EPE4013:Renewble

Energy Sources -
Grid connected systems
Dr.
Sayed Zaki
Electrical Power Engineering
Department,
Faculty of Engineering
Cairo University
 Fault Detection and Diagnosis on PV
System

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RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY Aims and objectives

To study the different mathematical approaches for modeling the

PV systems and their faults.

To analyze the different types of faults affecting on the PV panels

To collect the metrological data in order to analyze the performance

AIMS of the PV systems.

To understand, analyze and compare the performance of multiple PV

array configurations under various faulty conditions

To improve a PV fault detection method based on statistical analysis and

algebraic techniques.
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THE BACKGROUND AND MEANING

• Renewable energy is considered

as the primary solution for the
reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions, less environmental
pollution and better energy
access for the people.

• According to the comparison

between the LCOE of
renewables and conventional
sources, the cost of renewable
resources is falling continuously.

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THE BACKGROUND AND MEANING PV solar energy

• Solar is considered as the largest technical

potential to solve the world’s energy
problems, why??
• Adv. of solar PV: clean, renewable source,
distributed generation, no fuel cost,
effective for remote area, minimum no. of
operators, and low maintenance cost.

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THE BACKGROUND AND MEANING PV installation
In the world In China
By the end of 2017, China had 130 GW of
installed solar capacity.

By 2030, it is expected that the global PV installed The goal for 2050 is to reach 1,300 GW of solar
capacities will be between 3,000 and 10,000 GW. capacity.

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THE BACKGROUND AND MEANING PV solar energy

• Fault analysis in the PV systems is critically essential for enhancing

the security and reliability of PV power plants.
• More specifically, various faults lead not only efficiency reduction
but also are harming the lifetime of a PV system.
• In general, the output energy is significantly influenced by the PV
material, configuration, as well as further working conditions,
such as solar irradiance and temperature.
• In addition, a few studies are focused on analyzing the various
faults on different PV configurations.

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RESEARCH TRENDS AT HOME AND ABROAD

Real time simulation

Voltage and Current ratios

FAULT DETECTION
Artificial Intelligence AI techniques

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RESEARCH TRENDS AT HOME AND ABROAD Real time simulation

1. Using satellites for gathering data:

is cost-effective and reliable as no
climate sensors needed
Dis advantage: the accuracy may
change in estimating the data because
of changing climatic conditions
2. Using local sensors installed on PV
plant: useful for the approximation of
energy production

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RESEARCH TRENDS AT HOME AND ABROAD Voltage and Current ratios

Mathematically obtained by
comparing the measured
parameters with simulated
results.
Disadvantage: the accuracy may
affected by sensors efficiency

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RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY

Methodology of PV faults diagnosis and detection algorithm

• The fault diagnosis technique used in this work is based on the
threshold limits.
• Three ratios have been identified to detect different types of
faults in DC side; Open Circuit Ratio (OCR), Voltage Ratio
(VR), and Current Ratio (IR)

𝑉oc_theoretica𝑙 𝑉theoretica𝑙 𝐼theoretica𝑙

• 𝑂𝐶𝑅 = , 𝑉𝑅 = , 𝐼𝑅 =
𝑉oc_measured 𝑉measured 𝐼measured

• Then, the analysis of the I-V characteristic of each string in the

PV array plays the main role to localize faults accurately
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RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY

Calculation of the threshold limits

• High limit: where the maximum operating efficiency of the MPPT

device is applied

𝑉ocnormal (𝐺,𝑇)
• 𝑂𝐶𝑅 =
𝑉ocfault (𝐺,𝑇)
𝑉normal (𝐺,𝑇)
• 𝑉𝑅 =
𝑉fault (𝐺,𝑇)
𝐼normal (𝐺,𝑇)
• 𝐼𝑅 =
𝐼fault (𝐺,𝑇)

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RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY

Calculation of the threshold limits

• Low limit: where the here the efficiency (tolerance rate) of the
sensors applied.

𝑉ocnormal (𝐺,𝑇)
• 𝑂𝐶𝑅 =
𝑉ocfault 𝐺,𝑇 ∗𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑟
𝑉normal (𝐺,𝑇)
• 𝑉𝑅 =
𝑉fault 𝐺,𝑇 ∗𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑟
𝐼normal (𝐺,𝑇)
• 𝐼𝑅 =
𝐼fault (𝐺,𝑇)∗𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑟

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RESEARCH TRENDS AT HOME AND ABROAD Artificial Intelligence AI techniques

Artificial intelligence techniques

is used to increase the detection
rate and right classification of
different faults.

Fig. Neural network method For example: Neural Network ,

Fuzzy Logic Control FLC,
Genetic Algorithm GA ,or
Biogeography Based Optimization
BBO technique.

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AMFuzzy Logic Control method 14
RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY

Eight different faults are investigated in PV system installed on the roof of

NCEPU

MATLAB Simulink model is built to extract the different features of the

faults from I-V, and P-V curves

Three indicators and threshold limits are calculated based on measured and
simulated parameters under normal and faulty condition of PV system

New technique using Sugeno Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC) is implemented to

increase the accuracy of fault identification and fast diagnosis.

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RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY PV cell mathematical modeling

• PV modeling plays a vital role in simulation analysis, design

optimization and fault diagnosis of any PV system.
Why??
• The manufacturers only providing experimental I-V curve for
Standard Test Conditions STC (1000 W/m2 and 25 °C),

• So, the process of identifying unknown model parameters becomes

extremely important, for accurate I-V characteristics under all
insolation and temperature profiles
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RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY The single diode model

The voltage and current Values of the PV

panel can be calculated using:
𝑉+𝐼𝑅𝑠 𝑉 + 𝐼𝑅𝑠
𝐼 = 𝐼𝑝ℎ − 𝐼𝑂 𝑒 𝑁𝑠 𝑉𝑇 −1 −( )
𝑅𝑠ℎ
Where
Iph is the photo-generated current at STC, Io is the
dark saturation current at STC,
Rs is the panel series resistance,
Rsh is the panel parallel resistance,
The single diode model of the PV module
Ns is the number of series cells in the PV panel
VT is the thermal voltage

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RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY The double diode model

• This can be modelled by adding a second

diode in parallel with the first and setting
the ideality factor typically to two.
• The voltage and current Values of the PV
panel can be calculated using:

Where
Vd: Diode breakdown voltage, Vb is diode
terminal voltage, I01, and I02 are diode 1, and The double diode model of the PV
module
diode 2 currents respectively
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Classification of faults in DC and AC side of PV system.

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RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY

Types of faults in DC side PV system

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RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY Hot spots
• A lack of maintenance in PV systems can cause hot spots due to localized or
irregular dirt and PS conditions affecting the PV modules. Thus, it will cause
permanent losses and reduce the reliability of the system.
Practically, PV hot spots occur when a cell, or group of cells, operates at reverse
bias, dissipating power instead of delivering it and, therefore, operating at
abnormally high temperatures.
• Even if the cell does not get damaged in the PV module, the exposure to high
temperatures will result in a faster degradation of the material used for the PV
modules encapsulation
• Infrared (IR) thermal cameras are a useful tool for detecting hot spots in PV systems.

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Classification of different fault detection techniques

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flow chart of the proposed modular level PV diagnosis system.
Based on Expected inverter efficiency

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Observations in the designed tool: (a) PV array measured and calculated
efficiency results on 9th August 2017 (b) Five faults observed in the
designed tool 10th August 2017

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(c) Short circuit fault in PV module is detected (10th August 2017) (d) Partial
shading fault in module is detected (10th August 2017).

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 PV Monitoring System and Performance Analysis
• One of the main aspects of any PV system is the monitoring unit used to log and
analyze the performance of the PV installation

• The proposed monitoring unit uses the Virtual Instrumentation (VI)

software via the Internet of Things (IoT) devices to monitor and analyze the
performance of the PV systems under test.

• Additionally, five different factors which affect the output power performance of
the PV systems will also be discussed.

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 PV Monitoring System and Performance Analysis
• Various parameters could be monitored using the proposed monitoring system,
such as:
i. PV system output voltage, current, and power
ii. PV modules temperature
iii. Solar irradiance, ambient temperature, humidity, and wind speed

• The designed monitoring system could also be used to log the measured
environmental and PV system data using LabVIEW software.

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 PV Monitoring System and Performance Analysis

• Overall designed PV monitoring system

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 Overall designed PV monitoring system

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 Overall designed PV monitoring system

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 Overall designed PV monitoring system

Figure: PV solar module theoretical simulation using LabVIEW. (a) I-V

curve
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 Multiple PV Array Configurations
• PV configuration means the way of connecting the PV modules in the entire PV
array. Selecting the suitable PV configuration is critically vital depending on the
needed output power, voltage, and current.

• Furthermore, the behavior of the different PV configurations under normal and

fault conditions are not similar, which brings the researchers interest to select the
most efficient connection at normal and fault conditions.

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 Multiple PV Array Configurations

The Series-Parallel SP configuration of PV array

Based on the SP configuration, the obtained

array voltage is the sum of six series PV
modules in the individual string, while the
array current equals the sum of the six parallel
strings current

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 Multiple PV Array Configurations

The Total Cross Tie TCT configuration of PV array

• The obtained array voltage is the sum of

series-connected row voltages considering
that the voltage is constant on the
connected PV modules in the individual
row.
• In addition, the array current equals the
sum of the parallel module currents in the
individual raw.
• It should be noted that the current is
constant in the series rows.

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 Multiple PV Array Configurations

Hybrid SP-TCT Configuration

• Every two modules are connected in series then

the combination is arranged in parallel to form
rows, and then the different rows are connected in
series to form the PV array.
• Similarly to TCT configuration, the hybrid SP-TCT
array’s voltage is the sum of all row voltages
connected in series, while the array current is the
sum of the modules’ current in the raw considering
that the row voltage equals the summation of the
voltage of the two modules connected in series.

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 Multiple PV simulated faults

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 Line to line fault
• Usually, the SC between PV strings is called LL or bridge fault.

• This may be occurred directly or through a connection resistance [55].

• The LLF is known as a short-circuit connection between the PV solar modules or

array cables with different voltage.

• Although such fault cases rarely happen in the PV systems, their impact should be
analyzed and detected to avoid possible power reduction or fire damage. In addition,
as explained by [41], the impedance of short-circuit connection should be taken into
when modeling the LLF classes.

• While increasing the LLF impedance leads to many difficulties to detect such cases
due to its effect on the overall system is extremely low and is alike environmental
conditions effect.
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 The open circuit fault OCF
• The OCF, as one of the permanent faults, usually occurs when a PV module is
electrically disconnected, thus, the flowing current in the faulty string equals zero.

• In this fault case, the output voltage of the PV array will not be influenced. while the
array current will be decreased (by deducting the faulty string current), causing a
resultant loss of power

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 The short circuit fault SCF
• A short circuit fault (SCF), as a permanent fault, is mainly occurred due to bad wiring
contacts in the entire PV string.

• Once the fault occurs in the PV string, the output characteristics of the overall
PV system are completely changed.

• The SC condition is considered a special case of the line-line fault (LLF), which is
usually occurred due to an accidental low-resistance that happened between every
two points that have different voltage in the electrical system. The difference
between the two faults is the LLF usually occurs among different PV strings.

• However, serious challenges are brought to detect the SC condition using traditional
protection devices, since they usually do not cause large faulted currents

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 The Partial Shading PS Fault
• Between the different temporary fault types, the PS is a critically important issue due
to its impact on the PV system performance and the output power, voltage, and
current, depending on the period and factor of happening this fault.

• In General, the PS condition happens originally when the PV array subset is partially
or fully shaded with various percentages.

• This is usually occurred due to clouds, closed buildings, associated PV system

components, etc.

• Therefore, studying the shading situations is critically vital especially when preparing
for a new PV system installation. Besides, distinguishing between the shaded and
faulted PV modules helps to improve the protection devices' settings. As a result,
recently, much literature paid attention to the PS conditions, as a serious issue, to be
studied and hence classified using fault detection and classification methods.
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 The different patterns Partial Shading PS Fault

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RESEARCH CONTENTS AND METHODOLOGY

Benefits of fault detection and diagnosis

• Fewer economic and energy losses.

• Reduced cost of repair as more accurate understanding of fault
• Reduces the availability and reliability of the whole system
• Due to detailed information about system during the faults, a more
development in the field will be supported and more efficient
systems can be modeled.

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