Artificial neural network-based modelling and fault detection of partial shaded photovoltaic modules

In this paper, a fault detection method for photovoltaic module under partially shaded conditions is introduced. It consists to use an artificial neural network in order to estimate the output photovoltaic current and voltage under variable working conditions. The measured data (solar irradiance, cell temperature, photovoltaic current and voltage) at Renewable Energy Laboratory REL, Jijel University (Algeria), have been used. The comparison between the estimated current and voltage with the ones measured gives useful information on the operating state of the considered photovoltaic module. To show the effectiveness of the proposed method, several shading patterns have been investigated. The results showed that the designed method accurately detects the shading effect on the photovoltaic module. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.