This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been

fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/TIE.2015.2448066, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS

Online Two-Section PV Array Fault Diagnosis

with Optimized Voltage Sensor Locations
Yihua Hu, Member, IEEE, Jiangfeng Zhang, Wenping Cao, Senior Member, IEEE, Jiande Wu, Member, IEEE,
Gui Yun Tian, Senior Member, IEEE, Stephen J. Finney, James L. Kirtley, Life Fellow, IEEE

modules are needed to connect in series to achieve a high

Abstract—Photovoltaic (PV) stations have been built widely voltage level. Typically, a 400 V bus voltage is required for a
in the world to utilize solar energy directly. In order to reduce 220 V 50 Hz single-phase grid, and a 600 V bus voltage for a
the capital and operational costs, early fault diagnosis is playing three-phase grid. Similarly, a large number of PV strings are
an increasingly important role by enabling the long effective also needed to connect in parallel to increase their power level
operation of PV arrays. This paper analyzes the terminal
[9],[10]. For example, a 20 kW grid-connected PV system
characteristics of faulty PV strings and arrays, and develops a
PV array fault diagnosis technique. The terminal current-voltage generally employs 80 modules to form a 20×4 array (i.e. 20
curve of a faulty PV array is divided into two sections: a modules in a string and 4 strings to form an array).
high-voltage and a low-voltage fault diagnosis section. The In field conditions, a number of factors can cause the PV
corresponding working points of healthy string modules, healthy array to reduce its output power. In this paper, any cause for
and faulty modules in an unhealthy string are then analyzed for this reduction is considered as the “fault”. It can be permanent
each section. By probing into different working points, a faulty (such as open-circuits, short-circuits and device aging), or
PV module can be located. The fault information is of critical
temporary (such as dust, leave, bird dropping and shadow). A
importance for the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and
the array dynamical reconfiguration. Furthermore, the string
temporary fault can be cleared after a short period of time
current sensors can be eliminated while the number of voltage while a permanent fault would persist over time. Temporary
sensors can also be reduced by optimizing voltage sensor faults can normally be identified by human eyes and thus be
locations. Typical fault scenarios including mono-string, cleared through maintenance. Some permanent faults can be
multi-string and partial shadow for a 1.6 kW 3×3 PV array are seen if the damage is severe while other permanent faults are
presented and experimentally tested to confirm the effectiveness invisible to the naked eye so that they may propagate and
of the proposed fault diagnosis method. cause the PV modules to deteriorate over time. PV faults can
occur in the PV array and generate different effects on the
Index Terms—Fault diagnosis, optimization, photovoltaics,
performance and lifetime of the PV system [11]-[16].
terminal characteristics, voltage sensors.
Currently, thermal cameras [17]-[23], earth capacitance
measurements (ECM) [24] and time domain reflectomery
I. INTRODUCTION
(TDR) [25] are the three popular methods for PV fault
(PV) systems provide a promising solution
P
HOTOVOLTAIC diagnosis. Thermal cameras can be employed to detect the
to directly utilizing solar energy and are currently gaining temperature characteristics of a PV array under fault
in popularity as the technologies are mature and the conditions. Thermal images can also be linked to the
material costs are driven down [1]-[5]. However, as they are maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm of the PV
installed in outdoor environments, operational and controller [22]. In practice, a gradual change in the thermal
maintenance costs have always been an issue, demanding image of the PV module (e.g. due to device aging) poses a
some fault diagnosis functions to improve system reliability. technical challenge [23], and high system costs also limit the
A PV module consists of dozens of PV cells in series wide application of thermal cameras. The ECM can locate the
connections. A large number of PV modules connected in disconnection of PV strings while the TDR technology can
series form a PV string, which can be further connected in predict the degradation of the PV array. Nonetheless, both
parallel to form a PV array. PV modules are characterized ECM and TDR can only operate offline [24],[25]. In practice,
with low power density and low output voltage [6]-[8]. If the online diagnosis methods are highly desired, which can take
PV system is connected to a power grid, a large number of PV measurements while the tested device is in operation. To
improve this, an automatic supervision and fault detection is
Manuscript received October 30, 2014; revised January 24, 2015; April proposed in [26],[27] based on power loss analysis. However,
18, 2015 and May 23, 2015; accepted June 7, 2015. it requires surrounding environmental information and cannot
Copyright (c) 2015 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. identify the faulty module. An operating voltage-window is
However, permission to use this material for any other purposes must be
obtained from the IEEE by sending a request to [email protected]. then developed based on the PV string operation voltage and
Y. Hu, J. Zhang and S. Finney are with the Department of Electronic & ambient temperature [28]. It can locate the open and short
Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1XQ, U.K. faults but still cannot identify the faulty module from the array.
W. Cao and J. L. Kirtley are with the Department of Electrical Currently, both offline and online fault diagnosis methods
Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA, 02139, U.S.A. have been developed. Offline diagnosis methods cannot give
J. Wu is with the College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, real-time fault information that is the key factor for PV array
Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China. optimization operation under fault condition. Current, online
G. Tian is with the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, fault diagnosis methods suffer from high costs or incapability
Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Type, NE1 7RU, U.K.
of locating fault modules. A model-based reconfiguration

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algorithm is developed in [29] to realize the fault-tolerant parameters are 790 W/m2 at 24oC. The faulty cell is equivalent
operation. But it needs a large number of electrical relays to to a resistance. As the current increases, the corresponding
reconfigure PV arrays. A similar technology, the in-situ cell-unit output power is decreased dramatically. For instance,
rearrangement strategy, can decrease the influence of shadow the faulty cell-unit works at 0.96 A, and its output power is
[30]-[33]. However, its success depends on three conditions: i) 4.75 W (about 10% of the output at healthy condition) and this
a large number of relays are used. ii) the health state of all PV power reduces to nearly zero when the cell-unit current is
modules should be monitored. iii) high computing resource of higher than 1 A. In order to achieve a global MPP for the PV
the controller is required to calculate complex optimal array, the current is much higher than 1 A under the condition
arrangements. These increase the system cost and control in Fig. 2. Therefore, the output voltage for a faulty cell-unit is
complexity. Paper [34] develops an improved strategy which effectively negligible, as shown in Fig. 2.
combines power channels and relays to combat the shadow Therefore, when a PV module is subjected to partial
influence but it also needs the healthy state of PV modules. shading, its terminal output voltage is lower than the healthy
Paper [35] proposes a fingerprint curve of the PV array under module but higher than zero. In Fig. 2(b), the PV module loses
shading conditions to find the key information (e.g. !!!
one of the cell-units and its output voltage is reduced to of
!
open-circuit and short-circuit points and MPP region) but it
the output voltage.
cannot locate the faulted modules. Paper [36] presents a fault
PV string fault diagnosis can be achieved by measuring the
diagnosis technique using current and voltage sensors but the
PV module voltage, which changes with the string working
system cost is quite high. Paper [22] presents a method to use
point. When the string works in the low voltage diagnosis
the fault diagnosis information for global MPPT without a
section, the faulty module can be located because its output
need to trace I-V curves. It becomes clear that online fault
voltage is zero (full shadow) or lower than the healthy module
diagnosis is important because i) it is the prerequisite for any
(partial shadow).
array dynamical reconfiguration. ii) it can provide crucial
information for global MPPT; (iii) it contains key B. PV array faults
state-of-health information useful for system maintenance. When a PV array is faulted, the faulty module has a lower
This paper proposes a low cost and online fault diagnosis effective illumination than healthy modules. Take a 3×3 array
method with optimized voltage sensor locations that can for example. Fig. 3(a) shows a multi-string faulty condition
effectively locate the faulty PV strings and faulty modules. and Fig. 3(b) shows its I-V characteristics. In Fig. 3(a), the
The paper is organized as follows. Section II introduces PV diodes are used to block the reverse current when a fault
fault mechanisms. Section III illustrates the optimization of occurs. The output I-V characteristics can be divided into two
sensor locations. Section IV describes the two-section PV sections: a high voltage diagnosis section and a low voltage
array fault diagnosis method. Section V presents experimental diagnosis section (constant output current). In the latter section,
results to verify the proposed method, followed by a short the faulty module in the faulty string is shorted by bypass
conclusion in Section VI. diodes where both healthy string and unhealthy string carry
the same current. PV string current sensors cannot distinguish
II. FAULT MECHANISMS the unhealthy string from healthy strings. Nevertheless, the
healthy modules in the faulty string have a higher output
Firstly, it is crucial to understand fault mechanisms prior to voltage than the modules in the healthy string, as points A1
developing fault diagnosis techniques. and A2 illustrated in Fig. 3(c). The voltage difference between
A. PV string faults the healthy module in the unhealthy string, and the module in
The PV string is the basic structure of a PV array. Fig. 1 the healthy string can be employed to locate the faulty module.
presents typical output characteristics of the PV string under
faulty conditions; the PV module parameters are listed in
Table I. The string includes three modules with non-uniform
illumination, the corresponding environment parameters are
850 W/m2, 25oC; 620 W/m2, 25oC; 400 W/m2, 25oC. Each
module has uniform illumination. It can be found that: i) The
multi-stage characteristics are caused by the differing output
current of each module; ii) In the low voltage diagnosis
section, the faulty modules are short-circuited, and the
terminal voltage of the corresponding faulty module is zero.
Fig. 1 Output characteristics of the faulty string.
In order to restrict the hot-spots in a PV module, a bypass TABLE I SPECIFICATIONS OF THE PV MODULE
diode is connected in parallel to PV cells. The corresponding Parameter Value
structure is named the cell-unit, which is composed of m PV Open-circuit voltage 44.8 V
cells. The PV module is connected in series by n cell units to Short-circuit current 5.29 A
achieve the high output voltage. Usually, partial shadow is Power output 180 W
MPP current 5A
also accrued in one PV module. Due to the cell-unit structure, MPP voltage 36 V
even though only one cell is faulty (0 W/m2), the output power Current temperature coefficient 0.037%/K
of the cell-unit will decrease dramatically. Fig. 2(a) presents Voltage temperature coefficient −0.34%/Κ
experimental results of the faulty cell-unit that includes 24 PV Power temperature coefficient −0.48%/Κ
cells with one faulty PV cell; the experimental environment Operating cell temperature 46±2°C

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(a) (a)
18

Array Maximum power point

14 Healthy string
Faulty string 1

Istring/Iarray (A)
Faulty string 2
10
Low voltage fault
High voltage fault
section
section
(constant current)
6

0 40 80 120
(b) Uarray (V)
Fig. 2 PV string under partial shading conditions. (a) The PV (b)
cell-unit output. (b) Partial shading illustration.

In this paper, s modules are connected in series to form a

PV string and p PV strings are connected in parallel to form a
PV array. For a p row s column array, assume that there are x
faulted modules in the unhealthy string. In Fig. 3(c), UA1 is the
voltage of a PV module in a healthy string, such as PV11; UA2
is the voltage of a healthy PV module in an unhealthy string,
such as PV22. UA1 and UA2 can be expressed as: (c) (d)
U Fig. 3 PV array under fault conditions. (a) Faulty 3×3 PV array. (b)
U A1 = array
s (1) Output characteristics. (c) Working points in the voltage fault
diagnosis section. (d) Working points in the high-voltage section.
U array
U A2 =
s−x (2) The extreme condition for the PV array under non-uniform
where Uarray is the output voltage of PV arrays. illumination is that the illumination on the faulty module is
The high voltage diagnosis section in Fig. 3(b) is due to a zero. Fig. 4 presents the output curves of healthy string and
lower solar illumination of the faulty module. The output unhealthy string under this condition. There is a zero-output
current of the unhealthy string is limited by the faulty module condition, where the faulty string does not generate electricity.
output current. Therefore, the unhealthy string output current When the array output voltage is between 100~130 V, every
is lower than the healthy string. Since all the modules module in the healthy string generates electricity and works in
contribute to electricity generation, there are three working the high-voltage diagnosis section. In the unhealthy string, the
points in two output characteristics. A3 is the working point of faulty module cannot generate electricity. Although the
modules in the healthy string; A4 is working point of the faulty healthy modules work in the high-voltage diagnosis section,
modules in the unhealthy string; A5 is the working point of the unhealthy string still cannot reach the PV array voltage.
normal modules in the unhealthy string; as in Fig. 3(d). Therefore the healthy modules in the unhealthy string are
Because both A3 and A5 are the working points of a healthy effectively open-circuited, similar to the faulted modules.
module, they share the same output curve characteristics. There is neither current flowing in the unhealthy string, nor in
Because A4 and A5 are the working points of an unhealthy
the bypass diodes. That is, all the modules in an unhealthy
module and a healthy module in the same string, they have the
string are open-circuited.
same output current.
Therefore, the fault diagnosis can be achieved by analyzing
Voltages UA3, UA4 and UA5 for working points A3, A4 and A5
the module voltage at different diagnosis sections. This also
are given by:
removes the necessity of current sensors. In this work, the
U A3 ⋅ s = U A 4 ⋅ x + U A5 ⋅ ( s − x )
(3) two-stage power conversion [37] is adopted so that the control
According to the previous analysis, UA4＜UA3＜UA5. This of the PV system is load independent. That is, the PV’s
can be employed to locate faulty modules without current working point can be chosen at will in the two-stage PV
information. system where the front-end DC-DC converter tracks the

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS

Fig. 6 Equivalent matrix.

Fig. 4 Extreme case of the PV array fault.

desired working point of the PV array; the bus voltage control

and the DC-AC inverter control ensure that the grid current is V Ua
controlled as per the input power.

III. OPTIMIZATION OF SENSOR LOCATIONS

Ub V V Uc
In order to achieve the PV array fault diagnosis, the reading
of PV module voltage is needed. Due to the large number of
PV modules employed, a large number of voltage sensors are Fig. 7 Simplified voltage sensor placement for a 3×3 PV array.
also needed in the first instance.
TABLE II NUMBER OF VOLTAGE SENSORS USED BY DIFFERENT METHODS
A. Sensor placement strategy Method 1 2 3 Proposed
No. p× s (p-1)×(s-1) p×(s-2) p×(s-1)/2
There are three basic sensor placement methods, as shown
in Fig. 5. If every module’s terminal voltage is measured by a
Fig. 7 presents an example of the 3×3 PV array. According
voltage sensor by method 1; and the total number of sensors is
to the proposed sensor placement strategy, only three voltage
p×s. In method 2, each voltage sensor measures the voltage
sensors are needed.
between two nodes in the same column of adjacent strings;
The minimum number of sensors used to detect all possible
and (p−1)×(s−1) voltage sensors are needed. In method 3, the
faults should be 𝑝×(𝑠 − 1)/2 . When a node is not connected
electric potential difference of adjacent modules is measured;
to any sensor, the two adjacent PV modules of this node
the corresponding number of sensors is p×(s−2). The large cannot be discriminated once a fault occurs at one of the two
number of voltage sensors may increase system capital cost
modules. The total number of nodes is equal to 𝑝×(𝑠 −
and information processing burden. Therefore, the voltage
1)/2 .  This is summarized in Table II. Clearly, the proposed
placement method needs to be optimized.
method uses less voltage sensors than other three methods.
Fig. 6 shows an equivalent PV matrix where a PV module is
shown as a dot; the connection line of the adjacent module is B. Mathematical model of the proposed strategy
represented by a node. The proposed voltage placement The variable 𝑎!" is defined as the state of the PV module
strategy is developed by the following steps: sitting at the i-th string and j-th module (i.e. (𝑖, 𝑗)) in the 𝑝×𝑠
i) All the nodes should be covered by voltage sensors. array. If this module is healthy, 𝑎!" =1, otherwise 𝑎!" =0. The
ii) A sensor can only connect one node in a string.
terminal voltage of the (i, j) module is denoted by 𝑢!" , and the
iii) Voltage sensor nodes cover different isoelectric points
reading of a voltage sensor connecting the (i, j) and (r, k)
from different strings.
modules is denoted by 𝑅!,!,!,! . Consider that each string has at
iv) If p or s is an even number, each node is connected to
least one healthy module. The number of healthy modules in
and only to one sensor. If both p and s are odd, there is
the i-th string equalizes 𝑎!! + 𝑎!! + ⋯ + 𝑎!" . The terminal
one and only one node to be connected to two different
voltage 𝑢!" of the (i, j) module is equal to a fraction of 𝑈!""!# ,
sensors, while each of remaining nodes is connected to
and this fraction is 0 if 𝑎!" = 0, and is 1/(𝑎!! + 𝑎!! + ⋯ +
one sensor.
𝑎!" )  if 𝑎!" = 1. That is,
! 𝑈array
𝑢!" = ! !!!" !⋯!!
V V
V V
(4)
V

!! !! !"
Note that the total output voltage of the modules (i, 1), (i,
V V
2),…, and (i, j) is the sum of the terminal voltage of j modules,
V V V V V V

i.e., 𝑢!! + 𝑢!! + ⋯ + 𝑢!" . Similarly the total output voltage of

the modules (r, 1), (r, 2),…, and (r, k) equalizes 𝑢!! + 𝑢!! +
V V V.
5 V V V
V V
⋯ 𝑢!" . Therefore, the reading of the voltage sensor connecting
the (i, j) module and the (r, k) module is calculated as
𝑅!,!,!,! = (𝑢!! + 𝑢!! + ⋯ + 𝑢!" ) − 𝑢!! + 𝑢!! + ⋯ 𝑢!"
(!!! !!!! !⋯!!!" )𝑈array (!!! !!!! !⋯!!!" )𝑈array
(a) (b) (c) = − (5)
!!! !!!! !⋯!!!" !!! !!!! !⋯!!!"
Fig. 5 Voltage sensor placement methods: (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3.

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When the working point of a PV string moves to the high the first k modules in the r-th string (i.e. 𝑢!! + 𝑢!! +
voltage section, the output voltage of the healthy modules ⋯ 𝑢!" ). Whenever there is current flowing in the r-th
increases until reaching 𝑈!" . The faulted modules in the string string, there will be at least one module works at low
will equally divide the remaining voltage 𝑈!""!# −(𝑎!! + 𝑎!! + voltage working points (e.g., 𝑈!""!# < 𝑈!" ). At the low
⋯ + 𝑎!" )𝑈!" . The following relations hold for a string voltage section, the reading of 𝑢!! + 𝑢!! + ⋯ 𝑢!" is a
including both healthy and unhealthy modules. function of 𝑈!""!# and cannot remain constant.
!!!!" 𝑈array − !!! !!!! !⋯!!!" !!"
𝑢!" = 𝑎!" 𝑈!" +   B. Locating faulty PV modules in the low-voltage section
!!(!!! !!!! !⋯!!!" )
(!!" !− !!! !!!! !⋯!!!" )!!" (!!!!" )𝑈array After locating the healthy string, the next step is to find the
= + (6) faulty PV module. In the low voltage diagnosis section, the
!!(!!! !!!! !⋯!!!" ) !!(!!! !!!! !⋯!!!" )
𝑅!,!,!,! = (𝑢!! + 𝑢!! + ⋯ + 𝑢!" ) − 𝑢!! + 𝑢!! + ⋯ 𝑢!" faulty modules are shorted. The corresponding fault diagnosis
! ! ! eigenvalue of the mono-string faulty is presented in Table III,
𝑠 !!! 𝑎!" − 𝑗 !!! 𝑎!" 𝑈!" 𝑗− !!! 𝑎!" 𝑈array where the fully-faulty module indicates that all cell-units in
= ! + !
𝑠 − !!! 𝑎!" !!! 𝑎!" the module are faulty (0: healthy and 1: faulty). No. 7 (111) is
! ! !
!!! !!" !! !!! !!" !!" !! !
!!! !!" !!""!# the extreme case that all the modules in this string are faulty.
   − ! − ! (7) Even though the PV array works in the low-voltage diagnosis
!! !!! !!" !!! !!"
The reading 𝑅!,!,!,! at the high voltage section provides section, the modules are open-circuited when all modules are
extra equations to solve variable 𝑎!" . There is a way to design faulty. Table IV shows the multi-string eigenvalues. From
the optimal sensor placement for any 𝑝×𝑠 array with these, the faulty module can be identified easily.
𝑝×(𝑠 − 1)/2 sensors. If p is an even number, the 𝑝×𝑠 array
! TABLE III VOLTAGE OF THE MONO-STRING ALL FAULTED MODULES
can be divided into elements of 2×𝑠 arrays. For each 2×𝑠 PV31~PV33 Ua Ub Uc
!
array, it needs to apply the optimal sensor placement method 100 Uarray/3 2Uarray/3 Uarray/6
! 010 Uarray/3 Uarray/6 Uarray/6
by using ×𝑠 sensors. If p is odd, the 𝑝×𝑠 array consists of 001 Uarray/3 Uarray/6 2Uarray/3
!
!!! 110 Uarray/3 2Uarray/3 -Uarray/3
one 3×𝑠 array and elements of 2×𝑠 arrays. It needs to 011 Uarray/3 -Uarray/3 2Uarray/3
!
apply the sensor placement method for these elements and the 101 Uarray/3 2Uarray/3 2Uarray/3
number of sensors needed is equal to 3×(𝑠 − 1)/2 + 111 Uarray/3 2Uarray/3-Uoc 2Uoc -Uarray/3
!!! 000 Uarray/3 Uarray/3 Uarray/3
𝑠 − 1 . By considering both even and odd numbers,
!
!!! TABLE IV VOLTAGE OF THE MULTI-STRINGS FULLY FAULTED MODULES
3×(𝑠 − 1)/2 + 𝑠 − 1 = 𝑝×(𝑠 − 1)/2 (8) PV11~PV13/PV21~PV23 Ua Ub Uc
!
Therefore, the optimal number of sensors can be obtained. 100/100 Uarray/2 Uarray/6 2Uarray/3
010/100 Uarray/2 Uarray/6 Uarray/6
001/100 Uarray Uarray/6 Uarray/6
IV. TWO-SECTION PV ARRAY FAULT DIAGNOSIS STRATEGY 100/010 Uarray/6 Uarray/6 2Uarray/3
The proposed PV array fault diagnosis strategy is 010/010 Uarray/6 Uarray/6 Uarray/6
001/010 Uarray/2 Uarray/6 Uarray/6
implemented in three steps: locating healthy PV string, 100/001 0 2Uarray/3 2Uarray/3
locating faulty module in the low-voltage diagnosis section, 010/001 0 2Uarray/3 Uarray/6
and in the high-voltage diagnosis section. 001/001 Uarray/2 2Uarray/3 Uarray/6
110/100 0 Uarray/6 2Uarray/3
A. Locating healthy PV strings 101/100 Uarray Uarray/6 2Uarray/3
011/100 Uarray Uarray/6 -Uarray/3
The information of healthy strings is useful to identify a
faulty module. Thus the first step in fault diagnosis is to locate In practice, partial shading is a very common fault
healthy PV strings. Because of the absence of current sensors [2]-[3][5][12]-[14][22]-[33]. This is illustrated in detail in
in the string, the healthy string cannot be found directly. When Table V. Both Tables III and V are concerned with PV module
a PV array changes from a healthy condition to an unhealthy faults. Tables III deals with the fully-faulted module where all
condition, the voltage sensor can pick up the change. cell-units are faulted while Table V shows a partially faulted
i) If the voltage sensor reading 𝑅!,!,!,! always satisfies module including some faulted cell-units. Their output
!!!
𝑅!,!,!,! = 𝑈!""!# despite any changes of the working voltages are zero and non-zero, respectively.
!
point along the I-V curve, both i-th and r-th strings are C. Locating faulty PV module in the high-voltage section
healthy.
If all the PV strings are faulty, the eigenvalues of Tables
ii) If the i-th string is healthy, the sensor reading 𝑅!,!,!,!
!!,!,!,! ! !!! !!!! !⋯!!!"
III-V may be the same as other faulty conditions. This can
satisfies − =− at low voltage lead to misjudgment in locating faulty modules.
𝑈array ! !!! !!!! !⋯!!!"
working points. This can be used to judge the number of For example, two types of the unhealthy 3×3 PV array
faulty modules in the r-th string. with the same sensor placement strategy are presented in Fig.
! 8. PV11, PV21, PV23 and PV32 are faulty at fault condition 1;
iii) If the i-th string is healthy, and (𝑅!,!,!,! − 𝑈array ) remains
! PV12, PV21, PV31 and PV33 are faulty at condition 2. Two
constant for all working points, there is no current flowing fault conditions give the same voltage reading in the
in the r-th string, i.e., the r-th string is open circuited. This low-voltage diagnosis section, which is Uarray/2. In order to
!
is because that (𝑅!,!,!,! − 𝑈array ) is equal to the voltage of discriminate the two conditions, the high voltage diagnosis
!
section is employed to find the actual faulty modules.
5

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TABLE V VOLT OF THE MONO-STRING PARTIALLY FAULTED MODULES Monitor values from
PV11~PV13 Ua Ub Uc Comparison voltage sensor

Uarray/6<Ua< Uarray/3<Uc<
100 Uarray/3 —
Uarray/3 2Uarray/3
Uarray/6<Ua< Uarray/6<Uc< Y
010 Uarray/3 — Are all values normal?
Uarray/3 Uarray/3
Uarray/3<Ua< Uarray/6<Uc<
001 Uarray/3 —
2Uarray/3 Uarray/3
Uarray/3<Uc<
110 Ua<Uarray/3 Uarray/3 2Ua+Uc< Uarray
2Uarray/3 Is there a healthy
string? N
Uarray/3<Ua<
011 Uarray/3 Uc<Uarray/3 Ua+2Uc< Uarray
2Uarray/3 Y
Uarray/3<Uc< Low voltage area Low voltage area
101 Ua<Uarray/3 Uarray/3 Ua+2Uc> Uarray High voltage area
2Uarray/3 fault diagnosis fault diagnosis fault diagnosis

Locate faulty Locate faulty

module module

Fig. 9 Flowchart of the two-section fault diagnosis.

processed by the conditioning circuit and then input to DSP

TMS320F2812. The PV modules are the same for simulation,
and the environment illumination is recorded by TS1333R. In
the experiment, typical fault scenarios are studied and the
(a) (b)
sensor readings are compared with eigenvalues in the
Fig. 8 The 3×3 array under two fault conditions: (a) 1, (b) 2.
high-voltage and low-voltage diagnosis sections to check the
TABLE VI EIGENVALUE UNDER DIFFERENT FAULT DIAGNOSIS SECTIONS effectiveness of the proposed fault diagnosis technique.
Fault condition Diagnosis section Ua Ub Uc Fig. 11 shows the mono-string mono-module fault
1 Low voltage Uarray/2 Uarray/2 Uarray/2 diagnosis. In the fault scenario 1 (see Fig. 11(a)), the voltage
2 Low voltage Uarray/2 Uarray/2 Uarray/2
1 High voltage Uarray/2-Uoc 2Uoc-Uarray/2 Uarray/2
sensor connection method is identical to that in Fig. 7. The
2 High voltage Uarray/2 Uarray/2-Uoc 2Uoc-Uarray/2 illumination is 550 W/m2 and the temperature is 15℃. The
P33 PV module is cast by shadow manually to emulate a
As analyzed previously, when the PV array works in the partial-shading fault. Uaref, Ubref and Ucref are the reference
high diagnosis voltage section, the faulty modules in string 2 voltages for sensors a, b and c, respectively, under the fault
are open-circuited while strings 1 and 3 can still operate. In a condition. Fig. 11(b) shows the I-V characteristics of faulty
low-voltage section all the healthy modules in the array PV arrays. Due to the fault on module P33, string 3 cannot
generate electricity and the faulty modules are shorted. The generate electricity in the output voltage range 82~120 V. Fig.
voltage value is different between the low-voltage and the 11(c) presents the sensor output voltage. In the low-voltage
high voltage sections, as illustrated in Table VI. By changing diagnosis section (10~70V); the sensor a output voltage is
the diagnosis section from low to high, different eigenvalues Uarray/3 (as shown in Fig. 11(d)). This is a normal output
can be obtained to locate faulty modules. voltage and the corresponding strings are healthy. That is,
strings 1 and 2 connected by this sensor are healthy, which
D. Implementation of the two-section fault diagnosis strategy coincides with fault scenario 1 in Fig. 11(a). Fig. 11(e)
The two-section fault diagnosis strategy is summarized in a illustrates the high-voltage and low-voltage diagnosis sections.
flowchart in Fig. 9. Firstly, the system checks if the voltage In the low-voltage section, the reference eigenvalue is Uarray/6;
sensor readings sufficiently deviate from the normal ones (e.g. and in the high-voltage section, it is 2Uarray/3-Uoc. The fact that
10%). If this is true, the system enters into fault diagnosis. the sensor b output is close to the reference value also verifies
Next, the system checks if there is a healthy string in the PV the proposed diagnosis method. The reference eigenvalue of
array based on voltage sensor readings. If this is the case, the Uc is 2Uarray/3; and the corresponding sensor c output also
faulty module can be located directly by the eigenvalue table agrees with the reference eigenvalues. There is a slight
in the low-voltage diagnosis section. If there does not exist a deviation between Ua, Ub and Uc and their reference values.
healthy string, both the low-voltage and high-voltage fault This is caused by the diode voltage drop and the minor
diagnosis is needed to locate faulty modules. product irregularity between PV modules. From the sensor
output results and information in Table III, the fault type is
V. EXPERIMENTAL TESTS classified as “001”. The faulty module is P33 that also agrees
A 3×3 PV array and a signal conditioning system are built with fault scenario 1 (Fig. 11(a)).
to verify the proposed fault diagnosis technique, as shown in Fig. 12 shows the diagnosis of the multi-string
Fig. 10. In this figure, resistor dividers are employed as mono-module fault. In fault scenario 2, the illumination is 580
differential voltage sensors to eliminate the grounding issue, W/m2 and the temperature is 25℃. Module P11 in string 1 and
tri-port connectors and shield twisted pair cables are used to P33 in string 3 are cast by partial shadow manually. Fig. 12(b)
transmit the voltage signal. In the signal conditioning circuit, presents the I-V characteristics of the faulty PV array. When
the electrical isolation of sensor signals is achieved by using a faults occur in modules P11 and P33, strings 1 and 3 cannot
linear optical coupling (HCNR201) to avoid the interaction of generate electricity in the range of 82~120 V. In the
earth and ground connections. The voltage readings are low-voltage section, the sensors a and b have the same output

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
(Ua=Ub=Uarray/6), as illustrated in Fig.12(c). The voltage
sensors a and b also satisfy the rule for locating healthy strings.
Therefore, string 2 is diagnosed as being healthy which
coincides with the fault scenario in Fig. 12(a). Fig. 12(d)
shows the sensor c output curves. It can be seen that there is a
healthy string, and the values of Ua, Ub and Uc are Uarray/6,
Uarray/6 and Uarray, respectively, in the low-voltage diagnosis
section. The faulty modules identified are P11 and P33.
(a) (b)
Tri-port
connector

PV array

Shield twisted pair cable (c) (d)

Fig. 12 Multi-string mono-module fault diagnosis. (a) Fault scenario
2. (b) Output characteristics. (c) Comparison of sensor outputs Ua and
Ub. (d) Sensor output voltage.
signal
DSP
conditioning
2812
circuit
Resistor
divider

Two stage
converter

(a)
Fig. 10 Experimental platform.

(b) (c)

(a) (b)

(d) (e)
(c) (d) Fig. 13 Mono-string multi-module fault diagnosis. (a) Fault scenario
3. (b) Output characteristics. (c) Ua sensor output. (d) Comparison of
sensor output Uc. (e) Comparison of sensor output Ub.

In fault scenario 3 (Fig. 13(a)), the illumination is 610 W/m2

at 30℃. P32 and P33 in string 3 are cast by partial shadow and
full shadow, respectively. Fig. 13(b) shows the output
characteristics. String 3 can only generate electricity at 0~60 V.
As presented in Fig. 13(c), Ua =Uarray/3 in the whole output
(e) (f) voltage range, indicating strings 1 and 2 are both healthy. In
Fig. 11 Mono-string mono-module fully faulted diagnosis. (a) Fault the low-voltage section of Fig. 13(d), Uc matches the reference
scenario 1. (b) Output characteristics. (c) Voltage sensor output. (d) value 2Uarray/3, verifying that P33 is faulty. In the high-voltage
Ua sensor output. (e) Comparison of Ub sensor output. (f) Comparison
section, Uc= 2Uoc-Uarray/3. Therefore, either P31 or P32 is
of Uc sensor output.
faulty. Fig. 13(e) presents the output characteristics for sensor
7

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/TIE.2015.2448066, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
conditions,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron. vol. 29, no. 11, pp. 5667-5672, His research interests include PV systems, DC-DC/DC-AC converters, and
Jun. 2014. electrical motor drives.
[23] Z. Zou, Y. Hu, B. Gao, W. L.Woo and X. Zhao, “Study of the gradual
change phenomenon in the infrared image when monitoring photovoltaic Jiangfeng Zhang obtained his BSc and PhD in
array,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 115, no. 4, pp. 1-11, 2014. computing mathematics and applied software from
[24] T. Takashima, J. Yamaguchi, K. Otani, T. Oozeki, K. Kato, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China, in July 1995 and
“Experimental studies of fault location in PV module strings,” Solar December 1999, respectively. He is a senior lecturer at
Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 93 issues. 6-7, pp. 1079-1082, the Department of Electronic and Electrical
Jun. 2009. Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K.
[25] R. A. Kumar, M. S. Suresh, J. Nagaraju, “Measurement of AC He is also a member of the IFAC TC6.3 (Power and
parameters of gallium arsenide (GaAs/Ge) solar cell by impedance Energy Systems). His research interests include
spectroscopy,” IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 48, issue 9, pp. modeling and control of energy systems, with a focus
2177-2179, 2001. on energy efficiency and demand side management.
[26] A. Chouder, S. Silvestre, “Automatic supervision and fault detection of
PV systems based on power losses analysis,” Energy Conversion and
Management, vol. 51, issue 10, pp. 1929-1937, Oct. 2010. Wenping Cao (M’05-SM’11) received the B.Eng in
[27] S. Silvestre, A. Chouder, E. Karatepe, “Automatic fault detection in grid electrical engineering from Beijing Jiaotong
connected PV systems,” Solar Energy, vol. 94, pp. 119-127, Aug. 2013. University, Beijing, China, in 1991, and the Ph.D.
[28] N. Gokmen, E. Karatepe, S. Silvestre, B. Celik, P. Ortega, “An efficient degree in electrical machines and drives from the
fault diagnosis method for PV systems based on operating
University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K., in 2004.
voltage-window,” Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 73, pp.
He is currently a Marie Curie Fellow with the
350-360, Sep. 2013.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
[29] X. Lin, Y. Wang, D. Zhu, N. Chang and M. Pedram, “Online fault
MA, U.S.A, and a Senior Lecturer with Queen’s
detection and tolerance for photovoltaic energy harvesting systems,”
University Belfast, Belfast, U.K. Dr. Cao received the
the 2012 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Computer-Aided
“Best Paper Award” at the LDIA’13 Conference, the
Design (ICCAD), San Jose, USA, pp. 1-6. 2012.
“Innovator of the Year” Award from Newcastle University in 2013, and was
[30] D. Nguyen, B. Lehman. “An adaptive solar photovoltaic array using
the Winner of the “Dragons’ Den Competition” at Queen’s University Belfast
model-based reconfiguration algorithm,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol.
in 2014. He serves as an Associate Editor for IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON
55, no. 7, pp. 2644-2654, Jul. 2008.
INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, IEEE INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS MAGAZINE and IET
[31] J. P. Storey, P. R. Wilson, and D. Bagnall, “Improved optimization
Power Electronics, the Chief Editor for two Special Issues, an Editor for
strategy for irradiance equalization in dynamic photovoltaic arrays,”
Electric Power Components & Systems Journal and nine other International
IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 2946-2956, Jun. 2013.
Journals. His research interests are in fault analysis and condition monitoring
[32] G. Velasco-Quesada, F. Guinjoan-Gispert, R. Pique-Lopez, M.
of electric machines and power electronics.
Roman-Lumbreras, and A. Conesa-Roca, “Electrical PV array
reconfiguration strategy for energy extraction improvement in
Jiande Wu (M’11) received the B.Sc. and the Ph.D.
grid-connected PV systems,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 56, no. 11,
in power electronics from Zhejiang University in 1994
pp. 4319-4331, Nov. 2009.
and 2012, respectively. He has been a faculty member
[33] Y. Wang, X. Lin, Y. Kim, N. Chang, and M. Pedram, “Architecture and
at Zhejiang University since 1997 and is currently an
control algorithms for combating partial shading in photovoltaic systems,”
associate professor. From Oct. 2013 to Oct. 2014, he
IEEE Trans. Comput.-Aided Design Integr. Circuits Syst., vol. 33, no. 6,
was an academic visitor at the University of
pp. 917-929, Jun. 2014.
Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K. His research interests
[34] S. Jonathan, R. W. Peter, and B. Darren, “The optimized-string dynamic
include applications of power electronics and network
photovoltaic array,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 29, no. 4, pp.
communication.
1768-1776, Apr. 2014.
[35] P. L. Carotenuto, P. Manganiello, G. Petrone, and G. Spagnuolo, “Online
recording a PV module fingerprint,” IEEE J. Photovolt, vol. 4, no. 2, pp.
Gui Yun Tian (M’01–SM’03) received the B.Sc. in
659-668, Mar. 2014.
metrology and instrumentation and the M.Sc. in
[36] Y. Hu, H. Chen, R. Xu, R. Li. “Photovoltaic (PV) array fault diagnosis
precision engineering from the University of Sichuan,
strategy based on optimal sensor placement,” Proceedings of the CSEE,
Chengdu, China, in 1985 and 1988, respectively, and
vol. 31, issue 33, pp. 19-30, 2011.
the Ph.D. degree from the University of Derby,
[37] B. Yang, W. Li, Y. Zhao and X. He, “Design and analysis of a
Derby, U.K., in 1998. He is currently a Chair
grid-connected photovoltaic power system,” IEEE Trans. Power
Professor in sensor technologies at Newcastle
Electron., vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 992-1000, Apr. 2010.
University, Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. He is also
[38] P. Guerriero, V. d’Alessandro, L. Petrazzuoli, G. Vallone, and S.
with the School of Automation Engineering,
Daliento, “Effective real-time performance monitoring and diagnostics of
University of Electronic Science and Technology of
individual panels in PV plants,” the 4th International Conference on
China, Chengdu, China. He has coordinated several research projects from the
Clear Electrical Power (ICCEP), Alghero, Italy, pp. 14-19. 2013.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Royal Academy of
[39] P. Guerriero, G. Vallone, M. Primato, F. Di Napoli, L. Di Nardo, V.
Engineering and FP7. He also has collaborative links with leading industrial
d’Alessandro, S. Daliento, “A wireless sensor network for the monitoring
companies, such as Airbus, Rolls Royce, BP, nPower, and TWI.
of large PV plants,” the International Symposium on Power Electronics,
Electrical Drives, Automation and Motion (SPEEDAM), Ischia, Italy, pp.
960-965, 2014.
Stephen J. Finney obtained the M.Eng in electrical
and electronic engineering from Loughborough
Yihua Hu (M’13) received the B.Sc. in electrical
University of Technology in 1988; and the Ph.D.
motor drives in 2003, and the Ph.D. in power
degree from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, U.K.,
electronics and drives in 2011, both from China
in 1995. He worked for the Electricity Council
University of Mining and Technology, Jiangsu, China.
Research Centre before joining the Power Electronics
Between 2011 and 2013, he was with the College of
Research Group at Heriot-Watt University in 1990.
Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University as a
From 1994 to 2005 he was a member of academic
Postdoctoral Fellow. Between November 2012 and
staff at Heriot-Watt University. Since 2005 he is with
February 2013, he was an academic Visiting Scholar
the Institute of Energy and Environment, University
with the School of Electrical and Electronic
of Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K., where he is currently a
Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon
Professor in power electronic systems. His research interests include the
Tyne, UK. He is currently a Research Associate with the Department of
power electronics for high power applications, power transmission and
Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K.
distribution.

0278-0046 (c) 2015 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See
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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/TIE.2015.2448066, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
James L. Kirtley Jr. (LF’91) is a Professor of
electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A. He was with
General Electric, Large Steam Turbine Generator
Department as an Electrical Engineer, and with
Satcon Technology Corporation as Vice President
and General Manager of the Tech Center, and Chief
Scientist and Director.
Dr. Kirtley attended MIT as an undergraduate and
received the Ph.D. from MIT in 1971. He was
Gastdozent at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland. He
served as Editor in Chief of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION
from 1998 to 2006 and continues to serve as Editor for that journal, and as a
member of the Editorial Board of the Electric Power Components & Systems
Journal. He was awarded the IEEE Third Millennium medal in 2000, and the
Nikola Tesla prize in 2002. He was elected to the United States National
Academy of Engineering in 2007. His research interests are electric machinery
and electric power systems.

10

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