Overvoltage at motor terminals in SiC-based PWM drives

摘要

Key points in the development of More Electrical Aircraft (MEA) are currently DC power distribution in higher voltage levels (540 V) and the use of disruptive technology such as Wide BandGap (WBG) semiconductors in power inverters. Using WBG components (SiC and GaN) increases the power converter mass density. However, fast switching of WBG components (tens of kV/mu s) induces voltage transient overshoots due to parasitic elements within the inverter. In addition, propagation and reflection phenomena along the harness connected to this inverter, even for small lengths, cause a significant voltage overshoot across the loads. Such overvoltage in Adjustable Speed Drives (ASD: association of inverter, harness and motor) supplied by the new HVDC 540 V aeronautical network could be fatal for the Electrical Insulation System (EIS). This paper proposes a fast and accurate modeling methodology to predict transient overvoltage; it allows us to analyze the impact of SiC inverter technology on overvoltage at motor terminals. (C) 2018 International Association for Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (IMACS). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.