Hybrid PV Array Configurations for Reducing the Multiple-Peak Power Points in $I-V$ and $P-V$ characteristics under Partial Shading Conditions

The photovoltaic (PV) central inverter architecture comprises different types of array configurations. The conventional configurations are series-parallel (S-P), total-cross-tied (T-C-T), bridge-linked (B-L), and honey-comb (H-C). These configurations represent the multiple-peak power points (M-PPPs) in the output characteristics ( I-V & P-V curves) under partial shading conditions (PSCs) and also reduces the power output. The presence of M-PPPs in the output characteristics complicates the implementation of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques and may fail in tracking the global MPP (GMPP) under certain instances. This paper proposes the 6×6 hybrid configurations, such as series-parallel-cross-tied (S-P-C-T), bridge-linked-cross-tied (B-L-C-T), honey-comb-cross-tied (H-C-C-T), and bridge-linked-honey-comb (B-L-H-C) to central inverter architecture. The hybrid configurations are formed by combining any two of the conventional configurations and modelled in MATLAB/Simulink software tool. The proposed configurations under PSCs reduce the M-PPPs and also generates more amount of power compared to the conventional configurations. The performance of the proposed configurations is determined under various PSCs and compared with the conventional configurations. The amount of maximum power and the number of M-PPPs generated in each configuration under-considered PSCs are noted.