Lifetime Prediction of DC-Link Capacitors in Multiple Drives System Based on Simplified Analytical Modeling

Abstract

Lifetime prediction of dc-link capacitors in a single drive has been discussed before, which indicates that the capacitor in a standard drive meets serious reliability challenges and in a slim drive does not. However, in most of the applications, drives are connected in parallel with the power grid. The large amount of harmonic distortion produced by nonlinearity drives may transmit and couple between grid and drives, which changes the stresses of devices as well as the dc-link filters. Therefore, the estimated results in a single drive cannot be extended to multiple drives any more. This article investigates the lifetime of dc-link capacitors in multiple drives system. First, by decoupling the interactions among grid-connected drives, a simplified equivalent circuit model and its analytical model to obtain the dc-link continuous current in multiple drives is proposed, which releases the designers from configuring the large simulation for multiple drives. Then, applying the lifetime prediction method, the lifetime of dc-link capacitors in multiple drives is investigated, in terms of types of drives, numbers of drives, and grid conditions. The results show that the lifetime of the standard drives extends in the multidrive systems and the lifetime of the slim drives decreases in the multidrive systems, which break the previous mind. Finally, based on the proposed analytical model and lifetime estimation method, the capacitor sizing from reliability aspect for multiple slim drives is given. The outcomes of the lifetime investigation could be a guideline for the design of the capacitive dc link in multidrive systems.