Error and crash when changing string configuration in Helios file

[helenabournes]

I've encountered a problem with using a Helios 3D model in PVsyst. I imported a Helios 3D file for a 38MW solar plant into PVsyst and added the required shading objects. The plant string configuration is not consistent across the whole plant so I needed to change some tables to a different configuration.

While I managed to input most of these changes PVsyst got increasingly slow and ultimately crashed before I had a chance to finish. I managed to save and read the scene a few times to keep working on it but it now returns an error message when I try to read that scene. Is there a limit to the ammount of information PVsyst can handle in a shading scene that I have now exceeded?

[André Mermoud]

There is no limit to the number of tables. However with systems overcoming dozens of MW, the calculation may become very long.

I don't know which modfications you have done in the Helios3D scene, and which kind of crash you had. Perhaps it was just a very long calculation time.

For each modification, PVsyst has to perform some checks which may take a prohibitive time with very big systems.

One workaround could be to check the option "Tools > Ignore Interpenetrations of PV fields" in the menu of the 3D editor.