Experiments Overview

Topics of the virtual laboratory are listed in Table 1. In Experiments 1 – 2, we learn about how to observe and measure the characteristics of solar cells under different temperature and irradiation. We will also learn series and parallel connections of solar cells. Experiment 3 studies a real time data monitoring system for a solar power system. In Experiment 4, we will use maximum power point tracking to extract the maximum amount of power from solar panels.

We learn about basic DC-DC converters including buck and boost converters in Experiments 5 – 8. DC-DC converters convert a DC input voltage to a different DC output voltage. Most of the renewable energy systems have DC-DC converters. They can be used to charge batteries, regulate the output voltage of solar panels, and manage power flows between solar panels and the grid. Experiment 9 looks at rechargeable batteries, and using bidirectional converters to manage the power flow between the power source and the battery. We will observe the power flow and power management in a solar microgrid in Experiment 10

Table 1:Experiments

Experiment 1	Voltage and Current of Solar Cells Topics: How to measure the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of solar cells. How do temperature and irradiation affect these values of solar cells.
Experiment 2	Series and Parallel Connection of Solar Cells Topics: How to record voltage and current characteristics of a single solar cell, how to record voltage and current characteristics of solar cells in series and in parallel.
Experiment 3	Data Acquisition for Renewable Energy Systems Topics: Data acquisition for renewable energy systems, study a real time data monitoring and logging system for a solar power system.
Experiment 4	Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) for Photovoltaic Systems Topics: Control algorithms for maximum power point tracking, how to design a controller for MPPT, operation of MPPT control.
Experiment 5	Buck Converter Topics: Operation of buck converters, circuit schematics, how to choose the inductor and capacitor values, how to control the output voltage using duty cycle, how to determine the current ripple.
Experiment 6	Buck Converter Under Closed Loop Voltage Control Topics: Closed loop feedback control system for buck converters to regulate the output voltage.
Experiment 7	Boost Converter Topics: Operation of boost converters, circuit schematics, how to choose the inductor and capacitor values, how to control the output voltage using duty cycle, how to determine the current ripple.
Experiment 8	Boost Converter Under Closed Loop Voltage Control Topics: Closed loop feedback control system for boost converters to regulate the output voltage.
Experiment 9	Battery Topics: How to charge and discharge a rechargeable battery, operation and power flow for a bidirectional converter, build and test a bidirectional converter.
Experiment 10	Microgrid Topics: Understand power source and load in a microgrid. Observe the power flow and power management in a microgrid.

Contact Us

Virtual Renewable Energy Laboratory

Principal Investigator:
Liping Guo, Ph.D.
815-753-1350
lguo@niu.edu

Co-Principal Investigator:
Andrew W. Otieno, Ph.D.
815-753-1754
otieno@niu.edu

The project is funded by the
National Science Foundation
Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program (DUE-1712146) from June 2017 to May 2020.