part of the kite framework. A fastened
wing, flying in wind at ordinarily wind speed, harvests wind
energy from a territory that is commonly surpassing the wing's
own particular zone [2]. This kite energy has a few focal points
over ordinary wind turbines, i.e. access to more effective and
stable wind, high capacity factor, ability for arrangement on
and seaward at equivalent expenses, and no requirement for a
tower [3].
Winds at high-elevation end up more steady, persistent, and
of higher speed. Since energy accessible in wind increments as
the cube of speed [2,3]. With steadier and more unsurprising
wind, high-elevation wind has leverage over wind close to the
ground. The framework has been outlined with parafoil kite or
power kite. A power kite or traction kite is an expansive kite
intended to give huge draw to the flyer. There are two most
customary structures are accessible, they are foil and leading-
edge inflatable [1-3]. There are additionally in like manner two
__________________________________________________
*Dr. Pabitra Kumar Biswas, HoD & AP, EEE Department, NIT Mizoram,
Mizoram, India Fig 1: Block diagram of overall kite energy system

978-1-5386-4769-1/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE

 The parafoil kite used here consists of two lines which are The pulse generator of the converter system has been
controlled by using kite controller. The pulling force obtained designed to generate pulses for three phase inverter to convert
from the kite is converted into rotary motion using chain drive the stored energy. The pulse has been distributed to each
system which intern increases the speed of the rotation. The IGBTs of the inverter separately. Fig. 3 shows the
chain drive is associated with the generator. The generator MATLAB/Simulink model for real-time pulse generator circuit
produces three phase alternating current. and this model is converted to TI-C2000 compliant code using
Due to inconsistent nature of wind, the output of the MATLAB Coder [14].
generator may vary. To compensate this problem, it is stored in
a supercapacitor bank and then converted into three phase
constant voltage alternating current.
III. PULSE GENERATOR
TI-C2000 real-time MCU is a superior core and
application-based device intended for constant control
applications. Its math-upgraded core gives users the way to
enhance framework productivity, unwavering quality and
Fig. 4: Pulse of upper arm observed in Simulink
adaptability. Effective integrated device makes these real-time
systems the ideal single-chip control output for the assortment
of uses [12].

Fig. 5: Pulse of lower arm observed in Simulink

Fig. 4 shows the pulse generated for the upper arm as

observed in Simulink scope and fig.5 shows the pulse
generated for the lower arm by using NOT gate as observed in
Simulink scope.
Fig. 2: TI-C2000 microcontroller

Fig. 2 shows the TI-C2000 microcontroller used to generate

pulse for the inverter. The sPWM pulse generation is done by
comparing the sine wave with the triangular wave. The pulse to
the lower arm is given through a NOT gate. This system is
designed in MATLAB/Simulink with Texas Instrument
hardware support package [13]. With this model diagram, the
C code has been generated using MATLAB Coder [14]. This
code is uploaded to the TI-C2000 MCU and the pulses are
given to the inverter [15]. Fig. 6: Pulse from real-time pulse generator at phase A observed by DSO

Fig. 7: Pulse from real-time pulse generator at phase B observed by DSO

Fig. 3: MATLAB/Simulink model for real-time pulse generation Fig. 8: Pulse from real-time pulse generator at phase C observed by DSO
 Fig. 6 shows the pulse generated by TI-C2000 MCU for the
phase A of the inverter, fig. 7 shows the pulse generated by TI-
C2000 MCU for the phase B of the inverter and fig. 8 shows
the pulse generated by TI-C2000 MCU for the phase A of the
inverter. The above sPWM three phase pulses are observed
using Digital storage oscilloscope (DSO).
IV. HARDWARE SPECIFICATION
The generator three phase output is rectified and stored in
supercapacitor bank and the stored energy is converted to three
phase alternating current using the real-time inverter.
A. Supercapacitor Bank
Supercapacitors have the advantage of high capacitance
which facilitates storage of bulk amount of power at a rapid
rate [9]. Despite high capacitance, each supercapacitor has
lower voltage rating [10,11]. To achieve higher DC link
voltage for the inverter, supercapacitor bank is designed which
consists of twelve supercapacitors connected in series to give a
maximum voltage rating of 32.4V.
Fig. 9: Supercapacitor bank used to store the generated power
Fig. 9 shows the supercapacitor bank designed with
twelve supercapacitors connected in series. This supercapacitor
bank used to store the generated power from generator.
B. High side/low side switching
In a three-phase full bridge rectifier using n-channel
MOSFETs, there exists a problem of voltage drop between
high side and low side of the inverter due to the load
connected in between them.
Fig. 10: Schematic diagram of High side/Low side switching circuit designed
in Eagle
The gate voltage applied by the MCU is not sufficient
to turn on the MOSFET. Therefore, a High side/Low side
switching circuit is necessary [16]. The presented paper shows
the designed circuit for High side/Low side switching using
IR2110 IC.
Fig 10 shows the schematic diagram of High
side/Low side switching circuit using IR2110. The circuit is
designed in Eagle to make the printed circuit board [17]. The
input pulses from the TI-C2000 is given to the switching IC
through optocouplers to protects the MCU from high voltages.
The IR2110 IC is a fast switching MOSFET and IGBT driver
with separate high and low side outputs [18]. Exclusive HVIC
and short circuit protected CMOS advancements empower
sophisticated solid construction. Logic inputs are perfect with
standard CMOS or TTL inputs from microcontroller [19,20].
Fig. 11: PCB design layout for High side/Low side switching circuit
Fig. 12: Printed circuit board of High side/Low side switching circuit
Fig. 11 shows the PCB design layout for High side/Low
side switching circuit. With the help of Eagle PCB design
software, the PCB is printed. Fig. 12 shows the complete
printed circuit board of High side/Low side switching printed
and soldered in National Institute of Technology Mizoram
Circuit laboratory.
C. Inverter hardware realization
Three phase full bridge inverter is implemented in
hardware using six MOSFETs. The components are soldered
on a Perfboard.
Fig. 13: Three phase full bride inverter using six MOSFETs
Fig 13 demonstrates the hardware acknowledgment of three
phase full bridge inverter soldered on a Perfboard. The pulses
to each MOSFET is given by the real-time pulse generator
circuit using TI-C2000 MCU though High side/Low side
switching circuit.
V. RESULTS
The synthesized circuit is experimented in National
Institute of Technology Mizoram Circuit laboratory. The real-
time pulses are generated by connecting TI-C2000 MCU to the
laptop by using MATLAB/Simulink. The pulses from the
MCU is then fed to the High side/Low side switching circuit
which drives the three-phase inverter. The source to the
inverter is supercapacitor bank which is charged by the
rectified three phase output from the generator.
Fig. 14: Synthesized circuit of Kite energy conversion system
Fig 14 shows the synthesized live circuit of Kite energy
conversion system established and captured in laboratory. This
figure shows the supercapacitor bank, inverter circuit with
High side/Low side switching, TI-C2000 microcontroller
integrated with MATLAB/Simulink through PC and DSO for
pulse observation.
Fig. 15: Three phase pulsed output from the inverter observed in DSO
Fig 15 shows the pulsed output of the three-phase inverter
observed in DSO. The yellow color is for phase-A, green color
is for phase-B and blue color is for phase-C as observed in
Digital storage oscilloscope (DSO).
VI. CONCLUSION
Wind energy from parafoil kites is a revolutionary
technology in the wind industry but the complexities involved
in designing the kite control system and energy conversion
system has made it difficult to make it commercially viable.
Though wind is more probable at higher altitude but it's
consistency cannot be predicted [21]. The inconsistencies in the
wind makes the grid connection very difficult.
In this paper, the DC link voltage is made stable by
integrating the supercapacitor bank which makes the energy
storage reliable. The three-phase inverter designed here is fed
with sPWM pulses generated in real-time using TI-C2000
microcontroller unit through MATLAB/Simulink. Texas
Instruments (TI), TI-C2000is interfaced with
MATLAB/Simulink using interface package, the TI-C2000 is
connected to the PC. In a full bridge inverter implemented
using n-channel MOSFETs, there is problem of switching the
upper arm MOSFETs. Hence, a high side/low side switching
circuit is implemented using IR2110 integrated circuit. The
circuit is made sophisticated by printing it by using Eagle PCB
designer software.
Integration of supercapacitor in this energy conversion
system compensates the variation in energy output from the
generator due to the variation in wind speed. This synthesis
facilitates us to realize the Kite power system and it helps in
analyzing the clean, sustainable Kite energy system to have a
sustainable future.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This experiment was upheld and supported by National
Institute of Technology Mizoram, Aizawl, Mizoram. The
numerical computing environment MATLAB Simulink and TI-
C2000 MCU were utilized with legitimate permit and
appropriate approval from the institution.
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