• Energy Research

Abstract The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of climatic conditions on the performance of photovoltaic modules installed in the desert region in south of Algeria. Firstly, the performance of ISOFOTON 100 module under daily weather conditions is evaluated. Next, the effects of partial shading and accumulation of sand dust for a period of two months on power loss and the current–voltage characteristics of photovoltaic modules are examined. Finally, the visual inspection of the degradation of the UDTS 50 modules such as discoloration of encapsulant and delamination show the influence of high temperature and the other climatic factors in the Saharan environment after a long time exposure of more than 10 years observed in the field at the Unit of Research in Renewable energy URERMS Adrar. The performance degradation is also assessed using (I–V and P–V) curves normalized at STC condition compared with the nominal STC data given by the manufacturer. The experimental results show that the performance parameters such as maximum output current (Imax), maximum output voltage (Vmax), maximum power output (Pmax), open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current (Isc) and fill factor (FF) of UDTS 50 modules are degraded after these years of exposition.

Abstract The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of climatic conditions on the performance of photovoltaic modules installed in the desert region in south of Algeria. Firstly, the performance of ISOFOTON 100 module under daily weather conditions is evaluated. Next, the effects of partial shading and accumulation of sand dust for a period of two months on power loss and the current–voltage characteristics of photovoltaic modules are examined. Finally, the visual inspection of the degradation of the UDTS 50 modules such as discoloration of encapsulant and delamination show the influence of high temperature and the other climatic factors in the Saharan environment after a long time exposure of more than 10 years observed in the field at the Unit of Research in Renewable energy URERMS Adrar. The performance degradation is also assessed using (I–V and P–V) curves normalized at STC condition compared with the nominal STC data given by the manufacturer. The experimental results show that the performance parameters such as maximum output current (Imax), maximum output voltage (Vmax), maximum power output (Pmax), open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current (Isc) and fill factor (FF) of UDTS 50 modules are degraded after these years of exposition.

In this paper, a contribution to modeling and fault diagnosis of rotor and stator faults of a Self-Excited Induction Generator (SEIG) in an Isolated Wind Energy Conversion System (IWECS) is proposed. In order to control the speed of the wind turbine, while basing on the linear model of wind turbine system about a specified operating point, a new Fractional-Order Controller (FOC) with a simple and practical design method is proposed. The FOC ensures the stability of the nonlinear system in both healthy and faulty conditions. Furthermore, in order to detect the stator and rotor faults in the squirrel-cage self-excited induction generator, an on-line fault diagnostic technique based on the spectral analysis of stator currents of the squirrel-cage SEIG by a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm is used. Additionally, a generalized model of the squirrel-cage SEIG is developed to simulate both the rotor and stator faults taking iron loss, main flux and cross flux saturation into account. The efficiencies of generalized model, control strategy and diagnostic procedure are illustrated with simulation results.

In this paper, a contribution to modeling and fault diagnosis of rotor and stator faults of a Self-Excited Induction Generator (SEIG) in an Isolated Wind Energy Conversion System (IWECS) is proposed. In order to control the speed of the wind turbine, while basing on the linear model of wind turbine system about a specified operating point, a new Fractional-Order Controller (FOC) with a simple and practical design method is proposed. The FOC ensures the stability of the nonlinear system in both healthy and faulty conditions. Furthermore, in order to detect the stator and rotor faults in the squirrel-cage self-excited induction generator, an on-line fault diagnostic technique based on the spectral analysis of stator currents of the squirrel-cage SEIG by a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm is used. Additionally, a generalized model of the squirrel-cage SEIG is developed to simulate both the rotor and stator faults taking iron loss, main flux and cross flux saturation into account. The efficiencies of generalized model, control strategy and diagnostic procedure are illustrated with simulation results.