The design of a solar array regulator with power limitation function

A photovoltaic-battery system normally has two power control modes. One is maximum power point tracking mode and the other is constant voltage mode. It is enough to increase the efficiency of the photovoltaic and maintain the battery. But in satellite applications, the mass and volume of units have to be concerned additionally. The solar array of a satellite is exposed to space environment, so the temperature of a solar array is sharply changed. The temperature of a solar array is -71° at eclipse and 67° at sunlight. The power capability of a solar array is decreased to 85% compared with the maximum power at 7 minutes later entered into sunlight. If the solar array regulator is designed for the maximum capability of a solar array, it is operated in lower ability than own for the most operation duration. The solar array regulator can be designed small and light if the power generation is limited under its capacity. It is demerit in the efficiency of power generation, but the loss of power is small because the duration is short. In this paper, the maximum power point tracking and power limitation method is proposed to limit the power generation. It moves the operation point of a solar array to the voltage area so the solar array regulator is operated under own capacity.