A Reliable Photovoltaic Inverter Using a Fault Tolerant Algorithm and a Traic System

Power electronic inverters play a key role in power conversion of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Thus, the inverters should be highly reliable and immune to faulty conditions. This paper proposes a fault tolerant algorithm that detects, classifies the switch faults and tolerate them through applying a Triac based fault tolerant configuration. During the fault diagnosis process, the inductor current values and output voltage values are continuously observed. Consequently, the faults are identified and classified. Thus, the control system along with an additional Triac based configuration operate to maintain a stable power flow. Using these techniques and algorithms, the detection and classification of the faults is implemented in 1-2 switching cycle. Moreover, the reliability of PV inverters increases due to additional switching options created by Triac system.