Reliability Analysis of Boost Converters Connected to a Solar Panel Using a Markov Approach
Rifqi Firmansyah Muktiadji
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
Ali Muhammad Rushdi *
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In the past few decades, the energy shortage and global warming problems became a serious concern for humanity. To solve these problems, many countries have evolved renewable energy sources (RESs) such as solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal, and biomass energy sources. Solar energy is usually harvested via a solar panel that is connected to a boost converter to supply the loads. The converter has a key role in the system, since it controls the voltage at the DC bus. If any accidental fault occurs in the converter, the solar panel cannot supply electricity to the loads. Therefore, reliability evaluation of the converter is usually warranted. In this study, reliability evaluation of boost converters connected to a solar panel is carried out using the Markov technique. This technique is widely employed to evaluate the reliability and availability of a system with fixed failure and repair rates. Using the Markov method, we found that the reliability of the typical specific converter considered is 0.9986 for and that its life expectancy or Mean-Time-To-Failure (MTTF) is .
Keywords: Reliability, boost converters, Markov technique, solar panel.