A Hybrid Deep Feature Fusion and CWINCA-Based Classification Framework for Thermal Fault Diagnosis in Photovoltaic Panels

Year 2025, Volume: 4 Issue: 3, 689 - 700, 20.10.2025

Burak Tasci

https://doi.org/10.62520/fujece.1757707

Abstract

Accurate and timely identification of faults in photovoltaic (PV) panels is critical for maintaining system efficiency and ensuring safe operation. In this study, a hybrid classification framework is proposed that integrates deep feature fusion with an advanced feature selection method to detect PV panel faults using thermal infrared imagery. Feature representations were extracted using four pre-trained lightweight convolutional neural networks: MobileNet, MobileNetV2, MobileNetV3Small, and MobileNetV3Large resulting in a 3840-dimensional concatenated feature vector. To reduce redundancy and improve discriminative power, the Cumulative Weight-based Iterative Neighborhood Component Analysis (CWINCA) was employed, selecting 142 informative features. These were subsequently classified using a linear Support Vector Machine (SVM). Experiments were conducted on the publicly available PVF-10 dataset, comprising 5,579 thermal images across ten fault categories. The proposed method achieved an overall classification accuracy of 86.49%, outperforming several individual CNN based architectures. The results demonstrate that combining feature-level integration with targeted selection significantly enhances classification performance while maintaining low computational complexity. This framework offers a promising and scalable solution for UAV-based PV inspection systems.

Keywords

Photovoltaic fault classification , Thermal infrared imagery , MobileNet , Feature fusion , CWINCA; Support vector machine.

Ethical Statement

“There is no need for an ethics committee approval in the prepared article” “There is no conflict of interest with any person/institution in the prepared article”

Termal Görüntülerle Fotovoltaik Panel Arızalarının Sınıflandırılmasına Yönelik CWINCA Tabanlı Hibrit Derin Öznitelik Birleştirme Yaklaşımı

Abstract

Fotovoltaik panellerde meydana gelen arızaların doğru ve zamanında tespiti, sistem verimliliğinin korunması ve güvenli çalışmanın sürdürülebilirliği açısından kritik öneme sahiptir. Bu çalışmada, termal kızılötesi görüntülerden PV panel arızalarını sınıflandırmak amacıyla derin öznitelik birleştirme ve gelişmiş bir öznitelik seçimi yöntemini entegre eden hibrit bir sınıflandırma çerçevesi önerilmiştir. Öznitelikler, önceden eğitilmiş dört hafif konvolüsyonel sinir ağı (MobileNet, MobileNetV2, MobileNetV3Small ve MobileNetV3Large) kullanılarak çıkarılmış ve 3840 boyutunda birleşik bir öznitelik vektörü oluşturulmuştur. Ardından, öznitelik uzayındaki fazlalıkları azaltmak ve ayırt edici gücü artırmak amacıyla Kümülatif Ağırlık Tabanlı Yinelemeli Komşuluk Bileşen Analizi (CWINCA) yöntemi uygulanmış ve 142 anlamlı öznitelik seçilmiştir. Bu öznitelikler, doğrusal destek vektör makinesi sınıflandırıcısı ile sınıflandırılmıştır. Yöntem, kamuya açık PVF-10 veri kümesi üzerinde değerlendirilmiş ve on farklı arıza türünü içeren 5.579 termal görüntü ile test edilmiştir. Önerilen yöntem, %86.49 genel doğruluk oranı elde etmiş ve birçok bireysel CNN tabanlı mimarinin üzerinde performans göstermiştir. Sonuçlar, öznitelik düzeyinde birleştirme ile hedeflenmiş seçim yöntemlerinin bir arada kullanılmasının sınıflandırma başarımını artırırken hesaplama karmaşıklığını düşük tuttuğunu göstermektedir. Bu çerçeve, insansız hava araçları ile gerçekleştirilen PV denetim sistemleri için ölçeklenebilir ve etkili bir çözüm sunmaktadır.

Keywords

Fotovoltaik arıza sınıflandırması , Termal kızılötesi görüntüleme , MobileNet , Öznitelik birleştirme , CWINCA; Destek vektör makineleri.

Ethical Statement

"Hazırlanan makalede etik kurul onayına gerek yoktur." "Hazırlanan makalede herhangi bir kişi/kurumla çıkar çatışması bulunmamaktadır."

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