Abstract:
Fault analysis in photovoltaic (PV) arrays is considered important for improving the safety
and efficiency of a PV system. Faults do not only reduce efficiency but are also detrimental
to the life span of a system. Output can be greatly affected by PV technology, configuration,
and other operating conditions. Thus, it is important to consider the impact of different PV
configurations and materials for thorough analysis of faults. This thesis presents a detailed
investigation of faults including non-uniform shading, open circuit and short circuit in
different PV interconnections including Series-Parallel (SP), Honey-Comb (HC) and Totalcross-Tied (TCT). A special case of multiple faults in PV array under non-uniform irradiance
is also investigated to analyze their combined impact on considered different PV
interconnections. In order to be more comprehensive, monocrystalline and thin-film PV are
considered to analyze faults and their impact on power grids. Simulations are conducted in
MATLAB/Simulink, and the obtained results in terms of power(P)–voltage(V) curve are
compared and discussed. It is found that utilization of thin film PV technology with
appropriated PV interconnections can minimize the impact of faults on a power grid with
improved performance of the system.
