Optimal reconfiguration of PV array based on digital image encryption algorithm: A comprehensive simulation and experimental investigation

Abstract

Harvesting the optimal output from partially shaded PV arrays is a crucial issue. To address this, various reconfiguration techniques are reported in the literature. However, most of these techniques inherit numerous drawbacks such as compatibility issues, ineffective shade dispersal, numerous power peaks, inconsistent performance, increased mismatch, etc. Therefore, a novel reconfiguration approach based on Arnold’s Cat Map which is widely employed in image encryption is proposed in this work to overcome all the aforementioned issues. The proposed approach is tested for various symmetrical 9 × 9, 7 × 7, 6 × 6, 5 × 5, 4 × 4, and unsymmetrical 3 × 5, 4 × 3, 5 × 9, and 6 × 20 PV arrays under 100 shading cases. The performance of the proposed technique is compared with the 41 existing reconfiguration techniques for various array sizes. The proposed technique is experimentally validated in both indoor laboratory and outdoor environments for 4 × 4 and 3 × 5 PV arrays under distinct shading conditions. Further, to confirm the effectiveness and consistency of the proposed technique over the existing ones statistically, a Non-parametric Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test with a significant difference of 0.05 is considered for evaluation. The proposed technique yields the maximum enhancement in output by 30.81%, 36.36%, 38.15%, 33.77%, 16.62%, 21.8%, 18.42%, and 16.79% for 9 × 9, 7 × 7, 6 × 6, 5 × 5, 4 × 4, 4 × 3, 5 × 9, and 6 × 20 PV arrays respectively. From the comprehensive analysis, it is remarked that the lowest mismatch is obtained by the proposed encryption based-technique under all shading conditions.