In this paper, a Firefly algorithm is proposed for identification and comparative study of five, seven and eight parameters of a single and double diode solar cell and photovoltaic module under different solar irradiation and temperature. Further, a metaheuristic algorithm is proposed in order to predict the electrical parameters of three different solar cell technologies. The first is a commercial RTC mono-crystalline silicon solar cell with single and double diodes at 33 °C and 1000 W/m². The second, is a flexible hydrogenated amorphous silicon a-Si:H solar cell single diode. The third is a commercial photovoltaic module (Photowatt-PWP 201) in which 36 polycrystalline silicon cells are connected in series, single diode, at 25 °C and 1000 W/m² from experimental current-voltage. The proposed constrained objective function is adapted to minimize the absolute errors between experimental and predicted values of voltage and current in two zones. Finally, for performance validation, the parameters obtained through the Firefly algorithm are compared with recent research papers reporting metaheuristic optimization algorithms and analytical methods. The presented results confirm the validity and reliability of the Firefly algorithm in extracting the optimal parameters of the photovoltaic solar cell.

This paper develops a new method to determine parameters of PV modules, by using the Lambert W-function. The single-diode model was considered and the explicit form of the I-V characteristic was established. For the calculation of the numerical values of Lambert W-function, a new high speed algorithm has been proposed.

Nowadays, many research efforts are allocated for the development of fuel cells, since they constitute a carbon-free electrical energy generator which can be used for stationary, mobile and portable applications. The maximum value of the delivered power of a fuel cell depends on many factors as: the height of plates’ channels, the stoichiometry level of the air flow, the air pressure for the cathode, and of the actual operating electric current density. In this paper, two levels, full four-factors factorial experiment has been designed in order to obtain the appropriate response surface which approximates the maximum delivered power dependence of the above-mentioned factors. The optimum set of the fuel-cell factors which determine the maximum value of the delivered power was determined and a comparison between simulated and measured optimal Power versus Current Density characteristics is given.

Triboelectric nanogenerators represent a promising direction for the realization of very low-power renewable sources of electrical energy, intended for powering portable electronic devices and sensors used in Internet of Things networks. Their attractiveness is due, first of all, to the ability to efficiently convert the kinetic energies specific to a wide variety of ambient vibrational sources, with low frequencies, such as human movement, the movement of waves, wind, acoustic waves, etc., but also to other factors such as low weight and relatively low cost. In this paper, a brief presentation of triboelectric nanogenerators, their operating mechanisms and their structural configurations is given. By way of illustration, some examples of the use of triboelectric nanogenerators in various fields of current interest are presented.

This paper deals with a new coaxial linear permanent magnet motor. For a designed physical model of this motor, the representative magnetic spectrums are determined: the spectrum of the excitation field provided by cylindrical permanent magnet, and the spectrum of total magnetic field given by superposition of permanent magnet field and of energizing coil field.

In this paper, an asymmetrical and symmetrical fuzzy logic controller (FLC) based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods are compared. The input membership function (MF) setting values are calculated based on the power-voltage (P-V) characteristics of the utilized photovoltaic (PV) module at standard technical conditions (STC). Moreover, five and seven triangular (5-tri and 7-tri) MFs are analyzed. The performance comparisons of the different categories of the FLC-based PV MPPT methods are performed using Matlab/Simulink package. A BP SX150S PV module is used in the simulation at STC. According to the simulation results, the asymmetrical FLC-based MPPT method has the superior results in terms of transient and steady state tracking performances for the different numbers of MFs. In the case of 5-tri MFs, the asymmetrical FLC-based MPPT method can enhance the rising time (t_r), tracking accuracy, and energy yield by 84%, 0.05%, and 13.25% respectively, compared to the symmetrical FLC. Whereas, in the case of 7-tri MFs, the rising time, tracking accuracy, and extracted energy are enhanced by 86.7%, 0.04%, and 14.72% respectively. The rising time and extracted energy are improved approximately by 10% and 0.08%, respectively, by using 7-tri MFs in the asymmetrical FLC. Consequently and regardless of the number of MFs, the asymmetrical FLC can be used as the most promising MPPT method for improving the overall performance of the PV system.