Center for Research in Energy Systems Transformation (CREST)

This paper presents the design, analysis, and experimental validation of a fault detection and identification (FDI) scheme for dc-dc power electronic converters. The FDI scheme includes two new classes of fault filters: (1) a linear-switched fault detection (FD) filter and (2) a bank of linear-switched fault identification (FI) filters. Both the FD filter and the bank of FI filters have a structure similar to that of Luenberger observer. The FD filter detects a fault event and the bank of FI filters identify a faulted converter component, for instance, failure in switching or passive components. We present simulation and experimental results for a prototype 2 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) boost dc-dc converter system to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed FDI scheme. The experimental results demonstrate accurate fault detection and identification for a collection of catastrophic component faults in PV dc-dc power converters.