Development of a Comprehensive Virtual Test Bench Aimed at Photovoltaic Inverters

Authors

Keywords:

Design methodology, FIDES, Inverters, Power system reliability, Photovoltaic systems, Reliability, Virtual prototyping

Abstract

This paper describes the implementation of a comprehensive Virtual Test Bench VTB aimed at the reliability prognosis for photovoltaic inverters. The scheme is based on the Design for Reliability approach, and uses the FIDES reliability prediction methodology to include information about the mission profile. That, in combination with the selected computational tools, provides a fast, low-cost tool for the analysis and reliability prognosis of Photovoltaic Inverters. The VTB usefulness and versatility are demonstrated by way of the analysis and comparison of three inverters: full-bridge, T-type and I-type neutral-point configurations. Meteorological data from the intended installation site was used to develop a mission profile. The results include the Mean Time Between Failures, and both individual and overall failure rates. The VTB is a resource-saving alternative for performing reliability audits of the designs to be prototyped, providing valuable information that saves time in later design cycle stages.

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Author Biographies

Jose Luis Salgado Doroteo, Centro Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico

Received the B.Sc. degree (2013) in Electromechanical Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Zacatepec, Morelos, México; the M.Sc. degree (2002) in electronics engineering (power electronic area) from the National Center of Research and Technological Development (CENIDET), Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Jorge Hugo Calleja Gjumlich, Centro Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico

Received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering. He was with the Engineering Faculty, National Autonomous University of Mexico for six years, and with the Institute for Electrical Research for nine years, where he was in charge of the development of metering equipment. Since 1993, he has been a full-time Professor with CENIDET, Cuernavaca, Mexico, where he is currently involved in the design of photovoltaic (PV) systems. He is the Author of a book on electronic circuits for data acquisition. His research interests include electronic instrumentation for power electronics and reliability issues in PV systems.

Jesús Darío Mina Antonio, Centro Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico

Received the B.Sc. degree (1999) in electrical engineering from the Technological Institute of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México; the M.Sc. degree (2002) in electronics engineering (automatic control area) from the National Center of Research and Technological Development (CENIDET), Cuernavaca, Mexico; and the Ph.D. degree (2008), in control engineering, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Since 2009, he has been a researcher with the group of power electronics, at the Electronics Engineering Department of CENIDET where he has worked in analysis and control applied to renewable energy-based generation, distributed generation and microgrids.

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Published

2021-05-26

How to Cite

Salgado Doroteo, J. L., Calleja Gjumlich, J. H., & Mina Antonio, . J. D. (2021). Development of a Comprehensive Virtual Test Bench Aimed at Photovoltaic Inverters. IEEE Latin America Transactions, 19(12), 2097–2104. Retrieved from https://latamt.ieeer9.org/index.php/transactions/article/view/5140