Energy 218 (2021) 119480

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Energy
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Analysis of electrical and thermal characteristics of PV array under

mismatching conditions caused by partial shading and short circuit
failure of bypass diodes
Chung Geun Lee a, b, Woo Gyun Shin b, Jong Rok Lim b, Gi Hwan Kang b, Young Chul Ju b,
Hye Mi Hwang b, Hyo Sik Chang a, Suk Whan Ko b, *
a
Department of Energy Science and Technology, Graduate School of Energy Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, 99, Daeohak-ro,
Yuseon-gu, Daejeon, 305-764, South Korea
b
Photovoltaics Research Department, New and Renewable Energy Institute, Korea Institute of Energy Research, 152, Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon, 305-
343, South Korea

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this paper, the problems of PV arrays under partial shading and a short circuit failure of bypass diode
Received 22 June 2020 were analyzed with modeling the mathematical equation by using simulation, and the electrical and
Received in revised form thermal characteristics were analyzed in an outdoor with a module which fabricated assuming a real PV
19 October 2020
array. The simulation model shows the mismatch current due to a bypass diode failure is proportional to
Accepted 28 November 2020
the number of fault diodes and parallel strings in PV arrays. From the results of a field experiment, a
Available online 5 December 2020
reverse current did not flow into the mismatching string under partial shading regardless of system
operation status, but the temperature of bypass diode in the case of system operation was 15e23
C
Keywords:
Short circuit failure of bypass diodes
higher than that of the other case. However, in case of the fault bypass diode with the system off, the
Voltage mismatch conditions reverse current of 17A flowed into a fault string. Besides, the surface temperature of fault bypass diode
Reverse current reached above 140
C, and some solar cells within a fault string was 18
C higher than normal strings. In
Melting of the junction box this paper, we verified that the short circuit failure of bypass diode creates a mismatch loss in PV system,
PV module Heating and the reverse current causes electric-thermal problems in PV array.
PV system Loss © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction connected in parallel to the PV array. Partial shading is mainly

In the PV (Photovoltaic) systems, the PV array consists of strings
of PV modules connected in parallel, each string is composed of
modules connected in series. Recently, the large-scale of PV sys-
tems have reduced a capital cost and improved system efficiency as
the system voltage increases up to 1500V [1,2]. However, depend-
ing on the system voltage increased 1500V, the number of series
strings increases from to 24 to 32. Therefore, one faulty PV module
could affect more PV module in 1500V, resulting in more mismatch
losses [3,4]. The most common factors of mismatch loss in PV
system is a failure of bypass diode and partial shading. These
mismatch factors cause differences in the performance of PV strings
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ82-42-860-3282; Fax: þ82-42-860-3692.
E-mail addresses: chung4219@gmail.com (C.G. Lee), swghero@kier.re.kr
(W.G. Shin), jongrok@kier.re.kr (J.R. Lim), ghkang@kier.re.kr (G.H. Kang), ycju@
kier.re.kr (Y.C. Ju), hyemi@kier.re.kr (H.M. Hwang), hschang@cnu.ac.kr
(H.S. Chang), korea19@kier.re.kr (S.W. Ko).
caused by the shadows of obstacles that occur at specific times, and
temporarily moving clouds [5,6]. Moreover, there is a study
released by using computer simulation to estimate and analyze a
reverse current due to partial shading and short circuited string in
PV system. According to this study, a little reverse current flowed
while the number of shaded PV modules increased, but, a reverse
current greatly rose as the number of short circuited PV modules
increased [7]. Bypass diode can fail due to lightning strikes or
thermal runaway from frequent operation [8]. The recent study
showed simulation results that damaged bypass diodes by light-
ning strikes to lead reverse current flowed from normal string to
the failed string, which generate heat and burn out [9]. Further-
more, bypass diodes can deteriorate due to high temperature of
thermal runaway by rapid transitioning from forward bias state to
reverse bias [10,11]. In this regard, there is a study released which
changes in electrical property at PV module caused by a failure of
bypass diode. The failure bypass diodes lose their properties of
forward and reverse bias to become a micro-resistance, and are in a

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.119480
0360-5442/© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
).
C.G. Lee, W.G. Shin, J.R. Lim et al.
short circuit state with solar cells that connected to a fault bypass
diode [12,13]. Furthermore, a recent research reported, when the
bypass diode is shorted failure while the PV system is stopped, the
temperature of a junction box increases [14]. These mismatch fac-
tors change Maximum Power Point (MPP) of PV modules or strings
bringing about the system output loss on the PV system.
Various studies have been released to improve the output
mismatch of PV system using computer simulation or experiments.
According to previous researches, applying DC-DC converters
improved the performance of PV systems and recovered mismatch
losses due to shading [15e17]. There is a recent paper to propose
the current collector optimizer (CCO) topology to increase
maximum power from mismatch losses on non-uniform PV array
by aged PV modules [18]. Moreover, there is an experimental study
released that the new interconnection of PV modules at the string
or array level have increased more the maximum power output in
partial shading conditions than traditional module interconnection
[19,20]. A comparison of power output characteristics with
mismatch losses along PV array configurations, such as series-
parallel (SP), bridge-linked (BL), total cross tied (TCT), etc, under
partial shading has been analyzed by using a computer simulation
and conducting outdoor experiments [21e23]. A study proposed a
novel methodology incorporated recent metaheuristic approach of
butterfly optimization algorithm (BOA) to reconfigure the shaded
PV array optimally and extract the global maximum power (GMP)
[24]. In addition, the performance of PV system according to the
impact of partial shading and aerosol has investgated on various PV
array configurations from experimental study [25].
In the other way, many studies have been conducted to detect
faults accurately in PV systems due to the external operating con-
ditions. The fault detection and diagnosis methods can reduce
power losses, also improve the reliability and safety of PV plants.
There is a review paper published which is sorted fault types of PV
system as infrared thermal image pattern and IeV characteristics
with expected performance of each fault situations [26,27].
Futehrmore, the other paper reviewd types of fault and diagnosis
methods for PV system and suggested challenging issues and future
directions of fault diagnosis techniques [28]. In the stduy of fault
diagnosis in connected PV systems, the indicators of abnormal
current, voltage and frequency have proposed to detect and esti-
mate power losses in fault situations [29]. However, the studies that
analyzed electrical and thermal characteristics of arrays due to
mismatch in PV system have been conducted insufficient. In order
to understand actual mismatch situations of real PV systems due to
partial shading and a failure of bypass diode, in-depth studies
should be conducted. Therefore, at the system level, it is necessary
to analyze mismatch phenomenon caused by shading and bypass
diode failure from the electrical circuit point of view, and to analyze
the changes of thermal characteristics in PV array.
The main contribution of this work is to analyze the electrical
and thermal characteristics of PV arrays under mismatching con-
ditions, caused by partial shading and short circuit failure of bypass
diodes. First, it was conducted to simulated when a short circuit
failure of bypass diode occurred in DC array using Matlab-Simulink.
Based on the simulation results, a mathematical model was derived
for a correlation of the reverse current flowing into the mis-
matching string, the number of parallel circuits in the array, and the
bypass diode failure. Then, a module that imitated a 100 kW scale of
real PV array was fabricated, and experiments were conducted to
analyze the electrical and thermal characteristics of the PV arrays
due to partial shading and bypass diode failure at outdoor. From the
simulation and experiment results, the reverse current did no flow
in partial shading, but the reverse current about 17A flowed in
bypass diode failure when the system was not working (5 parallel
circuits and 1 bypass diode failure). In addition, due to massive
2
Energy 218 (2021) 119480
reverse current, the temperature of solar cells rose and the bypass
diode is irreversible damaged.
The paper is organized as follows: the next section presents
electrical characteristics of the PV module by partial shading and
fault bypass diodes. The simulation results and mathematical
models by fault bypass didoes and parallel circuits are provided in
Section 3. The field test results of electrical and thermal charac-
teristics of PV arrays by partial shading and fault bypass diodes are
provided in Section 4. Results and discussion are given Section 5.
2. Electrical characteristics of a PV module on partial shading
and short circuit failure of bypass diodes
The major causes of mismatch in PV arrays are cases that one is a
bypass diode operated by shading condition, and the other is short
circuit failure of bypass diode. The previous research [30] has
shown that a reverse current does not flow in a mismatch situation
due to shading, however, it does flow in a bypass diode fault con-
dition. When one bypass diode is conducted by partial shading,
output voltage (¼Maximum Voltage) of PV module decreases by 1/
3 (Commercial PV module with 6 solar cell strings, one bypass
diode connected 2 solar cell strings). However, open circuit voltage
decreases as much as the operating voltage of bypass diode
compared to the normal state. This is because solar cell is inde-
pendent current source and generate power when there is light. As
shown in Fig. 1, even if the bypass diode operates, the open circuit
voltage of module does not decrease significantly, so there will be
no voltage mismatch between PV strings.
Bypass diodes are installed inside the junction box of PV module
operating in shading condition, which prevents the output loss of
module and hot spot damage of solar cells. However, if there are
short failure of bypass diodes in PV module, the short circuit cur-
rent is the same as the normal state, but the open circuit voltage
and maximum power are significantly decreased [31]. The failure of
bypass diode loses the characteristics of diode and becomes a
micro-resistance. Hence, solar cells within PV module that con-
nected with a fault bypass diode consist of a short circuit, which can
express as an equivalent circuit, as shown in Fig. 2. At this moment,
even if there is no shading, the current flows to the fault bypass
diode, as shown in Eq. (1).
ID ¼ Isc  I (1)
The voltage of solar cells connected to a fault bypass diode is
equal to the product of the current flowing through the diode and
Fig. 1. IeV curves of a PV module due to the number of bypass diodes operating by
partial shading.
C.G. Lee, W.G. Shin, J.R. Lim et al.
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of a PV module with a fault bypass diode.
the resistance. However, the voltage drops almost 0 V due to the
micro resistance of the fault bypass diode. Thus, a fault bypass
diode drops the open voltage of PV module, and the voltage drop
increases as the number of fault bypass diodes. The current equa-
tion of PV module including a fault bypass diode is represented as
following Eq. (2).
2 0  1 3 current and the fault diode current reduces due to the increase in
V=2N þ IRs  ID RD=2N
6 B C 7
I ¼ Isc  I0 4exp@ A  15
nVth
 
ðIsc IÞRD
V=2N þ IRs  2N
 (2)
Rsh
If the inverter is operating normally, the current flowing into a
fault bypass diode by the output current will not be large as in Eq.
(1). On the other hand, if the inverter is in a fault condition or
stopped, the output current becomes about 0 A, so that the short
circuit current of solar cell flows into the fault bypass diode, as
shown in Eq. (3).
ID ¼ Isc
In a typical PV module that consists of 60 cells or 72 cells, the
open voltage of PV module due to a short circuit failure of bypass
diode is reduced by 1/3 per diode. This will lead a large voltage
difference between the PV strings.
3. Analysis of electrical characteristics on short circuit failure
of bypass diodes in PV array
3.1. Electrical simulation by using matlab-simulink
The previous results have shown that the reverse current
flowing into the mismatching string increases as the number of
fault bypass diodes increases in a real operating PV system. How-
ever, there is any electrical properties of PV array caused by a short
Energy 218 (2021) 119480
circuit failure of bypass diode have not been analyzed. Hence, in
this section, it was investigated the correlation between fault
bypass diodes and PV array using Matlab-simulink. In order to
compare results between simulation and real field experiments, the
circuit was designed a lab-scale PV array. The electrical specifica-
tions of solar cell used in the lab-scale module apply equally in the
simulation, and are described in Table 1. The open voltage of solar
cell used in the experiment is similar to the operating voltage of a
bypass diode, so the bypass diode does not turn on. For this reason,
one module in the general PV array is equivalent to three solar cells
in a module of lab-scale PV array, which has one bypass diode
connected per three solar cells, as shown in Fig. 3.
The simulation was performed in the open circuit state of the PV
array due to inverter shutdown and it was assumed that only one of
parallel strings had a short circuit failure bypass diode. The envi-
ronment condition of simulation was assumed in STC conditions, in
which the irradiance is 1000 W/m2, and the temperature of PV
module is 25
C. The variables of the simulation set to increase the
number of parallel circuits from 2 to 5, and the number of fault
bypass diodes to 1 and 2. Under these conditions, a reverse current
flowing into the mismatching string and a current flowing through
the fault bypass diode were simulated.
The simulation results are summarized in Table 2. Both current
values increased as the number of parallel circuits increases from 1
to 5 and fault bypass diode from 1 to 2. A case of one fault bypass
diode in one of two parallel circuits, the reverse current which
flowed into the mismatching string was 8.8A, and the current
flowing into the fault bypass diode was 18.24A. The other case of
two fault bypass diodes in one of five parallel circuits, the reverse
current which flowed into mismatching string was 24.24A, and
the current flowing into the fault bypass diode was 33.02A. As a
result of the simulation, the reverse current increased as the
number of parallel circuits and fault bypass diodes in PV array.
However, it was confirmed that the increase value of the reverse
the number of parallel circuits, and it affected both of currents, as
shown in Fig. 4(b). Despite these characteristics, the reverse current
increased as the number of fault bypass diodes and parallel circuit
increased.
3.2. The mathematical model
Fig. 5 represents an equivalent circuit of PV array with a short
circuit failure of bypass diode. It described correlation between a
voltage drop that caused by a failure of bypass diode, increasing the
number of parallel circuits in PV array and a reverse current. Where
V1 and V2 are the voltage of string that has a fault bypass diode and
the voltage of normal string, respectively. As the string which
(3) include a fault bypass diode has a lower open voltage than normal
strings in PV array, which causes the potential difference between
PV strings. Therefore, this voltage mismatch between PV strings
allows a reverse current to flow into a fault bypass diode.
The current flowing into a fault bypass diode is the sum of two
currents by Kirchhoff’s current law, one is the short circuit current
of the solar cell that connected with the fault bypass diode, and the
other is the sum of normal strings’ current (¼ mismatching cur-
rent). The short circuit current of solar cell Isc is a constant, so the
value of current flowing to the fault bypass diode from Eq. (4) is
determined by the number of normal strings connected in parallel.
ID ¼ Istring þ Isc (4)
The total voltage of the fault PV string V1 can express a sum of
VD , the voltage of fault bypass diode, and V1 VD , the voltage of
normal solar cell as expressed in Eq. (5).
3
C.G. Lee, W.G. Shin, J.R. Lim et al. Energy 218 (2021) 119480

Table 1
Specification of mono c-Si solar cell used in simulation and experiment.

Type Isc [A] Imax [A] Voc [V] Vmax [V] Pmax [W] FF [%] Rs [U] Rsh [U] Efficiency [%]

Mono 9.43 8.99 0.64 0.54 4.86 80.29 0.006 7.14 20.11

Fig. 3. (a) Schematic of a general PV array and (b) schematic of a lab-scale designed PV array.

Table 2
The reverse current and fault diode current due to each number of fault bypass diode and string by simulation.

Number of Strings 2 3 4 5

Number of Fault diodes 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

Reverse Current [A] 8.8 9.3 14.32 18.01 16.73 22.46 17.9 24.24
Fault Diode Current [A] 18.24 18.75 23.76 27.42 26.16 31.62 27.32 33.02

Fig. 4. The current by the number of fault bypass diodes and strings. (a) The reverse current (b) The fault diode current.

because the resistance of a fault bypass diode is minute. From these

conditions, the voltage of the fault string V1 and the voltage of
V1 ¼ VD þ ðV1  VD Þ (5) normal string V2 can be expressed as Eq. (6).
Each circuit connected in a parallel circuit tries to maintain the
same voltage, therefore, VD has a voltage drop equal to the sum of
V1 ¼ V2 (6)
normal voltage of solar cell connected to the fault bypass diode. In
addition, a large current must flow for voltage drop in normal state If the current does not flow into the shunt resistance of the solar
4
C.G. Lee, W.G. Shin, J.R. Lim et al.
Fig. 5. Equivalent circuit of PV array with a short circuit failure of one bypass diode.
cell, as the PV array is an open state due to the fault status of
inverter, V1 and V2 are represented by Eq. (7) and Eq. (8),
respectively.
V1 ¼ VD þ ðV1  VD Þ ¼ aRD ID þ ðN  MÞVd1 þ ðN  MÞIstring Rs
Istring
V2 ¼ NVd2  N Rs
NP
where Vd1 is the diode voltage of solar cell in the mismatching
string, Vd2 is the diode voltage of solar cell in normal string, Rs is the
series resistance of solar cell, ais the number of short circuit failure
bypass diodes, N is the solar cells connected with normal bypass
diodes, M is the solar cells connected with fault bypass diodes, and
NP is the number of parallel circuits, respectively. The reverse cur-
rent of a mismatching string caused by short circuit failure of
bypass diodes is represented by solving Eq. (6) e (9).
Istring
aRD ID þ ðN  MÞVd1 þ ðN  MÞIstring Rs ¼ NVd2  N Rs
NP
MVd1  aRD Isc  NVd1 þ NVd2
Istring ¼
aRD þ NRs  MRs þ NR s
NP
Eq. (10) represents a model of reverse current flowing into the
mismatching string which is derived from the equivalent circuit.
The model shows that the numerator and denominator are related
to voltage and resistance, respectively. Where NP within denomi-
nator and Istring are proportional relation in large point of view, but
Rs and RD are very little, therefore, increasing of Istring by NP does
not increase proportionally. Additionally, where NVd1 and NVd2
within numerator are offset by an equivalent level of value, and the
value of aRD Isc does not significant effect on Istring because the value
of RD is very little. On the other hand, M and Istring are proportional,
where M is the number of solar cells connected to fault bypass
diode, Istring increases significantly as M increases. Consequently, it
was verified from the derived mathematical model that the reverse
current is proportional to the number of short circuit failure of
Energy 218 (2021) 119480
bypass diodes and parallel circuits in the PV array. Notably, the
number of fault bypass diodes is a major factor to increase a reverse
current.
(7)
4. Analysis of thermal characteristics on partial shading and
(8) short circuit failure of bypass diodes
In the previous section, a reverse current of PV array caused by
short circuit failure bypass diode is simulated using Matlab-
Simulink following the number of parallel circuits. Thus, the elec-
trical characteristics of PV array was analyzed by a mathematical
model which is derived from simulation results. In this section,
experiments were conducted to analyze the electrical and thermal
characteristics of voltage mismatch on PV array due to partial
shading and short circuit failure of bypass diode at real field con-
dition. For experiments, a module was fabricated as same as the PV
array circuit used in simulation, as shown in Fig. 3 (b). The electrical
(9) parameters for each string of lab-scale PV array are summarized in
Table 3. They were measured with a solar simulator under STC
conditions. The open voltage and maximum voltage for each string
are the same, and the maximum power standard deviation is
(10)
0.16 W. Therefore, there will not be mismatching between strings
under normal condition. The voltage mismatch conditions are
partial shading and a short circuit failure of bypass diode, and DC
Electronic Load (IT8514Be500V/60A/1200W) was used to imitate
the operation and stop conditions of inverter. Environmental data
(irradiance, ambient temperature) were measured for the analysis
of thermal characteristics in each condition, and the surface tem-
perature of PV module and bypass diode was measured by using a
thermographic camera (FLIR A300). All thermographic images were
taken with the camera’s default emissivity of 0.92. Then, an output
current and a diode current were measured by using a power
quality analyzer (DEWE-2600). The tilt and orientation of the PV
module were 30
and the south, respectively. The test bed (36.38oN,
127.37oE) was established, as shown in Fig. 6. The measuring
equipment and sensors used in the experiment are shown in
Table .4.
5
C.G. Lee, W.G. Shin, J.R. Lim et al.
Table 3
Characteristics of each string in the test PV array under STC.
1st String
Maximum Power [W] 38.79
Maximum Power Point Voltage [V] 4.5
Maximum Power Point Current [A] 8.68
Open Circuit Voltage [V] 5.3
Short Circuit Current [A] 9.33
Fig. 6. Test bed for measuring thermal characteristics of a lab-scale PV array.
4.1. The operation of a bypass diode by partial shading
The Field experiment was conducted to confirm the thermal
characteristics of the bypass diode operation by partial shading on
the PV array. The module (a lab-scale real PV array) installed on the
test bed, as shown in Fig. 6. For partial shading condition, the third
solar cell from the bottom of the leftmost string was fully shaded by
attached black masking tapes with excellent light blocking rate.
However, since the absolute temperature value may vary due to
these characteristics, the solar cell with simulated partial shading
was exclude from the temperature analysis. The current and surface
temperature of the module were measured according to the on/off
condition of electronic load. At the time (March/31/2020) of
experiment, the irradiance and the ambient temperature
780e1080 W/m2 and 17e20
C when electronic load was operating,
and 910e1010 W/m2 and 17e19
C when electronic load was not
operating. Fig. 7(a) and (b) show the thermographic image of a lab-
scale PV array under partial shading condition while the electronic
load was on and off, respectively. The point 1 is the surface tem-
perature of the bypass diode, and the point 2 is the surface tem-
perature of the normal module in the string with partial shading.
Point 3, 4, 5, and 6 are the surface temperature of the normal solar
cells in the normal strings. When the electronic load was operating,
the output current which is flowing into the electronic load was
measured 42e43A, and there was no reverse current flowed toward
the partial shading string. The surface temperature of solar cells
(Point 2e6) was 32e40
C and that of a bypass diode was 45e60
C,
as shown in Fig. 8(a). When the electronic load was not working,
the reverse current did not flow to the string with partial shading.
The surface temperature of solar cells (Point 2e6) was 37e45
C
and that of a bypass diode was 30e37
C, as shown in Fig. 8(b).
Although there is a difference in temperature values of solar cells, it
Energy 218 (2021) 119480
2nd String 3rd String 4th String 5th String
38.65 38.94 39.03 38.72
4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4
8.84 8.9 8.92 8.87
5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3
9.33 9.47 9.55 9.53
was confirmed that no reverse current flows due to partial shading
regardless of the on/off condition of electronic load. However, there
was a difference of 15e23
C the surface temperature of a bypass
diode (Point 1) according to on/off condition of electric load. The
reason for this is that when the electronic load is operating, an
electrical circuit is conducted and mismatch current (¼current
difference between normal solar cell and partial shading solar cell)
flows to a bypass diode. As a result, the temperature of the bypass
diode connected to partial shaded solar cells increases in the
operation of system. Meanwhile, it was verified that there was no
reverse current flowing by voltage mismatch between strings
because the open circuit voltage of solar cell did not drop under
partial shading condition.
4.2. The short circuit failure of bypass diodes
Subsequently, an experiment was conducted on the test bed of
Fig. 6, as same as a section 4.1, to confirm the thermal character-
istics on PV array, when a voltage mismatch caused by a short
circuit failure of bypass diode. For an experiment, a bypass diode
(one of three) in the module, in which connected with solar cells in
the leftmost string, was replaced by a faulted bypass diode. The
short circuit failure bypass diode that used for an experiment was
artificially damaged by applying a voltage higher than the reverse
breakdown voltage. The current and surface temperature of the
module were measured respectively in considering the on/off
condition of electronic load. At the time (April/3/2020) of experi-
ment, the irradiance and the ambient temperature 1045e1075 W/
m2 and 17e19
C when electronic load was operating, and
970e1050 W/m2 and 18e20
C when electronic load was not
operating. When the electronic load was operating, it was
measured that the output current which is flowing into the
6
C.G. Lee, W.G. Shin, J.R. Lim et al. Energy 218 (2021) 119480

Table 4
Specification of the equipment used in the experiment.

DC Electronic Load (IT8514Be500V/60A/1200W)

Output Rating (0e40
C) Voltage 0e500V

Current 1 mAe60A
Power 1200W
CV Mode Range Accuracy Resolution
Regulation 0.1e18V ±(0.05% þ 0.02%FS) 1 mV
Power Quality analyzer (DEWE-2600)

Channel 16
HSI-HV (Voltage) Range 20Ve1400V
Accuracy 20Ve50V (DC) ±0.05% of reading ± 60 mV
100Ve1400V (DC) ±0.05% of reading ± 0.05 range
HSI-LV (Current) Range 10 mV to 50V
Accuracy 10 mVe100 mV (DC) ±0.02% of reading ± 60uV
2.5V (DC) ±0.02% of reading ± 0.1 of range
200 mV to 50V (DC) ±0.02% of reading ± 0.05 of range
Data throughput 80 MS/s
Resolution 16-bit
Sampling rate Max. 500 kS/s per channel
Thermographic Camera (FLIR A300)

Field of view 25
(H) x 18.8
(V)

Focal Length 18 mm
Spectral range 7.5e13mm
IR resolution 16bit 320  240 pixels
Object temperature range 20
Ce120
C
0
Ce350
C
Accuracy ±2
C or ±2% of reading
Pyranometer (KIPP & ZONEN, CMP 6)

Classification to ISO 9060:2018 Spectrally Flat Class B

Sensitivity 5e20mV /W/m2
Impedance 20e200 U
Expected output range (0e1500 W/m2 ) 0e30 mV
Maximum operational irradiance 2000 W/m2
Temperature transmitter (Delta OHM HD9009TR)

Measuring range 40 ~ þ80
C

Accuracy ±0.15
C ± 0.1% of measurement
Output signal 40
C ¼ 0.00 Vdc
þ80
C ¼ 1.00 Vdc

Fig. 7. Thermographic images of a lab-scale PV array with partial shading while the electronic load was (a) operating and (b) not operating.

electronic load was 45.4A, a current flowing into the fault bypass operating, a reverse current did not flow to the mismatching string.
diode was about 2.3A, and the output current of mismatching string On the other case, when the electronic load was not working, it was
was about 7A, as shown in Fig. 9(a). Even if the voltage drop caused measured the reverse current was about 17A, a current which
by a short failure of bypass diode, when the electronic load was flowed from solar cells connected with a fault bypass diode was

7
C.G. Lee, W.G. Shin, J.R. Lim et al.
Fig. 8. Surface temperature at each point in a lab-scale PV array while the electronic load was (a) operating and (b) not operating.
Fig. 9. Measured current of a lab-scale PV array with fault bypass diode while the electronic load was (a) operating and (b) not operating.
about 9A, and a current flowing through the fault bypass diode was
about 26A, as shown in Fig. 9(b). If the electronic load is not
operating, a short circuit is formed in the solar cell connected with a
fault bypass diode. Therefore, the sum of short circuit current of
solar cells and a reverse current, caused by potential difference
between strings, flows into a fault bypass diode. As early
mentioned, outdoor experiments and simulation were conducted
on the same electric circuit of a lab-scale real PV array. From the
experiment results, the reverse current was measured about 17A,
and the simulation result was 17.9A, which this shows a similar
trend. Furthermore, the current flowing to the fault bypass diode
also showed the similar result with simulation; a simulation result
was 27.32A and an experimental result was 26A. The simulation
and experimental results expressed the same trend, and the ther-
mal characteristics of the PV strings will change due to the reverse
current.
Fig. 10(a) and (b) show the thermographic images of a lab-scale
PV array with a short circuit failure of bypass diode while the
electronic load was on and off, respectively. The point 1 is the
surface temperature of the bypass diode, and the point 2 is the
surface temperature of the normal solar cell in the string with a
fault bypass diode. Point 3, 4, 5, and 6 are the surface temperature
of the normal solar cell in the normal strings. When the electronic
load was operating, the temperature difference at every point was
about 5
C, as shown in Fig. 11(a). Although the mismatch current of
about 2.3A due to a fault bypass diode, this did not significantly
8
Energy 218 (2021) 119480
affect the temperature increase of a bypass diode and solar cells.
Even when the electronic load was not operating, the temperature
at point 3, 4, 5, and 6 was 36e39
C as shown in Fig. 11(b). It was at a
similar level to when electronic load was operating. However, it
was confirmed that a large current which is the sum of a short
circuit current of solar cells and a reverse current flowed to a fault
bypass diode, then the surface temperature of fault bypass diode
was measured about 145
C, as expressed in Fig. 12(a). The most
remarkable thing is a significant current (about 26A) flowed
continuously into a fault bypass diode, so that a high temperature
(about 145
C) occurred 30 min after the start of experiment. It led
to that the appearance of fault diode was completely deformed and
the junction box was also melted, as shown in Fig. 12(b). Further-
more, a reverse current flowed to the solar cells connected with
normal bypass diodes in the fault string, and the temperature of
corresponding solar cells was 18
C higher than other solar cells.
The thermographic image, in Fig. 10(b), exhibits that the current
due to the voltage mismatch was flowing through the fault bypass
diode (Point 1) to the solar cells (Point 2) that connected to the
normal bypass diodes. This result reflected well the simulation
results and the theoretical analysis in Section 3. Consequently, it
was verified that the operating temperature of solar cells elevated
as a reverse current flowed in the solar cells during normal oper-
ation, thus, the surface temperature of the solar cell increased. If a
reverse current flows through the mismatching string continuously
due to such a phenomenon in a real PV power plant, the heating
C.G. Lee, W.G. Shin, J.R. Lim et al. Energy 218 (2021) 119480

Fig. 10. Thermographic images of a lab-scale PV array with fault bypass diode while the electronic load was (a) operating and (b) not operating.

Fig. 11. Surface temperatures of lab-scale PV array with fault bypass while the electrical load was (a) operating and (b) not operating.

Fig. 12. (a) Surface temperatures of fault bypass diode and (b) burn-out bypass diode by massive reverse current.

occurs in the normal operating PV modules, which causes a 61215:2005, there is an equation to calculate the junction tem-
decrease in the total power generation of the PV system. perature of diode from the measured junction box case tempera-
According to the bypass diode thermal test of KS C IEC ture [32]. The maximum surface temperature of fault bypass diode

9
C.G. Lee, W.G. Shin, J.R. Lim et al.
measured with a thermographic camera was 145
C, but the actual
junction temperature may be higher.
Tj ¼ Tcase þ RTHjc $UD $ID (11)
where Tj is the junction temperature of diode, Tcase is the measured
temperature of junction box case, RTHjc is typical thermal resistance
junction to lead (at the case), UD is diode voltage, ID is diode cur-
rent, respectively. The values of each variable are Tcase : 145
C,
RTHjc : 4
C=W, UD : 1:564V, ID : 26:71A, so the actual junction
temperature calculated through Eq. (11) is estimated to be 312
C.
Consequently, a massive mismatching current flowed that caused
by a short circuit failure of bypass diode, which occurred a serious
heat on the diode. Thus, it was verified that a possibility of irrep-
arable damage to PV module may occur due to serious deformation
of the diode and the junction box.
5. Conclusions
In this paper, a study was conducted to confirm the electrical
and thermal characteristics of PV array caused by voltage mismatch
between strings due to a short circuit failure of bypass diode on PV
module. Simulation was performed to analyze the electrical char-
acteristics of the correlation between the fault bypass diode and PV
array. It was found out that a mismatching current due to a fault
bypass diode, when the PV system was stopped, is proportional to
the number of parallel circuits in the PV array, and is considerably
increased by the number of fault bypass diodes. Experiments at
outdoor conditions were performed to analyze the electrical and
thermal characteristics of each voltage mismatch conditions in a
lab-scale PV array module that mimics a real PV array of 100 kW. In
a case of bypass diode operation due to partial shading, the mis-
matching current (¼reverse current) did not flowed, and only the
surface temperature of the bypass diode connected with a fully
shaded solar cell was increased in an inverter is working. When the
inverter was operating in case of a short circuit failure of bypass
diode, a reverse current that caused by voltage drop did not flow
into a fault string, also the surface temperature did not change
significantly. However, when the inverter stopped, a significant
mismatching current (about 26A) flowed into the fault bypass
diode that generates a high surface temperature of 145
C to deform
the diode and junction box. The results are summarized as follows.
1) When the voltage mismatch caused by a fully shaded solar cell,
regardless of whether the inverter is operating or not, a reverse
current between the PV strings did not flow and only the tem-
perature of the bypass diode connected with fully shaded solar
cell rose slightly.
2) On the other hand, a short circuit failure of bypass diode created
electrical and thermal problems in a PV array. When the inverter
was operating, a reverse current did not flow. However, when
the inverter was off, a significant reverse current generated a
high heat and deformed a fault bypass diode. Moreover, the
operating temperature of solar cells that connected to the
normal bypass diodes among a fault string elevated about 18
C
than other solar cells.
3) In a real PV system, there are fuses for blocking overcurrent
installed at the (þ) and () terminals of each string. However,
when a certain fuse is operated by overcurrent, the corre-
sponding PV string becomes an open circuit to result in overall
system output losses. On the contrary, if a reverse current below
the fuse current rating flows so the fuse does not operate, it may
create heat losses in normal PV modules of the fault string
which may lead degradation of PV modules. In the worst case, if
10
Energy 218 (2021) 119480
the reverse current cannot be blocked because of a failure of
fuse, a fault bypass diode may cause fire accidents.
4) This study simulated a 100 kW scale of PV array, but, the pos-
sibility of reverse current accidents caused by a short circuit
failure of bypass diode has increased according to the trend of
high efficiency of PV module and large capacity of PV power
plants. In order to secure stable performance of the PV power
plants, it is necessary to monitor a failure of the bypass diodes
and fuses, and system diagnosis is required periodically to
prevent system output loss and accidents. Further study aims at
data process technology using Big data or AI for detecting fault
bypass diodes.
Credit author statement
Chung Geun Lee: Investigation, Data curation, Writing e original
draft Woo Gyun Shin: Conceptualization, Software, Validation,
Visualization Jong Rok Lim: Methodology, Resources Gi Hwan
Kang: Methodology, Supervision Young Chul Ju: Data curation,
Resources Hye Mi Hwang: Software, Data curation Hyo Sik Chang:
Methodology, Visualization, Suk Whan Ko: Conceptualization,
Validation, Supervision, Writing e review & editing
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a grant from the Renewable Energy
of Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning
(KETEP) funded by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and
Energy (Project No: 20183020010990, 20183010013960).
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