2014 International Conference and Exposition on Electrical and Power Engineering (EPE 2014), 16-18 October, Iasi, Romania

Study on Three-Phase Photovoltaic Systems under

Grid Faults

Ioan Viorel Banu, Marcel Istrate

“Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi
Electrical Engineering, Energetics and Applied Informatics Faculty
Iasi, Romania
ibanu86@yahoo.com, mistrate@ee.tuiasi.ro

Abstract—This paper presents an analysis in Matlab/ Simulink voltage support must take place within 20ms after fault
environment of a three-phase photovoltaic (PV) system under detection [11, 12]. In response to abnormal grid conditions, the
various types of symmetrical and asymmetrical grid faults. The PV systems are currently required to disconnect from the
fault response performance of the PV system takes into power grid for safety reasons, also known as the islanding
consideration the factors of ambient temperature and solar protection [9].
irradiance, grid codes, power control strategies, and utility grid
conditions. Grid fault types occurring at different distances from
the point of common coupling (PCC) of the PV system are
simulated. The simulations presented in this paper show that the
short circuit faults in the power grid have disturbing effects on
optimal operation of grid-connected PV systems. The impact of
grid faults on the PV systems performance depends on the grid
fault type, and is less influenced by the distance of the fault
occurrence. Symmetrical faults have a higher impact on
performance than asymmetrical faults, both at the PCC and
inside the PV system.

Keywords-Power system faults; Photovoltaic power generation;

Photovoltaic systems; Power system simulation. Figure 1. LVRT requirements in different countries [9].

I. INTRODUCTION
The decrease of greenhouse gas emissions can be
accomplished by shifting towards renewable energy systems,
such as solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays and wind turbines [1].
The usage of renewable energy sources offers the advantage of
sustainability in all aspects of the energy sector development
[2]. According to [3], during the five-year period (late-2007 to
2012), the total capacity of solar PV increased by 60%
annually [4].

A. The Grid Requirements for PV Systems Figure 2. Reactive current injection requirements during LVRT [9, 10].
Due to rapid growth of PV systems [7, 8], the grid
requirements are expected to be modified in order to
accommodate the increase of the PV penetration level. Low
voltage ride-through (LVRT) and reactive current injection
during low voltage ride-through depicted in Fig. 1 and in Fig. 2
are the main grid requirements of medium and high voltage PV
systems [9, 10]. The principle of voltage support requirement
under grid faults is depicted in Fig. 3 [11]. Those grid
requirements are necessary to ensure the safety of maintenance
personnel, protect the equipment, and guarantee the stability of
the power grid [9]. The voltage support of the PV system is
activated when a voltage dip of over 5% of the root mean
square (RMS) value of the PV inverter voltage occurs. The
Figure 3. The voltage support requirement during a grid failure [11].

978-1-4799-5849-8/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE 1132

B. The Control of PV Systems under Grid Faults
1) The control of single-phase PV systems
The control structures of PV systems are quite different of
one another due to the large variety of transformerless PV
inverter topologies. The modulation algorithms are also
specific for each topology [13]. A control structure for a typical
single-phase PV system with dc-dc boost stage is depicted in
Fig. 4 [9, 13].
The basic control of single-phase PV systems includes the
PV-side control and the grid-side control [9]. The PV-side
controller with maximum power point tracking (MPPT)
extracts the maximum power from the PV array taking into
account the ambient temperature and solar irradiance, and
contains the protection of the dc-dc boost converter. The grid-
side controller deals with the power quality issues (control of
the active power delivered to the grid, control of the reactive
power exchange with the grid, high efficiency and high quality
requirements for the injected power), the grid synchronization
(zero-crossing method, filtering of grid voltage, phase locked
loop PLL technique), and the anti-islanding protection. The
grid condition monitoring (fault detection) methods are the root
mean square (RMS), peak value (orthogonal signals generator
OSG based sag detection techniques), the missing voltage
technique and the wavelet transform [9].
The wide-scale penetration of single-phase PV systems in
the distribution networks can lead to the disconnection of PV
systems from the distributed grid due to unintentional anti-
islanding protection under grid faults, and can contributes to
voltage flickers, power outages, and system instability [7, 8,
14]. Ancillary services for the PV systems are the LVRT for
low-voltage PV systems and provide reactive power to support
the grid [9]. The control strategies of reactive power injection
for single-phase PV systems under grid faults are constant peak
current, constant active current and constant average active
power. In order to increase the PV penetration level, a constant
power generation (CPG) control strategy [15] of single-phase
PV systems can be achieved by modifying the MPPT control
and/or enabling an energy storage system [9].
2) The control of three-phase PV systems
In order to present the basic control of three-phase PV
systems, Fig. 5 depicts the general control structure of a three-
phase PV system. The main control features of such a system
are similar to those of a single-phase PV system: MPPT
control, grid synchronization, reactive power control, and grid
supporting features.
Figure 4. Generic control structure of a typical PV system [9, 13].
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The control of the power dc-dc boost converter extracts the
maximum power from the PV array [9]. The control of the
grid-side converter (three-phase PV inverter) regulates the dc-
link voltage to maintain the power balance between the PV
array and the power grid and to ensure the power quality of the
generated power by controlling the injected grid current [9].
The synchronization and the control strategy of three-phase PV
inverters [9] involve two cascaded loops, with similar functions
as for single-phase PV systems, which can be done in
synchronous (dq-), stationary (ab-), or natural (abc-) reference
frame [13, 16, 17]. Under unbalanced grid faults, the grid-
connected three-phase PV converters have oscillations of the
controlled active or reactive power because of the interaction
between voltage sequences and current sequences [9]. The
operation of three-phase PV systems under grid faults increases
the control complexity with specific current control strategies
in order to regulate the positive- and negative-sequence
components of the unbalanced currents injected to the grid [9].
The control strategies to handle grid faults for three-phase PV
systems are: unity power factor, positive sequence, constant
active power, and constant reactive power. The amount of the
injected reactive power is set according to grid requirements
imposed by grid operators [9].
The paper starts with a short overview of grid requirements
for PV systems and control structures of grid-connected PV
power systems. Advanced control strategies for PV power
systems are presented next, in order to enhance the integration
of this technology. The aim of this paper is to investigate the
response of the three-phase PV systems during symmetrical
and asymmetrical grid faults. The performance of a three-phase
grid-connected PV system under grid faults is investigated by
performing simulations in Matlab/ Simulink for a typical
medium voltage (MV) distribution system, taking into account
the factors of ambient temperature and solar irradiance, grid
codes, power control strategies and utility grid conditions.
II. SIMULINK MODEL OF THE THREE-PHASE PV SYSTEM
A 100-kW grid-connected PV system from
SimPowerSystems examples of Matlab/ Simulink R2014a (Fig.
6) is used for the simulations. The three-phase grid-connected
PV system consists of a 100kW PV array connected to a 20kV
distribution system (Fig. 7) that exports the power to an 110kV
power grid, via a dc-dc boost converter and a three-phase
three-level voltage source converter (VSC). The PV array uses
330 SunPower SPR-305-WHT modules (66 strings of 5 series-
connected modules connected in parallel) [5]. The inputs of PV
Array are the sun irradiance (W/m2) and the cell temperature
(°C).
Figure 5. General control structure of a three-phase PV system [9].
 Figure 6. The Simulink model of 100-kW Grid-Connected PV Array.
The 5-kHz dc-dc boost converter increases the dc voltage
from PV maximum natural voltage of 273V to 500V [5].
Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is implemented in
the dc-dc boost converter by means of a Stateflow
implementation using the incremental conductance technique
as in [6]. This kind of MPPT controller automatically varies the
switching duty cycle in order to generate the required voltage
to extract maximum power [5].
The 2000-Hz three-phase three-level VSC converts the dc-
link voltage from 500Vdc to 260Vac and keeps unity power
factor. The three-phase VSC controls the dc-link voltage for
the utility grid connection using two control loops: an external
control loop that regulates dc link voltage of the two dc split
capacitors C1 and C2 to +/−250V, and an internal control loop
that regulates active and reactive current components Id and Iq
of the grid current (Fig. 8). The reference dc-link voltage is set
at the nominal dc bus voltage of 500V. The Id current reference
is the output of the dc voltage external controller. In order to
maintain unity power factor, the Iq current reference is set to
zero. The Vd and Vq voltage outputs of the current controller
are converted to three modulating signals Uref_abc used by the
three-level pulse-width modulation (PWM) generator [5].
The Simulink model of PV Array uses the module
specifications provided by manufacturer (open circuit voltage,
Voc, short-circuit current Isc, voltage at maximum power point,
Vmp, current at maximum power point Imp) as well as
temperature coefficients. The four PV model parameters for
one module (photo-generated current Iph, diode saturation
current Isat, parallel resistance Rp and series resistance Rs) are
adjusted to fit Voc, Isc, Vmp, Imp at specified cell temperatures,
while assuming a given diode quality factor (Qd) for the
semiconductor. Temperature-dependent PV array parameters
(Iph, Isat, VT, Rs, Rp) are implemented in look-up tables [5].
Figure 7. The Simulink model of the 20kV Utility Grid with position of the
short circuit faults applied at three distances from PCC.
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Diode characteristic of PV array model is presented in (1):
Id=Isat·[exp(Vd/VT)-1], (1)
where: Id = diode current (A); Vd = diode voltage (V); Isat =
diode saturation current (A); VT = temperature voltage =
k·T/q·Qd·Ncell·Nser; T = cell temperature (K); k = Boltzmann
constant (J·K-1); q = electron charge (C); Qd = diode quality
factor; Ncell = number of series-connected cells per module; Nser
= number of series-connected modules per string.
III. SIMULATION RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The three-phase PV system from Fig. 6 is simulated at
various types of short circuit faults that occur in the 20kV
utility grid as is shown in Fig. 7. The simulations are
performing using the ambient temperature of 25°C and solar
irradiance of 1000W/m2. The short circuit grid faults are
simulated at different distances away of point of common
coupling (PCC) of the PV System. The locations of the fault
are chosen considering the network configuration (Fig. 7) as
following: at the location of PCC of the PV system, and at two
distant locations corresponding to the connection points of the
three-phase loads. The distances are at 19km (at the end of the
power line, on the opposite side of the PV system) and at 5km
from the PCC of the PV system. The grid faults are applied at t
= 0.1s and cleared after 150ms.
In order to analyze the PV system during faults on utility
power grid and to determine the effects of faults as a function
of the location where the fault occurs, the simulation results are
presented starting from PCC, followed by the VSC inverter and
boost converter and continuing with the PV array. The main
simulation results are centralized in Table I.
Figure 8. The Simulink implementation of the VSC Control.
 TABLE I. SIMULATION RESULTS OF THE PV SYSTEM DURING VARIOUS TYPES OF GRID FAULTS
PCC of the three-phase grid-connected PV system VSC PV array
Type of short Distance of
Effective voltages (kV) Effective currents (A) Active power Frequency Dc-link Pmean
circuit fault PCC (km) Voltage (V) Current (A)
Va Vb Vc Ia Ib Ic (kW) (Hz) voltage (V) (kW)
Normal operating conditions 19.42 19.42 19.42 2.91 2.92 2.95 98.62 50 500.12 275.60 365.27 100.70
19 21.53 31.92 1.47 39.69 36.36 35.95 93.79 50.21 505.25 278.49 377.18 100.52
Single line-
5 0.26 22.86 25.69 69.04 73.56 65.08 93.69 50.05 508.02 279.01 375.75 100.54
to-ground
0 (in PCC) 0 23.14 25.35 41.47 43.46 39.17 93.67 50.05 508.08 278.87 379.29 100.43
19 19.45 9 9.74 5.72 4.24 4.89 73.46 50.11 708.65 287.26 379.90 99.76
Line-to-line 5 9.71 9.18 19.44 4.22 4.88 5.71 72.01 50.11 708.49 288.88 384.17 98.95
0 (in PCC 9.72 9.04 19.44 4.22 4.88 5.71 72.09 50.11 709.02 287.33 381.27 99.52
Line-to- 19 26.84 0.88 0.93 28.88 25.96 31.32 69.84 50.11 779.56 284.23 377.52 100.24
line-to- 5 0.18 0.19 24.72 17.85 23.68 20.82 62.87 50.17 939.04 289.77 382.91 98.52
ground 0 (in PCC) 0 0 24.77 18.23 24.02 21.12 62.43 50.18 943.29 286.67 379.57 99.79
19 0.06 0.09 0.13 7.73 11.05 12.26 0 49.41 1090 306.25 225.02 74.80
Three phase 5 0.27 0.24 0.11 9.91 12.17 7.11 0 49.32 998.10 305.93 228.13 75.92
0 (in PCC) 0 0 0 8.19 11.32 10.96 0 49.26 1016 306.35 223.96 74.70

The response and the comparison of the three-phase PV
system operation during various types of short circuit grid
faults such as symmetrical grid faults (three-phase faults) and
unsymmetrical grid faults (unbalanced faults) are discussed and
presented graphically in the following paragraphs.
Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 depict the effective values of grid
voltages and currents, measured in PCC (B20 measurement
point) for various types of faults that occur at 5km away of
PCC of the PV system. As can be observed from Fig. 10, the
evolution on the three phases of grid voltage during grid faults
is as it was expected for these types of short circuits.
grid codes regardless of the location where the fault occurs. For
line-to-line-to-ground faults, the frequency increases, but
remains within the limits of grid requirements. For the line-to-
line faults, the frequency also increases but less than line-to-
line-to-ground faults. In case of single line-to-ground faults, the
frequency definitely remains inside the imposed limits.
Fig. 12 depicts the waveform propagation of a three-phase
short circuit that occurs at the PCC of the PV system through
the 100kVA 260V/20kV three-phase coupling transformer.

Figure 10. The effective (RMS) value of short circuit grid currents in PCC
during short circuit faults at 5 km away of PCC of the PV system.
Figure 9. The effective (RMS) grid voltages in PCC during short circuit
faults at 5 km away of PCC of the PV system.

From Fig. 10, it can be observed that high values of short

circuit currents are obtained for earth faults (single line-to-
ground and line-to-line-to-ground faults) and lower values are
obtained for faults which do not involve the ground (three
phase and line-to-line faults).
Fig. 11 depicts the frequency in the PCC during faults that
occur at 5km away of PCC of the PV system. As can be
observed from Fig. 11, the frequency decreases for three phase Figure 11. The frequency in PCC during short circuit faults at 5 km away of
short circuit faults and wanders out of the limits imposed by PCC of the PV system.

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 dc-link voltage decreases in reverse order after the faults clear.
The single line-to-ground (SLG) short circuits are the
exception to this rule, because the dc-voltage increases very
little (5-8V) then returns to reference dc-link voltage in 0.05s,
then after the fault clearance it falls below the reference dc-link
voltage in the same order. In addition, for single line-to-ground
short circuits the dc-link voltage oscillations are opposite to
frequency variations (Fig. 11).

Figure 12. Phase-to-ground grid voltages, currents and the active power
delivered in the grid by the PV system measured in B20 and B260 points
during a three-phase fault that occurs at PCC of the PV system.

Fig. 13 and Fig. 14 depict the Id and Iq grid current

components and respectively the Vd and Vq grid voltage
components during various types of short circuit faults that
appears at 5km away of PCC of the PV system. These
components are obtained in the PLL & Measurements block of
VSC main controller from Fig. 8 by using the abc to dq0
transformation, which performs a Park transformation from the
three-phase (abc) reference frame to the dq0 rotating reference
frame. The converter generates active power (inverter mode)
when Id is positive and absorbs reactive power when Iq is
positive (inductive mode) [5].

Figure 14. The Vd and Vq grid voltage components during short circuit faults
at 5 km away of PCC of the PV system.

Figure 15. The modulation index of Uabc_ref of VSC during grid faults at 5 km
away of PCC of the PV system.

Figure 13. The Id and Iq grid current components during short circuit faults at
5 km away of PCC of the PV system.

The modulation index of Uabc_ref used by the PWM

generator of VSC during various types of grid faults that occur
at 5 km away of PCC of the PV system is presented in Fig. 15.
Fig. 16 presents the dc-link voltage oscillation for all types
of studied short circuits that occur in the grid at the all three
fault points. When faults occurs in the grid, the dc-link voltage
increases in the following order: line-to-line (LL) faults, line-
to-line-to-ground (LLG) faults, and three phase (3P) faults. The
Figure 16. Dc-link voltage oscillations during various types of grid faults.

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 The output voltage, current, and power of PV array during
various types of short circuit that occur at 5 km from PCC are
depicted in Fig. 17 – Fig. 19. The voltage of PV array increases
and decreases for a short period at the start of the fault and then
decreases after the fault clearance (Fig. 17). The current of the
PV array decreases greatly for three phase faults; for line-to-
line-to-ground faults, the current decreases less than for line-to-
line faults, and it varies very little for single line-to-ground
faults (Fig. 18). As it can be noticed in Fig. 19, the output
power of PV array for three phase grid faults decreases both at
the start of the fault and after the fault clearance. The power of
PV array also decreases at the fault occurrence point for both
line-to-line-to-ground and line-to-line faults, and decreases
significantly after the fault clearance only for line-to-line faults
whereas for single line-to-ground faults varies very little.
The diode current of PV array model, Id used in (1),
increases for a short period at the start of grid short circuit
faults and decreases after the fault clearance. This effect is
more pronounced for the three phase faults, as can be seen in
Fig. 20 which exhibits the significant rise of the diode current.
Figure 17. The voltage of PV array during grid faults at 5 km away of PCC.
Figure 18. The current of PV array during grid faults at 5 km away of PCC.
Figure 19. The power of PV array during grid faults at 5 km away of PCC.
Figure 20. The Id, diode current of PV array model during grid faults.
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During grid faults, the diode current of PV array and
respectively the dc-link voltage of dc-dc converter increase
significantly; consequently, this requires reliable and effective
overcurrent protection in PV arrays and dc overvoltage
protection of PV inverters. The boost converter should limit the
output dc voltage to a certain safe limit in such cases when the
inverter is no longer able to control the dc-link voltage.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
This paper presents a study on three-phase grid-connected
PV systems under grid faults. PV array, PV inverter and PCC
of the grid-connected PV system are perturbed by grid fault
events. The impact of grid faults on PV systems depends on the
fault type and less on the fault distance. Symmetrical faults
have a higher impact on PV systems performance than
asymmetrical faults, both at the PCC and inside the grid-
connected PV array.
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