Simulation of Fault Detection in Photovoltaic System Based On SSTDR

Abstract

Spread spectrum time domain reflectometry (SSTDR) is a broadband electrical reflectometry technique that has been successfully used to detect and locate faults on live electrical systems, including power systems, even photovoltaic (PV) systems. The high-frequency equivalent circuits of PV system, including DC bus cable, connecting wire and PV cell are analyzed in the paper. Detection simulations of ground faults, line-to-line faults and approximate open-circuit faults caused by aging in PV string are carried out and analyzed. The results of the simulation in Matlab indicate the effectiveness of SSTDR for different faults detection in photovoltaic array.