Abstract
This paper presents the influence of different pulse width modulation (PWM) methods on losses and thermal stresses in SiC power modules used in a three-phase inverter. The variation of PWM methods directly impacts instantaneous losses on these semiconductors, consequently resulting in junction temperature swing at the fundamental frequency of the converter’s output current. This thermal cycling can significantly reduce the lifetime of these components. In order to determine semiconductor losses, one needs to characterize SiC devices to calculate the instantaneous power. The characterization methodology of the devices, the calculation of instantaneous power and temperature of SiC dies, and the influence of the different PWM methods are presented. A 15-kVA inverter is built in order to obtain experimental results to confirm the characterization and loss calculation, and we show the best PWM methods to increase efficiency and reliability of the three-phase inverter for specific aircraft applications.
Highlights
More electric aircraft (MEA) and all electric aircraft (AEA) are concepts which can only be effective if power converters have a significant reduction in losses and weight
At such a high frequency, switching losses constitute an important part of total losses, as can be seen in Figure 12, where we show the total estimated losses for two different pulse width modulation (PWM) methods using the seen in Figure 12, where we show the total estimated losses for two different PWM methods using measured currents at maximum output power
(reference intended to drive 15-kVA motors. This converter was based on a 1200-V/50-A silicon carbide (SiC) module from
Summary
More electric aircraft (MEA) and all electric aircraft (AEA) are concepts which can only be effective if power converters have a significant reduction in losses and weight This is enabled by the use of disruptive technology such as SiC and GaN semiconductors. This technology helps to increase switching frequency and, to reduce filtering needs and/or to reduce semiconductor losses. This loss reduction may eliminate the use of liquid cooling inside aircrafts, with a consequent improvement in reliability and reduction in maintenance cost. There is a lack of information on datasheets about losses and reliability, and the design of a converter cannot be precisely made with this information
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