Maximum Power Estimation of Total Cross-Tied Connected PV Cells in Different Shading Conditions for High Current Application

Abstract

In the existing solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, cells are connected in series. The performance of the series-connected module degrades severely during partial shading conditions (PSCs). Furthermore, the use of bypass diode causes multiple peak (local and global peaks) problems. Therefore, a total cross tied (TCT) connection has been proposed in this article to connect the cells in a module (TCT connected module) that gives a better performance during partial shading without multiple peak problems. A novel analytical algorithm is presented in this article, which will help the PV installers to estimate the output power of a TCT connected module without using any sophisticated measuring instruments except irradiance and temperature measurement. The proposed analytical algorithm is simple, robust, and user-friendly, which can be widely used in multidisciplinary research. The output of the proposed model is verified with the simulation and laboratory-scale experimental results, which shows less than 4.58% error. Moreover, the proposed algorithm is implemented in a 10 MW solar plant, which shows around 174.44% performance improvement (PI) compared to the existing TCT connected array. Furthermore, the current value of the TCT connected module is very high, which can be effectively used in high current applications such as welding even in PSC.