Review and Performance Evaluation of Photovoltaic Array Fault Detection and Diagnosis Techniques

Abstract

The environmentally clean nature of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology causes PV power generation to be embraced by all countries across the globe. Consequently, installation and utilization of PV power systems have seen much growth in recent years. Although PV arrays of such systems are robust, they are not immune to faults. To guarantee reliable power supply, economic returns, and safety of both humans and equipment, highly accurate fault detection, diagnosis, and interruption devices are required. In this paper, an overview of four major PV array faults and their causes are presented. Specifically, ground fault, line-line fault, arc fault, and hot spot fault have been covered. Next, conventional and advanced fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) techniques for managing these faults are reviewed. Moreover, a single evaluation metric has been proposed and utilized to evaluate the performances of the advanced FDD techniques. Finally, based on the papers reviewed, PV array fault management future trends and possible recommendations have been outlined.

Fault‐tolerant control of inverter for the integration of solar PV under abnormal conditions

“…However, they pose a high risk when a fault results in the emergence of a physical link between the current‐carrying conductors (CCCs) and NCC conductors. Thus, all of NCC conductors are connected to the ground or earth through an equipment grounding conductor [2, 17].…”

“…Parallel arc faults are created when an arc is established between conductors at different potentials. Arc faults in PV systems have ignited several fires in residential, commercial, and utility installations [2, 18].…”

“…The mismatch can occur when a part of the panels array is shaded by a blocking object such as trees, clouds, dirt, snow, and other light‐blocking obstacles [20]. The severity of this class of faults is dependent on the magnitude and duration of mismatch [2].…”

“…Fig. 8 shows S(z) of this system, described in (2), by taking p θ 0 (z) for an intact system and p θ 1 (z) for the faulty system. This fault detection technique proves effective in the identification of faults in this case study.…”

“…A recent analysis of levelised cost of energy [1] reveals that as the cost of energy production using the PV technology continues to decline (starting from $32 per MWh as of 2019) and it has become cost‐competitive with the conventional generation including coal, bulk nuclear, and natural gas‐based fleet. Nonetheless, the reliability of this class of generation faces a variety of technical challenges, including fault detection and control [2, 3], which is the main area of interest in this paper.…”