Design and Demonstration of a 540 V/28 V SiC-Based Resonant DC–DC Converter for Auxiliary Power Supply in More Electric Aircraft

Abstract

Efficient and robust power electronic converters are vital to the success of the electrification of aircraft. Especially, low voltage auxiliary converters, which usually supply high current and low voltage loads, are not readily available industrially and need special attention. In terms of energy density and efficiency, LLC converters are among the most commonly used and efficient topologies for automotive and aerospace applications. In the case of aerospace applications, a fault-tolerant topology is highly desirable to reduce the need for redundant components and weight by removing backup systems. To solve this issue, this study introduces a new 2.0 kW LLC-based converter with a reconfigurable fault-tolerant architecture. With the help of a specially designed secondary side, the proposed converter can reconfigure itself so that even if one of the semiconductor switches fails permanently, the converter can still maintain power at nominal voltage levels, ensuring that the aircraft’s vital functionality is preserved. This paper also describes the basic operation principle, component-design aspects, conduction loss reduction techniques, and control system algorithm. Finally, a 2.0 kW experimental prototype is built to verify and demonstrate the operation of the proposed reconfigurable LLC converter.