Performance analysis of mono crystalline, poly crystalline and thin film material based 6 × 6 T-C-T PV array under different partial shading situations

Abstract

The selection of proper encapsulation material plays a vital role in design and development of PV modules for achieving good performance. Characteristics of a selected PV module material show great impact on electric yield, long term durability, processing of modules and cost. A high thermal conductivity material removes the generated heat fast and it helps in reducing operating temperatures of PV modules there by improvement in electric yield. Proper material selection, partial shadings, solar irradiance, temperature, aging effect, etc. has high impact on the quality of PV systems. Certain cells or modules in a PV array are shadowed by passing clouds, trees, poles, buildings, bird droppings, and other objects in partial shading conditions (PSCs), also known as mismatch situations. Under PSCs, Total-Cross-Tied (TCT) PV array configuration generates more Global maximum Power (GMP) compared to other configurations like series-parallel, Honey-Comb and Bridge-Link. Total-Cross-Tied PV array configuration can be formed by connecting cross ties in between the strings to improve the global maximum power from PV array. In this paper, the performance analysis of mono crystalline, poly crystalline and thin film material based 6 × 6 T-C-T PV array topology under various partial shading conditions has been investigated. To check the efficacy of the material considered for the PV array, the performance measures like mismatch losses, fill factor, Global Maximum Power Point and conversion efficiency have been used.