C-language based PV array simulation technique considering effects of partial shading

Abstract

The performance of photovoltaic (PV) array is strongly dependent on the operating conditions especially the solar irradiation. The shading on PV array by the passing clouds or neighboring buildings causes not only power losses, but also non-linearity of V-I characteristics of PV array. Under partially shaded conditions, the characteristics have more non-linearity with multiple local maxima. In spite of several researchers have studied the PV characteristics under the partial shading condition, it is difficult to simulate the partial shading condition on the simulation tool for power electronics. The C-language based PV array simulation strategy proposed in here is to simulate the effects of partial shading condition for developing more advanced maximum power point tracking algorithms or power conversion systems. Proposed modeling strategy is easily connected to simulation tools. In this paper, the modeling of photovoltaic array is based on the numerical analysis, and the verification is performed using PSIM.