Reconfiguration of PV array for improved performance under different partial shading conditions using Roulette Barrel Shifter approach

Abstract

This article proposes an innovative reconfiguration technique called Roulette Barrel Shifter (RBS) for Total Cross Tied (TCT) connected PV arrays. Inspired by a spinning roulette wheel and the barrel shifter from digital signal processing, it shifts or rotates input data bits by a number of bits. Unlike other methods, RBS does not require advanced maximum power point tracking devices, sensors, or complex switching mechanisms, making it more cost-effective. Simulation studies on 9 × 9 and 10 × 10 PV arrays under Partial Shading (PS) conditions, as well as experimental validation on a 5 × 5 array, demonstrate that RBS increases power by up to 15.45 % compared to TCT. The algorithm is also tested for scalability and adaptability on a large solar plant (4 MW, 2175 V, 25 × 750 PV array). For the first time, the article introduces a unique wiring loss (WL) performance metric using the k-means algorithm. Based on this metric, RBS is shown to reduce WL by up to 6.98 % compared to other recently published methods. Comparative analysis reveals that RBS reduces mismatch loss (ML) by up to 61.41 % compared to TCT, establishing its superiority over existing dynamic reconfiguration approaches in both performance and efficiency across various scales of solar arrays.