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Experimental Verification
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*Corresponding author
Prof. Imtiaz Ashraf
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Email: iashraf@rediffmail.com
Number of figures: 12
Number of tables: 2
Total words: 2305
Abstract
Rapidly growing energy demands and increased consciousness about the environment,
PV installations are being increasingly employed in various applications like in communications
and lighting,etc. However, one of the major challenges in using a PV source is that they are often
subjected to partial shading and rapid fluctuations of shading. In many cases the PV arrays get
partially shaded due to various reasons, resulting in lower energy production yields. This further
leads to nonlinearities in characteristics causing it to get more complicated if the entire array
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does not receive uniform insolation. In this study, a Simulink based mathematical model of a PV
system has been developed to simulate the performance of a PV system for the various
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obtained results of the various configurations of shading that were used for the partial shading
Nomenclature
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conditions of partial shading. The simulated results have been compared with experimentally
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The last two decades have seen a rise in energy demands in the world by 2.6% per year
(Patel 2000). The last decade has seen PV technology emerging as a potentially major
technology for power generation all over the world. The robust and continuous growth
experienced in the last ten years is expected to continue in the coming years. As of the year 2013,
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the world cumulative PV power installed was approaching 38.4 GW as reported by EPIA in the
global market outlook for photovoltaics (2014).
Cells under shade absorb a large amount of electric power generated by them receiving
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high insolation and convert it into heat. This heat may damage the low illuminated cells under
certain conditions. To relieve the stress on shaded cells, by-pass diodes are added across the
module. In such a case multiple peaks in power-voltage characteristics are observed under non-
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uniform insolation (Herrmann, Wiesner, and Waassen 1997; Castaner and Silvestre 2002;
Silvestre, Boronat, and Chouder 2009). Not only the size or the total number of modules of the
PV array, but also the number of modules in series and parallel i.e. the configuration of the array
significantly affects its power output there forth, the performance of the system under partially
shaded conditions (El-Dein, Kazerirani, and Salama 2013; Olalla and Maksimovic 2014; Ramli
and Salam 2014; Sharma and Patel 2014).
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of partial shading on PV modules and to
simulate the result using a Simulink model that was developed using the basic mathematical
equations used in the physics of a PV cell. The P V and I V characteristics for the different
shading patterns were obtained to compare the results obtained from experimental data and the
simulated data.
Experimental details
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A. Modelling of PV module
The MATLAB Simulation model was made by using the basic mathematical formulae for
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equations (1) to (7) (Khan 2009; Rani, Salmi et al. 2012; Wang et al. 2014). These equations
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were obtained from the single diode equivalent circuit of a PV cell as shown in figure 1.
The output current (IC or Ipv) from the PV cell is found by applying the Kirchoffs current
law on the equivalent circuit shown in Figure 1.
I C = I SC I d
(1)
where, Isc is equal to the photon generated current, and Id is the current that is shunted through
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equation
the intrinsic diode of the cell. The diode current of the SPV cell is given by the Shockleys diode
(2)
ce
qVd
kT
I d = I 0 e op 1
For the ideal case, this voltage is equal to the cell voltage, VC.
Using equations (2) and (3), the current and voltage of the PV cell can be written as:
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various parameters of a solar PV module. The mathematical model was formed using the
qV
I C = I Ph I 0 e d 1
kT
op
Vd =
I +I IC
ln Ph O
q
IO
kTop
(3)
(4)
The reverse saturation current of diode (Io) is constant under the constant temperature and found
by setting the open-circuit condition. On assuming Ic = 0 in equation (5), the open circuit voltage
is obtained as:
VOC =
I +I
ln Ph O
q
IO
kTop
(5)
I
ln Ph
q
IO
kTop
(6)
To a very good approximation, the photon generated current (or the short circuit current)
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is directly proportional to the irradiance, the intensity of illumination, to PV cell. Thus, if the
value, Isc, is known from the datasheet, under the standard test condition, Go=1000 W/m2, Top =
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G
I SC G = I SC Go
Go
(7)
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It is evident from equation (6) that the cell open-circuit voltage is proportional to the logarithm
of the irradiance. Therefore it does not vary very much with light intensity. However, it is
temperature dependent and in the case of silicon based SPV cell decreases by 2.3 mV for each
degree Celsius increase in temperature. The cells are characterized normally at a standard
insolation of 1 kW/m2 and an operating temperature of 25 C. These cells are rated in terms of
peak watts at the above insolation and temperature. A PV cell having an area of 225x225 mm2 is
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capable of generating approximately 4 watts of power, which is very low to operate small loads
like lights. So it becomes necessary to enhance the power rating of a PV system which can be
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done by connected a suitable number of PV modules in series and parallel to form a PV array of
the required power ratings (Tsai, Tu, and Su 2008; Villalva, Gazoli, and Ruppert 2009).
The internal parameters namely the ideality factor, series resistance and shunt resistance
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25 oC and at air mass (AM) = 1.5, then the photon generated current at any other irradiance, G in
vary with the change in temperature. For better results, the consideration of the effects of these
parameters is necessary. Figure 1 shows an equivalent circuit of a PV cell.
The effect of shunt resistance is much less conspicuous in a PV module compared to the series
resistance, and it will only become noticeable when a number of PV modules are connected in
parallel for a larger system (Altas and Sharaf 2007; Salmi et al. 2012).
I pv = I ph
q VC + I C RS
nkTop
V + IRS
I 0 e
1
RP
(8)
After rearranging the equation (9) we can write I-V equation as shown below:
I ph + IO I C Vpv + I pv RS
ln
I pv RS
q
IO
IO RP
nkTop
(9)
Vpv =
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B. Simulation
The MATLAB/SIMULINK software was used for the purpose of modelling and
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model of the PV module was formed. The different parts of the model have been shown below in
figure 2. Figure 2(a) shows the simulation model photo current Iph generated by the PV module
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at a given operating temperature Top and incident irradiance Irr. Figure 2(b) shows the model for
the diode current Id. In figure 2(c), the model of the shunt current (Ish) of the PV module has been
shown. The model of the thermal voltage (Vt) at the operating temperature has been shown in
figure 2(d). The model of the reverse saturation current (Is) at the operating temperature has been
shown in figure 2(e). In figure 2(f), the working model of the PV module in the masked form has
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been shown.
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C. Experimental work
The experimental setup used for understanding the effects of partial shading of PV module has
been shown in figure 3. The PV module used consisted of 36 cells connected in series. For the
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simulation. Using the various equations from equation (1) to equation (9), the mathematical
purpose of simulation of the module under partially shaded condition, the whole module was
treated as two separate modules in which one contained the cells under normal illumination, and
the other module represented the cells under shaded condition. The shading conditions were
observed for different number of cells shaded at a time. 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 cells of a module
consisting of 36 cells were shaded for this purpose resulting in 8.33%, 16.67%, 25%, 3.33% and
50% shading levels respectively. The pictorial representations of these shading configurations
have been shown in figure 4.
The parametric values of the commercial PV module used for the experimental purpose
along with the experimental conditions have been summarised and listed in Table 1. For the
purpose of simulation, the values of the various parameters used have been summarised as Table
2. The results obtained by MATLAB simulation were verified by practical realization of the
corresponding simulations. The current voltage and power voltage characteristics were
plotted using Sigma Plot to compare different results as shown in figures 5 12. These figures
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are the individual comparisons of the simulated and practical values of the different module
configurations for shading shown in figure 3. It is evident from these figures that the simulated
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compared for shading levels and have been shown in figure 11. In figure 12, the comparison is
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It is evident from figures 5 12 that when a part of a PV module is shaded, there is a loss
of power in the shaded cells. On comparing the I V characteristics given in figure 11 and 12, it
is evident that the resistance of the module has increased with the increase of shading. For the
same value of voltage, the current is less as we increase the shading level. As we know from the
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V = I.R
for a fixed value of voltage (V), if the value of current (I) is dropping, then the value of
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resistance (R) is increasing. So, it can be clearly stated that the value of the module resistance
increases with the increase of the level of shading to the PV module. The characteristic equation
of a solar module is dependent on the number of cells connected in parallel and series. It has
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results are almost near to the practical values. The practical values that were obtained have been
been observed from experimental results that the current variation is less dependent on the shunt
resistance and is more dependent on the series resistance (Altas and Sharaf 2007; Salmi et al.
2012).
As the shaded cells cannot produce as much current as in the case of non-shaded cells due
to the fact that the output current of a PV cell is proportional to the amount of insolation level
reaching it. As all cells are connected in series in a module, the same amount of current must
flow through every cell. Non-shaded cells will force shaded cells to pass more current than their
new short circuit current. The only way that shaded cells can operate at current higher than their
short circuit current is to operate in the region of negative voltage. This causes a net voltage loss
in the system. Shaded cells absorb power and begin to act as a load. In other words, shaded cells
dissipate power as heat and cause hot spots. Consequently the current available in a series string
is limited by the current of the solar cell with the lowest level of illumination. The PV cells on
being shaded may begin to act as load, consuming power from the fully illuminated PV cells. If
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With an increasing trend of using integrated PV array systems, it is hard to avoid the
conditions of partial shading of the arrays due to the presence of neighbouring structures and
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passing by objects in the sky. The study of partial shaded conditions of PV modules has become
an important problem. The effects and impacts of partially shaded PV arrays on its performance
have been widely discussed. Several authors have given the remedy to the losses which occur
due to the partial shading (Rani, Ilango, and Nagamani 2013; Rao, Ilango, and Nagamani 2014;
Wang et al. 2014). The PV panels are to be connected in reconfigurable manner so as to extract
the power that was earlier lost to partial shading. Using bypass diodes take care of the hotspot
Conclusion
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power due to shadowing problems. The MATLAB simulation model is employed to model solar
cell by taking series and parallel resistance of the cells into account. For this study various
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hot-spot problems occur, it causes an irreversible damage to the PV system (Quaschning and
shading patterns have been simulated using the MATLAB simulation model. The Simulink
model presented in this paper has been successfully verified by comparing the simulation results
with real measured data. This model can be used to simulate the working of a given PV module
to test its performance before actually implementing an actual PV module when its design
parameters are known, can be obtained from the manufacturer. An advantage of the presented
simulation model is the possibility to simulate a whole PV array by giving the various input
parameters for each solar cell present in the PV module, making it possible to study panel
characteristics for different shadow patterns as well as temperature variations in particular solar
cells. It is evident from the various characteristics that were obtained that there is a loss of power
output from the PV module. This is because of the uneven insolation level on each cell. With the
increase in the level of shading, the module resistance increases, this also reduces the power
generated from the module. The current output from the cell is dependent upon the level of
insolation. It also depends on the thermal voltage which ultimately depends on the operating
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temperature.
Acknowledgements
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College of Engineering and Technology, A.M.U. for providing the necessary facilities to carry
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Altas, H., and A. M. Sharaf. 2007. A Photovoltaic Array Simulation Model for MatlabSimulink GUI Environment. Proceedings of IEEE on Clean Electrical Power: 341-345.
Castaner, L., and S. Silvestre. 2002. Modelling Photovoltaic Systems Using PSpice. Spain:
Wiley.
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Market
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EPIA
Outlook
for
Photovoltaics
2014-2018.
[Online]
http://www.epia.org/news/publications
Hernanz, R., J. A. C.ampayo Martin, and J. J. Z.amora Belver. 2010. Modeling of
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The authors are thankful to the Department of Electrical Engineering, Zakir Husain
Khan B. H. 2009. Non-Conventional Energy Resources. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.
MacAlpine, S., M. Brandemuehl, and R. Erickson. 2011. Beyond the Module Model and Into
the Array: Mismatch in Series Strings. 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference:
3392-3396.
Mobalegh, S. and J. Jiang. 2011. Partial Shading Modeling of photovoltaic system with
experimental validations. IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, San Diego,
978-986.
Olalla, C., and D. Maksimovic. 2014. Performance of Mismatched PV Systems with Submodule Integrated Converters. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 4 (1): 396-404.
Pandiarajan, N. and R. Muthu., 2011. Mathematical Modeling of Photovoltaic Module with
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Patel, M. R. 2000. Wind and Solar Power Systems. New York: CRC Press.
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characteristics of photo voltaic systems with shaded solar cells. Solar Energy 56: 513520.
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Ramabadran, R. and B. Mathur. 2009. Effect of Shading on Series and Parallel Connected Solar
PV Modules. Modern Applied Science 3 (10): 32-41
Ramli, M. Z., and Z. Salam. 2014. A Simple Energy Recovery Scheme to Harvest the Energy
from Shaded Photovoltaic Modules During Partial Shading. IEEE Transactions on Power
Electronics 29 (12): 6458-6471.
Rani, I., G. S. Ilango, and C. Nagamani. 2013. Enhanced Power Generation From PV Array
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Sharma, P., and H. Patel. 2014. Maximum Power Extraction From a Partially Shaded PV Array
Using Shunt-Series Compensation. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 4 (4): 1128-1137.
Silvestre, S., A. Boronat, and A. Chouder, 2009. Study of bypass diodes configuration on PV
modules. Applied Energy 86: 1632-1640.
Tsai, H. L., Ci-SiangC. S. Tu, and Y. J.i-Jie Su., 2008 Development of Generalized
Photovoltaic Model Using MATLAB/SIMULINK. Proceedings of the World Congress
on Engineering and Computer Science, San Francisco, October 22 - 24.
Villalva, M. G., J. R. Gazoli, and E. R. Filho. 2009. Comprehensive Approach to Modeling and
Simulation of PV Arrays. IEEE Transaction on Power Electronics 25 (5): 1198-1208.
Wang, Y., X. Lin, Y. Kim, and N. Chang. 2014. Architecture and Control Algorithms for
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Combating Partial Shading in Photovoltaic Systems. IEEE Transactions on ComputerWoyte, A., J. Nijs, and R. Belmans. 2003. Partial shadowing of photo voltaic arrays with
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217-233.
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Figure Legends
Figure 1: Single diode equivalent circuit of PV cell with a series resistance and parallel
resistance.
Figure 2: Simulink models showing (a) photo current, (b) diode current, (c) shunt current, (d)
thermal voltage, (e) reverse saturation current, (f) masked model of the PV module used to
obtain the simulation results.
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Figure 3: Setup of the experiment showing the panel consisting of 36 cells that is illuminated
from a source having maximum irradiance level of 1100 W/m2. The measurement panel is shown
alongside the module to which a potentiometer is connected.
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Figure 4: Pictorial representation of the shading configurations of the 36 cells module used for
the experimental purpose, showing the percentage of module under shading as (a) zero percent
shading, (b) 8.33% shading, (c) 16.77% shading, (d) 25% shading, (e) 33.33% shading, (f) 50%
shading. In the figure, the light blue coloured small rectangular blocks are depicting the PV cells
in the module which are separated by a blue lines. The shaded region is shown by the grey
coloured rectangular block.
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different system configurations: literature review and field test results. Solar Energy 74:
Figure 5: This figure shows the comparison of the characteristics obtained by simulation and
practical values when the module was fully illuminated at an irradiance of 950 W/m2 (a) Current
Voltage characteristics, (b) Power Voltage characteristics.
Figure 6: Showing the comparison of the characteristics obtained by simulation and practical
values for the case when 8.33% cells were shaded (a) Current Voltage characteristics, (b)
Power Voltage characteristics.
Figure 7: The comparison of the characteristics obtained by simulated result and practical
values, for a shading of 16.67% cells of the module (a) Current Voltage characteristics, (b)
Power Voltage characteristics.
Figure 8: Showing the comparison of the characteristics obtained by simulation and practical
values when 25% cells of the module were shaded at a time (a) Current Voltage characteristics,
(b) Power Voltage characteristics.
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Figure 9: This figure shows the comparison of the characteristics obtained by simulation and
practical values when the level of shading was 33.33% (a) Current Voltage characteristics, (b)
Power Voltage characteristics.
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Figure 11: Comparison of the characteristics of the PV module showing the effect of increase of
shading at a step of 16.67% of the cells of the module (a) Current Voltage characteristics, (b)
Power Voltage characteristics.
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Figure 12: Comparison of the characteristics of the PV module showing the effect of increasing
the shaded cells with a step of 25% of the cells in the module (a) Current Voltage
characteristics, (b) Power Voltage characteristics.
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Figure 10: The comparison showing the characteristics obtained by simulation and practical
values when 50% cells were shaded at once (a) Current Voltage characteristics, (b) Power
Voltage characteristics.
21 V
2.
Isc
2.4 A
3.
Pmpp
37 W
4.
Imp
2.14 A
5.
Vmp
19.6 V
6.
Ns
36
7.
Top
30 oC
8.
950 W/m2
9.
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1.
Value
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Parameter
500 W/m2
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Table 2: Parameters used in the simulation of the PV module (Tsai, Tu and Su 2008; Mobalegh
and Jiang 2011)
S. No
Parameter
Value
Voc
21 V
2.
Isc
2.4 A
3.
Ns
36
Np
5.
Ki
0.0022 A/K
6.
Kv
-0.0073 V/K
7.
Rs
0.01
8.
Rp
300
9.
Top
303.15 K
10.
950 W/m2
11.
1.3
12.
500 W/m2
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4.
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