Mission profile simplification method for reliability analysis of PV converters

This paper presents a simplification method for photovoltaic (PV) mission profiles to be used in reliability modelling. The method is based on the formulation of a shorter, representative mission profile formed using select days from the mission profile. The method is thoroughly explained and is applied to a number of PV mission profiles as a demonstration. Unlike the previously published simplification method from the same authors, this method is applicable to PV profiles from any climate.

The methodology is demonstrated with three applications of the method. The time reduction yielded by the method is useful in enabling simulation sweeps of parameter variation for sensitivity analysis, in finding design values for system lifetime or profitability, and for other analyses.