Digital filters for PV arc fault detection
department or school: Applied Science, Faculty of
department or school: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Martinez, Gervasio
issued: 2024-10-10T19:55:29Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Master of Applied Science - MASc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Photovoltaic (PV) systems are an increasingly important source of renewable energy, providing clean, sustainable power for residential and industrial applications. However, they face safety challenges, particularly the risk of arc faults, which occur when electrical current flows through unintended paths, potentially leading to fires or safety risks. Servicing the installation helps prevent this issue, but it is typically expensive and seldom carried out. Therefore, detecting arc faults becomes crucial not only to prevent these hazards but also to comply with safety standards such as UL1699B. This work explores several arc fault detection methods, focusing on computationally efficient techniques suitable for low-cost microcontrollers commonly found in commercial PV systems. Key techniques examined include frequency-domain analysis, wavelet transforms, and digital signal processing, all chosen to balance performance with the hardware limitations imposed by cost constraints. By expanding on the standard test cases defined in UL1699B, a more comprehensive and robust analysis was performed, introducing various real-world disturbances such as converter noise and power line communication (PLC) signals. These additional perturbations allow for more rigorous testing of the detection methods, ensuring a robust performance under challenging operational conditions and reducing false positives. The proposed WIK strategy, which integrates Wavelet transforms, IIR filtering, and Kurtosis analysis, is introduced as an innovative and highly effective solution for arc fault detection. This method balances high detection accuracy with low computational demand, making it ideal for cost-sensitive applications. Extensive testing shows that the WIK strategy is not only compliant with safety standards but also capable of filtering out noise and disturbances, ensuring optimal performance, reliability, and safety for PV installations.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/89381
note: Digital Filters For PV Arc FaultDetectionbyGervasio MartinezIng., Universidad Nacional del Comahue, 2019A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OFTHE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OFMASTER OF APPLIED SCIENCEinThe Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies(Electrical and Computer Engineering)THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA(Vancouver)October 2024© Gervasio Martinez 2024The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: Digital Filters for PV Arc Fault Detection submitted by Gervasio Martinez in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering Examining Committee: Dr. Martin Ordonez, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UBC Supervisor Dr. Shahriar Mirabbasi, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Sudip Shekhar, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iiAbstractPhotovoltaic (PV) systems are an increasingly important source of renew-able energy, providing clean, sustainable power for residential and industrialapplications. However, they face safety challenges, particularly the risk ofarc faults, which occur when electrical current flows through unintendedpaths, potentially leading to fires or safety risks. Servicing the installationhelps prevent this issue, but it is typically expensive and seldom carriedout. Therefore, detecting arc faults becomes crucial not only to preventthese hazards but also to comply with safety standards such as UL1699B.This work explores several arc fault detection methods, focusing on com-putationally efficient techniques suitable for low-cost microcontrollers com-monly found in commercial PV systems. Key techniques examined includefrequency-domain analysis, wavelet transforms, and digital signal processing,all chosen to balance performance with the hardware limitati…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2024-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0445539
language: eng
degree discipline: Electrical and Computer Engineering
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Ordonez, Martin
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89381