Sensor Fault Detection and Identification of a Photovoltaic System Based on Sliding Mode Observer

The growing emphasis on sustainability and green energy in electricity generation has led researchers to focus on improving photovoltaic systems. Consequently, a reliable fault diagnosis method is crucial for protecting and maintaining the performance of PV systems. This paper introduces a fault detection approach utilizing a sliding mode observer to detect sensor faults in a standalone photovoltaic system. The method is based on residual generation, which identifies faults by comparing residuals with specific threshold values. The standalone photovoltaic test bench includes a boost converter that facilitates maximum power point tracking using the perturb and observe method for the load. Simulations are carried out in MATLAB/Simulink under stable temperature and varying irradiance conditions to evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed fault detection technique.