A BP-IPSO Algorithm Suitable for Centralized Thermoelectric Generation System Power Tracking under Nonuniform Temperature Distribution

The power-voltage (P-V) characteristic curve of the centralized thermoelectric generation (TEG) system under nonuniform temperature distribution (NTD) exhibits multiple extreme point characteristics, and the traditional maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is prone to fall into the local maximum power point (LMPP) and takes a long time to track. This paper designs a BP-IPSO algorithm based on back propagation neural network (BPNN) and improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) for MPPT. The algorithm firstly utilizes the good nonlinear function fitting ability of BPNN to obtain the fitting curve of the relationship between system control input and power output to establish the TEG array power prediction model. Then, the dynamic learning factor and weight coefficient are introduced into the traditional particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to search the output power prediction model and realize MPPT control. MATLAB/Simulink experiment results show that BP-IPSO algorithm can effectively avoid falling into LMPP, quickly and accurately track the global maximum power point (GMPP), and effectively suppress the oscillation of voltage and power during the tracking process. Especially in the start-up test experiment, compared with perturb and observe (P&O), PSO, and grey wolf optimizer (GWO), the energy generated by BP-IPSO increased by 12.84%, 3.18%, and 4.75%, respectively, which improved the system power generation efficiency.